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J.M.J.
Eighth Day of Novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
Attend to My law... Renunciation," continues Fr. Francis, C.D., "appears painful because we, too, often look upon it solely as on a sort of amputation, a cutting off of the things we like and to which we are attached. We should view it rather as a process of liberation; it frees us from slavery to self and disengages us from everything that obstructs the development of love [divine]. We renounce ourselves because we love God and want to love Him progressively more; we want Him to act freely in us so that we may conform to Christ and attain close union with Him." St. Therese explains this when a novice exclaimed: "Alas, when I think of all that I still have to acquire!" She answered: "Say rather 'to lose'... it is Jesus Who takes charge of filling your soul according to the measure in which you get rid of your imperfections." Fr. Francis notes: "When we consider renunciation under that aspect, it becomes easy and we find that Christ's burden is truly light. It is love that lightens burdens... The nearer we approach progress progress, and the more clearly we recognize the obstacles that are impeding our progress, the more anxious we feel to free ourselves from everything that arrests our flight towards Him and our transformation into other Christs."
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