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J.M.J.
Seventh Day of Novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
Attend to My law... To resolve to love God alone with complete generosity, "it was imperative then... [to] practice a radical renunciation" (Fr. Francis, C.D., ibid.). However, "when renunciation is mentioned," notes Fr. Francis, "many people immediately picture to themselves a most unpleasant series of mortifications. They are frightened by such a prospect and the sight of the many deprivations they will have to impose on themselves. Now, this is not what is meant by renunciation. No doubt its practice implies a succession of privations, but renunciation is, above all, an interior disposition, a spiritual attitude. Renunciation consists principally in mortifying that self-love which makes us seek our own pleasure and satisfaction in everything we do. It means that we practice self-forgetulness. Again, renunciation is not an end in itself [that is, it is not a goal to which everything else is subordinated], but as self-seeking is incompatible with love [nay with charity], we must practice renunciation and self-forgetfulness before love can reign in our hearts."
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