Page 86 - Nurturing the Nurturer 2018 Flip Page Program

it is an infallible system of holiness; it can’t fail! Why? Because by doing it, slowly but
surely, you are able to put on the mindset, the thinking, and also, as St. Paul says, the

sentiments of Christ. You begin to feel, to think, and, consequently, to behave like
Christ! You become a saint. That is why it can’t fail.

And why does it inevitably bring us to contemplation and to holiness? To answer that,
we need to understand what contemplation is. Loads have been written on the topic, so
much could be said. Personally, I simply describe it as seeing God. When do we see

God? Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see
God…” (Matthew 5:8). This is contemplation: when I see God! How do I get there? The

highway is daily mental prayer. In what way? Just the mere fact of doing meditation is a
purification. I could have done a lot of other things, but I said “no” to those other things,

good or bad that they were, to spend time with Him; and so that purifies me. Spending
that time in prayer with Him is a further purification. Finally, when I attempt to live that

meditation out in my day, implementing my concrete resolution - that purifies me

even more. Because by putting into practice, I go against some wrong tendencies,

temptations, selfishness, etc. which make me impure.

This daily contact with the Word of God, either directly or mediated through some
spiritual book, puts me in contact with Him. This changes us, challenges us, transforms

us, and sets us on fire, so that we can set others on fire! Or as our beloved Pope Francis
says about it: “There is one particular way of listening to what the Lord wishes to tell us

in the Word and of letting ourselves be transformed by the Spirit. It consists of reading
God’s Word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and renew us” (The Joy

of the Gospel, #152)

Romans 5:5

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