Mortification, Part III

Continued from Part I and Part II.

Another area of daily mortification lies in the conscientious carrying out of our duties, the basic material in our struggle for sanctity. Here we find God's Will for us each day. We need to fulfill our duties with hard work, high standards and much love. The mortification which is most pleasing to God is to be found in order, in punctuality, in care for the small details in whatever we do. It has to do with the faithful performance of the most insignificant aspects of our vocation -- even when it hurts. We need to struggle against the temptation to prefer comfort. We persevere in our wok not because we feel like it but because we know it has to be done. When we work in that frame of mind we will work with enthusiasm and joy (J. Escriva). The mother of a family will find a thousand reasons to give her home a warm and cheerful atmosphere. The student will offer up his efforts to study well. In this way, tiredness will become one more offering to the Lord. Let us examine our conduct to see whether we complain about our work, grumbling about something that should be leading us to God.

The third area of our mortifications consists in those sacrifices that we make voluntarily in order to please Our Lord, to make ourselves better souls of prayer, in order to overcome temptation, in order to help our friends come closer to God. We should be looking for ways to help others seek sanctity. Bring out your spirit of mortification in those nice touches of charity, eager to make the way of sanctity in the midst of the world attractive for everyone. Sometimes a smile can be the best proof of a spirit of penance (J. Escriva). Let us resolve to overcome our moods and our weariness with the help of our guardian Angel. A spirit of penance is to be found first of all in taking advantage of many little things -- deeds, renunciations, sacrifices, services rendered and so on -- which we find daily along our way and we then convert into acts of love and contrition, into mortifications. In this way we shall be able to gather a bouquet at the end of each day -- a fine display which we can offer to God (J. Escriva).

In Conversation with God: Ordinary Time: Weeks 24-34

I love the idea of gathering a bouquet at the end of each day to give to God. Certainly I have plenty of opportunities along the way. It is just keeping it in mind as I go and fighting the heroic fight to offer that smile when I feel like it least. Funny how such a seemingly small thing can be so very hard isn't it? Sometimes that is the most difficult thing I have done all day though, and sometimes it has taken a great deal of prayer to be able to do it. And that is what makes it the brightest flower in my bouquet for God on those days. Now I just have to remember to do it!