Spiritual Weather Reports
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Friday of the
Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Steven Reilly, LC
Luke 12:54-59
Jesus said to the
crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately
that it is going to rain -- and so it does; and when you notice that the wind
is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot -- and so it is.
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the
sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you not
judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent
before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand
you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to
you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that You are here with me. I have come to
honor and adore You. Your love sustains me. I want to love You more in
return.
Petition: Lord, allow me to comprehend Your providence more deeply.
1. Seeing Signs: Jesus expresses some indignation with the
spiritual obtuseness of his listeners; in other words, they don’t get it!
When it comes to earthly matters, they can put two and two together in an
almost infallible manner. A dim dullness, however, has the upper hand when the
spiritual realm is broached. Why? Possibly because they were not bothering to
ponder what the sign of Jesus’ presence, miracles and words really meant.
They remained on the superficial level without plumbing the depths.
Superficiality inhibits our own spiritual progress as well. Seeing signs
isn’t so much a matter of being able to pick out the shape of a tabernacle or
cross in a passing cloud, but of deep and prayerful consideration of the love
of God in our lives.
2. God’s Presence: People who live a life of consistent prayer
are much more in tune with God’s presence. Where others see coincidence, they
see providence. This gives them a profound sense of peace. They know that God
is in charge and that they don’t have to figure out everything for themselves.
The world doesn’t rest on their shoulders, but on God’s. So instead of
complaining or worrying, they live in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance.
3. Paying Attention:
God’s providence
guides all things. We know this through faith and sometimes he sends a sign
to say, “Yes, I’m indeed here.” Once a Legionary priest was driving down the
road in Virginia and his thoughts were taken up with a difficulty he was
having with a particular person. “How should I handle this,” he asked
himself. A car pulled out in front of him. Virginia is known for its high
number of vanity license plates, and this one left him scratching his head.
The license plate read “CARITAS”, which is Latin for “charity.” Was it just a
coincidence? He couldn’t deny that this was the answer he was looking for.
The signs that invite us to be more Christ-like are the ones to which we need
to pay the most attention.
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, the times I
really don’t pick up on the signs You send me are when they challenge my
resistance to Your grace. Help me to overcome my spiritual superficiality and
perceive Your presence in my life.
Resolution: I will try to be prompt in following the
inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
39 +
One day Jesus told me that He would cause a chastisement to fall upon the
most beautiful city in our country [probably Warsaw]. This chastisement would
be that with which God had punished Sodom and Gomorrah.[27] I saw the
great wrath of God and a shudder pierced my heart. I prayed in silence. After
a moment, Jesus said to me, My child, unite yourself closely to Me
during the Sacrifice and offer My Blood and My Wounds to My Father in
expiation for the sins of that city. Repeat this without interruption
throughout the entire Holy Mass. Do this for seven days. On the
seventh day I saw Jesus in a bright cloud and began to beg Him to look upon
the city and upon our whole country. Jesus looked [down] graciously. When I
saw the kindness of' Jesus, I began to beg His blessing. Immediately Jesus
said, For your sake I bless the entire country. And He made a big sign
of the cross over our country. Seeing the goodness of God, a great joy filled
my soul.
40 +The year 1929.
Once during Holy Mass, I felt in a very special way the closeness of God, although
I tried to turn away and escape from Him. On several occasions I have run
away from God because I did not want to be a victim of the evil spirit; since
others have told me, more than once, that such is the case. And this
incertitude lasted for quite some time. During Holy Mass, before Communion,
we had the renewal of vows. When we had left our kneelers and had started to
recite the formula for the vows, Jesus appeared suddenly at my side clad in a
white garment with a golden girdle around His waist, and He said to me, I
give you eternal love that your purity may be untarnished and as a sign
that you will never be subject to temptations against purity. Jesus
took off His golden cincture and tied it around my waist.
Since then I have
never experienced any attacks against this virtue, either in my heart or in my
mind. I later understood that this was one of the greatest graces which the
Most Holy Virgin Mary had obtained for me, as for many years I had been
asking this grace of Her. Since that time I have experienced an increasing
devotion to the Mother of God. She has taught me how to love God interiorly
and also how to carry out His holy will in all things. O Mary, You are joy,
because through You God descended to earth [and] into my heart.
51 When
I spoke about this to Mother Superior [Rose,[30] telling
her] that God had asked this of me, she answered that Jesus should give some
sign so that we could recognize Him more clearly. When I asked the Lord Jesus
for a sign as a proof "that You are truly my God and Lord and that this
request comes from You," I heard this interior voice, I will make
this all clear to the Superior by means of the graces which I will
grant through this image.
54 +One day, tired
out with all these uncertainties, I asked Jesus, "Jesus, are You my God
or some kind of phantom? Because my Superiors say that there are all sorts of
illusions and phantoms. If You are my Lord, I beg You to bless me." Then
Jesus made a big sign of the cross over me and I, too, signed myself. When I
asked pardon of Jesus for this question, He replied that I had in no way
displeased Him by this question and that my confidence pleased Him very much.
216 We have come to Cracow today [April
18, 1933]. What a joy it is to find myself again where I took my first steps
in the spiritual life! Dear Mother Directress [Mary Joseph] is ever the same,
cheerful and full of love of neighbor. I entered the chapel for a moment and
joy filled my soul. In a flash I recalled the whole ocean of graces that had
been given me as a novice here.
241 Love of neighbor. First: Helpfulness
towards the sisters. Second: Do not speak about those who are absent, and
defend the good name of my neighbor. Third: Rejoice in the success of others.
242 +O God, how much I desire to be a
small child.[71] You are my Father,
and You know how little and weak I am. So I beg You, keep me close by Your
side all my life and especially at the hour of my death. Jesus, I know that
Your goodness surpasses the goodness of a most tender mother.
588 On one occasion, I heard these words
within me: Every movement of your heart is known to me. Know, My daughter,
that one glance of yours directed at someone else would wound Me more than
many sins committed by another person.
590 When I receive Holy Communion, I
entreat and beg the Savior to heal my tongue, that I may never fail in love
of neighbor.
704 I spend every free moment at the feet
of the hidden God. He is my Master; I ask Him about everything; I speak to
Him about everything. Here I obtain strength and light; here I learn
everything; here I am given light on how to act toward my neighbor. From the
time I left the novitiate, I have enclosed myself in the tabernacle together
with Jesus, my Master. He himself drew me into the fire of living love on
which everything converges.
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.
861
Particular
examen: remains the same; namely, to unite myself with the Merciful Christ
(that is; what would Christ do in such and such a case?) and, in spirit, to
embrace the whole world, especially Russia and Spain.
General resolutions.
I. Strict
observance of silence - interior silence.
II. To see the image of God in every sister; all love of neighbor must flow from this motive. III. To do the will of God faithfully at every moment of my life and to live by this. IV. To give a faithful account of everything to the spiritual director and not to undertake anything of importance without a clear understanding with him. I shall try to clearly lay bare to him the most secret depths of my soul, bearing in mind that I am dealing with God himself, and that His representative is just a human being, and so I must pray daily that he be given light. V. During the evening examination of conscience, I am to ask myself the question: What if He were to call me today? VI. Not to look for God far away, but within my own being to abide with Him alone. VII. In sufferings and torments, to take refuge in the tabernacle and to be silent. VIII. To join all sufferings, prayers, works and mortifications to the merits of Jesus in order to obtain mercy for the world. IX. To use free moments, however short, for prayers for the dying. X. There must not be a day in my life when I do not recommend to the Lord the works of our Congregation. Never have regard for what others think of you [for human respect]. XI. Have no familiar relationships with anyone. Gentle firmness toward the girls, boundless patience; punish them severely but with such punishments as these: prayer and self-sacrifice. The strength that is in the emptying of myself for their sake is for them a [source of] constant remorse and the softening of their obdurate hearts. XII. The presence of God is the basis of all my thoughts, words and deeds. XIII. To take advantage of all spiritual help. To always put self-love in its proper place; namely, the last. To perform my spiritual exercises as though I were doing them for the last time in my life, and in like manner to carry out all my duties.
871 + My Master, cause my heart never to
expect help from anyone, but I will always strive to bring assistance,
consolation and all manner of relief to others. My heart is always open to
the sufferings of others; and I will not close my heart to the sufferings of
others, even though because of this I have been scornfully nicknamed
"dump"; that is, [because] everyone dumps his pain into my heart.
[To this] I answered that everyone has a place in my heart and I, in return,
have a place in the Heart of Jesus. Taunts regarding the law of love will not
narrow my heart. My soul is always sensitive on this point, and Jesus alone
is the motive for my love of neighbor.
1029 The doctor did not allow me to go to
the chapel to attend the Passion Service, although I had a great desire for
it; however, I prayed in my own room. Suddenly I heard the bell in the next
room, and I went in and rendered a service to a seriously sick person. When I
returned to my room, I suddenly saw the Lord Jesus, who said, My daughter,
you gave Me greater pleasure by rendering Me that service than if you had
prayed for a long time. I answered, "But it was not to You, Jesus,
but to that patient that I rendered this service." And the Lord answered
me, Yes, My daughter, but whatever you do for your neighbor, you do for
Me.
1039 + I suffer great pain at the sight of
the sufferings of others. All these sufferings are reflected in my heart. I
carry their torments in my heart so that it even wears me out physically. I
would like all pains to fall upon me so as to bring relief to my neighbor.
1148 June 20, [1937]. We resemble God most
when we forgive our neighbors. God is Love, Goodness, and Mercy...
Every soul, and especially the soul of
every religious, should reflect My mercy. My Heart overflows with compassion
and mercy for all. The heart of My beloved must resemble Mine; from her heart
must spring the fountain of My mercy for souls; otherwise I will not
acknowledge her as Mine.
1244 August 15,
1937. During meditation, God's presence pervaded me keenly, and I was aware
of the Virgin Mary's joy at the moment of Her Assumption. Towards the end of
the ceremony carried out in honor of the Mother of God, I saw the Virgin
Mary, and She said to me, Oh, how very pleased I am with the homage of your
love! And at that moment She covered all the sisters of our Congregation with
Her mantle. With Her right hand, She clasped Mother General Michael to
herself, and with Her left hand She did so to me, while all the sisters were
at Her feet, covered with Her mantle. Then the Mother of God said, Everyone
who perseveres zealously till death in My Congregation will be spared the
fire of purgatory, and I desire that each one distinguish herself by the
following virtues: humility and meekness; chastity and love of God and
neighbor; compassion and mercy. After these words, the whole Congregation
disappeared from my sight, and I remained alone with the Most Holy Mother who
instructed me about the will of God and how to apply it to my life,
submitting completely to His most holy decrees. It is impossible for one to
please God without obeying His holy will. My daughter, I strongly
recommend that you faithfully fulfill all God's wishes, for that is most
pleasing in His holy eyes. I very much desire that you distinguish yourself
in this faithfulness in accomplishing God's will. Put the will of God before
all sacrifices and holocausts. While the heavenly Mother was talking to
me, a deep understanding of this will of God was entering my soul.
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.
1382 + When Sister Dominic [219] died at about one o'clock in the night,
she came to me and gave me to know that she was dead. I prayed fervently for
her. In the morning, the sisters told me that she was no longer alive, and I
replied that I knew, because she had visited me. The sister infirmarian
[Sister Chrysostom] asked me to help dress her. And then when I was alone
with her, the Lord gave me to know that she was still suffering in purgatory.
I redoubled my prayers for her. However, despite the zeal with which I always
pray for our deceased sisters, I got mixed up as regards the days, and
instead of offering three days of prayer, as the rule directs us to do, by
mistake I offered only two days. On the fourth day, she gave me to know that
I still owed her prayers, and that she was in need of them. I immediately
formed the intention of offering the whole day for her, and not just that day
but much more, as love of neighbor dictated to me.
1633 March 10, [1938]. Continuous physical
suffering. I am on the cross with Jesus. On one occasion, M. Superior [Irene]
said to me, "It is a lack of love of neighbor on your part, Sister, that
you eat something and then you suffer and disturb the others during their
night's rest." Yet I know for sure that these pains which occur in my
intestines are not at all caused by food. The doctor [probably Dr. Silberg]
has said the same thing. These sufferings come from the body itself, or
rather are a visitation of the Lord. Nevertheless, after that remark I
resolved to suffer in secret and not to ask for help, because it is of no
avail anyway, since I throw up the medicines that are given to me.
Many a time, I have managed to suffer through attacks that were known only to Jesus. The pains are so violent and severe that they cause me to lose consciousness. When they cause me to faint, and I am drenched in cold sweat, then they gradually begin to go away. Sometimes they last three hours or more. O my Jesus, may Your holy will be done; I accept everything from Your hand. If I accept the delights and raptures of love to the point of becoming oblivious to what is going on around me, it is only right that I should accept with love these sufferings which cause me to faint.
Third Day.
1768 My daughter, in this meditation, consider the love of
neighbor. Is your love for your neighbor guided by My love? Do you pray for
your enemies? Do you wish well to those who have, in one way or another,
caused you sorrow or offended you?
Know that whatever good you do to any soul, I accept it as if you had done it to Me. 1769 Application: O Jesus, my Love, You know that it has only been for a short while that I have acted toward my neighbor guided solely by Your love. You alone know of my efforts to do this. It comes to me more easily now, but if You Yourself did not kindle that love in my soul, I would not be able to persevere in this. This is due to Your Eucharistic love which daily sets me afire.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-39-40, 51, 54, 216, 241-242)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-588, 590, 704, 742, 861, 871)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1029, 1039, 1148)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1244)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1358, 1382)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1633, 1768-1769)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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