Jesus Is My Guest
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November 18, 2014. Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
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Father John Doyle, LC
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered
Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a
chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on
account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran
ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass
that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house
today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it
began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a
sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of
my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone
of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to
him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of
Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Introductory
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Alpha and the Omega. You have given me life
and offer me eternal life with You. You deserve my honor, gratitude and love,
and yet You never impose yourself upon me. Thank You for respecting my
freedom so that I can offer myself to You. All that I have is yours; I return
it to You.
Petition: Lord, increase my
faith.
1. Zacchaeus up a
Tree: Yesterday and today’s Gospel passages speak eloquently of the need to encounter
Christ at all costs. The blind man we read about yesterday would not stop
shouting until he was brought to the Lord. Today a short and very unpopular
man named Zacchaeus runs back and forth among the crowd until finally, in his
determination to encounter Christ, he breaks all protocol and scrambles up a
tree. Jesus wastes no time in entering decisively this tax collector’s life
and transforming it. This resembles our own encounter with Christ. At times
different obstacles stand in our way and prevent us from seeing Our Lord and
his action in our lives. Above all we lack determination. How easy it is to
craft excuses: “I am just too short,” “Maybe Jesus is too busy,” “I am just a
sinner.” If we really want Our Lord to stay at our house, he will, but there
may be trees that we need to climb first.
2. Welcoming
Jesus: Few people ever welcomed Jesus with the joy and exuberance as did this
little man. He came down from the tree, gave half of his wealth to the poor,
and promised to restore any fraudulent transactions four times over.
Zacchaeus has truly been like that merchant in search of fine pearls (see
Matthew 13:45-46). He is willing to sell all he has to buy the pearl of great
price: friendship and intimacy with the Lord. How many times has Jesus looked
up at us and asked us to remain with him? How many times have we had the
immense grace of receiving the King of kings into our hearts in the Blessed
Eucharist? Do we offer merely a corner of our hearts for him or do we reserve
the presidential suite? How pure do we maintain our souls for our Guest?
3. Of Sinners and
Saints: What makes someone a saint and someone else a sinner? Certainly it is
not the grumbling of the jealous crowd who are unwilling to climb up the tree
to see Jesus yet are quick to criticize anyone who does. In fact, everyone is
a sinner. St. Paul writes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
– of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). Yet St. Paul, Zacchaeus, you
and I all go from being sinners to saints when we encounter Christ and are
faithful to his friendship. Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house when Jesus
entered it, and salvation comes to us through the graces received at baptism,
renewed in the Sacrament of Penance, and nurtured in the Eucharist.
Conversation with
Christ: Jesus, help me to be willing to do whatever it takes to grow in a
deeper friendship with You. Don’t allow me to worry about the murmurings of
the crowd, but only to listen to Your voice and respond to it with
generosity.
Resolution: I will make a
point to go to confession at the next possible opportunity asking Jesus to
forgive me my sins and to help me to turn from being a sinner into being a
saint. I will make it a real encounter with Jesus.
Excerpts from the DIARY of
Saint Faustina Kowalska
186 +Today Jesus said to me, I
desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for
souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call
upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say
this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I
will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer:
187 "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
206 The next day, after Communion,
I heard the voice saying, My daughter, look into the abyss of My mercy and
give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine. Do it in this way: Gather all
sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. I
want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls, My daughter. On the day of
My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and bring
fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them.
280 Jesus commanded me to
celebrate the Feast of God's Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter. [This I
did] through interior recollection and exterior mortification, wearing the
belt for three hours and praying continuously for sinners and for mercy on
the whole world. And Jesus said to me, My eyes rest with pleasure upon
this house today.
308 1934, Holy Thursday. Jesus
said to me, I desire that you make an offering of yourself for sinners and
especially far those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy.
God and Souls. An Act of Oblation. 309 Before heaven and earth, before all the choirs of Angels, before the Most Holy Virgin Mary, before all the Powers of heaven, I declare to the One Triune God that today, in union with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I make a voluntary offering of myself for the conversion of sinners, especially for those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy. This offering consists in my accepting, with total subjection to God's will, all the sufferings, fears and terrors with which sinners are filled. In return, I give them all the consolations which my soul receives from my communion with God. In a word, I offer everything for them: Holy Masses, Holy Communions, penances, mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the blows, blows of divine justice, because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in this way I want to make amends to You for the souls that do not trust in Your goodness. I hope against all hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my God, my portion-my portion forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my own strength, but on the strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ. I will daily repeat this act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following prayer which You yourself have taught me, Jesus: "O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
319 August 9, 1934. Night
adoration on Thursdays.[79]
I made my hour of adoration from eleven o'clock till midnight. I offered it
for the conversion of hardened sinners, especially for those who have lost
hope in God's mercy. I was reflecting on how much God had suffered and on how
great was the love He had shown for us, and on the fact that we still do not
believe that God loves us so much. O Jesus, who can understand this? What
suffering it is for our Savior! How can He convince us of His love if even
His death cannot convince us? I called upon the whole of heaven to join me in
making amends to the Lord for the ingratitude of certain souls.
320 Jesus made known to me how
very pleasing to Him were prayers of atonement. He said to me, The prayer
of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an
ocean of blessings. After the adoration, half way to my cell, I was
surrounded by a , pack of huge black dogs who were jumping and howling and
trying to tear me to pieces. I realized that they were not dogs, but demons.
One of them spoke up in a rage, "Because you have snatched so many souls
away from us this night, we will tear you to pieces." I answered,
"If that is the will of the most merciful God, tear me to pieces, for I
have justly deserved it, because I am the most miserable of all sinners, and
God is ever holy, just, and infinitely merciful." To these words all the
demons answered as one, "Let us flee, for she is not alone; the Almighty
is with her!" And they vanished like dust, like the noise of the road,
while I continued on my way to my cell undisturbed, finishing my Te Deum and
pondering the infinite and unfathomable mercy of God.
324 The next day, I felt very
weak, but experienced no further suffering. After Holy Communion, I saw the
Lord Jesus just as I had seen Him during one adoration. The Lord's gaze
pierced my soul through and through, and not even the least speck of dust
escaped His notice. And I said to Jesus, "Jesus, I thought You were
going to take me. "And Jesus answered, My will has not yet been fully
accomplished in you; you will still remain on earth, but not for long. I am
well pleased with your trust, but your love should be more ardent. Pure love
gives the soul strength at the very moment of dying. When I was dying on the
cross, I was not thinking about Myself, but about poor sinners, and I prayed
for them to My Father. I want your last moments to be completely similar to
Mine on the cross. There is but one price at which souls are bought, and that
is suffering united to My suffering on the cross. Pure love understands these
words; carnal love will never understand them.
349 In the morning, during
meditation, I felt a painful thorn in the left side of my head. The suffering
continued all day. I meditated continually about how Jesus had been able to
endure the pain of so many thorns which made up His crown. I joined my
suffering to the sufferings of Jesus and offered it for sinners. At four
o'clock when I came for adoration, I saw one of our wards offending God
greatly by sins of impure thoughts. I also saw a certain person who was the
cause of her sin. My soul was pierced with fear, and I asked God, for the
sake of Jesus' pain, to snatch her from this terrible misery.
350 Jesus answered that He would
grant her that favor, not for her sake, but for the sake of my request. Now I
understood how much we ought to pray for sinners, and especially for our
wards.
Our life is truly apostolic; I cannot imagine a religious living in one of our houses; that is, in our Community, and not having an apostolic spirit. Zeal for the salvation of souls should burn in our hearts.
355 1934-1935. New Year's Eve. I
was given permission not to go to sleep, but rather pray in the chapel. One
of the sisters had asked me to offer an hour of adoration for her. I said
yes, and prayed for her for an hour. During the hour, God gave me to
understand how very pleasing this soul was to Him.
I offered the second hour of adoration for the conversion of sinners, and I tried especially to offer expiation to God for the insults that were being committed against Him at this present moment. How greatly God is being offended! I offered the third hour for my spiritual director. I fervently prayed for light for him in a particular matter. Finally the clock struck twelve, the last hour of the year. I finished it in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and I also started the first hour of the New Year in the Name of the Holy Trinity. I asked each of the Three Persons to bless me and, with great confidence, looked toward the New Year which certainly would not be sparing of suffering. 356 O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the testament of God's mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities, flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners. O Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and without. O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which inundate the earth. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will understand us. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life. O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the efforts of hell. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat moistens my brow. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot. O Blessed Host I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by others. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy. Holy Trinity, One God, 361 incomprehensible in the greatness of Your mercy for creatures, and especially for poor sinners, You have made known the abyss of Your mercy, incomprehensible and unfathomable [as it is] to any mind, whether of man or angel. Our nothingness and our misery are drowned in Your greatness. O infinite goodness, who can ever praise You sufficiently? Can there be found a soul that understands You in Your love? O Jesus, there are such souls, but they are few.
367 +On one occasion, Jesus gave
me to know that when I pray for intentions which people are wont to entrust
to me, He is always ready to grant His graces, but souls do not always want
to accept them: My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and
especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best
of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed
from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the
tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but
they do not want to accept them. You, at least, come to Me as often as possible
and take these graces they do not want to accept. In this way you will
console My Heart. Oh, how indifferent are souls to so much goodness, to so
many proofs of love! My Heart drinks only of the ingratitude and
forgetfulness of souls living in the world. They have time for everything,
but they have no time to come to Me for graces.
So I turn to you, you-chosen souls, will you also fail to understand the love of My Heart? Here, too, My Heart finds disappointment; I do not find complete surrender to My love. So many reservations, so much distrust, so much caution. To comfort you, let Me tell you that there are souls living in the world who love Me dearly. I dwell In their hearts with delight. But they are few. In convents too, there are souls that fill My Heart with joy. They bear My features; therefore the Heavenly Father looks upon them with special pleasure. They will be a marvel to Angels and men. Their number is very small. They are a defense for the world before the justice of the Heavenly Father and a means of obtaining mercy for the world. The love and sacrifice of these souls sustain the world in existence. The infidelity of a soul specially chosen by Me wounds My Heart most painfully. Such infidelities are swords which pierce My Heart.
384 When I stayed for adoration
from nine to ten o'clock, four other sisters stayed; too. When 1 approached
the altar and began to meditate on the Passion of the Lord Jesus, a terrible
pain immediately filled my soul because of the ingratitude of so many souls
living in the world; but particularly painful was the ingratitude of souls
especially chosen by God. There is no notion or comparison [which can
describe it]. At the sight of this blackest ungratefulness I felt as though
my heart were torn open; my strength failed me completely, and I fell on my
face, not attempting to hide my loud cries. Each time I thought of God's
great mercy and of the ingratitude of souls, pain stabbed at my heart, and I
understood how painfully it wounded the sweetest Heart of Jesus. With a
burning heart, I renewed my act of self-oblation on behalf of sinners.
420 Low Sunday; that is, the Feast
of The Divine Mercy, the conclusion of the Jubilee of Redemption. When we
went to take part in the celebrations, my heart leapt with joy that the two
solemnities were so closely united. I asked God for mercy on the souls of
sinners. Toward the end of the service, when the priest took the Blessed
Sacrament to bless the people, I saw the Lord Jesus as He is represented in
the image. The Lord gave His blessing, and the rays extended over the whole
world. Suddenly, I saw an impenetrable brightness in the form of a crystal
dwelling place, woven together from waves of a brilliance unapproachable to
both creatures and spirits. Three doors led to this resplendence. At that
moment, Jesus, as He is represented in the image, entered this resplendence
through the second door to the Unity within. It is a triple Unity, which is
incomprehensible-which is infinity. I heard a voice, This Feast emerged from
the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of My
tender mercies. Every soul believing and trusting in My mercy will obtain it.
I was overjoyed at the immense goodness and greatness of my God.
423 Praise the Lord, my soul, for
everything, and glorify His mercy, for His goodness is without end.
Everything will pass, but His mercy is without limit or end. And although
evil will attain its measure, in mercy there is no measure.
O my God, even in the punishments You send down upon the earth I see the abyss of Your mercy, for by punishing us here on earth You free us from eternal punishment. Rejoice, all you creatures, for you are closer to God in His infinite mercy than a baby to its mother's heart. O God, You are compassion itself for the greatest sinners who sincerely repent. The greater the sinner, the greater his right to God's mercy.
598 Oh, how ardently I desire that
every soul would praise Your mercy. Happy is the soul that calls upon the
mercy of the Lord. It will see that the Lord will defend it as His glory, as
He said. And who would dare fight against God? All you souls, praise the
Lord's mercy by trusting in His mercy all your life and especially at the
hour of your death. And fear nothing, dear soul, whoever you are; the greater
the sinner, the greater his right to Your mercy, O Lord. O incomprehensible
goodness! God is the first to stoop to the sinner. O Jesus, I wish to glorify
Your mercy on behalf of thousands of souls. I know very well, O my Jesus,
that I am to keep telling souls about Your goodness, about Your
incomprehensible mercy.
687 Once, as I was going down the
hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my soul: Say unceasingly the
chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great
mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their
last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were
to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite
mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to
grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.
699 On one occasion, I heard these
words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I
desire that the Feast of Mercy [139]
be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On
that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole
ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul
that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete
forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates
through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me,
even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it
of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.
Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender
mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy
throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of
tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first
Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount
of My Mercy.
723 + Today, I heard these words:
The graces I grant you are not for you alone, but for a great number of other
souls as well... And your heart is My constant dwelling place, despite the
misery that you are. I unite Myself with you, take away your misery and give
you My mercy. I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner,
the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in every work
of My hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his affairs
are Mine, and his enemies will be shattered at the base of My footstool.
730 + In this retreat, I shall
keep you continually close to My Heart, that you may better know My mercy,
that mercy which I have for people and especially for poor sinners.
741 Today, I was led by an Angel
to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large
and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that
constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of
conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth
is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it-a terrible
suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; the fifth
torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite
the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all
the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant
company of Satan; the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God,
vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all
the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are
special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the
senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to
the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture
where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very
sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let
the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those
senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God,
so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody
has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.
I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin.
793 I am reliving these moments
with Our Lady. With great longing, I am waiting for the Lord's coming. Great
are my desires. I desire that all humankind come to know the Lord. I would
like to prepare all nations for the coming of the Word Incarnate. O Jesus,
make the fount of Your mercy gush forth more abundantly, for humankind is
seriously ill and thus has more need than ever of Your compassion. You are a
bottomless sea of mercy for us sinners; and the greater the misery, the more
right we have to Your mercy. You are a fount which makes all creatures happy
by Your infinite mercy.
845 Before the vigil supper, I
entered the chapel for a moment to break the wafer spiritually with those
dear to my heart. I presented them all, by name, to Jesus and begged for
graces on their behalf. But that wasn't all. I commended to the Lord all
those who are being persecuted, those who are suffering, those who do not
know His Name, and especially poor sinners. O little Jesus, I fervently ask
You, enclose them all in the ocean of Your incomprehensible mercy. O sweet
little Jesus, here is my heart; let it be a little cozy dwelling place for
Yourself. O Infinite Majesty, with what sweetness You drew close to us. Here,
there is no dread of the thunderbolts of the great Jehovah; here, there is
the sweet little Jesus. Here, no soul is afraid, although Your majesty has
not lessened, but only concealed itself. After supper, I felt very tired and
was in pain. I had to lie down. But I kept vigil with the Most Holy Mother,
awaiting the arrival of the little Child.
873 January 8. On Friday morning,
as I was going to the chapel to attend Holy Mass, I suddenly saw a huge
juniper tree on the pavement and in it a horrible cat who, looking angrily at
me, blocked my way to the chapel. One whisper of the name of Jesus dissipated
all that. I offered the whole day for dying sinners. During Holy Mass, I felt
the closeness of the Lord in a special way. After Holy Communion, I turned my
gaze with trust toward the Lord and told him, "Jesus, I so much desire
to tell You something." And the Lord looked at me with love and said, And
what is it that you desire to tell Me?
"Jesus, I beg You, by the inconceivable power of Your mercy, that all the souls who will die today escape the fire of hell, even if they have been the greatest sinners. Today is Friday, the memorial of Your bitter agony on the Cross; because Your mercy is inconceivable, the Angels will not be surprised at this." Jesus pressed me to His Heart and said, My beloved daughter, you have come to know well the depths of My mercy. I will do what you ask, but unite yourself continually with My agonizing Heart and make reparation to My justice. Know that you have asked Me for a great thing, but I see that this was dictated by your pure love for Me; that is why I am complying with your requests.
875 Today, I experienced a great
suffering during the visit of our sisters. I learned of something that hurt
me terribly, but I controlled myself so that the sisters didn't notice
anything. For some time, the pain was tearing my heart apart, but all that is
for the sake of poor sinners.... O Jesus, for poor sinners.... Jesus, my
strength, stay close to me, help me....
893 January 22, [1937]. Today is
Friday. My soul is in a sea of suffering. Sinners have taken everything away
from me. But that is all right; I have given everything away for their sake
that they might know that You are good and infinitely merciful. I shall be
faithful to You, come rain or shine.
908 + O Jesus, how sorry I feel
for poor sinners. Jesus, grant them contrition and repentance. Remember Your
own sorrowful Passion. I know Your infinite mercy and cannot bear it that a
soul that has cost You so much should perish. Jesus, give me the souls of
sinners; let Your mercy rest upon them. Take everything away from me, but
give me souls. I want to become a sacrificial host for sinners. Let the shell
of my body conceal my offering, for Your Most Sacred Heart is also hidden in
a Host, and certainly You are a living sacrifice.
Transform me into Yourself, O Jesus, that I may be a living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at each moment for poor sinners. The sacrifice of my spirit is hidden under the veil of the body; the human eye does not perceive it, and for that reason it is pure and pleasing to You. O my Creator and Father of great mercy, I trust in You, for You are Goodness Itself. Souls, do not be afraid of God, but trust in Him, for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting.
927 On these two days, I received
Holy Communion as an act of reparation, and I said to the Lord, "Jesus,
I offer everything today for sinners. Let the blows of Your justice fall on
me, and the sea of Your mercy engulf the poor sinners." And the Lord
heard my prayer: many souls returned to the Lord, but I was in agony under
the yoke of God's justice. I felt I was the object of the anger of the Most
High God. By evening my sufferings had reached such a stage of interior
desolation that moans welled up involuntarily from my breast. I locked the
door of my room and began an adoration; that is to say, a Holy Hour. Interior
desolation and an experience of God's justice-that was my prayer; and the
moans and pain that welled up from my soul took the place of a sweet
conversation with the Lord.
929 When I had rested near His
sweetest Heart, I told Him, "Jesus, I have so much to tell You."
And the Lord said to me with great love, Speak, My daughter. And I
started to enumerate the pains of my heart; that is, how greatly concerned I
am for all mankind, that "they all do not know You, and those who do
know You do not love You as You deserve to be loved. I also see how terribly
sinners offend You; and then again, I see how severely the faithful,
especially Your servants, are oppressed and persecuted. And then, too, I see
many souls rushing headlong into the terrible abyss of hell. You see, Jesus,
this is the pain that gnaws at my heart and bones. And, although You show me
special love and inundate my heart with streams of Your joys, nevertheless,
this does not appease the sufferings I have just mentioned, but rather they
penetrate my poor heart all the more acutely. Oh, how ardently I desire that
all mankind turn with trust to Your mercy. Then, seeing the glory of Your
name, my heart will be comforted."
Jesus listened to these outpourings of my heart with gravity and interest, as if He had known nothing about them, and this seemed to make it easier for me to talk. And the Lord said to me, My daughter, those words of your heart are pleasing to Me, and by saying the chaplet you are bringing humankind closer to Me. After these words, I found myself alone, but the presence of God is always in my soul.
934 Small practices for Lent.
Although I wish and desire to do so, I cannot practice big mortifications as
before, because I am under the strict surveillance of the doctor. But I can
practice little things: first-sleep without a pillow; keep myself a little
hungry; every day, with my arms outstretched, say the chaplet which the Lord
taught me; occasionally, with arms outstretched, for an indefinite period of
time pray informally. Intention: to beg divine mercy for poor sinners, and
for priests, the power to bring sinful hearts to repentance.
942 February 11, [1937]. Today is
Friday. During Mass, I suffered pain in my body: in my hands, my feet and my
side. Jesus is sending me this kind of suffering that I may make reparation
for sinners. The pain is brief, but very severe. I do not suffer for more
than a couple of minutes, but the impression remains for a long time and is
very vivid.
943 + Today, I feel such
desolation in my soul that I do not know how to explain it even to myself. I
would like to hide from people and cry endlessly. No one understands a heart
wounded by love, and when such a heart feels itself abandoned interiorly, no
one can comfort it. O souls of sinners, you have taken the Lord away from me,
but all right, all right; you get to know how sweet the Lord is, and let the
whole sea of bitterness flood my heart. I have given all my divine comforts
to you.
951 + O incomprehensible and
limitless Mercy Divine, To extol and adore You worthily, who can? Supreme
attribute of Almighty God, You are the sweet hope for sinful man.
Into one hymn yourselves unite, stars, earth and sea, and in one accord, thankfully and fervently sing of the incomprehensible Divine Mercy.
975 Today I heard these words: Pray
for souls that they be not afraid to approach the tribunal of My mercy. Do
not grow weary of praying for sinners. You know what a burden their souls are
to My Heart. Relieve My deathly sorrow; dispense My mercy.
999 Last night I was in such pain
that I thought it was the end. The doctors could not diagnose what the
sickness was. I felt as if my entrails had been torn to shreds, but after a
few hours of such sufferings I am all right. All this is for sinners. Let
Your mercy descend upon them, O Lord.
1059 Jesus is commanding me to
make a novena before the Feast of Mercy, and today I am to begin it for the
conversion of the whole world and for the recognition of The Divine Mercy... so
that every soul will praise My goodness. I desire trust from My creatures.
Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak,
sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than
there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the
unmeasurable depths of My mercy.
1062 + I made an hour of adoration
in thanksgiving for the graces which had been granted me and for my illness.
Illness also is a great grace. I have been ill for four months, but I do not
recall having wasted so much as a minute of it. All has been for God and
souls; I want to be faithful to Him everywhere.
During this adoration, I realized the utter care and goodness that Jesus has been lavishing upon me and the protection He has given me against all evil. I thank You especially, Jesus, for visiting me in my solitude, and I thank You also for inspiring my superiors to send me for this treatment. Give them, Jesus, the omnipotence of Your blessing and compensate them for all the losses incurred because of me.
1063 Today, Jesus is bidding me to
comfort and reassure a certain soul who has opened herself to me and told me
about her difficulties. This soul is pleasing to the Lord, but she is not
aware of it. God is keeping her in deep humility. I have carried out the
Lord's directives.
1064 + O my most sweet Master,
good Jesus, I give You my heart. You shape and mold it after Your liking. O
fathomless love, I open the calyx of my heart to You, like a rosebud to the
freshness of dew. To You alone, my Betrothed, is known the fragrance of the
flower of my heart. Let the fragrance of my sacrifice be pleasing to You. O
Immortal God, my everlasting delight, already here on earth You are my
heaven. May every beat of my heart be a new hymn of praise to You, O Holy
Trinity! Had I as many hearts as there are drops of water in the ocean or
grains of sand in the whole world, I would offer them all to You, O my Love,
O Treasure of my heart! Whomever I shall meet in my life, no matter who they
may be, I want to draw them all to love You, O my Jesus, my Beauty, my
Repose, my sole Master, Judge, Savior and Spouse, all in one; I know that one
title will modify the other-I have entrusted everything to Your mercy.
1065 + My Jesus, support me when
difficult and stormy days come, days of testing, days of ordeal, when
suffering and fatigue begin to oppress my body and my soul. Sustain me,
Jesus, and give me strength to bear suffering. Set a guard upon my lips that
they may address no word of complaint to creatures. Your most merciful Heart
is all my hope. I have nothing for my defense but only Your mercy; in it lies
all my trust.
1122 God of great mercy, who
deigned to send us Your only begotten Son as the greatest proof of Your
fathomless love and mercy, You do not reject sinners; but in Your boundless
mercy You have opened for them also Your treasures, treasures from which they
can draw abundantly, not only justification, but also all the sanctity that a
soul can attain. Father of great mercy, I desire that all hearts turn with
confidence to Your infinite mercy. No one will be justified before You if he
is not accompanied by Your unfathomable mercy. When You reveal the mystery of
Your mercy to us, there will not be enough of eternity to properly thank You for
it.
1123 Oh, how sweet it is to have in the depth of one's soul that which the Church tells us we must believe. When my soul is immersed in love, I solve the most intricate questions clearly and quickly. Only love is able to cross over precipices and mountain peaks. Love, once again, love.
1315 + In times of interior desolation I do not lose my
peace, because I know that God never abandons a soul, except perhaps only
when the soul itself breaks the bond of love by its unfaithfulness. However,
all creatures without exception depend on the Lord and are maintained by His
omnipotence. Some are under the rule of love, others under the rule of
justice. It depends on us under which rule we want to live, because no one is
refused the aid of sufficient grace. I am not frightened at all by my
apparent abandonment. I examine myself more profoundly to discover whether
this is due to my fault. If this is not the case then may [the Lord] be
blessed!
1316 October 1, 1937. Daughter, I need sacrifice
lovingly accomplished, because that alone has meaning for Me. Enormous indeed
are the debts of the world which are due to Me; pure souls can pay them by
their sacrifice, exercising mercy in spirit.
1317 I understand Your words, Lord, and the magnitude of
the mercy that ought to shine in my soul. Jesus: I know, My daughter, that
you understand it and that you do everything within your power. But
write this for the many souls who are often worried because they do
not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy.
Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses,
is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul
does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the
day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for
themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment
with their mercy.
1318 October 10, [1937]. O my Jesus, in thanksgiving for
Your many graces, I offer You my body and soul, intellect and will, and all
the sentiments of my heart. Through the vows, I have given myself entirely to
You; I have then nothing more that I can offer You. Jesus said to me, My
daughter, you have not offered Me that which is really yours. I probed
deeply into myself and found that I love God with all the faculties of my
soul and, unable to see what it was that I had not yet given to the Lord, I
asked, "Jesus, tell me what it is, and I will give it to You at once
with a generous heart." Jesus said to me with kindness, Daughter,
give Me your misery, because it is your exclusive property. At that
moment, a ray of light illumined my soul, and I saw the whole abyss of my
misery. In that same moment I nestled close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
with so much trust that even if I had the sins of all the damned weighing on
my conscience, I would not have doubted God's mercy but, with a heart crushed
to dust, I would have thrown myself into the abyss of Your mercy. I believe,
O Jesus, that You would not reject me, but would absolve me through the hand
of Your representative.
1319 You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed
forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O
Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty
Yourself out upon us.
1320 At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for
sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion,
particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of
great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal
sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request
of Me in virtue of My Passion....
1321 Hail, most merciful Heart of Jesus,
Living Fountain of all graces,
Our sole shelter, our only refuge;
In You I have the light of hope.
Hail, most compassionate Heart of my God,
Unfathomable living Fount of Love
From which gushes life for sinful man
And the Spring of all sweetness.
Hail, open Wound of the Most Sacred Heart,
From which the rays of mercy issued forth
And from which it was given us to draw life
With the vessel of trust alone.
Hail, God's goodness, incomprehensible,
Never to be measured or fathomed,
Full of love and mercy, though always holy,
Yet, like a good mother, ever bent o'er us.
Hail, Throne of Mercy, Lamb of God,
Who gave Your life in sacrifice for me,
Before whom my soul humbles itself daily,
Living in faith profound.
[End of Notebook Four]
1322 +J.M.J.
The barque of my life sails along
Amid darkness and shadows of night,
And I see no shore;
I am sailing the high seas.
The slightest storm would drown me,
Engulfing my boat in the swirling depths,
If You yourself did not watch over me, O God,
At each instant and moment of my life.
Amid the roaring waves
I sail peacefully, trustingly,
And gaze like a child into the distance without fear,
Because You, O Jesus, are my Light.
Dread and terror is all about me,
But within my soul is peace more profound than the depths
of the sea,
For he who is with You, O Lord, will not perish;
Of this Your love assures me, O God.
Though a host of dangers surround me,
None of them do I fear, for I fix my gaze on the starry
sky,
And I sail along bravely and merrily,
As becomes a pure heart.
And if the ship of my life sails so peacefully,
This is due to but one thing above all:
You are my helmsman, O God.
This I confess with utmost humility.
+ J.M.J.
1323 O my God, I love You.
Sister Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament.
Cracow, October 20, 1937.
1324 + I bow down before You, O Bread of Angels,
With deep faith, hope and love
And from the depths of my soul I worship You,
Though I am but nothingness.
I bow down before You, O hidden God
And love You with all my heart.
The veils of mystery hinder me not at all;
I love You as do Your chosen ones in heaven.
I bow down before You, O Lamb of God
Who take away the sins of my soul,
Whom I receive into my heart each morn,
You who are my saving help.
+ J. M. J.
Cracow, October 20, 1937.
Fifth Notebook
1325 O my God, let everything that is in me praise You, my
Lord and Creator; and with every beat of my heart I want to praise Your
unfathomable mercy. I want to tell souls of Your goodness and encourage them
to trust in Your mercy. That is my mission, which You yourself have entrusted
to me, O Lord, in this life and in the life to come.
1336 + In this profound silence, I am better able to judge
the condition of my soul. My soul is like clear water in which I can see
everything: both my misery and the vastness of God's graces. And owing to
this true knowledge of itself, my spirit is strengthened in deep humility. I
expose my heart to the action of Your grace like a crystal exposed to the
rays of the sun. May Your image be reflected in it, O my God, to the extent
that it is possible to be reflected in the heart of a creature. Let Your
divinity radiate through me, O You who dwell in my soul.
1337 As I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament and
greeting the five wounds of Jesus, at each salutation I felt a torrent of
graces gushing into my soul, giving me a foretaste of heaven and absolute
confidence in God's mercy.
1338 As I write these words, I hear the cry of Satan:
"She's 'writing everything, she's writing everything, and because of
this we are losing so much! Do not write about the goodness of God; He is
just!" And howling with fury, he vanished.
1341 When one's health is poor, there is much one has to
bear. For when one is ill, but not in bed, one is not considered to be ill.
For many reasons, therefore, there are constant occasions for sacrifices, and
sometimes big ones. I understand now that only in eternity will many things
be revealed. But I also understand that if God demands a sacrifice, He does
not withhold His grace, but gives it to the soul in abundance.
1342 My Jesus, let my sacrifice burn before Your throne in
all silence, but with the full force of love, as I beg You to have mercy on
souls.
1343 Third day. In the meditation on death, I prepared
myself as if for real death. I examined my conscience and searched all my
affairs at the approach of death and, thanks be to grace, my affairs were
directed toward that ultimate goal. This filled my heart with great gratitude
to God, and I resolved to serve my God even more faithfully in the future.
One thing alone is necessary: to put my old self to death and to begin a new
life. In the morning, I prepared to receive Holy Communion as if it were to
be the last in my life, and after Holy Communion I brought before my
imagination my actual death, and I said the prayers for the dying and then
the De Profundis for my own soul. My body was lowered into the grave, and I
said to my soul, "See what has become of your body, a heap of dirt teeming
with vermin-that is your inheritance."
1344 O merciful God, who still allow me to live, give me
strength that I may live a new life, the life of the spirit, over which death
has no dominion. And with that, my heart was renewed, and I began a new life
while still here on earth, a life of love of God. Nevertheless, I do not
forget that I am weakness itself, though I do not doubt even for a moment
that I will obtain the help of Your grace, O God.
1349 Jesus comforted me, saying that both our souls had
benefited from this. But I begged the Lord to deign to spare me from being
the occasion of anyone's suffering, as my heart could not bear this.
1350 O white Host, You preserve my soul in whiteness; I
fear the day when I might forsake You. You are the Bread of Angels, and thus
also the Bread of Virgins.
1351 Jesus, my most perfect model, with my eyes fixed on
You, I will go through life in Your footsteps, adapting nature to grace,
according to Your most holy will and Your light which illumines my soul,
trusting completely in Your help.
+J.M.J.
1357 Once, when I was passing by a group of people, I
asked the Lord if they were all in the state of grace, because I did not feel
His sufferings. Because you do not feel My
sufferings, it does not follow that they must all be in
the state of grace. At times, I
allow you to be aware of the condition of certain souls,
and I give you the grace of
suffering solely because I use you as the instrument of
their conversion.
1358 Where there is genuine virtue, there must be
sacrifice as well; one's whole life must be a sacrifice. It is only by means
of sacrifice that souls can become useful. It is my self-sacrifice which, in
my relationship with my neighbor, can give glory to God, but God's love must flow
through this sacrifice, because everything is concentrated in this love and
takes its value from it.
1359 Bear in mind that when you come out of this
retreat, I shall be dealing with you as with a perfect soul. I want to hold
you in My hand as a pliant tool, perfectly
adapted to the completion of My works.
1360 O Lord, You who penetrate my whole being and the most
secret depths of my soul, You see that I desire You alone and long only for
the fulfillment of Your holy will, paying no heed to difficulties or
sufferings or humiliations or to what others might think.
1361 This firm resolution to become a saint is
extremely pleasing to Me. I bless your efforts and will give you
opportunities to sanctify yourself. Be watchful that you lose no opportunity that
My providence offers you for sanctification. If you do not succeed in taking
advantage of an opportunity, do not lose your peace, but humble yourself
profoundly before Me and, with great trust, immerse yourself completely in My
mercy. In this way, you gain more than you have lost, because more favor is
granted to a humble soul than the soul itself asks for...
1364 Now I can be wholly useful to the Church by my
personal sanctity, which throbs with life in the whole Church, for we all
make up one organism in Jesus. That is why I endeavor to make the soil of my
heart bear good fruit. Although the human eye may perhaps never see it, there
will nevertheless come a day when it will become apparent that many souls
have been fed and will continue to be fed with this fruit.
1365 O Eternal Love, who enkindle a new life within me, a
life of love and of mercy, support me with Your grace, so that I may worthily
answer Your call, so that what You yourself have intended to accomplish in
souls through me, might indeed be accomplished. My God, I see the radiance of
eternal dawn. My whole soul bounds toward You, O Lord; nothing any longer
holds me back, nothing ties me to earth. Help me, O Lord, to bear the rest of
my days with patience. The sacrifice of my love burns incessantly before Your
Majesty, but so silently that only Your divine eye sees it, O God, and no
other creature is capable of perceiving it.
1366 O my Lord, although so many things occupy me,
although I have this work at heart, although I desire the triumph of the
Church and the salvation of souls, although all the persecutions of Your
faithful ones affect me, although the fall of each soul is painful to me,
yet, above and beyond all this, I still have a profound peace in my soul
which neither triumphs nor desires nor adversities can disturb because, for
me, You are above all dispensations, my Lord and my God.
1375 November 1, 1937.
After Vespers today, there was a procession to the
cemetery. I could not go, because I was on duty at the gate. But that did not
stop me at all from praying for the souls. As the procession was returning
from the cemetery to the chapel, my soul felt the presence of many souls. I
understood the great justice of God, how each one had to pay off the debt to
the last cent.
1379 November 10, [1937]. When Mother [Irene] showed me
the booklet with the chaplet, the litany and the novena, I asked her to let
me look it over. As I was glancing through it, Jesus gave me to know
interiorly: Already there are many souls who have been drawn to My
love by this image. My mercy acts in souls through this work. I learned
that many souls had experienced God's grace.
1396 Today I heard a voice in my
soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great
numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of
My great mercy.
1397 The Lord said to me, The
loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when
you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the
conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard
and answered.
1446 The Lord said to me, It
should be of no concern to you how anyone else acts; you are to be My living
reflection, through love and mercy. I answered, "Lord, but they
often take advantage of my goodness." That makes no difference, My
daughter. That is no concern of yours. As for you, be always merciful toward
other people, and especially toward sinners.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-186-187, 206, 250, 308-309, 319, 320)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-324, 349, 350, 355-356, 361, 367, 384)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-420, 423)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-598, 687, 699, 730, 741, 793, 845,
873)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-723, 875, 893, 908, 927, 929, 934,
942)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-943, 951, 975, 999)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1059, 1062-1065, 1122-1123)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1315-1321)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1322-1325, 1336-1338, 1341-1344)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1349-1351, 1357-1361, 1364-1366)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1375, 1379, 1395-1397, 1446)
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Nobyembre 18, 2014
Jesus Is My Guest-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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