To Remain Unshaken We Must Surrender. By: C.C.

``As long as you live, you will be subject to change, whether you will it or not- now glad, now sorrowful; now pleased, now displeased ; now devout, now undevout; now vigorous, now slothful; now gloomy, now merry. But a wise man who is well taught in spiritual labor stands unshaken in all such things, and heeds little what he feels, or from what side the wind of instability blows`` (Thomas a Kempis)

   To remain unshaken by the movements of the spiritual journey is to stand firmly upon the unwavering ground of our Lord. It is to perpetually resign our will to that of the Heavenly Father in order to accept the passing of all things as merely God`s permitting will.
    On earth we will not be free from the fluidity of emotions and trials. We will encounter hardship and difficulties, but if we are constantly seeking to be in union with our Lord and to cooperate as much as possible with His grace we can see these moments as profitable to us. The moments of trial and instability that may we encounter can encourage the building up of virtue in our lives; they can foster a desire for further change and interior transformation. 
   These moments that we face will subject us to change, and this is because God desires our holiness. He desires us to strive to live out the Gospel in our lives. This spiritual labor is a constant work. This work proposed to us by our Lord is a loving demand of constantly seeking His will despite the frailty of our feelings. 
   To remain unshaken in all things, and to heed little what we feel can only come at the cost of constantly desiring to serve our Lord. It is an act of keeping our gaze fixed upon the stability and unshaken ground of our Lord`s love and mercy. It is to reflect upon the lives of the saints and those before us who encountered great trial with a greater faith and a deeper surrender. 
  ``As long as you live, you will be subject to change``. We can not encounter our Lord and remain unchanged. To be unshaken by all things is to recognize the stability of He Who holds everything firmly together. Live with faith in our Lord, surrender each moment to His loving care, and you can endure what comes with virtue. (C.C.)