Saturday, December 3, 2022

The Incarnation as the antidote for bitterness in the spiritual life

As St Teresa of Avila teaches us - self knowledge is very important in the spiritual life. We need to understand ourselves, know who we are, understand why we react the way we do etc.. otherwise this is where the devil gets in and starts to subtly get his claws in. As Pope Francis demonstrates here, the devil enters subtly without us realising it. Then we begin to get more bitter, angry and hurt over things. We resent others, start to feel the victim and that we have been hard done by. 

This is why it’s important to examine ourselves daily, asking the Holy Spirit to help illuminate our feelings and show us where the devil may be making us fall into hardness of heart. This is why Jesus taught us the importance of forgiveness and it is one of the petitions in the “Our Father”. A hard and unforgiving heart is a sign we have lost supernatural charity and are not living the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

As we enter the second week of Advent and prepare to celebrate the mystery of the Christ Child, try to meditate on the tenderness of God, the loving mercy that has appeared to us (Titus 3:4) and saved us. This truth of our faith should help you to grow in compassion for others and yourself - if God loves you so much that he became a helpless baby to be one with you, then how can you not love others or yourself with the same love that Christ has demonstrated to us? 

This is something I have felt God teaching me in my prayer life recently. The Holy Spirit has been “tenderising” my heart and teaching me the importance of compassion, which has also highlighted to me the danger of bitterness in the spiritual life. 




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