Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations

Signed, Sealed and To Be Delivered

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct. 16, 2011)

Matthew 22:15-21

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The Emperor´s." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the Emperor´s, and to God the things that are God´s."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, my Creator and Redeemer, everything good comes from You. You are the one source of peace and happiness. Thank You for bringing me into existence and insuring I received the inestimable gift of the faith. Thank You for accompanying me in every moment. I am grateful for Your mercy and love and wish to respond more generously to You in my life.

Petition: Lord, may I remember who I am: one who bears the name “Christian.”

1. Signed: How often do we reflect on what we are doing when we make the Sign of the Cross? In The Spirit of the Liturgy, the future Pope Benedict said: “to seal oneself with the Sign of the Cross is a public and visible ‘yes’ to him who suffered for us, to him who in the body has made God’s love visible, to a God who reigns not by destruction but by humility of suffering and love which is stronger than all the power of the world and wiser than all the calculating intelligence of men.” We are saying that we believe in the power of the cross and particularly in what it means for our own life – our own bodies will rise again. We sign ourselves as belonging to the one who has won our redemption by his blood on the cross, as belonging to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are signed and we belong to God. The Sign of the Cross is a daily reminder that we are to give to God what is God’s, that is, our very selves.

2. Delivered: Christ prayed at the Last Supper, “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.... Father, I desire that those also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17: 16-24). And so it is that we are to be delivered to where we will see his glory and be with him. We bear an inscription as those baptized into his life, and we outwardly recall this when we make the Sign of the Cross with water from the fonts in the entrances to our churches. It is up to us then – with the thoughts, words and actions of our lives – to live this truth coherently, giving to God what is God’s.

3. Detached: Pope John Paul II, reflecting on Psalm 145, writes: “Man therefore finds himself facing a radical choice between two contrasting possibilities: on the one side is the temptation to ‘trust in princes,’ adopting their criteria inspired by wickedness, selfishness and pride. In fact, this is a slippery slope, a ruinous road, a ‘crooked path and a devious way,’ (Proverbs 2:15) whose goal is despair. Indeed, the Psalmist reminds us that man is a frail, mortal being, as the very word ‘adam’ implies; in Hebrew this word is used to signify earth, matter, dust. Man – the bible constantly states – is ‘like (…) a strip of grass that is green at dawn but has withered by evening (Psalms 89:5-6).’ With this in mind, we “give to the emperor” what is of this world by relinquishing or simply detaching ourselves from it. We give what is eternal, namely our souls, over to God because we belong to him.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, Jesus Christ, sometimes I am attracted by the things of this world and influenced by those who try to convince me to trust only in the world’s ways. May I not be hoodwinked by this world but keep my heart set on the world that will never pass away. Only in Your world will I be filled with Your grace forever.

Resolution: Today I will examine my conscience to do some “house cleaning” of my soul. I resolve to treat the goods of this world only as a means towards holiness, stepping stones to communion with God.

Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska

140 Pure love is capable of great deeds, and it is not broken by difficulty or adversity. As it remains strong in the midst of great difficulties, so too it perseveres in the toilsome and drab life of each day. It knows that only one thing is needed to please God: to do even the smallest things out of great love-love, and always love.

Pure love never errs. Its light is strangely plentiful. It will not do anything that might displease God. It is ingenious at doing what is more pleasing to God, and no one will equal it. It is happy when it can empty itself and burn like a pure offering. The more it gives of itself, the happier it is. But also, no one can sense dangers from afar as can love; it knows how to unmask and also knows with whom it has to deal.

143 +I have wasted many of God's graces because I was always afraid of being deluded. God drew me to himself so powerfully that often it was not in my power to resist his grace when I was suddenly immersed in him. At these moments, Jesus filled me with such great peace that, later on, even when I tried to become uneasy, I could not do so. And then, I heard these words in my soul: In order that you may be assured that it is I who am demanding all these things of you, I will give you such profound peace that even if you wanted to feel troubled and frightened, it would not be in your power to do so today, but love will flood your soul to the point of self-oblivion.

146 Prayer.-A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.

148 +A noble and delicate soul, even the most simple, but one of delicate sensibilities, sees God in everything, finds Him everywhere, and knows how to find Him in even the most hidden things. It finds all things important, it highly appreciates all things, it thanks God for all things, it draws profit for the soul from all things, and it gives all glory to God. It places its trust in God and is not confused when the time of ordeals comes. It knows that God is always the best of Fathers and makes little of human opinion. It follows faithfully the faintest breath of the Holy Spirit; it rejoices in this Spiritual Guest and holds onto Him like a child to its mother. Where other souls come to a standstill and fear, this soul passes on without fear or difficulty.

923 February 7, [1937]. Today, the Lord said to me, I demand of you a perfect and whole-burnt offering; an offering of the will. No other sacrifice can compare with this one. I myself am directing your life and arranging things in such a way that you will be for Me a continual sacrifice and will always do My will. And for the accomplishment of this offering, you will unite yourself with Me on the Cross. I know what you can do. I myself will give you many orders directly, but I will delay the possibility of their being carried out and make it depend on others. But what the superiors will not manage to do, I myself will accomplish directly in your soul. And in the most hidden depths of your soul, a perfect holocaust will be carried out, not just for a while, but know, My daughter, that this offering will last until your death. But there is time, so that I the Lord will fulfill all your wishes. I delight in you as in a living host; let nothing terrify you; I am with you.

954 Today after Holy Communion, the Lord told me, My daughter, My delight is to unite myself with you. It is when you submit yourself to My will that you give Me the greatest glory and draw down upon yourself a sea of blessings. I would not take such special delight in you if you were not living by my will. O my sweet Guest, I am prepared for all sacrifices for Your sake, but You know that I am weakness itself. Nevertheless, with You I can do all things. O my Jesus, I beseech You, be with me at each instant.

(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-140, 143, 146, 148)

(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-923, 954)

http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/semanal.phtml?se=363&ca=975&te=866

http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml