St. Francis Borgia laid out meditations for daily activities that challenge our comfortable lives.
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Humility is a virtue we can always grow in. Especially during this modern age, with all of our comforts and technology, it’s easy to take everything for granted.
If you want to humble yourself on a daily basis, you do not need to look farther than St. Francis Borgia!
He was among the first members of the newly formed Society of Jesus in the 16th century, and wrote some very powerful spiritual works.
Among them was a Mirror of Christian Actions, which outlined specific meditations to ponder while doing normal, everyday tasks.
He begins with a meditation while dressing in the morning.
Enter into a profound sentiment of confusion in considering that you are well clothed and that Jesus Christ was fastened naked to a cross for love of you. Thank Him for having assumed our nature although He knew at the time how ungrateful we should be for this favor and also for having given us clothes to cover us, although we have so often despised the nuptial robe of grace with which He clothed us. While dressing yourself you are performing one of the works of mercy which is to clothe the naked. Implore Him to accept this action in consideration of the garment of ignominy with which He was covered in the palace of Herod.
That is an entirely different frame of mind to take while putting on your clothes!
Francis also writes about what our thoughts should be while eating dinner.
Return thanks to God for the goodness with which he has repeated in the evening a favor for which you had so badly thanked Him in the morning. Ask Him by the love which caused Him to give Himself for your nourishment in the Last Supper to prepare your heart to receive Him with humility and to live so united to Him by charity that He may be always in you and you in Him.
Again, this puts a new spin on eating, and helps sanctify those ordinary moments of the day.
To conclude the day, Francis even has a meditation for undressing and getting into your pajamas.
Consider that you undress yourself in order to sleep with more comfort while Jesus Christ was born on straw for love of you and had not whereon to repose His head. Thank Him for having suffered so many hardships to merit for you the grace to renounce the devil.
These simple reflections give us a healthy dose of humility and remind us how comfortable our lives really are, especially when compared to the sufferings Jesus Christ endured for our sake.
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