Septuagesima Sunday: “I promise to declare a merciless war against myself. My weapons for the battle will be prayer, the practice of the presence of God, and silence.”

Welcome to Septuagesima.

If you want to emerge from Lent farther down the path toward perfection, start now. This involves detaching oneself from anything which is not in keeping with God’s will. Even in the state of grace, His grace is limited by the attachments you’re holding on to. His grace can’t reside where there exists anything contrary to His will, like rooms in your soul closed off to Him because you haven’t cleaned them out. Don’t try to start with the big rooms; you’ll have to work up to those. Start with the pantry and broom closet. The increased graces from these will assist you in the bigger projects.

The following is taken from Divine Intimacy, Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, OCD.

6 thoughts on “Septuagesima Sunday: “I promise to declare a merciless war against myself. My weapons for the battle will be prayer, the practice of the presence of God, and silence.””

  1. I just read those same pages yesterday!
    A good Confession is something people should also do in the days/weeks leading up to Lent as well.

  2. You know, the 5-parter on mice testing must have taken a ton of work, and today you post this great info. From the truly horrifying to the sublime, your blog is an every day must read. Thank you.

  3. Here’s a resource our family has found useful. It is a liturgical calendar, meant to supplement the standard calendar, and make the liturgical year present and decipherable, practical for an average Catholic family. So much theology packed into every day, most of which passes us by (me anyway, for sure).
    These calendars are beautiful, and draw your attention to the specific days and the progression toward the point of each season. There are four sets of calendars – Christmas (Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany), Easter (Lent and Easter), Pentecost, After Pentecost. They are sent out every three months. The calendars come with a teaching aid, paper and online, that unpacks the important dates, the history behind and the meaning of the events we progress through in the Catholic year. Ancient Catholics were more serious about living their faith through the seasons, perhaps, because they better understood the meaning behind the seasons that connected their individual faith to that of the pure Bride of Christ.
    Septuigisima, for instance, is important transition as we leave the Advent season and approach the Lenten season. But what does it even mean, much less why is it there in the Catholic calendar? I am like an illiterate child, in so many ways, when it comes to the power and glory of the Catholic patrimony. It is so easy (for me) to let these important days flow by as I’m driven by the secular calendar behind the normal business and personal activities of every day. This calendar supplements, perhaps replaces to some extent, that secular calendar and imo infuses the Catholic Faith into every day life.
    https://www.sophiainstitute.com/products/item/the-illustrated-liturgical-year-calendar-subscription

    1. And this link is to a wonderful site that originally created the calendars and all accompanying information – Liturgy Of The Home.
      https://www.liturgyofthehome.com/
      They have partnered with Sophia Press, but Liturgy Of The Home are the content creators, their web site the best resource for further information and research for each day.

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