Day 26 – Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Pride
Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Pride
My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
At a word from You, the devil and his minions flee in terror.
You are the source of all truth. You are the source of all strength.
By the power of Your Cross and Resurrection, we beseech You, O Lord
To extend Your saving arm and to send Your holy angels
To defend us as we do battle with Satan and his demonic forces.
Exorcise, we pray, that which oppresses Your Bride, The Church,
So that within ourselves, our families, our parishes, our dioceses, and our nation
We may turn fully back to You in all fidelity and trust.
Lord, we know if You will it, it will be done.
Give us the perseverance for this mission, we pray.
Amen.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception … pray for us
St. Joseph … pray for us
St. Michael the Archangel … pray for us
(the patron of your parish) … pray for us
(your confirmation saint) … pray for us
“Freedom from Pride” by Fr. Rick Heilman
Pride is the “Biggie.” This is the sin Satan committed in his choice to refuse to submit to God. This is the “original sin” that infected our first parents – “You will be like God” – and every generation that followed. In fact, without the waters of Baptism, empowering us to stand against the original sin, along with a daily commitment to keep our “personal pride radar” up and on high alert, we can very easily slip into the intoxicating grip of pride. If we are not careful, we can find it driving just about every sin we commit. Pope St. Gregory the Great counted pride as the “mother of all sins.”
Pride, in fact, is the sin that is most at work to divide and destroy our culture. Think about this … Adam and Eve, to their ruin, believed that “freedom” was defined as the freedom from adhering to the will of God; the freedom to “Just Do It” … to do as they please; the freedom to determine, themselves, what is right and wrong; the freedom to say, “We have ‘progressed’ beyond God.”
There’s that seemingly indisputable term: “Progress.” Or, as its adherents refer to themselves as, “Progressives.” By and large, this is a movement to remake what its adherents determine as archaic and no longer speaks to their generation who have, thankfully, “arrived on the scene” (sarcasm alert). They claim to have a kind of gnostic understanding of things that the “common folk” do not possess. They often make the lofty proclamation that they have “evolved.” What is archaic? What have they evolved from? GOD!
In fact, God, and His adherents, are a threat to the agenda of the “evolved.” The Dark Ages notions must be destroyed, according to the “evolved.” Notions such as seeing faith as a positive influence in the culture; revering and protecting the child in the womb; supporting the bedrock of civilization – the nuclear family; seeking care, housing and assistance for those dealing with psychological disorders and addictions … many of which are abandoned on the streets (e.g., drug addicts, homosexuals, gender dysphoria, etc.); banning the slavery of prostitution and child sex-trafficking; supporting a healthy economy to assist people off of government dependence (votes for “progressives”) and giving them the dignity of work; healing instead of stoking racial division (again, for votes); seeking quality education for our children (over kowtowing to unions who fill politicians’ coffers); having a patriotic heart for our country; honoring and thanking the heroic lives of police, military, first responders, and all those who put themselves in harms way to protect us and our freedoms.
In today’s culture, if you hold these truths to be self-evident (to borrow a phrase) – notions that find their source in our faith in God – YOU are the problem! YOU are causing division. And YOU must be silenced or even assaulted. In other words, the so-called progressives/evolved have granted to themselves the right to dictate to everyone else what is right and wrong. They are the arbiters of what is considered the “new normal” of values. They have made themselves “gods.”
Add to this, that “fitting in” has become compulsive among far too many in our culture. Those who seek to preserve the best qualities of our culture, founded in God, have become “targets” for the “evolved.” We have now found ourselves in a place where it has become socially acceptable to ridicule and shame and even physically attack those who are not adhering to the “values of the evolved.” Many are even on the receiving end of this “socially acceptable abuse” from family members and friends.
Humility opposes pride. Not that we are called to let ourselves be a “whipping boy” to bolster others’ lust for superiority. Humility is a reverence for the truth; a reverence for who we are and what we are called to be; a reverence for the reason we even exist – God. Humility opens the door to the spirit of “gratitude.” In our abundant gratitude for all God has done (beginning with setting us into existence) and is doing, we say “YES” to God, and a big fat “NO” to the incessant propaganda of a “new normal” of lies that directly oppose the will of God.
Like the heroic first Christians, we go about radiating our love for God and neighbor, while we are willing to die for the “TRUTH.” This was why the first Christians grew in number so rapidly. They were “attractive” because they were “HEROIC!” Now is the time, possibly more than any other time in salvation history, for more and more souls to rise up, as the first Christians did, with that humble and heroic light of truth and love.
Prayer of Reparation
My Lord and my God,
We have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts to not see fulfillment in Your goodness.
We have still our tongues in the face of evil.
We have been too self-involved to notice the damage our sins have wreaked on our neighbor and broken faith with You.
We have expected You to be pleased with our prideful and selfish hearts.
We have, at times, been a source of scandal for those searching through our pridefulness and rebellion to You.
In our fear, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance.
We turn to You Lord, in our sorrow and guilt, and beg Your forgiveness for our pride and lack of sorrow.
We beg for the grace of Your goodness to build up within us what You sought to build up in Your apostles in that tempest tossed boat.
We know, Lord, if you will it, it will be done.
Trusting in You, we offer our prayer to You who live and reign forever.
Amen.
Prayer of Exorcism
Lord God of Heaven and Earth,
In Your power and goodness, You created all things.
You set a path for us to walk on and a way to an eternal relationship.
By the strength of Your arm and Word of Your mouth
Cast from Your Holy Church every fearful deceit of the Devil
Drive from us manifestations of the demonic that oppress us and beckon us to pride.
Still the lying tongue of the devil and his forces so that we may act freely and faithfully to Your will.
Send Your holy angels to cast out all influence that the demonic entities in charge of pride have planted in Your church.
Free us, our families, our parish, our diocese, and our country from all trickery and deceit perpetrated by the Devil and his hellish legions.
Trusting in Your goodness Lord,
We know if You will it, it will be done in unity with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Heart of Mary, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, like unto the Heart of God, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, instrument of the Holy Ghost, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Divine Trinity, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, tabernacle of God Incarnate, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, immaculate from thy creation, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, full of grace, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, blessed among all hearts, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, throne of glory, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, most humble, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, holocaust of Divine Love, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, fastened to the Cross with Jesus Crucified, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, hope of the agonizing, Pray for us.
Heart of Mary, seat of mercy, Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart,
Make our hearts like unto the Heart of Jesus.
Let us pray.
O most merciful God, Who, for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Most Pure Heart of Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, grant that we, who commemorate this sweet and loving Heart, by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin, may merit to be found like unto the Heart of Jesus, through the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
To see the Goals, Methods and Levels of “Let Freedom Ring,” go HERE.
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