February 7th, First Friday Fast

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JMJ

"Why are we not saints? Why is there so little progress in perfection, or rather, why are so many tepid, heavy, discouraged, and going along more like slaves in a workhouse than children in their own home and the house of their Father? Why? Because we do no watch over our interior, do not watch over the impulse of nature and grace in our actions, nor avoid the occasions of the habitual faults we live in when it is in our power, or keep a good guard on ourselves when it is not.  Frequent indulgence of useless thoughts, inconsiderate words, expressions of natural feelings and changes of temper, all stand at variance with our sweet interior life, and stop the operation of divine grace, too often indeed to grieving the divine Spirit and sending Him away."  (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)

God created man to live in communion.  He said,"It is not good for man to be alone" and so He created a suitable partner, woman, for him.  But when original sin entered the world, division and distrust threatened this communion.  Man was now tempted to be alone, apart from others, and more detrimentally, apart from God.  Since the Fall, the devil has constantly fashioned new distractions and temptations to isolate man, as he knows it is easier to conquer him when he is alone.  

The business of life, the constant din of society propels one to seek solace in solitude.  Yet it must be solitude with God, not excluding Him.  The hermits in the desert sought separation from society but communion with Him.  It is can be difficult to maintain an interior life, but it is necessary so as to use its fruits in nourishing our souls, which are dependent upon the graces to strengthen our resolves against the battles of the day.

 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton said, "Our love of God is always opposed by our self-love."  One is tempted to indulge his emotions through intemperance, self-righteousness, and the like believing that he deserves some slack, or some credit, that if he is not to be praised from other quarters, he can at least win praise from himself.  Relief from fatigue is not done in accordance with God's ways, and so brings irritation not respite.  It is a good reminder that when we say 'yes' to ourselves, we say 'no' to God.  And to so to build a strong and healthy interior life, one must learn to often say no, even when it is something that is not detrimental to the soul.  At another time Mother Seton noted the dangers that come to a soul that does not practice mortification:

"How should we live an interior life until some of our natural rubbish is removed? How walk valiantly with Our Savior, dragging our foolish attachments after us, and ready to faint if the least weight of His cross presses on us? The less sensible we are of our misery the greater our evil is, for an immortified soul cannot bear to hear the truth nor to be reproved even for its evident faults; so it remains buried in its darkness, and the enemy tries to double its blindness, while, sick and weak, it scarcely struggles against its imperfections, much less thinks of entering the sanctuary of our interior life."

Our inward retreat will help us in our vocations as it guides our decisions, and lightens our burdens.  The light of Christ will reveal our failings but encourage us in our weakness.