Over the past week I have been reminded how much the world can affect us so I thought I include an excerpt from The Imitation of Mary:
"Bear in mind that never yet have you had dealings with the world without being worse off in God's eyes than when you began.
You must love solitude if you are safely to appear among men. For it is in solitude that you learn to act when you are amid the world.
To live withdrawn from the world is one of the most effective means of preserving your own innocence of soul. Nothing weakens a man's virtue more than the frequent companionship of men.
Can anyone breathe the poisoned air of the world without being infected by it? Pull back into solitude and breathe its purer air.
The holy hermits tell us that they were never better able to converse intimately with God than when they had withdrawn from worldly affairs and worldly company."
As I grow deeper in love with Christ and His Blessed Mother and learn to trust completely in His will for me, I become more innocent. I don't go to many public places: restaurants, movie theaters, ball games etc. since having babies. Most gatherings include only devote Catholic people. Having said that, a couple of weeks ago I went to a Dodger game with my sister and I truly felt scandalized. It was just in the way people talk to each other especially in mixed company. I forget the language people use. My sister and I would look at each other embarrassed at what we were hearing. I think that this meditation on secluding yourself from the world really helps me to remember that everything I do should be for Him.
1 comment:
What a beautiful sentiment Cookie. I know my husband and I feel this way at times at such an innocent place as Disneyland. It can be so sad the way so many parents talk to their children, and in the "happiest place on Earth" of all places!
Makes me glad that we are called to be in the world, but not of the world.
Post a Comment