Monday: What was true for Francis is true for us. In modern America, most of us enjoy a level of material wealth that only the nobility experienced in the past. Yet, we are experiencing an epidemic of depression, anxiety, and addiction. We have been created to experience the highest love and the purest truth — the very life of God. Anything short of the divine life is going to ultimately leave us as empty and despairing as Francis was in his dark prison cell.
Tuesday: Everyone who identifies with the ego necessarily experiences a deep sense of inadequacy and anxiety, which all the therapy in the world cannot fix. Neither can awards, diplomas or other people’s praise. Only our surrender to the soul and God can save us from the ego’s tyranny.
Wednesday: In a manner of speaking, the ego is a parasite. As such, it always needs a horse to ride: a fixed identity to give it the illusion of being real, a splash of drama to make it feel alive, a desire to chase, an ideology to ground it, or an object of desire to satisfy its unquenchable thirst.
Thursday: One of the greatest tricks of the ego is the pendulum-swing of grandiosity and self-disdain: I am wonderful, special, and worthy of adoration, or I am a horrible person, the worst sinner, and completely unredeemable. Regardless of which way the pendulum is swinging or stuck, the ego loves this kind of drama.
Friday: Once the ego has taken on its role as our protector, it is very hesitant to let go of it. The ego will only release its hold on our hearts, minds, and imaginations when it encounters great love or great truth.
To see the complete passages from this week, click here.
