The
guardianship of the heart will often begin with the guardianship of
sight. Then, common sense and the supernatural sense place a filter
before the eyes, so as not to look at what should not be looked at. And
this with naturalness and simplicity, without making strange things, but
with reciedumbre, knowing well what is kept; in the street, at work, in
the social relations.
In
order to know and love, it is necessary to treat each other. And to
avoid that the heart remains attached to what it should not, it will be
necessary to maintain a prudent distance with those people "with whom it
is easier for this to happen" and "God does not want it to happen". It
is about that moral, spiritual, affective distance, which is manifested
in avoiding undue confidences, manifestations and unburdening of sorrows
or displeasures.... There are often circumstances in which prudence
advises even to put a physical distance in between.... If there is
rectitude in the conscience, the attentive and sincere examination will
discover a less upright intention in that company or in those
unburdenings: what seems to be wanted and what in reality is sought.
To
prevent affectivity from overflowing, it is not necessary to suppress
it (it would not be possible, nor perhaps human), but to order it and
channel it according to God's will: to fill the heart with a strong and
clean love that defends it from affections that are not pleasing to God.
With
the guarding of the heart is related the control of the memory, to
reject scenes, dialogues, images that can ignite the embers of an
affectivity that prevents to have the heart where it should be.
Similarly, the refuge in an overflowing imagination, in fantastic
dreams, prevents us from being open to daily reality. When we give in
with some frequency to this temptation-which perhaps becomes more acute
in moments of weariness, of interior aridity, or as compensation for the
small failures of normal life-a lack of unity of life is produced
between that interior world in which vanity always triumphs, and the
real, austere life, which is the only valid way to carry out personal
sanctification, to do the good that God expects of every man, of every
woman. A soul dissatisfied with its situation and given to escaping into
that unreal and fantastic interiority will hardly face with generosity
and realism what it has to do at every moment to grow in virtues. How is
it possible to live on fantasies without neglecting one's duties? How
can one fight against his defects who, instead of facing them with
humility and hope, shuns them and overcomes them only in his
imagination? What joy can one put into that which demands sacrifice when
there is the habit of taking refuge in the stronghold of fantasy full
of dreams and unreality? It is also possible to have one's heart
attached - tied - to characters taken from a movie, a novel or real
life, but with whom one has no dealings whatsoever. And the heart thus
tied, and perhaps stained, cannot go up to the Lord.
Let
us examine today where our hearts are set during the day, who we think
about, who is the central character of our inner world. Let us ask Our
Lady that Jesus may be the real center of our life and, together with
Him, the real noble and clean will, sacrificed, that He also desires for
every man and every woman, according to their own vocation.
"Allow
me to give you some advice, so that you can put it into practice every
day. When your heart makes you notice its low tendencies, pray slowly to
the Immaculate Virgin: look at me with compassion, do not leave me, my
Mother! -And advise others to do the same". Don't leave me... don't
leave them, don't leave him, my Mother!
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