July 11 Tue
We must be on guard especially in moments of blindness. The Scripture tells us about two brothers, Esau and Jacob. Esau had a history of foolish or unfaithful actions, most of them in little things, but some not so little. But one moment was decisive. Once, he came home hungry from the fields, and sold his birthright to Jacob for the paltry price of a plate of lentils. The only thing that mattered to him at that moment was to eat and stave off his hunger; everything else had lost all meaning for his heart in his blindness.

The moment of blindness passed, and then he realized what a wretched price he paid in exchange for his birthright. But it was too late, and all he could do was lament for having thrown overboard the greatest treasure of his life in a moment of madness.

In case we should ever find ourselves in a similar situation, blinded by selfishness, let us remember St Josemaría’s words. “Don't forget ... that we can make mistakes in life, but that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with our way of life, nor with our Love. What it means is that we need to be more prudent for the future. No one can reason like this: ‘Because I can't manage to fulfill this duty, I won't fulfill any of my duties.’ That would be a reaction of pride: to fall out from the hands of God, to become diabolical.”

This is the temptation of Esau: to suffer the loss of the greatest treasure God could possibly have given us, for something as worthless as a bowl of lentils.

In those moments of blindness, the divine call and the abundant fruits of fidelity seem empty of meaning, compared with the obsessions of the flesh or the whims of the heart; the person desires “to live his own life,” or shuts himself up in his own pride.

“We all have defects. But our defects should never be a reason for us to turn away from God's Love. Rather they should lead us to cling to that Love, seeking shelter in his divine goodness, as the old warriors did, by wearing their suits of armor. Our defense is the cry: ‘Here I am, because you have called me!’ Just because we discover how fragile we are, is no reason to run away from God. What we must do, is to attack our defects, precisely because we know how God trusts us.” St Josemaría

We attack our defects by living in a continuous presence of God, to reject all temptations.
Image: Mother of Fair Love, Pray for us.