{"id":260,"date":"2018-03-24T04:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-03-24T08:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=260"},"modified":"2018-03-23T20:13:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T00:13:08","slug":"knowledge-of-self-day-18-christian-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/marian-consecration\/knowledge-of-self-day-18-christian-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowledge of Self Day 18 – Christian \u201cdiseases\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 18 – Christian \u201cdiseases\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke:<\/p>\n

[H]e told them a parable, saying, \u201cThe land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, \u2018What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?\u2019 And he said, \u2018I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.\u2019 But God said to him, \u2018Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?\u2019 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.\u201d (Luke 12:16-21)<\/em><\/p>\n

From Pope Francis\u2019s Address to the Roman Curia on December 22, 2014:<\/p>\n

The disease of thinking we are \u201cimmortal\u201d, \u201cimmune\u201d or downright \u201cindispensable\u201d, neglecting the need for regular check-ups. A Curia which is not self-critical<\/em>, which does not keep up with things, which does not seek to be more fit, is a sick body. A simple visit to the cemetery might help us see the names of many people who thought they were immortal, immune and indispensable! It is the disease of the rich fool in the Gospel, who thought he would live forever (cf. Lk<\/em> 12:13-21), but also of those who turn into lords and masters, and think of themselves as above others and not at their service. It is often an effect of the pathology of power, from a superiority complex, from a narcissism which passionately gazes at its own image and does not see the image of God on the face of others, especially the weakest and those most in need.\u00a0The antidote to this plague is the grace of realizing that we are sinners and able to say heartily: \u201cWe are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty\u201d (Lk <\/em>17:10).<\/p>\n

Another disease is the \u201cMartha complex\u201d, excessive busy-ness. It is found in those who immerse themselves in work and inevitably neglect \u201cthe better part\u201d<\/em>: sitting at the feet of Jesus (cf. Lk<\/em> 10:38-42). Jesus called his disciples to \u201crest a while\u201d<\/em> (cf. Mk <\/em>6:31) for a reason, because neglecting needed rest leads to stress and agitation. A time of rest, for those who have completed their work, is necessary, obligatory and should be taken seriously: by spending time with one\u2019s family and respecting holidays as moments of spiritual and physical recharging. We need to learn from Qohelet that \u201cfor everything there is a season\u201d (3:1-15). \u2026<\/p>\n

The disease of gossiping, grumbling and back-biting. I have already spoken many times about this disease, but never enough. It is a grave illness which begins simply, perhaps even in small talk, and takes over a person, making him become a \u201csower of weeds\u201d <\/em>(like Satan) and in many cases, a cold-blooded killer of the good name of our colleagues and confr\u00e8res. It is the disease of cowardly persons who lack the courage to speak out directly, but instead speak behind other people\u2019s backs. Saint Paul admonishes us to do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent\u201d <\/em>(Phil <\/em>2:14-15). Brothers, let us be on our guard against the terrorism of gossip!<\/p>\n

Reflection:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We can see how dangerous these \u201cdiseases\u201d are when we see that we are in the womb of Mary. When we introduce diseases into the womb, we make that environment toxic and it poisons ourselves as well as others. This damages our own growth as well as the growth of others and if it becomes serious enough, it causes a kind of spiritual abortion. Boasting about our importance can be quickly corrected by remembering that we are infants in the womb\u2014we are not that impressive, we are completely dependent on Mary and we are certainly no more important than all our twins who share the womb with us. Likewise, the idolatry of activism is ridiculous when we realize how limited we are in the womb of Mary. And the toxicity of gossip raises the pH in the womb to dangerous levels and stunts our growth. We can feel the poison of negativity in the amniotic fluid where we are swimming.<\/p>\n

Am I impressed with myself? Do I think I am immortal or irreplaceable? Do I work too much, causing me to neglect prayer and proper rest? Do I engage in the terrorism of gossip and make comments that destroy the reputation of others? Let us become little and accept our beloved insignificance in the womb of Mary\u2014our lives do not matter much to the world, but they matter tremendously to our Mother!<\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/a><\/p>\n

Ave Maris Stella or Sub Turm Praesidium<\/p>\n

Dominican Litany of Humility<\/p>\n

Litany of the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 18 – Christian \u201cdiseases\u201d A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: [H]e told them a parable, saying, \u201cThe land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, \u2018What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?\u2019 And he said, \u2018I will do this: I will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[49],"tags":[59,12,3,40],"class_list":["post-260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marian-consecration","tag-humility","tag-mary","tag-pope-francis","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Giovanni_battista_salvi_da_sassoferrato-madonna_with_the_christ_child.jpg?fit=1411%2C1835&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-4c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7602,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/a-light-in-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":260,"position":0},"title":"A Light in the World","author":"monks4christ","date":"February 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Prayer is the light of the soul True knowledge of God, a mediator between God and men. 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What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pope Benedict XVI"","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7650,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/rest-in-the-lord-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":260,"position":2},"title":"Rest in the Lord","author":"monks4christ","date":"February 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Rest in the Lord for he is your refuge Let us take refuge from this world. 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Wednesday","author":"monks4christ","date":"October 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me any more, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. 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