Saints Marcellinus and Peter

We pray a morning offering and then sit with Saint Dorotheus as he shows how blaming ourselves can lead to real peace in adversity. We examine why anger flares, how insults expose hidden passions, and why penance and gratitude make temptations lose their power over time.
• opening prayers, morning offering, and intentions for the Holy Father 
• Saint Dorotheus on self-accusation as the path to calm under misfortune and disgrace 
• responding to the objection of being “innocent” when someone injures us 
• how insults uncover the anger already inside the heart 
• penance, purification, and spiritual maturity that strengthens the soul to bear difficulties 
• closing prayers to God’s providence, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Our Lady of Guadalupe 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Opening Prayer And Offering

0:02

Saint Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Saint Dorotheus On Self-Blame

0:39

From the teachings of Saint Dorotheus, Abbott. The man who finds fault with himself accepts all things cheerfully misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor, and any other kind of adversity. He believes that he is deserving of all these things, and nothing can disturb him. No one could be more at peace than this man.

The Objection About Unfair Injury

1:02

But perhaps you will offer me this objection. Suppose my brother injures me, and on examining myself I find that I have not given him any cause. Why should I blame myself? Certainly, if someone examines himself carefully and with fear of God, he will never find himself completely innocent. He will see that he has given some provocation by an action, a word or by his manner. If he does find that he is not guilty in any of these ways, certainly he must have injured that brother somehow at some other time. Or perhaps he has been a source of annoyance to some other brother. For this reason he deserves to endure the injury because of many other sins that he has committed on other occasions.

Anger Reveals What Lies Within

1:46

Someone else asks why he should accuse himself when he was sitting peacefully and quietly when a brother came upon him with an unkind or insulting word. He cannot tolerate it, and so he thinks that his anger is justified. If that brother had not approached him and said those words and upset him, he never would have sinned. This kind of thinking is surely ridiculous and has no rational basis, for the fact that he has said anything at all in this situation breaks the cover on the passionate anger within him, which is all the more exposed by his excessive anxiety. If he wished he would do penance, he has become like a clean, shiny grain of wheat that, when broken, is full of dirt inside. The man who thinks that he is quiet and peaceful has within him a passion that he does not see. A brother comes up, utters some unkind word, and immediately all the venom and mire that lie hidden within him are spewed

Penance, Gratitude, And Growing Stronger

2:46

out. If he wishes mercy, he must do penance, purify himself, and strive to become perfect. He will see that he should have returned thanks to his brother instead of returning the injury, because his brother has proven to be an occasion of profit to him. It will not be long before he will no longer be bothered by these temptations. The more perfect he grows, the less these temptations will affect him, for the more the soul advances, the stronger and more powerful it becomes in bearing the difficulties that it meets.

Closing Prayers And Final Blessing

3:20

Truly, I know that no man can stand justified before God. Who am I to answer God and choose words against him? God puts no trust in his holy ones, and even the heavens are not pure in his sight. Who am I to answer God and choose words against him? O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us, and grant all that works for our good, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. All that I have, and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Invitation To Join The Cristeros

4:23

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theChristeros.org.