Journeying With The Saints

Hello, out there in the world, welcome back. Our meditation today will be very short. The topic is on Hell. Now you may be thinking, "All these heavy topics for mediation. Ugh." But, rest assured, we will move on to more joyful things. We must think on these things, though, because Hell is a reality and it is our mortal sins alone that send us to Hell, as St. Francis told us last time.

Sometimes, I think we don't fully comprehend how final and eternal Hell is and it's imperative that we come to grips with that. So, let these heavier meditations purge you from that desire to commit sin.

Go ahead and grab your book and turn to Chapter Fifteen in the First Part.

Fellow Pilgrims, welcome. Today we are going to be doing the Sixth Meditation of the First Part.

This one is thinking on our future judgment. And last like time, this isn't the most uplifting topic, but it is one that we need to think about.

So, just like the last five meditations, I'll read it and offer no reflections. I can't stress how important these meditations are and how much we really need to sit with them and think about what is being said.

Let's turn to Chapter 14 of the First Part and begin.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Thank you for joining me today. Our topic for today's meditation is one that you may feel a bit nervous about exploring.

The topic is our death and while I know this isn't the most uplifting topic, it is one that we need to think about especially considering that our attachment to sin can have a very negative outcome for us when our judgment comes.

In many ways, death scares us and so we try to avoid talking or thinking about, believing that ignoring it will stave it off. But, it comes to us all and the best way to overcome something you fear is to face it. So, be open to what this reflection can uncover for you.

Go ahead and open your books to Chapter 13 of the First Part.

It's that time, Catholic Pilgrims, to enrich our lives with a reading from St. Francis' book "Introduction to the Devout Life."

We are still on the meditations with today being Meditation Four and its topic is sin. As a reminder, for the meditations, I'm not offering any reflections because I think they need to stand completely on their own. Also, as a reminder, these meditations are to help us purge ourselves from the affection to sin. As we think through these reflections and resolutions, we are to truly evaluate ourselves in order to open our eyes to things that we need to change.

With that said, let's open our books to Chapter Twelve of the First Part.

Welcome to the Third Mediation where we will be focusing on the mercies of God. Everyone can find examples of where God has been merciful to them. Even when, and I stress this, even when we feel like we are really going through a trial. I encourage again with these meditations to enter into prayer with God, and if need be, pause so that you can truly meditate on what St. Francis is saying.

Grab your book and open to Chapter Eleven of the First Part.

Welcome to the Second Mediation, Catholic Pilgrims. Today, we will be thinking about the end to which we were created.

I'd definitely challenge you to think about the ways in which we waste precious time here on earth with meaningless amusements. Not all amusements are bad, but some are so utterly meaningless that I'm sure we will get to the end of our lives and regret that wasted time.

One more note before we begin. At the end of the readings, St. Francis uses the word "nosegay" and that word means a little bouquet of flowers.

So, now let's grab our books and open to Chapter Ten of the First Part.

Welcome to the First Mediation, Catholic Pilgrims. Today, I will offer no reflection after the readings.

I encourage you to listen to the meditation and feel free to pause between thoughts and think about what St. Francis has given us to meditate on. I will give a short break between each number so as to give you a bit of time.

Like I said last time, I encourage you to enter into a place of prayer with God and let your mind truly ponder these meditations.

We are reading Chapter 9 of the First Part.

Hello, fellow Pilgrims, welcome to another reading from St. Francis de Sales. The point of reading these deep spiritual books is to allow them to transform our lives and help us to imitate Christ better and conform our will to His.

These readings can merit great graces for us so long as we approach them with a heart ready to be taught. Today, our reading is on how to go about ridding ourselves of the affection to sin.

Readings will be from Chapter 8 of the First Part: How to Effect This Second Purification.

You would be hard pressed to find a Christian that says that they have an affection for the sin that they engage in, but, the hard truth is: There are some sins that we struggle to let go of because we like them. We may even let them go and cease committing them, but our heart may desire to commit them.

And that is what we will be talking about today.

We will be reading from Chapter Seven of the First Part where St. Francis will discuss purification from the affection to sin.

Thank you for pressing play, I'm very glad you've come to listen to St. Francis today. Our topic today will be on confessing our sins, primarily our mortal sins in a General Confession. So, flip in your book to Chapter Six in the First Part and let's begin.