The Checklist

We should be careful to not reduce the practice of our faith to a checklist, or simply a list of things to do. 

Did I go to Mass? Check.

Did I give money to the Church? Check.

Did I say grace before meals? Check. 

This is not the mentality we should have towards our spiritual life. 

What we ‘do’ is obviously important, but the danger is that we begin to treat the Mass as a task to be completed instead of a sacrifice to be offered. If we just go through the motions, we lose an appreciation of the real significance of our actions, and ultimately, we go years without any sort of spiritual growth. 

Now, that being said, if there were a checklist that we could use everyday on our path to sanctity, this is it:

Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life:

God to glorify,
Jesus to imitate,
The Angels and Saints to invoke,
A soul to save,
A body to mortify,
Sins to expiate,
Virtues to acquire,
Hell to avoid,
Heaven to gain,
Eternity to prepare for,
Time to profit by,
Neighbors to edify,
The world to despise,
Devils to combat,
Passions to subdue,
Death perhaps to suffer,
And Judgment to undergo.

Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives, that’s what we must do.