(Holy Card re-print permission granted from "Holy Cards for Your Inspiration"
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"Whistle While You Work"
.
Using Little Daily Chores for Mortifications
to Help Prepare My Soul
Hello dear amici (friends),
Today is Saturday and I focused on beginning my day with morning prayer and meditation on the day's Scripture readings. I also kept my resolution to not waste my day away on the computer and Internet. As a result of this vow, I followed my devotion time with my weekend household chores and I was lead (without accident) to yesterday's devotion in "In Conversation With God", for Friday, Week 26 in Ordinary Time.
In his writing, Francis Fernandez discusses "mortification" which prepares our souls to "listen to the Lord and to follow His Will". We weed out those negative things in our souls: our laziness, egotism, envy . . . you know, all those vices! Fernandez says that anyone who desires to live their Catholic faith SERIOUSLY, needs to get rid of our old nature (Col 3:9) . . . those bad 'inclinations that we have inherited from Adam'. We can do this through "moritification", which "rejuvenates the soul" and helps the soul to be better prepared to RECEIVE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS!!!
Now, I think that is pretty AWESOME, don't you? "Voluntary mortifications" involve our voluntarily and CONSCIOUSLY carrying out our duties, because THIS IS WHERE WE FIND GOD'S WILL for us each day. And when we engage in these little daily duties, we need to do so with LOVE, HIGH STANDARDS, and HARD WORK. Sort of like the Disney song, "Whistle While You Work" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!
Fernandez continues to let me know that 'mortification' of my soul can also include things such as having 'order' in my life, being punctual, taking care of the small details, performing well any of the most INSIGNIFICANT things in my life, even it hurts (p. 150). He says that we need to resist the temptation of comfort (you know that saying, "Don't get too comfortable!"). We need to PERSEVERE in our daily work with JOY and enthusiasm!
We can be cheerful.
We can offer our fatigue up to the Lord.
We can stop complaining (about anything!) and use whatever causes our complaint to lead us closer to God.
We can also call upon our precious, loving Guardian Angel to help us overcome our weariness, to convert everything we do into "acts of love, contrition, and mortification . . . and gather a bouquet at the end of each day, which we can offer to God!"
So with that discussion, this morning I quickly changed the bed's linens, washed the old linens with the rest of the laundry, folded and put away the clean laundry, cleaned the dirty stove top, washed the dishes, and generally picked up the little messes around the house.
How about you? Did you find yourself complaining today? If so, try to use each little thing that you see as a drudgery and convert them into 'mortifications' for your soul and for our Lord and Heavenly Father.
Ciao for now and Blessings until the next time,
~ Bella
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