From Heaven or Earth?
Saturday of the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time
June 2, 2012
Father John Doyle,
LC
Mark 11:27-33
Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." They argued with one another, "If we say, ´From heaven,´ he will say, ´Why then did you not believe him?´ But shall we say, ´Of human origin´?” - they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." They argued with one another, "If we say, ´From heaven,´ he will say, ´Why then did you not believe him?´ But shall we say, ´Of human origin´?” - they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Introductory Prayer: Once again, Lord, I come to You to
pray. Even though I cannot see you, I trust that You are present and want very
much to instruct me in Your teachings. In the same way You demonstrate Your
love for me by spending this time with me, I want to express my love for You by
dedicating this time to You with a spirit of faith, confidence and attention.
Here I am, Lord, to listen to You and respond with love.
Petition: Jesus, grant me true sincerity and uprightness of life.
1. The Day After: It was the day after Jesus had caused an uproar in
the Temple at Jerusalem, the like of which had not been seen for a long time.
Jesus had overturned the moneychangers’ tables and driven out the animals.
Anyone else would surely have landed in prison, but this was Christ, and his
hour had not yet come. Still the chief priests and scribes are looking for an explanation
–– or better an excuse –– to accuse Jesus. He shrewdly answers their inquiry
with a question that they cannot answer for fear of revealing their insincerity
before the crowds. How this insincerity on the part of the scribes and
Pharisees offended Our Lord! He would not speak to them plainly because their
purpose was to twist his words. Do I detest insincerity as well? Do I find
traces of dishonesty in my own life? Am I more concerned about what others
think or about what Christ thinks?
2. Why Did You Not Believe in Him? Jesus did not say these words, but
they knew he could have. Their troubled consciences were aware it would have
been a fitting accusation. Why had they not believed in the precursor of the
Lord? Was it not for the same reasons that they would not believe in the Lord
himself? John the Baptist had called them on their insincerity. They went to
receive his baptism of repentance, but they did not really mean to amend their
lives. Would Jesus have to reproach me for any insincerity? Do I ever go to
receive the sacrament of penance without a real desire to change my life? Or do
I avoid confession altogether because I really don’t see anything in my
behavior that needs to change?
3. We Do Not Know: This is certainly not the first or the last time
that ignorance is pleaded to avoid the consequences of the truth, but this kind
of ignorance is clearly culpable. The speakers were not uneducated men, but
rather the leaders of God’s people, responsible for guiding them along the way
of God’s covenant. While it was generally accepted that John the Baptist had
been a great prophet who stirred sinners to repentance with his preaching and
example of austerity, the Jewish authorities were unwilling to accept that
anyone besides themselves could claim any authority in God’s name. Truly they
did know, but they were unwilling to accept the truth. Do I ever lean on
ignorance in plowing forward with some action that I’m not sure is quite right?
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, at times I know what Your
will for me is, but it costs me greatly to put it into practice. Sometimes I am
too worried about what others think and say, or I am afraid of the
consequences. Grant me a spirit of sincerity and strength always to accept and
follow Your will.
Resolution: I will arrive a little early to Mass tomorrow in order to spend a few
quiet moments with Our Lord asking for the grace of always being sincere and
upright in my actions.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
282 Once the Lord said to me, My Heart was moved by
great mercy towards you, My dearest child, when I saw you torn to shreds
because of the great pain you suffered in repenting for your sins. I see your
love, so pure and true that I give you first place among the virgins. You are
the honor and glory of My Passion. I see every abasement of your soul, and
nothing escapes my attention. I lift up the humble even to my very throne,
because I want it so.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
378 Once as I was talking with my spiritual director, I
had an interior vision-quicker than lightning-of his soul in great suffering,
in such agony that God touches very few souls with such fire. The suffering
arises from this work. There will come a time when this work, which God is
demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone. And then God will act
with great power, which will give evidence of its authenticity. It will be a
new splendor for the Church, although it has been dormant in it from long ago.
That God is infinitely merciful, no one can deny. He desires everyone to know
this before He comes again as Judge. He wants souls to come to know Him first
as King of Mercy. When this triumph comes, we shall already have entered the
new life in which there is no suffering. But before this, your soul [of the
spiritual director] will be surfeited with bitterness at the sight of the
destruction of your efforts. However, this will only appear to be so, because
what God has once decided upon, He does not change. But although this
destruction will be such only in outward appearance, the suffering will be
real. When will this happen? I do not know. How long will it last? I do not
know.[89] But God has promised a great grace especially to you
and to all those... who
will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death,
as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night, when the
sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My
Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to
the very bottom of hell.
379 During one of the adorations, Jesus promised me that: With souls that have recourse to My mercy and with those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will deal according to My infinite mercy at the hour of their death.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart 1 Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds.
379 During one of the adorations, Jesus promised me that: With souls that have recourse to My mercy and with those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will deal according to My infinite mercy at the hour of their death.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart 1 Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds.
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.
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.
619 At the beginning of Lent, I also asked to have the
subject of my particular examen changed, and I was told to do everything with
the pure intention of reparation for poor sinners. This keeps me in continual union
with God, and this intention perfects my actions, because everything I do is
done for immortal souls. All hardships and fatigue are as nothing when I think
that they reconcile sinful souls with God.
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.
1052 O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church:
Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit, and give power to the words of
priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to
You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy priests; You yourself maintain them in
holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany
them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares which are
continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your mercy, O
Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of
priests, for You can do all things.
1074 When I went for adoration, I heard these words: My beloved daughter, write down these
words, that today My Heart has rested in this convent [the
Cracow house]. Tell the
world about My mercy and My love.
The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!
My daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it -with peace.
Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.
1075 Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it.
1076 Write this: Everything that exists is enclosed in the bowels of My mercy, more deeply than an infant in its mother's womb. How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins of distrust wound Me most painfully.
The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!
My daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it -with peace.
Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.
1075 Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it.
1076 Write this: Everything that exists is enclosed in the bowels of My mercy, more deeply than an infant in its mother's womb. How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins of distrust wound Me most painfully.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-282, 355-356, 361, 367, 378-379)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-384, 420-423)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-619, 687, 699)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1052, 1074-1075)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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