Devotion to Our Lady |
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PART ONE
Introduction to the Cross
Dear Friends of the
Cross!
Since the divine Cross keeps me hidden and prevents me from speaking, I cannot and do not even wish to express to you by word of mouth the feelings of my heart on the divine excellence and practices of your Association in the adorable Cross of Jesus Christ. However, on this last day of my retreat, I come out, as it were, from the sweet retirement of my interior, to trace upon paper a few little arrows from the Cross with which to pierce your noble hearts. God grant that I could point them with the blood of my veins and not with the ink of my pen. Even if blood were required, mine, alas, would be unworthy! May the spirit of the living God, then, be the life, vigor and tenor of this letter. May His unction be my ink, His divine Cross my pen and your hearts my paper. [COMMENTARY: It is evident from the way that St. Louis writes that he is in the 3rd Stage of the Spiritual Life, the "Unitive Way." As the Catholic Encyclopedia points our: "The unitive way is the way of those who are in the state of the perfect, that is, those who have their minds so drawn away from all temporal things that they enjoy great peace, who are neither agitated by various desires nor moved by any great extent by passion, and who have their minds chiefly fixed on God and their attention turned, either always or very frequently, to Him ... It is called the “unitive” way because it is by love that the soul is united to God, and the more perfect the charity, the closer and more intimate is the union. Union with God is the principal study and endeavor of this state. It is of this union St. Paul speaks when he says: “He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)." Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, writing about the Unitive Way, speaks of the souls in that state as having, among others, the following characteristics: "All the saints have repeated St. Paul’s words: 'For to me, to live is Christ: and to die is gain. ... Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.' As the profession of arms, says St. Thomas Aquinas, is the life of the soldier, as study is that of the scholar, so Christ was their life, the continual object of their love and the source of their energy. St. Paul likewise delighted in saying to the Corinthians: 'For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness; but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”' ... 'For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'” St. Louis de Montfort is burning with this flame of love for the Cross of Christ that St. Paul so succinctly and powerfully speaks of in the above quotes.]. EXCELLENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE FRIENDS OF THE CROSS Grandeur of the Name "Friends of the Cross" Friends of the Cross, you are a group of crusaders united to fight against the world, not like those religious, men and women, who leave the world for fear of being overcome, but like brave, intrepid warriors on the battlefront, refusing to retreat or even to yield an inch. Be brave. Fight with all your might. [COMMENTARY: The Cross is the test of the true Christian, or, to put it more concretely or more painfully, it is suffering that is the test and touchstone of the true Christian. As the Imitation of Christ so truly says: "To many, the saying, 'Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me,' seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!' ... Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross” (Book 2, chapters 11 & 12).] Bind yourselves together in that strong union of heart and mind which is far superior, far more terrifying to the world and hell than the armed forces of a well-organized kingdom are to its enemies. Demons are united for your destruction, but you, be united for their overthrow; the avaricious are united to barter and hoard up gold and silver, combine your efforts in the pursuit of the eternal treasures hidden in the Cross; reprobates unite to make merry, but you, be united to suffer. [COMMENTARY: Sometimes it is better to to suffer with another or others, because of the added support and like-mindedness of others. “If a man prevail against one, then two shall withstand him: and a threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:13).] You call yourselves "Friends of the Cross." What a wonderful name! I must admit that it charms and fascinates me. It is brighter than the sun, higher than the heavens, more imposing and resplendent than any title given to king or emperor. It is the great name of Christ Himself, true God and true Man at one and the same time. It is the unmistakable title of a Christian. Its splendor dazzles me, but the weight of it frightens me! For this title implies that you have taken upon yourselves difficult and inescapable obligations, which are summed up in the words of the Holy Ghost: "A chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people" (1 Peter 2:9). A Friend of the Cross is one chosen by God from among ten thousand, who have reason and sense for their only guide. He is truly divine, raised above reason and thoroughly opposed to the things of sense, for he lives in the light of true faith and burns with love for the Cross. A Friend of the Cross is a mighty king, a hero who triumphs over the devil, the world and the flesh and their threefold concupiscence. He overthrows the pride of Satan by his love for humiliation, he triumphs over the world's greed by his love for poverty and he restrains the sensuality of the flesh by his love for suffering. A Friend of the Cross is a holy man, separated from visible things. His heart is lifted high above all that is frail and perishable; "his conversation is in Heaven" (Philippians 3:20); he journeys here below like a stranger and pilgrim. He keeps his heart free from the world, looks upon it with an unconcerned glance of his left eye and disdainfully tramples it under foot. A Friend of the Cross is a trophy which the crucified Christ won on Calvary in union with His Blessed Mother. He is another Benoni (Genesis 35:18) or Benjamin, a son of sorrow, a son of the right hand. Conceived in the sorrowful heart of Christ, he comes into this world through the gash in the Savior's right side and is all empurpled in His blood. True to this heritage, he breathes forth only crosses and blood, death to the world, the flesh and sin and hides himself here below with Jesus Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Thus, a perfect Friend of the Cross is a true Christ-bearer, or rather another Christ, so much so that he can say with truth: "I live now not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). [COMMENTARY: The devil knows, from the experience of his greatest ever defeat, the power of the Cross! That is why he will have us embrace any other devotion except that of the the love of the Cross. It is much the same with the Rosary and the Mass: they are so powerful, that the devil will have us pray other things or do other things, rather than have us profit from these two great weapons. Incidentally, the Cross is at the heart of both the Mass and the Rosary. The Mass is Christ's Passion and Death carried on through time in an unbloody manner; while the Rosary has the Passion and Death of Christ sandwiched like meat between the bread of the Joyful and Glorious mysteries.]. My dear Friends of the Cross, does every act of yours justify what the eminent name you bear implies? Or at least are you, with the grace of God, in the shadow of Calvary's Cross and of Our Lady of Pity, really eager and truly striving to attain this goal? Is the way you follow the one that leads to this goal? Is it the true way of life, the narrow way, the thorn-strewn way to Calvary? Or are you unconsciously traveling the world's broad road, the road to perdition? Do you realize that there is a highroad which, to all appearances, is straight and safe for man to travel, but which in reality leads to death? Do you really know the voice of God and grace from the voice of the world and human nature? Do you distinctly hear the voice of God, our kind Father, pronouncing His threefold curse upon every one who follows the world in its concupiscence: "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth" (Apocalypse 8:13) and then appealing to you with outstretched arms: "Be separated, My chosen people (Isaias 48:20, 52:11; Jeremias 50:8, 51:6), beloved Friends of the Cross of My Son, be separated from those worldlings, for they are accursed by My Majesty, repudiated by My Son (John 17:9) and condemned by My Holy Spirit (John 16.8-12). Do not sit in their chair of pestilence, take no part in their gatherings; do not even step along their highways (Psalm 1:1). Hurry away from this great and infamous Babylon (Isaias 48:20 ; Jeremias 51 ,6); hearken only to the voice of My Beloved Son; follow only in His footprints; for He is the One I have given to be your Way, Truth, Life (John 14:6) and Model: "hear ye Him" (Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35; Mark 9:6; 2 Peter 1:17). Is your ear attentive to the pleading of the lovable and cross-burdened Jesus, "Come, follow Me! He that followeth Me walketh not in darkness (John 8:12) have confidence, I have conquered the world" (John 16,:33)? [COMMENTARY: As the Imitation of Christ so beautifully puts it: "Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the day of judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during life made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ, the judge ... "Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life but in the cross. "Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you shall also share His glory."]. |
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PART TWO
EXCELLENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE FRIENDS OF THE CROSS (cont.) scroll down for the previous parts THE TWO GROUPS
(1) The Followers of Christ and the Followers of the World Dear Brethren. these are the two groups that appear before you each day, the followers of Christ and the followers of the world. Our loving Savior's group is to the right, scaling a narrow path made all the narrower by the world's corruption. Our kind Master is in the lead, barefooted, thorn-crowned, robed in His blood and weighted with a heavy cross. There is only a handful of people who follow Him, but they are the bravest of the brave. His gentle voice is not heard above the tumult of the world, or men do not have the courage to follow Him in poverty, suffering, humiliation and in the other crosses His servants must bear all the days of their life. To the left is the world's group, the devil's in fact, which is far superior in number, and seemingly far more colorful and splendid in array. Fashionable folk are all in a hurry to enlist, the highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver (Matthew 7:13-14). (COMMENTARY: There will always be two groups: one for and one against Christ. To complicate matters, there are some who say that they are for Christ (in theory), but are really against Him (in practice). St. Paul speaks of some of them saying: “For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping), that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19). Of these Our Lord says: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). There will be division because of Christ and His doctrine, as He Himself forewarned: “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation. For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Luke 12:51-53). The way or path of Christ is, unfortunately for our earthly tendencies, the way of the cross. It is not an easy road. The easy road leads to Hell, the difficult road leads to Heaven: “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). The rich young man asked Our Lord what he had to do to be saved. Our Lord told him to go and sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and then to come and follow Him. The Bible gives us the young rich man's response: “And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: 'Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven'” (Matthew 19:22-24). (2) The Opposing Spirit of the Groups To the right, the little flock that follows Jesus can speak only of tears, penance, prayer and contempt for worldly things. Sobbing in their grief, they can be heard repeating: "Let us suffer, let us weep, let us fast, let us pray, let us hide, let us humble ourselves, let us be poor, let us mortify ourselves, for he who has not the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Cross, is none of Christ's. Those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its concupiscence. We must be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ or else be damned!" "Be brave," they keep saying to each other, "be brave, for if God is for us, in us and leading us, who dare be against us? The One Who is dwelling within us is stronger than the one who is in the world, no servant is above his master; one moment of light tribulation worketh an eternal weight of glory; there are fewer elect than man may think; only the brave and daring take Heaven by storm, the crown is given only to those who strive lawfully according to the Gospel, not according to the fashion of the world. Let us put all our strength into the fight, and run very fast to reach the goal and win the crown." Friends of the Cross spur each other on with such divine words. Worldlings, on the contrary, rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. "Enjoy life, peace and pleasure," they shout, "Enjoy life, peace and pleasure. Let us eat, let us drink, let us sing, let us dance, let us play. God is good, He did not make us to damn us, God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves; we shall not be damned for that; away with scruples; we shall not die." And so they continue. {COMMENTARY: Our Lady told St. Bernadette that she would not make Bernadette happy in this world, but in the next. How few souls truly live for the next world! Most seek a certain worldly happiness here below as well as hoping for the happiness of Heaven. In practice, they are trying to please both the world and God. Our Lord and the Apostles condemn this kind of attitude. Jesus says: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). St. James points out: "Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God” (James 4:4). St. Paul adds: “The wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be” (Romans 8:7). Christ forces us to choose: “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Luke 11:23).] (3) The Loving Appeal of Jesus Dear Brethren, remember that our beloved Jesus has His eyes upon you at this moment, addressing you individually: "See how almost everybody leaves Me practically alone on the royal road of the Cross. Blind idol-worshipers sneer at My Cross and brand it folly. Obstinate Jews are scandalized at the sight of it as at some monstrosity (1 Corinthians 1:23). Heretics tear it down and break it to pieces out of sheer contempt. But one thing I cannot say without My eyes filling with tears and My heart being pierced with grief, is that the very children I nourished in My bosom and trained in My school, the very members I quickened with My spirit, have turned against Me, forsaken Me and joined the ranks of the enemies of My Cross (Isaias 1:2; Philippians. 3:18). Would you also leave Me? (John 6:68). Would you also forsake me and flee from My Cross, like the worldlings, who are acting as so many Anti-Christs? (1 John 2:12). Would you subscribe to the standards of the day (Romans 12:2), despise the poverty of My Cross and go in quest of riches, shun the sufferings connected with My Cross, to run after pleasure and spurn the humiliations that must be borne with My Cross, and pursue worldly honors? There are many who pretend that they are friends of Mine and love Me, but in reality they hate Me, because they have no love for My Cross. I have many friends of My table, but few indeed of My Cross." (Imitation of Jesus Christ, Book 2, Chapter 11.) In answer to the gracious invitation which Jesus extends, let us rise above ourselves. Let us not, like Eve, listen to the insidious suggestion of sense. Let us look up to the unique Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus crucified (Hebrews 12:2). Let us fly from the corrupting concupiscence and enticements of a corrupt world (2 Peter 1:4). Let us love Jesus in the right way, standing by Him through the heaviest of crosses. Let us meditate seriously on these remarkable words of our beloved Master which sum up the Christian life in its perfection: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). {COMMENTARY: As the Imitation of Christ so powerfully says: “Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you shall also share His glory. Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, chapter 12).] |
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PART THREE
THE PRACTICES OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION scroll down for the previous parts
The Divine Master's Plan or Program
Christian perfection consists: 1. In willing to become a saint: "If any man will come after Me"; 2. In self-denial: "Let him deny himself" 3. in suffering: "Let him take up his cross"; 4. In doing: "Let him follow Me." ► If "anyone", not "many" a one, shows that the elect, who are willing to be made conformable to the crucified Christ by carrying their cross, are few in number. It would cause us to faint away from grief to learn how surprisingly small is their number. ► It is so small that among ten thousand people there is scarcely one to be found, as was revealed to several Saints, among whom St. Simon Stylita, referred to by the holy Abbot Nilus, followed by St. Basil, St. Ephrem and others. So small, indeed, that if God willed to gather them together, He would have to cry out, as He did in days of yore, through the voice of a prophet: "Come ye together one by one" (Isaias 27:12), one from this province and one from that kingdom. 1. THE DESIRE TO BECOME A SAINT [COMMENTARY: Before we embark upon reading the next passage, it will be good to quote St. Louis from another of his works, The Secret of Mary, wherein he writes the following: "Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next (Matthew 5:48). It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this." Sanctity is not an option—it is an obligation! The horrible pains of Purgatory await our neglect in this matter. There is no place in Heaven for the mediocre or lukewarm person! In fact, Scripture speaks out vehemently against such a person, saying: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth" (Apocalypse 3:15-16). So sanctity it a must! And we must first get that idea into our minds. Our actions follow our beliefs!] ► If anyone "wills": if a person has a real and definite determination and is prompted not by natural feelings, habit, self-love, personal interest or human respect but by an all-masterful grace of the Holy Ghost which is not communicated indiscriminately: "It is not given to all men to understand this mystery" (Matthew 13:11). In fact, only a privileged number of men receive this practical knowledge of the mystery of the Cross. For that man who climbs up to Calvary and lets himself be nailed on the Cross with Jesus in the heart of his own country must be a brave man, a hero, a resolute man, one who is lifted up in God, who treats as muck both the world and Hell, as well as his very body and his own will. He must be resolved to relinquish all things, to undertake anything and to suffer everything for Jesus. Understand this, dear Friends of the Cross, should there be anyone among you who has not this firm resolve, he is just limping along on one foot, flying with one wing, and undeserving of your company, since he is not worthy to be called a Friend of the Cross, for we must love the Cross as Jesus Christ loved it "with a great heart and a willing mind" (2 Machabees 1:3). That kind of half-hearted will is enough to spoil the whole flock, like a sheep with the scurvy. If any such one has slipped into your fold through the contaminated door of the world, then in the name of the crucified Christ, drive him out as you would a wolf from your sheepfold. [COMMENTARY: We are only as strong as our weakest link or weakest point. That is why we must avoid contamination by the "easy-road-seekers" or worldlings who will drag us down to their level. "Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth" (Apocalypse 3:15-16). On the other hand, St. Paul says: “Be ye followers of me, brethren, and observe them who walk so as you have our model. For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping), that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:17-19).] ► "If anyone will come after Me": for I have humbled Myself and reduced Myself to mere nothingness in such a way that I made Myself a worm rather than a man: "I am a worm and no man" (Psalm 21:7). ► "After Me": for if I came into the world, it was only to espouse the Cross: "Behold I am come" (Psalm 39:8; Hebrews 10:79); to set the cross in My heart of hearts: "In the midst of my heart" (Psalm 39:9), to love it from the days of my youth: "I have loved it from my youth" (Wisdom 8:2) only to long for it all the days of my life: "how straitened I am" (Luke 12,50); only to bear it with a joy I preferred even to the joys and delights that Heaven and earth could offer: "Who, having joy set before him, endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2); and, finally, not to be satisfied until I had expired in its divine embrace. 2. SELF DENIAL Therefore, if anyone wants to come after Me, annihilated and crucified, he must glory as I did only in the poverty, humiliation and suffering of My Cross: "let him deny himself" (Matt. 16,24). Far be from the Company of the Friends of the Cross those who pride themselves in suffering, the worldly-wise elated geniuses and self-conceited individuals who are stubborn and puffed-up with their lights and talents. Far be they from us, those endless talkers who make plenty of noise but bring forth no other fruit than vainglory. Far from us those high-browed devotees everywhere displaying the self-sufficient pride of Lucifer: "I am not like the rest!" (Luke 18,11). Far be from us those who must always justify themselves when blamed, resist when attacked and exalt themselves when humbled. Be careful not to admit into your fellowship those frail, sensitive persons who are afraid of the slightest pinprick, who sob and sigh when faced with the lightest suffering, who have never experienced a hair-shirt, a discipline or any other penitential instrument, and who, with their fashionable devotions, mingle the most artful delicacy and the most refined lack of mortification. [COMMENTARY: The Rich Young Man who Our Lord invited to sell all that he had, to give the proceeds to the poor and to come and follow Him, could not bring himself to practice self-denial. We read: "And behold one came and said to him: 'Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?' Who said to him: 'If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!' He said to him: 'All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?' Jesus saith to him: 'If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me. And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: 'Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 19:16-24). The Imitation of Christ echoes this: "Jesus has always many who love His heavenly Kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His Passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross. Many love Him as long as they encounter no hardship; many praise and bless Him as long as they receive some comfort from Him. But if Jesus hides Himself and leaves them for a while, they fall either into complaints or into deep dejection. Those, on the contrary, who love Him for His own sake and not for any comfort of their own, bless Him in all trial and anguish of heart as well as in the bliss of consolation. Even if He should never give them consolation, yet they would continue to praise Him and wish always to give Him thanks. What power there is in pure love for Jesus -- love that is flee from all self-interest and self-love!" As St. John of the Cross says: "If you do not learn to deny yourself, you can make no progress in perfection."] |