Self-Conquest
Once a day, at least, recall very earnestly that
I Cor. iii. 15Ꚛ Twentieth Day of December
Rejoice
In the very midst of the season of penance the Church interrupts its laments to invite us to joy, Laetare! Gaudete!
—Father Chaignon, S.J.
The time of preparation is a mingled period of penance and of joy. Of penance, by reason of our sins, which have removed us so far away from God; of joy, at the prospect of being brought near to Him once more through Jesus Christ. On mid-Advent, as on mid-Lent Sunday, it is the joyful side of the matter that comes before us. More than this, joy is insisted upon as a duty. It seems strange that the command to rejoice should be necessary. Do not all men love joy and seek after it unbidden? One thing it shows, that God desires that we should be full of joy. Thank Him for this merciful intention, and try and carry it out.
Yet it is not all kinds of joy that are recommended to us. There are many kinds of joy that the Apostle would be far from recommending. To rejoice in the world is but a sorry kind of joy, on account of its transitory character. “Gaudete in Domino,” says the Apostle —“Rejoice in the Lord.”
What does St. Paul mean by rejoicing in the Lord? He means the joy that is the result of such a love of God as makes us simply wish that His will should be done in all things, and that feels positive joy in seeing the accomplishment of the divine will, quite apart from any personal advantage or disadvantage that may accrue to ourselves. This is the secret of true joy, for then what befalls ourselves is a matter of indifference to us. Be it weal or woe, success or failure, we rejoice in it simply because it is what God has ordained for us. This is the meaning of Our Lord’s words: “Your joy no man taketh from you.”
—R. F. Clarke, S.J., “The Devout Year.”
Ask yourself: how does this matter affect me personally, what lesson does it convey to me, what suggestion for a better life, how can I improve my conduct; resolve to become a saint at any cost; think upon the eternal years; pray to the Holy Ghost that He may lead you in the way of perfection; finally recite attentively and devotedly the following Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit:
Oh Holy Spirit, divine Spirit of light and love, I consecrate to Thee my understanding, heart, and will, my whole being for time and for eternity. May my understanding be always submissive to Thy heavenly inspirations, and to the teaching of the Church, of which Thou art the infallible guide; may my heart be ever inflamed with love of God and of my neighbor; may my will be ever conformed to the divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life and virtue of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and Thee be honor and glory forever. Amen.