287 part i: sunday meditations for the entire year willing to wage the war, as you are morally bound to do. God brings the contest to success for those whom He has called to the fight. Therefore, attack whatever of the world, of perverse [f.79r] desires, or of self-love exists within you, or uproot and bravely beat back whatever attacks your mind, already consecrated to another Master. Indeed, you should be convinced that you should embrace only those desires that are consistent with your vocation, that lead you to self-contempt, to spreading God’s glory and living a zealous ascetical life. Furthermore, you should extinguish your self-love, so that not even a single spark would remain of it. It happens rather often that after a fire has been extinguished, hidden fires are started again somewhere. Thus, a spark of self-love, carelessly left behind, usually inflames a greater fire than the former one. Therefore, ask your Master that He completely annihilate and extinguish these fires in Holy Communion with ample streams of tears. 2. “for either he will hate the one” (Mt 6:24). Consider that when you served the world, you treated God with the greatest hatred. You did not really perceive that this hidden love of the world was nothing else but an open hatred towards the Divine Majesty. For you were unable to love both the world and God; as the sky126 does not tolerate two suns; or the heart, two lovers. Thus, by loving the world, which you served; you hated God, without realizing it. Now, having voluntarily become a slave of God, you are morally bound to hand over to Him your whole heart, and henceforth, vice versa, to pursue your former master the world with ceaseless hatred. See to it, therefore, that your actions demonstrate your love of God. 3. “do not be anxious” (Mt 6:25). Reflect attentively on how compassionate and generous the Master is to whom you adhered. What profit did you have until now, when you served the world? On the other hand, this Master 126 In the Latin text the word used is Olympus — the highest mountain range in Greece and the mythical seat of the gods. Here it is used as a synonym of Heaven. Cf. FLL, vol 3, Typis Seminarii, Patavii 1871, p. 485 (s.v. Olympus).
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