ACCRM’s 40 Days With Christ For Lent: Day Twenty-Three
Striving for Compunction
[exerpts from “My Daily Bread” by Anthony J. Paone, S.J. [1954]
CHRIST:
1. MY CHILD, unless a man tries hard to acquire a holy sorrow for his sins, he is not worthy of My heavenly consolation. Are you doing your best to acquire this compunction?
2. This grace will reach you more easily if you will turn your back, for a while, on your daily distractions. Come aside more often, to be alone with Me. Reflect on My gifts and your misuse of them. Be honest and face the truth. Reading and reflecting will help you to realize the wickedness of all sins, even smaller ones. Do not look for new theories and mere curiosities, but stick to solid everyday truth, truth which will improve your daily life.
3. In solitude and quiet you will discover the hidden treasures of Holy Scripture. As you become more intimate with Me, your Creator, you will make great progress. You will find tears to wash and purify your soul. You will also have a deep interior joy as My holy angels and I draw near to you. Learn to pray and labor unseen by the eyes of men.
4. Slowly, as the gift of compunction fills your soul, you will be filled with fresh vigor. As you become more eager to make up for your sins, you will find hard things becoming easier.
THINK:
Jesus said that certain devils are driven out only by prayer and fasting. This shows that some of God’s gifts are given only if we do our part to prepare ourselves for them. Compunction will be lasting and fruitful only if I make a sincere personal effort to receive it worthily and apply it wisely. Through solitude, prayer, reading, and meditation, I will understand how I can best receive and use compunction in my daily life.
PRAY:
O holy and merciful Father, fill my soul with true compunction. Make me honest in admitting my sins, and determined in overcoming them each day. I need Your assistance, so that I may not be a coward, but may make a sincere daily effort to please You more in all my activities. Help me to abandon anything in life which is opposed to Your holy gift of compunction. Amen.
