Quiet but Steady Growth
Monday of the
Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:31-35
Jesus proposed another
parable to the crowds. "The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that
a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet
when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds
of the sky come and dwell in its branches." He spoke to them another
parable. "The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed
with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only
in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open
my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come into Your presence seeking to
know You better. I believe that You take the lead in seeking me. You want me to
find You. I trust that in Your mercy You will bring me to intimacy with You. I
open my heart today to receive Your friendship.
Petition: Lord, teach me to long for Your Kingdom and Your
holiness.
1. Quietly Becoming
Strong: The Kingdom of Christ
is not a very visible and flashy organization in the world. It is above all a
spiritual force. It works quietly yet powerfully in the hearts of those who
receive it. By living faith, hope and charity, Christians discover that the
generous response to the voice of Christ in their consciences builds a life
that has strength and substance. Living the Christian faith makes a person
strong in the midst of difficulties and even able to sustain others in their
life’s journey. Am I allowing the Kingdom to grow in my heart in such a way
that I can quietly sustain others by my values and my charity?
2. Hidden Expansion: As we allow Christ to reign in our hearts more
each day, we find that his influence affects not only our internal attitudes
but also the people around us. This world becomes more of a caring,
compassionate place. Truth is sown. People are reminded of God’s presence and
love. This world becomes more a place where others can find God. It is a quiet
transformation of the world, but relentless, like the rising of the dough
through the action of yeast. Am I constant in allowing the values of the
Kingdom to transform the way I deal with others? Do I have confidence in the
transforming power of the Gospel?
3. Revealing Secrets: By speaking in in parables Christ helps us
understand that God’s kingdom is real and accessible. God has a plan to reign
in our hearts, and the fulfillment of this plan is within our reach through his
grace. The secret to fruitfulness in our lives lies in our openness and
cooperation with God’s grace. It is within our grasp if we would exercise our
faith. Christ has come to open our horizons to God’s grace. Are we showing our
thankfulness by doing his will?
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, I believe in Your
kingdom. I know that it continues to grow by the power of Your grace. Help me
to work with confidence today, knowing that by sowing with faith, hope and
love, I am allowing You to do great things in the world around me.
Resolution: Today I will speak of God’s goodness
explicitly with someone whom I meet.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
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.
1339 O merciful God, You do not
despise us, but lavish Your graces on us continuously. You make us fit to enter
` Your kingdom, and in Your goodness You grant that human beings may fill the
places vacated by the ungrateful angels. O God of great mercy, who turned Your
sacred gaze away from the rebellious angels and turned it upon contrite man,
praise and glory be to Your unfathomable mercy, O God who do not despise the
lowly heart.
1396 Today I heard a voice in my
soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great
numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My
great mercy.
1397 The Lord said to me, The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.
1397 The Lord said to me, The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.
1519 + Today before Holy Communion,
the Lord said to me, My daughter, today talk openly to the Superior [Mother
Irene] about My mercy because, of all the superiors, she has taken the
greatest part in proclaiming My mercy. And in fact, Mother Superior came
this afternoon, and we talked about this Work of God. Mother told me that the
images had not come out too well and were not selling very well.
"But," she said, "I have taken a good quantity myself and am
distributing them wherever I can and do the best I can to spread the Work of
Mercy." When she had gone, the Lord gave me to know how pleasing this soul
was to Him.
1540 January 28, 1938. Today the
Lord said to me, My daughter, write down these words: All those souls who
will glorify My mercy and spread its worship, encouraging others to trust in My
mercy, will not experience terror at the hour of death. My mercy will shield
them in that final battle...
1541 My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.
Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy. Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness.
Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior.
1541 My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.
Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy. Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness.
Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior.
1548 January 30, 1938. One-day
retreat.
The Lord gave me to know, during meditation, that as long as my heart beats in my breast, I must always strive to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. I am to fight for the glory of my Creator.
I know that I will give God the glory He expects of me if I try faithfully to cooperate with God's grace.
The Lord gave me to know, during meditation, that as long as my heart beats in my breast, I must always strive to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. I am to fight for the glory of my Creator.
I know that I will give God the glory He expects of me if I try faithfully to cooperate with God's grace.
1549 I want to live in the spirit of
faith. I accept everything that comes my way as given me by the loving will of
God, who sincerely desires my happiness. And so I will accept with submission
and gratitude everything that God sends me. I will pay no attention to the
voice of nature and to the promptings of self-love. Before each important
action, I will stop to consider for a moment what relationship it has to eternal
life and what may be the main reason for my undertaking it: is it for the glory
of God, or for the good of my own soul, or for the good of the souls of others?
If my heart says yes, then I will not swerve from carrying out the given
action, unmindful of either obstacles or sacrifices. I will not be frightened
into abandoning my intention. It is enough for me to know that it is pleasing
to God. On the other hand, if I learn that the action has nothing in common
with what I have just mentioned, I will try to elevate it to a loftier sphere
by means of a good intention. And if I learn that something flows from my
self-love, I will cancel it out right from the start.
1784 Today, in the course of a long
conversation, the Lord said to me, How very much I desire the salvation of
souls! My dearest secretary, write that I want to pour out My divine life into
human souls and sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace.
The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in
My mercy. The very inner depths of My being are filled to overflowing with
mercy, and it is being poured out upon all I have created. My delight is to act
in a human soul and to fill it with My mercy and to justify it. My kingdom on
earth is My life in the human soul. Write, My secretary, that I Myself am the
spiritual guide of souls-and I guide them indirectly through the priest, and
lead each one to sanctity by a road known to Me alone.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1074-1076)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1339, 1396-1397, 1519,
1540-1541 )
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-VI-1548-1549, 1784)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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