Self-Conquest
Once a day, at least, recall very earnestly that
I Cor. iii. 15Ꚛ Twenty-sixth Day of December
Ecce Venio—“Behold I come. In the head of the book it is written of Me: That I should do Thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and Thy law is in the midst of my heart.—Ps. xxxix. 8-9.
Jesus came on earth as our Master, and He wills that we should learn from Him the lesson of full and entire submission to the will of God. His life was one uninterrupted act of self-abandonment, beginning with the “Ecce venio” of the Incarnation, “Lo, I come to do Thy will,” till the final commendation of His soul on the cross. Like Him, we must yield ourselves as living sacrifices to God, content, as far as our will goes, to accept health or illness, wealth or poverty, interior peace or the conflict with temptation. God knows what is best, and He can and will provide the necessary means of sanctification for each of the souls that are so dear to Him, and this thought should help us to cast all our care on Him.
—Madame Cecilia: Cor Cordium.
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.