Opening Prayer
Lord, I recognize The Royal Road as the path of righteousness that leads directly to Your presence and the fulfillment of my purpose. I ask for the merit of righteousness to be the goal of my actions, allowing me to move closer to You with every step I take. Let no prosperity seduce me away from Your praise, and no adversity hold me back from Your service.
I petition for the grace to recognize Your will in all things, finding peace in the knowledge that You only desire what is best for me. Help me to avoid the anxiety that comes from seeking my own way, choosing instead the security of Your providential care. May I walk this royal path with a humble heart, seeking Your glory in both my public duties and my private thoughts.
Amen.
Matthew 22:34-40
34But the Pharisees hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together: 35nd one of them, a doctor of the law, asking him, tempting him: 36Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 37Jesus said to him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. 38This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.
St. Louis IX
St. Louis IX preaches about the sweetness of serving God. Louis’s narrative was to rule with justice and wash the feet of the poor. St. Louis was a king, a father, and a saint. The spiritual paper cuts of political life and parenting are healed by totally embracing frustrations with immense love. We must lead others to church through our “royal crown of virtues“.
Holiness is attainable for the layperson or public official who governs their soul with justice and mercy. By managing one’s life according to a “royal crown of virtues,” the believer fulfills the specific tasks God has assigned. True royalty consists in a servant’s heart, modeled on the “Old Law” of Christ’s own humility, who was subject to His parents and even to Caesar for the sake of obedience.
“A royal crown of virtues is built on the fear of God. We must not be “Christmas and Easter Christians,” but lead others to church by our example.”
— St. Louis IX
Mary and the Magisterium
Virtue is the royal crown of the soul. St. Louis looked to Mary as the Queen Mother, whose virtues provided the map for his own journey on the royal road to heaven.
- Am I "merry in God" while fulfilling my "duty in life"?
- Do I "love the Lord with all my heart," or is my love "lukewarm"?
Closing Prayer
Lord, let all my thoughts and actions wait upon Your bidding.
Amen.
