WHEN WE STUMBLE, LET’S GET UP
WITH A HUMBLE AND CONTRITE HEART IN CONFESSION.

Dear brethren in Christ, we were reminded by Pope Francis in during his Angelus Address on March 6, 2016, of the loving tenderness of Our Merciful God who awaits for us to return to Him to forgive and embrace us in the Sacrament of Confession (see: https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2016/03/06/pope-francis-on-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-the-tenderness-of-our-loving-patient-and-merciful-god/ )

Having this in mind, I encourage you to consider in your personal meditation the words below of taken from St. Josemaria’s homily, “In the Footsteps of Christ”: words which will fill us with optimism and, at the same time, gratitude and hope in our daily struggle to respond to our divine vocation to holiness.

“What does it matter that we stumble on the way, if we find in the pain of our fall the energy to pick ourselves up and go on with renewed vigor? DON’T FORGET THAT THE SAINT IS NOT THE PERSON WHO NEVER FALLS, BUT RATHER THE ONE WHO NEVER FAILS TO GET UP AGAIN, HUMBLY AND WITH A HOLY STUBBORNNESS. If the book of Proverbs says that the just man falls seven times a day, who are we poor creatures, you and I, to be surprised or discouraged by our own weaknesses and falls! We will be able to keep going ahead, if only we seek our fortitude in him who says: ‘Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.’ Thank you, Lord, quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo mea, because you, and you alone, my God, have always been my strength, my refuge and my support.

If you really want to make progress in the interior life, be humble. Turn constantly and confidently to the help of Our Lord and of his Blessed Mother, who is your Mother too. No matter how much the still open wound of your latest fall may hurt, embrace the cross once more and, calmly, without getting upset, say: ‘With your help, Lord, I’ll fight so as not to be held back. I’ll respond faithfully to your invitations. I won’t be afraid of steep climbs, nor of the apparent monotony of my daily work, nor of the thistles and loose stones on the way. I know that I am aided by your mercy and that, at the end of the road, I will find eternal happiness, full of joy and love for ever and ever’ (St. Josemaria, Friends of God, n. 131).”

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PHOTO SOURCE: Raphael, God the Father Blessing in http://www.myartprints.co.uk/kunst/raffael_eigntl_rafaello_santi//God-the-Father-Blessing.jpg