Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
94 O
my Lord, inflame my heart with love for You, that my spirit may not grow weary
amidst the storms, the sufferings and the trials. You see how weak I am.
Love can do all.
153
One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers,
full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it,
dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realizing it.
And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the
abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they
fell. And their number was so great that it was impossible to count them.
And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn
with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in
their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the
rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there
was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these
souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their
sufferings.
163
JMJ The Year 1937
General Exercises
+O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart
beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand
times do I want to glorify Your mercy.
+I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living
reflection, 0 Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your
unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect
or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors'
souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my
neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings. Help
me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak
negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for
all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds,
so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more
difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my
neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the
service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel
all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will
be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will
lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own
suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
+You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first:
the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy-if I
cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third:
prayer-if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by
prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out
physically.
241
Love of neighbor. First: Helpfulness towards the sisters. Second: Do not
speak about those who are absent, and defend the good name of my neighbor.
Third: Rejoice in the success of others.
242
+O God, how much I desire to be a small child.[71] You are my Father,
and You know how little and weak I am. So I beg You, keep me close by Your
side all my life and especially at the hour of my death. Jesus, I know that
Your goodness surpasses the goodness of a most tender mother.
294
+Once the Lord said to me, Act like a beggar who does not back away when
he gets more alms [than he asked for], but offers thanks the more
fervently. You too should not back away and say that you are not worthy of
receiving greater graces when I give them to you. I know you are unworthy,
but rejoice all the more and take as many treasures from My Heart as you
can carry, for then you will please Me more. And I will tell you one more
thing: Take these graces not only for yourself, but also for others; that
is, encourage the souls with whom you come in contact to trust in My
infinite mercy. Oh, how I love those souls who have complete confidence in
Me. I will do everything for them.
303
Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love
which lends value to our actions. And the purer our love becomes, the less
there will be within us for the flames of suffering to feed upon, and the
suffering will cease to be a suffering for us; it will become a delight! By
the grace of God, I have received such a disposition of heart that I am
never so happy as when I suffer for Jesus, whom I love with every beat of
my heart.
Once when I was suffering greatly, I left my work and escaped to Jesus and
asked Him to give me His strength. After a very short prayer I returned to
my work filled with enthusiasm and joy. Then, one of the sisters [probably
Sister Justine] said to me, "You must have many consolations today,
Sister; you look so radiant. Surely, God is giving you no suffering, but
only consolations." "You are greatly mistaken, Sister," I
answered, "for it is precisely when I suffer much that my joy is
greater; and when I suffer less, my joy also is less." However, that
soul was letting me recognize that she does not understand what I was
saying. I tried to explain to her that when we suffer much we have a great
chance to show God that we love Him; but when we suffer little we have less
occasion to show God our love; and when we do not suffer at all, our love
is then neither great nor pure. By the grace of God, we can attain a point
where suffering will become a delight to us, for love can work such things
in pure souls.
340
I know now that nothing can put a stop to my love for You, Jesus, neither
suffering, nor adversity, nor fire nor the sword, nor death itself. I feel
stronger than all these things. Nothing can compare with love. I see that
the smallest things done by a soul that loves God sincerely have an
enormous value in His Holy eyes.
502
Only love has meaning; it raises up our smallest actions into infinity.
534
Chastity. There is no need to explain that this vow forbids all those
things prohibited by the sixth and ninth commandments: deeds, thoughts,
words, feelings... I understand that a solemn vow differs from a simple
vow; I understand this in all its implications. While reflecting upon this,
I heard these words in my soul: You are My spouse forever; your chastity
should be greater than that of the Angels, for I call no angel to such
intimacy as I do you. The smallest act of My spouse is of infinite value. A
pure soul has inconceivable power before God.
642 Palm Sunday. This Sunday, I experienced in a special
way the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus. My spirit was there
where Jesus was. I saw Jesus riding on a donkey's foal, and the disciples
and a great multitude with branches in their hands joyfully accompanying
the Lord Jesus. Some strewed them before His feet where He was riding,
while others raised their branches in the air, leaping and jumping before
the Lord and not knowing what to do for joy. And I saw another crowd which
came out to meet Jesus, likewise with joyful faces and with branches in
their hands, and they were crying out unceasingly with joy. There were
little children there also. But Jesus was very grave, and the Lord gave me
to know how much He was suffering at the time. And at that moment, I saw
nothing but only Jesus, whose Heart was saturated with ingratitude.
704
I spend every free moment at the feet of the hidden God. He is my Master; I
ask Him about everything; I speak to Him about everything. Here I obtain
strength and light; here I learn everything; here I am given light on how
to act toward my neighbor. From the time I left the novitiate, I have
enclosed myself in the tabernacle together with Jesus, my Master. He
himself drew me into the fire of living love on which everything converges.
1002 The Lord's Supper is laid,
Jesus sits down at table with His Apostles,
His Being all transformed into love,
For such was the Holy Trinity's counsel.
With great desire, I desire to eat with you,
Before I suffer death.
About to leave you, love holds Me in your midst.
He sheds His Blood, gives His life, for He loves
immensely.
Love hides beneath the appearance of bread,
Departing, He remains with us.
Such self-abasement was not needed,
Yet burning love hid Him under these species.
Over the bread and wine He says these words:
"This is My Blood, this is My Body."
Although mysterious, these are words of love.
Then He passes the Cup among His disciples.
Jesus grew deeply troubled within
And said, "One of you will betray his Master."
They fell silent, with a silence as of the tomb,
And John inclined his head on His breast.
The supper is ended.
Let us go to Gethsemane.
Love is satisfied, And there the traitor is waiting.
+ J.M.J.
1513 + Jesus said to me today, You often call Me your
Master. This is pleasing to My Heart; but do not forget, My disciple, that
you are a disciple of a crucified Master. Let that one word be enough for
you. You know what is contained in the cross.
1701
I asked the Lord today that He might deign to teach me about the interior
life, because of myself I can neither understand nor conceive anything
perfectly. The Lord answered me, I was your Teacher, I am and I will be;
strive to make your heart like unto My humble and gentle Heart. Never claim
your rights. Bear with great calm and patience everything that befalls you.
Do not defend yourself when you are put to shame, though innocent. Let
others triumph. Do not stop being good when you notice that your goodness
is being abused. I Myself will speak up for you when it is necessary. Be
grateful for the smallest of My graces, because your gratitude compels Me
to grant you new graces...
1710 May 26, [1938-Feast of the Ascension]. Today I
accompanied the Lord Jesus as He ascended into heaven. It was about noon. I
was overcome by a great longing for God. It is a strange thing, the more I
felt God's presence, the more ardently I desired Him. Then I saw myself in
the midst of a huge crowd of disciples and apostles, together with the
Mother of God. Jesus was telling them to... Go out into the whole world
and teach in My name. He stretched out His hands and blessed
them and disappeared in a cloud. I saw the longing of Our Lady. Her soul
yearned for Jesus with the whole force of Her love. But She was so peaceful
and so united to the will of God that there was not a stir in Her heart but
for what God wanted.
1714
Today I interceded earnestly with the Lord Jesus for our house, that He
might deign to take away the cross which has touched our convent. 252 The Lord answered
me, Your prayers are accepted for other intentions. I cannot take away
this cross until they recognize its meaning. Nevertheless, I did not
stop praying.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-94, 153, 163, 241-242)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-294, 303, 340, 502, 534)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-704, 642, 1002)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1513)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1701, 1710, 1704)
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