Day 6: The Worldly Are Hypocritical
Opening Prayer
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 23:25-28
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. 26 You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
St. Louis de Montfort
There is another category of false devotees of our Lady, - hypocritical ones. These hide their sins and evil habits under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin so as to appear to their fellow men different from what they are.
Then there are the self-interested devotees who turn to her only to win a court-case, to escape some danger, to be cured of some ailment, or have some similar need satisfied. Except when in need they never think of her. Such people are acceptable neither to God not to his Mother.
~True Devotion #102-3 - St. Louis de Montfort
Question
What is the image of yourself that you present to the world? What is the reality within you?
Resolution
It is very common to do what is good so that others might see and notice us and not for a truly holy motivation. Look for an opportunity to be generous in a hidden way and do it.
Prayer
O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Subdue within me the power of flesh and demon by your Holy Spirit, for the glory of God the Father. Amen
Night Prayer
(to be said before bed)
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
note: this prayer is an ancient 3rd century Marian prayer that points to the central Marian dogma of Mary as the Theotokos (God-bearer).
Source:
Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Christ Through Mary According to St. Louis de Montfort - Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM.