"'Will-power. A very important quality. Don't despise little things, for by the continual practice of denying yourself again and again in such things - which are never futile or trivial - with God's grace you will add strength and resilience to your character. In that way you will first become master of yourself, and then a guide, a chief, a leader: to compel and to urge and to inspire others, with your word, with your example, with your knowledge and with your power.' (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way 19)
"Do you ever catch yourself in a moment of candid realization that you have developed bad habits, neglected your faith and created distance between yourself and Christ? This happens to me all too frequently and after realizing I was off course during a recent visit to Eucharistic Adoration, I decided to do something about it. What I needed was to toughen my resistance and develop new 'muscles' to fight my patterns of spiritual failure. I committed to introduce more intention into my life and show stronger willpower.
"In essence, I committed to break my sinful habits by immediately introducing good or 'virtuous' habits after I caught myself going down the wrong path. It has been a struggle at times, but I have slowly been able to see improved patterns of behavior, more focus on authentically living out my Catholic faith and a vast improvement in my relationship with Christ. A very helpful tool in this endeavor has been the Daily Examen, which I have written about before. The Examen forces us to stop five times a day to reflect on what is happening in our lives, offer up a brief prayer and make adjustments. . . ."
In a recent commentary, writer Randy Hain, Senior Editor for The Integrated Catholic Life, reflected on the power of exercising a little more intentional behavior around the practice of good habits.
To access his complete post, please visit:
Integrated Catholic Life: On Living Intentionally (23 APR 15)
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