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Lourdes Pinto

Hypocrisy in Me? Purity of Intention —Part II

Cenacle teaching 7/18/19

Þ   Today we shall focus on how to correct our hypocrisy

Þ   Our victory over hypocrisy will never be a victory at the outset. 

• Unless we have reached a very high level of perfection, we cannot instinctively avoid feeling the desire to appear in a good light, to make a good impression, and to please others.
• Our weapon is the correction of our intentions. Righteous intention is attained through constant, daily correction of our intentions. 
• The intention of the will, not an inner feeling, is what makes the difference in God’s eyes.

Þ   Living the Simple Path brings us to an ATTENTIVENESS OF OUR HEARTS so that we can correct the intention of our hearts.

• Notice that all our disordered tendencies flow from impure hearts. 

Þ   Ex: a MOC shared that her tendency is to enter resentment and revenge and act from those emotions when her expectations of people are not met.  

• Correcting her intentions means she: 
• 1^st - must be attentive to her heart and docile to SEE this impurity; 
• 2^nd – enter SILENCE to deny herself - “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
• –CRUCIFY HER DESIRES -- those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal.5:24)

63. The Purification of Your Desires —Diary of a MOC. p.187

The purification of your desires is the first stage of purification in My Sacred Heart. You begin to move only according to My desires and not yours. You no longer do what you want to do, nor go where you want to go; but now, you go only where I take you. You choose to live each day according to what is most difficult, not what is easiest. This will require a greater discipline of your will, greater silence, and stillness of soul in Me. 

• What desires in me need to be crucified? 
• Can be disordered tendencies such as: 
• Desire to separate, 
• Desire to act on resentment,
• Desire to “bite” -- If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. (Gal.5:15)
• Desire for comfort,
• Can be good desires that God has not willed to grant us: Desire for intimacy of heart
• 3^rd – Third step: Repent before Christ – TRANSPARENT/ NAKED – Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Þ   This is INTERIOR WORK that is REAL, and that authentic people do, and because of that it is very pleasing to God. It is what Fr Cantalmessa says in these words: “The intention of the will, not an inner feeling, is what makes the difference in God’s eyes.”

Þ      If hypocrisy consists in making a show of the good that one does not really do, an effective remedy to counter this tendency is to conceal the good that one does, to favor the hidden gestures that will not be spoiled by any earthly gaze and will keep all their fragrance for God.

• St. John of the Cross says, “God is...