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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

425. ‘Blessed are the pure in hearth for they shall see God.‘ (Matthew 5:8). Priests and religious are not the only people called to observe chastity. Rather, everyone must do so according to his or her state of life. The life of chastity is not a life of restriction, but a life of greater freedom.

426. There are many people who, while appearing to be angels of charity, are in fact devils of covetousness. Unhappy the community that meets with such an angel!

427. God grants the gift of chastity only to humble souls. Pray for it every day then with a simple and sincere heart, one that acknowledges its own weaknesses.

428. The proud will fall sooner or later: because they rely on their own strength rather than on God, he will allow them to stand alone on this shallow foundation.

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The following thoughts come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

176. Do not offer your heart to God and then look for another’s hart to replace it. You are not a surgeon performing heart transplants.

177. The older the saints became, the younger their hearts became.

178. Do not let your heart grow old with the passing of time. Love with a love that grows more intense daily, ever new, ever more pure – that is, with the love that God pours into your heart.

179. Why do you hesitate? If you are bound with even a gold chain, cut yourself loose so that you may make progress along this road. The Lord waits to welcome you at the end of it.

180. Every time you fail, you say, “Oh, if only I had made a strong resolution in the beginning!” I hope you do not keep having these belated regrets.

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“Spiritual books have helped make saints of many people. They are the oil which fuels the furnace of prayer.”

This is really interesting – and I certainly can see it – as during the times when I read any spiritual book, I tend to focus more on prayer, relationships, avoiding sin and all that.

And there are so many great books to read – say, for example, The Road of Hope or any of those thousands books dealing with religion, relationships, personal development… And also biographies of Saints – yes, maybe I should look at that route a bit more. The only book I really read about a saint, was the Song of Bernadette – about what happened in Lourdes – the apparitions of Our Lady and all that.

These really are a good read and they can inspire me a lot. Sometimes, saints led very strange lives – often causing suffering themselves what we today don’t support any more – but maybe it could be a good motivation for doing at least some humble fasting…

And prayer, yes, more prayer.

So I think I will go to the library over the weekend and get some of the biographies of saints – just to see how it goes, but if it can help me further on the road of hope, I definitely should do it.

Anyway, there is one book, that is probably all you really need to read – The Bible. Just make sure you read every day at least a few lines – and that’s a great way of walking with Jesus every day.

20. If all were faithful to their duty in life, growth in personal holiness would renew their hearts and bring a like renewal to families and the whole world.

21. Despite a superficial appearance of holiness, a person who neglects his duties in life is a counterfeit. Should he work “miracles” they would be out of time and out of place and a cause of confusion. Moreover, such a person would be a burden for others to live with.

22. Some lay people mistakenly think holiness consists in fervent prayer, preaching or withdrawal from the world; they draw this inspiration from the image of priests and religious in a former time. On the other hands, there are priest and religious who conceive they would compete with lay people. This hints of confusion of roles.

23. The world is not renewed because people often conceive of holiness as being something outside the fulfillment of the duties of their state in life.

24. The workman will become a saint in the workplace, the soldier will become a saint in the hospital, the student will become a saint through his studies, the farmer will become a saint on the farm, the priest will become a saint by his ministry as priest, the public servant will become a saint in the government office. Every step of progress along the road to sanctity is a step of sacrifice in the performance of one’s duty.

25. It is not because of acts of prophecy nor the performance of miracles that saints become saints. They do not do anything extraordinary, but simply carry out their ordinary duties.

26. However, the duty of the present moment is not a passive thing. It is an unceasing renewal of yourself, it is a decision to choose or reject Our Lord, it is a search for the kingdom of God, it is a belief in the infinite love of God, it is acting with all the ardor of your heart, it is reflecting that love of God by means of your love for others, right at this present moment.

27. Duty is your passport to heaven: “The person who does the will of my father in heaven, he will enter the kingdom of heaven” (MT 7:21).

I just got the more recent version of The Road of Hope and was quite surprised how this translation is different from the older issue I had before. The newer version speaks about “responsibilities” instead of “duties”. I haven’t studied Vietnamese, so I cannot tell which one is correct, but definitely I want to carry on with this Road of Hope and finish it – every day taking one thought and not only pondering it, but actually living it, putting it into practice and learning how to keep applying it from now on.

Duties and responsibilities – they clash with laziness and a sort of escapeism – and I have done this so many times. Now I need to stand firm and take responsibility for every of my decisions and actions (or inactions). I want to live a conscious life which will bring fruits – and I want to offer these fruits to people around me and to God.

From now on, I will not hesitate or wait unnecessarily with doing any task and I will think twice before I do or say something. I feel it’s about performing well in every given second, and if I fulfill my duties at work, at home, at my marriage, at church or with my friends, I will be richer and more Successful (see God’s Success).

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“Keep advancing along the Road of Hope regardless of the heartrending pleas of those you love; as Saint Paul tells us. “Bondage and affliction await me” (Acts 20:23), and as Jesus said, “Now I must go up to Jerusalem to suffer” (Mt 20:18).”

So far, my life has been great, without much pain or suffering. I am enjoying so many great things, most of which I even don’t need. But will it always be like this? And am I prepared to say “ok” when they are taken away?

Am I ready for difficulties that are there just after I finish this meditation?

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“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9,23)

I would like to follow Jesus but the fact is there are so many “reasons” why I should not deny myself.

Even during my “good” periods, there still is the voice somewhere in the background telling me that I am covered, that everything is ok, that God loves me, that people love me, that I have my future, my great past, that I have money and a safe job, that I have a loving husband… and that I don’t have to overcome myself every day, that I don’t have to deny myself, that I don’t have to limit myself in any way or to suffer.

And I kind of don’t have the full access to this voice, I don’t know how to ‘delete’ it. Yes, it can be called the ego, that selfish, greedy and lazy part of me which is so difficult to shut off.

Anyway, I cannot let my ego stop me from going forward. If I want to be close to God, if I want to bear fruits, I need to forget about myself and run towards Him. So I was thinking, maybe The Road of Hope can help me – there are some 1,000 thoughts and if every day I ponder one of them, and actually put it in practice, there must be an effect. And the ego will have no chance, as it will be quietened by the riches of these thoughts.

However, I won’t be able to get anywhere without the help of Jesus, or God, or whatever He should be called. I want to be with Him and serve Him, I want to be useful – and maybe these my wants still are coming from my ego, I hope He will do something that will change me into an ego-less being that loves and serves.

So the first thought for today is:

“Our Lord guides you on this road so that you will ‘go and bear fruit’ (John 15:16) which will endure. The road is called The Road of Hope because it is overflowing with hope and is as beautiful as hope itself. And why should you not have hope when it is the Lord Jesus himself with whom you set off on the way to the Father?”

Once I was told that I am like a little rabbit who is standing behind a huge rock at the edge of a forest. He can see a beautiful large lawn, with lots of great grass, but there is the heavy rock which he cannot overcome. Also, he is scared of going away from his “safe rock”.

So far I haven’t been able to find out what this rock really is, but if I am to move forward, I need to get rid of everything that holds me, I need to escape from my prison. It could be the prison of my sins, the prison of my ego, the prison of my ‘self’.

Just as Nguen Van Thuan, the author of The Road of Hope was imprisoned for 13 years – so he probably knows what hope really means – now it’s time for me to set off on this road which will lead me out from my “intangible” prison.

Lord, please, let the little rabbit get out of the safe but limiting rock, and let him eat the grass you have prepared for him. Please, let me go and bear fruit, let me deny myself on this road, trusting in your help so that finally I become one with You. Thanks.

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Loving means to ‘do everything in my power to help others towards real happiness‘. Wow. Since I read this in the Road of Hope (by Nguyen Van Thuan), I cannot stop thinking about it.

So I shouldn’t love people because I want to be happy myself (which I eventually will be, anyway), but the main motivation should be to make them happy. To make them really HAPPY.

I want completely to forget about myself and start loving people. And I don’t need to join a charity, or to go into streets and feed homeless people; I just start here where I am, in the office with my colleagues, in my house with my housemates, with my husband. Make them all happy.

Yet I know that it’s not in my power to “save” them or to make them fulfilled – whatever. I am nobody, I am very weak and I want to realise this as well. So while I am trying to help them towards their happiness, I cannot guarantee that they will become happy after they meet me. And I have no recipe for making others happy – I am not their savior, there is somebody Else, much greater than myself, who can save them and who can make them really hbappy.

So with this in mind, now I can approach people only in a very attentive way, listening to them, asking them questions, and trying to understand them. Trying to find out what matters to them, what issues they are facing, what they want – and, what will make them happy.

And happy – hey, this doesn’t mean that I will spoil them, or give them things they long for without distinguishing what could help them and what could not. Sometimes I will have to be “cruel” with them, refusing to follow their wishes, if they would not make them happy.

Then there’s the question – what does it mean to be really happy? And there I am lost again, not knowing the answer… It definitely is individual – each person is happy slightly differently. I am happy when I can see that I am growing towards being a better person. But is this right? What about relationships with others?

How about you, what does it mean to you to be happy? So what can I do to make you really happy? What can I do to make people I meet every day really happy? What is my little role in their happiness?

I need to forget about myself and start loving people – trying to understand them and help them be really happy.

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This blog is to help me set goals and make sure I won’t fall asleep in my life – so as part of it, I made a commitment to take one thought of The Road of Hope every day and not only ponder it, but actually live it, put it into practice and learn how to keep applying it from now on.

Just as Nguen Van Thuan, the author of The Road of Hope was imprisoned for 13 years – so he probably knows what hope really means – now it’s time for me to set off on this road which will lead me out from my “intangible” prison of sins and egoism.

So in this category you will find every day posts, always with the number of the thought from the book. Maybe some of my efforts will help you as well and please, do let me know what you think and how you feel about these thoughts.

Lord, please, let me go and bear fruit, let me deny myself on this road, trusting in your help so that finally I become one with You. Thanks.

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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

148. Sacrifice and contemplative prayer go hand in hand. If you do not practice sacrifice, do not complain if your contemplative prayer has grown cold.

149. You have to make many sacrifices when you live in the midst of people who differ from you politically, socially and ideologically. Look at the example of Jesus Who is God: He lived among sinful mankind. This was thirty three years of continuous sacrifice.

150. If you should encounter a torturer you could adopt one of two attitudes; you could say, “This man injures me” or “This man sacrifices me”.

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The following ideas come from Nguyen Van Thuan’s excellent book “The Road of Hope – A Gospel from Prison” and I recommend it strongly to anyone looking to grow in holiness.

80. Peace is dependent on a victory, and victory is dependent on a struggle. If you desire peace, you will have to fight continuously.

81. Your weapons are meditation, self-denial, the sacraments, the rosary and recollection. Your allies are Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, the angels, your patron saints and your spiritual director. Unless you gradually drop your weapons or betray your allies, you will certainly gain a victory.

82. If you stand on an upper story of a tall building and look down on the road below, you will see a stream of people running around in all directions. There are all kinds of cars, and all kinds of people fighting and quarrelling with each other, frantically rushing around in circles, all for the sake of love or money, ambition or the competition of life. Only when we throw ourselves into the work of God without any fear will we have a faith that is alive and a fervent apostolic spirit.

83. If you were determined to practice one virtue every year, and if you would practice it every day, very soon you would achieve quite an improvement.

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