Lección 18: El valor de la mortificación | Consagración a Jesús por María en 33 días

What will we see in this lesson? Is it right to practice mortification? Shouldn't we take care of our bodies, which are Temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19)? Why these mortifications? To understand the value of mortification, we must understand the value of the soul and salvation: We make great sacrifices for our physical health, for our finances… but what about for the health of our soul? WHY IS MORTIFICATION NECESSARY? To mortify literally means “to put to death,” “to cause to die.” It is a battle. What we put to death are our disordered inclinations. Job 7:1: "A man's life on earth is a struggle." Galatians 5:16-26: "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." CHRIST HIMSELF ASKS US TO DIE TO OURSELVES Matthew 16:24: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 5:28: ON LUST: "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:22: ON ANGER: "But I tell you that anyone who..." Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; but anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” will be subject to the court; and anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Matthew 5:24 ON HATRED: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 6:1 ON PRIDE: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:5 ON HYPOCRISY: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” BECAUSE IT HEALS US FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF ORIGINAL SIN CATECHISM 405: Baptism, by giving the life of Christ’s grace, washes away original sin and restores man to God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and call him to spiritual combat. BECAUSE IT HEALS US FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR ACTUAL SINS (PENANCE). Repeated actual sin breeds vices. Mortification strengthens the will. It also helps us to make amends for sins committed. What we do not mortify here we will pay for in purgatory. Nor should we overlook the fact that we must fight against the spirit of the world and against the devil. BECAUSE IT MAKES US LIKE CHRIST CRUCIFIED Sanctification consists in an increasingly intense process of incorporation into Christ. of a true Christification. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). To sanctify is to Christify; to Christify is to sacrifice. And St. John of the Cross was so convinced of this that he wrote these definitive words: “If at any time, my brother, anyone, whether a prelate or not, should persuade you with a doctrine of breadth and greater ease, do not believe it or embrace it, even if it is confirmed by miracles, but rather penance and more penance and detachment from all things. And never, if you wish to possess Christ, seek him without the cross.” Rom 8:17-18: “For we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.” For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Catechism, 2015: “The path to perfection passes through the cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual combat (cf. 2 Tim 4). Spiritual progress involves asceticism and mortification, which gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes.” PRACTICE OF MORTIFICATION Mortification should be practiced with prudence and discretion. General principle: renounce sinful things, avoid dangerous ones, abstain from some very pleasurable things. Touch. Sight. Smell. Taste. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE: When we desire something permissible, wait five minutes before doing it (if possible). Offer that small act of love. FASTING HELPS: +To overcome temptations Lust. +To show solidarity with those who suffer hunger due to social injustice. +To hunger for Christ. +To understand human frailty. PRACTICE Offer a fast of one meal a day, substituting it with bread and water. Text from Totus Tuus: https://sites.google.com/view/consagr... More courses from LAZOStv: https://cursoslazostv.com/index.php/p...