What is My Deepest Desire?
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Father Walter Schu, LC
Matthew 6: 19-23
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So,
if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye
is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in
you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in You. I believe
that You love me, that You are close by my side, and that You will be walking
with me throughout this day. I trust in You, Lord. I trust You more than I
trust myself, because You are infinitely good and all powerful. I love You,
Jesus. I love You because You died on the cross for me, to save me.
Petition: Lord, help me to discover where you are most calling me to store up
treasures in heaven.
1. Temporal or Eternal Treasures: Who does not long to discover a
hidden treasure? The human heart was made for the happiness and security
treasure promises, for the joy it brings. But one fundamental problem presents
itself: to what kind of treasure should we entrust our heart, our inmost being,
our very self? Christ alerts us to the false treasures which tug at our heart
each day — earthly treasures of fine clothes, or possessions, or wealth. Each
of these treasures can and will be taken from us. At the moment we most need
help, the time of our passing to eternity, material belongings will betray us.
As the realistic Spanish proverb puts it: “There are no pockets in a shroud.”
2. The Deep Longings of the Heart: Christ offers us the one treasure
worthy of the human heart, the one treasure that will not betray us, the only
one that can accompany us through the grave and across the threshold to eternal
life. What is that treasure? It is the person of Christ himself and all of the
good actions we do for his sake. Living for Christ alone, loving him above all
else, giving up our lives, our very selves for him, constitutes the only
treasure rich enough to satisfy the human heart — the only one capable of
fulfilling our deepest aspirations. Only this treasure will remain for all
eternity, immersing us in a joy that is ever beginning, ever new. “For where
your treasure is, there also your heart will be.”
3. “The Lamp of the Body”: Christ’s teaching about the eye as
the lamp of the body might at first glance seem obscure, unrelated to his
previous exhortation to store up treasures in heaven. But a second look reveals
an inner link. Exegetes have viewed the eye as the intentions which lie behind
our actions. Christ exhorts us to childlike simplicity in all that we do and
even in the way we view events and others. If we see Christ in others, if we
are able to perceive the Father’s providential hand behind everything that
happens to us in life, if all we do is done out of love for Christ, then truly our
whole body will be flooded with light.
Conversation with Christ: Thank You, Lord, for the clear
message of Your Gospel. Thank You for showing me how to live my life with
eternity ever in view. Thank You for being the one treasure that alone can
satisfy the longings of my heart.
Resolution: I will do everything this day out of love for Christ and to help
establish his Kingdom, renewing my conscious efforts to store up treasures in
heaven.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
A
Moment Before the Blessed Sacrament.
220 O my eternal Lord and Creator, how am I going to thank You for this great favor; namely, that You have deigned to choose miserable me to be Your betrothed and that You are to unite me to yourself in an eternal bond? O dearest Treasure of my heart, I offer You all the adoration and thanksgiving of the Saints and of all the choirs of Angels, and I unite myself in a special way with Your Mother. O Mary, my Mother, I humbly beg of You, cover my soul with Your virginal cloak at this very important moment of my life, so that thus I may become dearer to Your Son and may worthily praise Your Son's mercy before the whole world and throughout all eternity.
220 O my eternal Lord and Creator, how am I going to thank You for this great favor; namely, that You have deigned to choose miserable me to be Your betrothed and that You are to unite me to yourself in an eternal bond? O dearest Treasure of my heart, I offer You all the adoration and thanksgiving of the Saints and of all the choirs of Angels, and I unite myself in a special way with Your Mother. O Mary, my Mother, I humbly beg of You, cover my soul with Your virginal cloak at this very important moment of my life, so that thus I may become dearer to Your Son and may worthily praise Your Son's mercy before the whole world and throughout all eternity.
239
Prayer during the Mass on the day of the perpetual vows. Today I place my heart
on the paten where Your Heart has been placed, O Jesus, and today I offer
myself together with You to God, Your Father and mine, as a sacrifice of love
and praise. Father of Mercy, look upon the sacrifice of my heart, but through
the wound in the Heart of Jesus.
May 1, 1933. First Day.
Union with Jesus on the day of perpetual vows. Jesus, from now on Your Heart is mine, and mine is Yours alone. The very thought of Your Name, Jesus, is the delight of my heart. I truly would not be able to live without You, even for a moment, Jesus. Today my soul has lost itself in You, my only treasure. My love knows no obstacles in giving proof of itself to its Beloved.
The words of Jesus during my perpetual vows: My spouse, our hearts are joined forever. Remember to Whom you have vowed... everything cannot be put into words.
My petition while we were lying prostrate under the pall.[69] I begged the Lord to grant me the grace of never consciously and deliberately offending Him by even the smallest sin or imperfection.
Jesus, I trust in You! Jesus, I love You with all my heart!
When times are most difficult, You are my Mother.
For love of You, O Jesus, I die completely to myself today and begin to live for the greater glory of Your Holy Name.
+Love, it is for love of You, O Most Holy Trinity, that I offer myself to You as an oblation of praise, as a holocaust of total self-immolation. And through this self-immolation, I desire the exaltation of Your Name, O Lord. I cast myself as a little rosebud at Your feet, O Lord, and may the fragrance of this flower be known to You alone.
May 1, 1933. First Day.
Union with Jesus on the day of perpetual vows. Jesus, from now on Your Heart is mine, and mine is Yours alone. The very thought of Your Name, Jesus, is the delight of my heart. I truly would not be able to live without You, even for a moment, Jesus. Today my soul has lost itself in You, my only treasure. My love knows no obstacles in giving proof of itself to its Beloved.
The words of Jesus during my perpetual vows: My spouse, our hearts are joined forever. Remember to Whom you have vowed... everything cannot be put into words.
My petition while we were lying prostrate under the pall.[69] I begged the Lord to grant me the grace of never consciously and deliberately offending Him by even the smallest sin or imperfection.
Jesus, I trust in You! Jesus, I love You with all my heart!
When times are most difficult, You are my Mother.
For love of You, O Jesus, I die completely to myself today and begin to live for the greater glory of Your Holy Name.
+Love, it is for love of You, O Most Holy Trinity, that I offer myself to You as an oblation of praise, as a holocaust of total self-immolation. And through this self-immolation, I desire the exaltation of Your Name, O Lord. I cast myself as a little rosebud at Your feet, O Lord, and may the fragrance of this flower be known to You alone.
304
+O my Jesus, my only hope, thank You for the book which You have opened before
my soul's eyes. That book is Your Passion which You underwent for love of me.
It is from this book that I have learned how to love God and souls. In this
book there are found for us inexhaustible treasures. O Jesus, how few souls
understand You in Your martyrdom of love! Oh, how great is the fire of purest
love which burns in Your Most Sacred Heart! Happy the soul that has come to
understand the love of the Heart of Jesus!
338
When I started to look deep within myself, I did not find any attachment to
anything, but as in all things that concern me, so also in this matter, I was
afraid and distrustful of myself. Tired out by this detailed selfexamination, I
went before the Blessed Sacrament and asked Jesus with all my heart,
"Jesus, my Spouse, Treasure of my heart, You know that I know You alone
and that I have no other love but You; but, Jesus, if I were about to become
attached to anything that is not You, I beg and entreat You, Jesus, by the
power of Your mercy, let instant death descend upon me, for I prefer to die a
thousand times than to be unfaithful to You once in even the smallest
thing."
342
Suffering is the greatest treasure on earth; it purifies the soul. In
suffering, we learn who our true friend is.
669
July 16. I am learning how to be good from Jesus, from Him who is goodness
itself, so that I may be called a daughter of the heavenly Father. This
morning, when someone hurt my feelings, I tried, in that suffering, to unite my
will to the will of God, and I praised God by my silence. In the afternoon, I
went for a five-minute adoration, when suddenly I saw the crucifix I have on my
breast come alive. Jesus said to me,
My daughter, suffering will be a sign to you that I am with you. My
soul was greatly moved by these words.
692
+ O Jesus, I understand that Your mercy is beyond all imagining, and therefore
I ask You to make my heart so big that there will be room in it for the needs
of all the souls living on the face of the earth. O Jesus, my love extends
beyond the world, to the souls suffering in purgatory, and I want to exercise
mercy toward them by means of indulgenced prayers. God's mercy is unfathomable
and inexhaustible, just as God himself is unfathomable. Even if I were to use
the strongest words there are to express this mercy of God, all this would be
nothing in comparison with what it is in reality. O Jesus, make my heart
sensitive to all the sufferings of my neighbor, whether of body or of soul. O
my Jesus, I know that You act toward us as we act toward our neighbor.
My Jesus, make my heart like unto Your merciful Heart. Jesus, help me to go through life doing good to everyone.
My Jesus, make my heart like unto Your merciful Heart. Jesus, help me to go through life doing good to everyone.
742
My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should
be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand
from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show
mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or
try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first-by deed, the second-by word, the third-by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. O my Jesus, You yourself must help me in everything, because You see how very little I am, and so I depend solely on Your goodness, O God.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first-by deed, the second-by word, the third-by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. O my Jesus, You yourself must help me in everything, because You see how very little I am, and so I depend solely on Your goodness, O God.
1175
Fruit of the meditation.
Whatever Jesus did, He did well. He went along, doing good. His manner was full of goodness and mercy. His steps were guided by compassion. Toward His enemies He showed goodness, kindness, and understanding, and to those in need help and consolation.
I have resolved to mirror faithfully these traits of Jesus in myself during this month, even if this costs me much.
Whatever Jesus did, He did well. He went along, doing good. His manner was full of goodness and mercy. His steps were guided by compassion. Toward His enemies He showed goodness, kindness, and understanding, and to those in need help and consolation.
I have resolved to mirror faithfully these traits of Jesus in myself during this month, even if this costs me much.
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.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-220, 239, 304, 338, 342)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-669, 692, 742)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1175)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1358)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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