Obedience

“God’s will is the compass-needle which at every moment accurately points the way that takes us to Him. At the same time, this course is the path to our own happiness.”
Francis Fernandez

For Reflection:
What is the relationship between following the will of God and our own happiness? Today, I will look for the “compass- needle” of God’s will and follow it with joy and hope.

“Obedience makes our actions and our sufferings meritorious, in such a way that the latter, which could seem futile can become very fruitful.”
Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange

For Reflection:
What joy is there in accepting the will of God even in the midst of our sufferings? How, then, does both obedience and suffering become meritorious and fruitful?

“Once the Lord told me that I was not obeying, unless I was determined to suffer. I must fix my eyes on all that he had suffered and I should find everything easy.”
St. Teresa of Avila

For Reflection:
In light of St. Teresa’s quote and in light of the life of Christ, what is the connection between obedience and suffering? How can keeping our eyes on Jesus provide consolation in the midst of our obedience?

“We cannot have our own way when Our Lord points to a solution which goes contrary to our own best advisers, as we are not our own good doctors.”
Francis Fernandez

For Reflection:
When Our Lord points to a solution that rubs against my grain, how quick am I to embrace His will over mine? What prevents me from doing so immediately? Is it pride or arrogance? Is it lack of trust or stubbornness? Is it selfishness or fear? I will ask our Blessed Lady to intercede for this area of struggle within me.

“The virtue of obedience is an exalted virtue, eminently reasonable; it is not in the least servile or blind, but requires on the contrary the greatest freedom of spirit and the strongest discernment.”
Jacques Maritain

For Reflection:
What do I think makes the virtue of obedience an exalted virtue? An eminently reasonable virtue? Why does obedience require the greatest freedom of spirit and the strongest discernment?

“Obedience to the will of God – or even what is merely believed to be the will of God – is actually more meritorious not less, when it is unaccompanied by emotional consolations and sensible fervor.”
R. H. Benson

For Reflection:
Why is an act of obedience more meritorious when it is unaccompanied by emotional consolations and sensible fervor? How can this insight help me to be spontaneously obedient even when I don’t “feel like it?”

“Obedience is a little dog that leads the blind.”
St. Joseph Cupertino

For Reflection:
How does obedience give spiritual insight as well as clarity to our daily occupations? How have I seen this to be so in my own life?

“The Devil doesn’t fear austerity but holy obedience.”
St. Francis de Sales

For Reflection:
Why would the Devil be fearful of obedience? How much fear am I willing to cause him today?

“The mind [must be] ever on the alert to discover the indications of Providence, and the will prepared to carry them out.”
St. Vincent de Paul

For Reflection:
To what extent do I go through my day “alert to discover the indications of Providence?” In other words, do I actively seek for the will of God in and through the events of my daily life? Can I think of one strategy that would help me to do so?

“He is a Christian, a true Christian, who subjects himself to the rule of the one and only Word of God.”
Origen

For Reflection:
In light of this quote, am I a “true Christian?” What in me still needs to be brought into right order with the Word of God?