BE HOT OR COLD BUT NOT LUKEWARM

Here is something on which we can all meditate. Few things are more challenging than spiritual lukewarmness and a lack of a conscious inward life.[1] Consequently, we have only two things to do: avoid whatever takes our eyes off Jesus and God’s Word. In this way, we can cut off the source of dangerous distractions, which dries up fellowship and prayer.

We cannot expect to find interior heavenly nourishment if we only live for exterior worldly delicacies. Strict watchfulness in giving up whatever makes us eager and impetuous in conversations that leave out God. It is an absolute necessity if we want to nurture the life force of remembrance and prayer.[2] No one can relish both God and the world simultaneously. Whatever motivation we have that keeps us going throughout our daily schedule, we must include the appointed time for prayer.

Then, after cutting down whatever nonspiritual excesses are distracting our minds, we must maintain constant communion with God, even amid   our daily life and work schedules, guarding against stubborn self-will. We must continually act according to the leading of grace and in the spirit of self-denial. It occurs by degrees. Then we will be victorious by frequently checking our impulsiveness and listening attentively to God’s voice, letting Him possess us entirely.[3]

Archbishop François Fénelon

 (1651-1725)

[1] Revelation 3:16

[2] Luke 22:19; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

[3] Fénelon, François: Paraclete Giants, The Complete Fénelon, Translated and Edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008, pp. 51-52; Vocabulary and grammar redacted by Dr. Robert R Seyda