Day 40 – Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Sloth

by Fr Richard Heilman | August 15, 2020 12:04 AM

ANNOUNCEMENT! We are getting very close to concluding “Let Freedom Ring” and beginning the 54-Day Rosary novena entitled, “Novena for Our Nation” (August 15 – October 7). Both on August 15, the Feast of Our Lady of the Assumption. You can find information for “Novena for Our Nation” HERE[1].

“Let Freedom Ring” has acted as a kind of cleansing/purifying, or exorcism, as “Novena for Our Nation” acts as a call out to God to bless and heal our land. Please join us for “Novena for Our Nation!!”

 

Let Freedom Ring: Freedom from Sloth

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 Sloth” by Fr. Bill Peckman

Here we are at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and abstinence asking for God to purge any and all demonic influences from our lives and lives of the Church. If we have been faithful to the program of prayer and fasting/abstinence, we should have begun a new way of life where can incorporate such things into our daily lives. 40 days is hardly sufficient to cast all diabolic activity from our lives, our society, and within our Church. What we hope to do is start new and better habits.

Fr. Heilman wrote a wonderful column on acedia; on the slothfulness we often display to matters spiritual. Certainly, there will be a temptation to backtrack on our renewed spiritual vigor. It is as I tell my parishioners at the beginning of Lent: The point of the next 40 days isn’t to make yourself uncomfortable and miserable for the sake of making yourself uncomfortable and miserable. No, we commit ourselves to detachment mush the same way an excellent athlete commits himself or herself to a workout regimen or the way a scholar commits himself or herself to an academic regimen. The goal is to become stronger, and in the case of prayer and fasting, holier.

However, Sloth can be a sneaky demonic presence. Sloth is a an unwillingness to make an effort or to work. Sloth sees comfort as an end goal. Sloth leads us to steal time and energy from our jobs, families, and faith in the interest of self-comfort. It can lead us to procrastination and half-heartedly attending to the duties that others count on us doing.

The failure to challenge oneself or to completely abandon one’s responsibilities has spiritual effects that I often liken to its physical and intellectual counterparts. For example, if we are slothful on the physical front, it leads to poor health, loss of muscle mass, and obesity. The body must be taken care. It must be correctly fed and exercised to stay strong and healthy. Sloth in the physical realm can have grave cost. If we are slothful in the intellectual realm, not only do we not grow smarter, but we also lose knowledge that we had prior gained. This can have devastating consequences on a person who is in school (grades) or in the workplace. Sloth eats away at any strength or success that might be gained in the physical or intellectual realms. As remarked in the column of acedia, sloth in the spiritual realm leads to a denigration of the spiritual life and breaks down and distances us in our relationship with God. Sloth, ultimately, is another form of selfishness.

To fight this deadly sin, we must look to the cardinal virtue of justice. Justice helps us to assume our responsibilities and to give to others what it rightfully their due. Justice provokes us away from a slavish devotion to comfort and provokes to use the God given abilities and talents we have to the greater good. It provokes us to treat those tools God has given us (body, mind, and soul) in such a way as to be able to fulfill whatever it is that God has set for us to do. It helps us take care of those tools. Justice helps us be wise and diligent stewards of God’s gifts in our lives and helps us be diligent in the duties and relationships we are called to live in. The purpose of our exercise in prayer, fasting, and abstinence is to detach ourselves from worldly comfort, looking to another and higher goal.

At the end of these 40 days, let us remember the motto of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasatti, ‘verso l’alto’ (to the heights) and let the good habits we have engaged in lead us to a greater holiness and life in Christ.

Prayer of Reparation

My Lord and my God,
We have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts to sloth, lazieness, and disordered love of ease.
We have allowed ourselves to be negligent and unjust to those around us.
We have allowed ourselves to squander the great gifts you have given us of our minds, bodies, and souls.
We have expected You to be turn a blind eye to our sloth and reward our lack of juctice.
We have, at times, been a source of scandal for those searching through our sinfulness 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 sloth in all its forms.
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 sloth.
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 sloth 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 forever 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[2].

 

ENLIST IN THE UNITED STATES GRACE FORCE
(Please recruit family and friends to enlist!)

 

[3]

 

Source URL: https://usgraceforce.com/day-40-let-freedom-ring-freedom-from-sloth/

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