1.4 Commitment

STAGE 1: Facing Reality

EVIL ROOTED IN THE HEART

PLEADING FOR MERCY

COMMITMENT

Aim: To commit ourselves to the “abundance of grace” we receive in Jesus through Mary.

Readings

The two laws (Rom 7:18-25): I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Abundance of grace (Rom 5:15-21): But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Comment

Aware of the “double standard” that conditions his moral life, Paul commits himself to earnest consciousness and to faith in Jesus Christ: “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

In order to rid ourselves of what is evil in us, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort suggests that we commit ourselves to the following:

“We must first become thoroughly aware, by the light of the Holy Spirit, of our tainted nature. Of ourselves we are unable to do anything conducive to our salvation” (TD 79).

“Secondly, we must die daily to ourselves. […] We must see, as if we did not see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use them” (TD 81).

“Thirdly, we must choose among all the devotions to the Blessed Virgin the one which will lead us to this dying of self. […] In the spiritual life there are secrets which enable us to perform supernatural works rapidly, smoothly and with facility. Such works are, for example, emptying ourselves of self love, filling ourselves with God, and attaining perfection. The devotion that I propose to explain is one of these secrets of grace, for it is unknown to most Christians. Only a few devout people know of it and it is practiced and appreciated by fewer still” (TD 82).

Personal Reflection and Sharing

In line with the suggestions given by Paul and Montfort, how do I intend to commit myself:

To the awareness of my “tainted nature”?
To the “daily dying” to myself?
To Jesus Christ, in whom “grace abounded all the more”?
To the “secret” of Mary? Montfort writes: “It is something of a miracle for anyone to stand firm in the midst of this raging torrent and not be swept away; to weather this stormy sea and not be drowned […]; to breathe this pestilential air and not be contaminated by it. It is Mary, the singularly faithful Virgin over whom Satan had never any power, who works this miracle for those who truly love her” (TD 89).

[1-4] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER