Two Standards - no Middle

Since Satan is very busy today, now more than ever, and since the Chapter in "I Want to See God" is about the Devil (see latest post), I will talk about the two standards. There is no middle ground; although, many would like to think so. I hope you are inspired by this talk.

​The world loves its own and by the same token it hates Christ and all that pertains to Christ; those of the world fear Christ. There is reason for this fear because the triumph of Christ means the overthrow of this world. What is this spirit of the world and why does it oppose Christ so? It is essentially a selfish spirit. Pleasure, power, wealth, influence, domination over other people’s lives, at any and every cost – that is the order of the worlds’ day; and the means of obtaining all of these “goods” do not matter, it seems, if only they succeed in getting what they want. On the other hand, Christ came into the world to demonstrate and teach the spirit of self-sacrifice; the principle of voluntary self-denial; the beauty of chastity; the superior worth of virginity; the permanence of true marriage; the sacredness of marital vows and dignities; the sanctity of a child’s life; the power and value of prayer; the necessity of worship of the most high God in spirit and in truth. These all flatly contradict the world’s fleshly principles of “self-expression” and “self-realization”. Hence, the world hates both Christ and His principles.
The world would (and does) scream once again, “Away with Him, crucify Him.” Only a crucified Lord, Who walked the hard and lonely way Himself, could show the rest of us the higher and better road, in consecrated poverty and hallowed chastity and voluntary obedience. In a word, the spirit of the world is pagan, and therefore sensualist; the spirit of Christ is spiritual and there can never be truce between those two spirits. The Master Himself is authority for saying that no man can serve two masters and every one of us must choose which of the two he will serve. He also gave us to know that when the world persecutes the Church and the spirit of Christ among men, it does no more than it had done first to Himself. Persecution is inevitable!
In all truth, then, there are only those two standards under which the spirit of man can live and fight his battle in this world to win a victory for another world, Christ’s and Satan’s. There is no neutrality because He will have no halfway allegiance, no halfhearted service, no partial love. Christ the King of men’s souls, demands complete, whole-hearted allegiance; less than that is an insult to the great King Who is also the great Lover of men!
So, the big questions are – How do I remain faithful? How can I love God with my whole heart, mind and soul? How can I recognize when the spirit of the world creeps into my being?  Of course the answer is Mary! Even though Mary was created without Original Sin, She says in the “City of God” by Mother Mary Agreda, that She labored each day to be faithful to God in all things! She is the only creature who achieved this great perfection of never offending God. She is our teacher and model. More importantly, She is our Mother and the one who is to crush the head of the serpent! She will guard our hearts, our minds and our souls. She will alarm our conscience when we are straying from the path of the crucified Jesus. Always turn to Her. Always go to Her in times of trouble and affliction. Say your Rosary and Consecrate yourself to Her Most Immaculate Heart! She wants your salvation. She loves all of Her children with a tender Heart and wants only to please the Most Holy Trinity by winning many, many souls for Heaven with Her prayers and petitions. Always go with confidence to the Queen of Heaven. Start your day with Her and ask Her to guide your every move and inspiration and She will never fail you. If you remain faithful in calling upon Her, She will be there at your death bed and fight against the enemy who will make his last attempt for your soul.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen”
Our Heavenly Father knew we needed an attentive Mother to guide us – listen to Her and She will surely lead you to Her Son – Jesus Christ – in this world and into the next!