Lord, I struggle with letting go of all worry and cares of this world. Help me to have the virtue of heavenly desire. I know that with your grace I can learn how to let go of all my worries about the future and rest in your loving providence. Lord, I know that worrying about my life will not add a single moment to my life-span (Matthew 6:27). Throughout the Gospels you teach us that we must have the virtue of heavenly desire. Please help me obtain this.
If I can let go of all cares of this world I will truly be free to follow the Holy Spirit, which will lead me to the truth. If I can follow the truth then I know I can live in it and do what you have created me to do in this life. Let me find my greater purpose in my life by letting go of all worry and cares of this world to rest in the vision and beatitude of your kingdom through a heavenly desire.
Remind me always that what I think does not matter if it is not the truth. Let me have faith to believe that you know all things, including the right path for my life, and you love me with a deep eternal love that I will never fully understand in this life.
Jesus, I beg you, give me the grace to reject all anxiety about my life and replace it with trust in you and faith in your providence. Help me to recognize that everything will work together for my good as long as I live to please you and follow your will for my life. I know that my trials and sufferings are a gift from you. They make me want to lean on you and trust in you when I would otherwise have pride or indifference.
Eternal Father, I praise you for your great wisdom in providing me with everything I need for my eternal salvation and purification. I trust that any suffering you bring me to experience you will also give me the grace to overcome. Thank you for loving me like a Father and giving me all that I need. I am made to have a relationship with you. I was given a heart and a soul and the ability to choose you or reject you for the things of this world. I am made for eternal life. Please help me remember this every day of my earthly life.
AMEN.
Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God.
“The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude. . . .
In Scripture, to see is to possess. . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.”
Letting Go of all Worry and Cares of this World
Truth and her appearance
by St. Hildegard von Bingen
For in all works of Truth, by God’s grace a pattern is unrolled of the law established for the Christian people; and it should be observed with open worship on the side turned toward heavenly desire, and feared on the side of carnal lusts.
And it contains the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the unassailable bulwark against the Devil’s snares of death. And you try to read it, but cannot. For though Man yearns to know the mysteries and secrets of God’s gifts, it is not possible for him to understand or grasp God’s will in His wonders as long as he is burdened with a mortal body.
Scivias, Book 3 Vision Six Paragraph 31
Week 27 of the Virtue Meditations Series
Letting Go of all Worry and Cares of this World
Reflection:
What is heavenly desire? How can I have a true understanding of God and my relationship with him? How can I stop worrying about myself and my physical needs and struggles in life and still achieve great things?
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus always talks about emptying yourself so that you can be filled by God’s Spirit and go out into the world to proclaim the good news. Jesus showed us how this is done, through a life of humility and obedience to the will of God. Jesus told Pilot that his kingdom is not of this world. Worry hinders the working of the Holy Spirit. It reveals distrust for God and at some level, belief that God doesn’t truly love you.
Your worrying will not just go away on its own. You need to look at the root cause. Ask yourself, “Why do I need to control things in my life?”
The virtue of heavenly desire means to let go of all worries and cares of this world. It means to let go of all control and let God lead you instead. Heavenly desire recognizes that you don’t know what you don’t know, and only God knows so it is best to lift your heart to him and trust in his love and guiding presence in your life. It is a peaceful submission to the Father who loves you and a trust that he will carry you through every trial you may encounter in life and that each suffering will work toward your ultimate spiritual good.
Human Pride is the Hidden Source of All Worry
Jesus also repeatedly warns that human pride hinders the spiritual life and causes us to fall away from grace (Mark 7).
Pride destroys us; it’s an enemy from within the heart. How do you recognize pride in your life so that you can root it out? Maybe you see yourself as an authority on a subject, someone who uses his knowledge and understanding about hidden things to teach others who do not fully understand. God can use us to lead others and guide us to the truth. He can bring people into our lives to minister to. But sometimes we let our pride get in the way of God’s will and we make decisions that negatively affect others. Many false prophets have risen due to pride and vainglory.
Sometimes we use our human “expertise” to problem-solve or assess situations as we counsel and lead others. These are important leadership roles, but when they become about us and not about trusting in God, we tend to go off the rails. Pride overlooks the fact that we have limited human understanding and cannot know the future. Pride can lead us to elevate our own thoughts above what the Bible says or what the Church teaches. We rationalize because we believe our lived experiences and opinions are somehow superior to the Word of God, even if just in this instance, this one relationship, or particular job, or a certain affiliation.
Pride is present when you act without considering the will of God because you want what you want and deep down you know that if you prayed about it, the answer would be the opposite of what you seek. Your desires are usually attachments to things or people that lead you away from God. Humility is a light that shines into the darkness of our sinful thoughts and desires. It leads us to the truth about things and helps us reconcile the parts of our lives we want to have control over to God.
The Virtue of Heavenly Desire Helps us Imitate Christ
St. Hildegard explains that by letting go of all worry and cares of this world the Christian can grow in the virtue of heavenly desire through an unalterable mind.
She writes in Scivias, “For this virtue, trusting in God in the severest of struggles, reminds people who are living in the secular world with her penetrating warnings to imitate the example of the Son of God, Who went before them, rejecting worldly things and desiring Him with an unalterable mind.”
Faith in God strengthens the will, and obedience to God grows our virtue, but humility of heart is the key to gaining heavenly desire through an unalterable mind. When we trust in God and the desire to obey him, we are ready to desire heaven over the secular world. The virtue of humility lets us trust in God’s loving hand through every trial, temptation, and even the severest of struggles.
Our pride desires to separate from grace when we struggle; it causes us to desire control over our situation. We may even seek our own form of justice, causing us to commit sins. Unholy attachments to the things of this world will cause us to accept the darkness of our sinful thoughts and desires and rationalize them. This leads us away from the truth. Pride elevates our opinions and lived experiences as somehow acceptable even if they are condemned in the Bible and the Catechism of the Church.
Jesus teaches us to imitate him, and he tells us in the Gospels that he is meek and humble of heart. He shows us his assent to the Father in all things, that they are One, and he obeys even unto death on the Cross, so that we could be heirs to the Kingdom of God. We ought to desire the things of heaven and look to God for direction, obeying our consciences when the Holy Spirit convicts us. If we live in the Truth, we will have a peace that passes all understanding and we will no longer worry because we can trust that God will deliver us from all evil.
Going Further:
If you want to do ‘extra’ you may spend some time reading Mark 7 and writing some prayerful thoughts to the Lord about what touched your heart. If you do this, be sure to give the Lord time to respond to you by offering time to listen in silence.
Let us Pray:
Now that we understand the virtue of heavenly desire, let’s begin with a prayer of petition for it.
Virtue of Heavenly Desire
Prayer of Petition
Eternal Father, I am the work of your creation, made in your image and likeness but too weak to conquer the devil by my own power. I ask you for the grace to grow in virtue, surrendering all my thoughts, words, and deeds to you. Please help me resist the devil and all his tricks. Jesus says that whoever believes in him will do the works that he does and that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name he will do so that You may be glorified. Heavenly Father, you sent us your Son to show us what it means to have perfect virtue in life. Jesus is fully human and fully divine and has perfect virtue. Father, have mercy on me and please give me the grace I need to grow in the virtue of heavenly desire so that I might grow in holiness and imitate Christ in my thoughts, words, and deeds. AMEN.
Now let’s contemplate the Lord by listening to him speak to us in the Gospels. Slowly meditate on the following passage, reflecting on his virtue of heavenly desire. Take your time. Pause over a word or phrase that speaks to your heart. Reread the passage again, and then ask Jesus to show you how you can imitate him in heavenly desire, letting go of all worry and cares of this world. Choose a word or phrase from this passage to write in your journal, and add your thoughts. Go back and prayerfully re-read it throughout the week.
Virtue of Heavenly Desire
Treasure in Heaven
from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 6:19-34
[Jesus said] “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.
No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money].
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Let us Pray:
Jesus, You know the true condition of my heart and the amount of pride I have. You see all the ways I seek to do my own will and how it impedes the work I am supposed to accomplish for the Kingdom of God. Please increase in me the virtue of heavenly desire so that I may overcome all my earthly cares and worries. I want to want what you want for me. I want to be meek and humble of heart, seeking the beatitudes and trusting in divine providence for all my earthly needs. I assent to you, Lord, so that you will help me overcome my pride and all the things I am attached to that lead me to worry about my life and my future. I love you and I thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the ability to change. I want to desire the kingdom to come and to obey your will for my life in all things. I ask you to remove unholy attachments in my life that lead me away from you and inhibit the virtue of heavenly desire.
AMEN.
Virtue of Heavenly Desire
A Prayer for an Increase in Virtue for Others
Lord Jesus Christ, you say that when two or more are gathered in your name, you are with us. Jesus, in your name I lift up every person who has joined this prayer challenge or will join it in the future. I ask you to give us all the grace we need to grow in virtue and holiness so that we may love and serve you in our lives and through the people we love and care for. Help us in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Guide us all by your Holy Spirit and give us the strength to overcome every temptation from the evil one. We ask all this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
Together as a group we will pray for each other and strive to make good resolutions and keep them. Remember, it’s your heart that God wants to capture. Your efforts are out of love for him and a desire to imitate him as best you can in holiness.
If you fail, do not quit trying. Be merciful to yourself and learn to love the process of striving to be more like Jesus every day. Just take it one day at a time, and stay in the present moment with Jesus, especially in the moment you are tempted, and if you fail, immediately afterward. Keep your gaze on Jesus. Being virtuous is a process. No one is perfect, so just start anew every time you fail.
How do I Practice Virtue?
You’ve learned about the 27th Virtue, and you’ve prayed for God to give you grace. Now what? Let’s take a look at the Catechism for some guidance on how we can make Week 27 a successful effort.
Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ. There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming.
This collaboration with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the object of the prayer of the apostolic community. It is the prayer of Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude for all the churches ought to inspire Christian prayer. By prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom.
Making Resolutions
Take a moment to reflect on the virtue of heavenly desire. What are the ways you can freely practice this virtue this week? Ask the Lord to give you opportunities, and when you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you, take action. Write down your resolutions for this coming week in your prayer journal. Remind yourself to complete these resolutions daily for this entire week, and as the Spirit prompts you, feel free to write about your experiences with this virtue throughout the week.
In My Thoughts:
Jesus, this week I promise to take time daily to conform my thoughts by… (make your intention).
In My Words:
Jesus, this week I promise to take time daily to conform my words by… (make your intention).
In My Actions:
Jesus, this week I promise to take time daily to conform my actions by… (make your intention).
If you’d like to read a personal reflection about surrendering to Jesus with a diagnosis of anxiety and depression, check out, Jesus, Guide my Anxious Heart and Mind Toward Peace.
Join our Virtue Meditation Prayer Challenge
Get weekly emails introducing each of the 35 virtues of St. Hildegard of Bingen
Click this link to view all 35 of our virtue meditations.
Pray the Litany of Virtues prayer.
Pray the next Virtue Meditation
Week 28 Mental Prayer Meditation
Defeat Stubborn Obstinacy with Sorrow of the Heart
“Defeat Stubborn Obstinacy with Sorrow of the Heart” – join us for our 28th meditation on the 35 virtues of St. Hildegard of Bingen.