For a good day – from the pen of hagioassistant

BEING OBEDIENT

I am thinking today about what it means to be obedient and somehow it seems to me that this term today has a kind of negative connotation, as if it means one who is oppressed, less valuable than the other who is superior to him, ultimately the one who is less intelligent or less knowledgeable. But isn’t that so untrue, dear friend?

Man who is obedient is exactly the one who is ready to hear the other, to absorb and be open to do new things, to constantly grow, not to be self-sufficient and arrogant thinking that he knows everything and that it is right only what he does. Being obedient above all means focusing your attention on the other so that you can hear him.

Obedience is most often associated with raising children. Those experienced like mothers and fathers, grandparents, educators and teachers pass on that experience to those who are just starting to walk and need a safe hand to guide them and give directions for the road of life. Each of us has just gone that route. Whithout listening to others, I cannot develop and progress.

Today we can hear so much through our media, we are a bit overwhelmed with information and advices and often quite contradictory.

How then to be sure what and how to do? How do you know you are doing the right thing?

That is why we have been given our conscience. It clearly tells us what is good and what is evil; what is true and what is false. It is the direct voice of the Creator himself to us. It is through conscience that we are connected to the source of beauty, goodness, truth and love. For this connection to be flowing and clear, man must constantly purify his conscience and his soul.

So let us do just that this Sunday… Just watch calmly… Does your conscience warn you about something?

Where have you perhaps gone wrong these days or years, done something contrary to the moral law within yourself?

Have you hidden something, lied or embezzled? Have you falsely blamed someone? Did you take something that belongs to others?  Do you live the purity of thoughts, words, your sexuality? Have you knowingly done something wrong to someone? Exaggerated in the pleasures and lust of the body? Is there hatred for anyone in your heart?

It is important not to stay staring at your mistakes and omissions, we all make them… It is important to recognize them, repent for them and decide that you will be different from today. Stay in silence for ten minutes and say to your Creator:

I am sorry… I did not listen to my conscience… I want to take off all the old weights and burdens that burden my conscience, my life… clean me, wash me, draw me to yourself again as a little child…

See how he justifies you, how he understands you, how he regrets your suffering and how he looks forward to your return! Just like that lost son who wandered and returned to the Father.

Indeed, as the title of a book by our professor Ivančić says – It takes so little! It takes so little, dear reader, to be well, and it is obedience to our conscience that will keep us healthy and true!