IDL-9. 

Theme: Nature and Goodness of Devotion

IDL of SFS:

St. Francis De Sales says, “Sugar sweetens fruits that are not quite ripe and puts right anything unpleasant or harmful in those that are fully ripe. Indeed, devotion is the true spiritual sugar, removing unpleasantness from mortifications, and what may be hurtful from consolations. Devotion takes away discontent from the poor and anxiety from the rich, despair from the oppressed and arrogance from the powerful, sadness from the lonely and dissipation from one who is with others. Devotion serves as fire in winter and dew in summer. It is able to live in prosperity and suffer need. It draws equal profit from honour and contempt. It receives pleasure and pain with a heart that hardly changes and fills us with a wonderful delight.”  (Ref: SFS – IDL, Part-1, Chapter – 2, p. 38)

IDEAL for LIFE:

We all know the nature of sugar. It adds taste to mouth and gives a pleasant experience, unless otherwise when our intake of sugar is more and makes it unpleasant and insatiable. Devotion is compared to sugar that sweetens the fruits and keeps away the unripe fruit from harm. Devotion is as well compared to winter season when we need the warmth and to summer season when we need chillness for the body.

Devotion has the power to give us the most delightful experiences of sweetness, warmth and chillness, provided we do it without exaggeration and extremes. Most of us experience devotion as burdensome and unfruitful, it is because we have an exaggerated form of devotion or have not yet begun the right forms of devotion. So let us experience devotion as delight by following genuine paths leading to devotion.  Let us make the experience of devotion sweet, make it warm and chill to soothe the mind, heart, body and soul.

God bless us all... Live Jesus!