God’s Final Harvest
Memorial of Saint
Ignatius of Loyola, priest
Matthew 13: 36-43
Jesus dismissed the
crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in
reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world,
the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the
Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of
the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned
up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his
angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin
and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there
will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the
sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank You for this new day. I believe
that You are present in my heart. I believe that You want to give me Your
wisdom to live this life fruitfully. I trust that Your mercy will protect me as
I struggle against evil. I love You because You have overcome evil by Your
cross and resurrection. I want to live this moment of prayer as an intense
moment to be transformed by You.
Petition: Lord, help me to look forward to your triumph
with hope.
1. He is Watching Us: The difference between good and evil is not
lost for God. He knows the struggles we have to live goodness in this world
that is often so impregnated with evil. He assures us that he sees the good
that is done and will give recompense for it. I should strive to live each day
knowing that I am seen by God and consistently try to sow goodness in my life.
2. The Limit of Evil: When sometimes it seems like evil can triumph
in the world, we need to recognize that God has the last say over evil. He
mysteriously allows evil to exist so that good can become purified. There will
be a moment when evil will be judged and will no longer have power over our
lives. If we have sowed goodness with our lives and if we are living in God’s
grace, he will free us from the domain of evil forever. Let us build up our
confidence in the coming of his kingdom. Let us use the struggle against evil
as a way to show the sincerity of our love.
3. We Reap What We
Sow: The assurance of
Christ that there will be a final judgment gives Christians both soberness and
joy in living their lives. We know our efforts are not in vain. We realize that
this life is the short opportunity the Father gives us to do good and prepare
for our great destiny with him. When I am tempted to lose patience in the
fight, I must remember that the struggles will soon be over, and God will more
than recompense for the sacrifices I have made in following his will and
promoting goodness in the world.
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, I believe that You are in charge of my life. I renew my trust in the triumph of Your holiness
in my life. When I feel the pull of evil in my heart, I will remember that this
life is short and that my struggle is precious in Your eyes. Help me to keep my
eyes on the happiness You are preparing for me.
Resolution: I will speak about the joy of receiving the
sacrament of reconciliation with someone I meet today, planting in that
person’s heart the seed of the desire to receive this sacrament.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
83 Write this: before I come
as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of
justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this
sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great
darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the
sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were
nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period
of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.
354 As I was talking to a certain
person[84] who was to paint the image but, for certain reasons,
was not painting it, I heard this voice in my soul: I want her to be more
obedient. I understood that our efforts, no matter how great, are not
pleasing to God if they do not bear the seal of obedience; I am speaking about
a religious soul. O God, how easy it is to know Your will in the convent! We
religious have God's will set clearly before our eyes from morning till night, and
in moments of uncertainty we have our superiors through whom God speaks.
365 My spiritual director
replaced it with an interior mortification; namely, throughout Holy Mass I was
to meditate on why the Lord Jesus had submitted to being baptized. The meditation
was no mortification for me, for thinking about God is a delight and not a
mortification; but there was a mortification of the will in that I was not
doing [simply] what I like, but what I was told to do, and it is in this that
interior mortification consists. When I left the confessional and started to
recite my penance, I heard these words: I have granted the grace you asked
for on behalf of that soul, but not because of the mortification you chose for
yourself. Rather, it was because of your act of complete obedience to My
representative that I granted this grace to that soul for whom you interceded
and begged mercy. Know that when you mortify your own self-will, then Mine
reigns within you.
366 O my Jesus, be patient with me. I will be more careful in the future. I will rely, not upon myself, but upon Your grace and Your very great goodness to miserable me.
366 O my Jesus, be patient with me. I will be more careful in the future. I will rely, not upon myself, but upon Your grace and Your very great goodness to miserable me.
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.
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.
635 March 25. In the
morning, during meditation, God's presence enveloped me in a special way, as I
saw the immeasurable greatness of God and, at the same time, His condescension
to His creatures. Then I saw the Mother of God, who said to me, Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul
that follows faithfully the inspirations of His grace! I gave the Savior to the
world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and
prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful
Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day! Determined is the
day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to
souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for [granting] mercy.
If you keep silent now, you will be answering for a great number of souls on
that terrible day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the end. I sympathize with you.
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.
848 While I was
saying the chaplet, I heard a voice which said, Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this
chaplet; the very depths of My tender mercy are stirred for the sake of those
who say the chaplet. Write down these words, My daughter. Speak to the world
about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign
for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still
time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the
Blood and Water which gushed forth for them.
O human souls, where are you going to hide on the day of God's anger? Take refuge now in the fount of God's mercy. O what a great multitude of souls I see! They worshiped the Divine Mercy and will be singing the hymn of praise for all eternity.
O human souls, where are you going to hide on the day of God's anger? Take refuge now in the fount of God's mercy. O what a great multitude of souls I see! They worshiped the Divine Mercy and will be singing the hymn of praise for all eternity.
+ Particular Examen
Union with the merciful Christ. With my heart I encompass the whole world, especially countries which are uncivilized or where there is persecution. I am praying for mercy upon them.
Union with the merciful Christ. With my heart I encompass the whole world, especially countries which are uncivilized or where there is persecution. I am praying for mercy upon them.
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.
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.
1160 When once I
asked the Lord Jesus how He could tolerate so many sins and crimes and not
punish them, the Lord answered me, I
have eternity for punishing [these], and so I am prolonging the time of
mercy for the sake of [sinners]. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of
My visitation. My daughter, secretary of My mercy, your duty is not only to
write about and proclaim My mercy, but also to beg for this grace for them, so
that they too may glorify My mercy.
1447 +Oh, how painful it is to Me that
souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and
they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they
distrust Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept
them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and
mercy. In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most
tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children
spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a position to console her. This
is but a feeble image and likeness of My love.
1448 Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where
they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the
Sacrament of Reconciliation].
There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail
oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to
carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of
My representative and to reveal to him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine
Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that
from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would
already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores
that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the
miracle of God's mercy! You will call out in vain, but it will be too late.
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-83, 354, 365-367, 378-379)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-635, 742, 848)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1074-1076, 1160)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1447-1448)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
