Strength in Humility
|
Feast of the Baptism
of the Lord
|
Father Shawn Aaron, LC
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Now the people were
filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John
might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing
you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen
the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and
was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in
bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my
beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Introductory Prayer:
Almighty and Eternal
God, You are high above us in the heavens, and yet You are so near to me. I
know that You love me infinitely. I rest in Your love; I find my strength and
hope in You alone. Thank You for loving me despite my sinfulness and complete
unworthiness. In return, I offer You my whole self, along with my intense
desire to put You first in my life.
Petition: Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my
heart more like Yours.
1. One Mightier Than
I Is Coming: John knows who he is
not. Proper self-knowledge is an essential step on the path to sanctity. John
is attracting the attention of the multitudes in Israel. Many people would be
flattered or even intoxicated with this notoriety. Yet John is not grasping
for power, nor does he seek to be someone he is not. He is preparing people’s
hearts for the true Christ. The Evil One will continually try to get us to
look to ourselves and our own talents in an attempt to distract our eyes from
God and his plan for us. John gives us a shining example of the triumph of
humble self-knowledge over the wiles of the devil. When we are totally
oriented toward God, we give rise to the desire to eliminate from our
personal life any lie, vanity, and inflated opinion of ourselves. We begin to
live in the truth, giving all the gifts God has granted us their real value.
We use them for the service of his Kingdom, without taking anything for
ourselves, since everything is his.
2. I Am Not Worthy
to Loosen the Thongs of His Sandals: There is no holiness without humility. Simply understood,
humility means living in the truth. This humility is born of a proper
understanding of our relationship to God. It has nothing to do with a lack of
self-respect – Jesus was humble, yet with utter self-possession and strength!
Humility is the awareness that even our greatest talents come from God and
are meant for his glory. In the end though, even John’s humility will pale in
comparison to the humility that Jesus models for us in his life. “The one who
serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however
miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in
the world — the cross — and by this radical humility he redeemed us and
constantly comes to our aid” (Pope Benedict XVI, God Is Love, 35).
Once again we see that Jesus asks of us only what he himself has been willing
to embrace. He is the source of the strength I need to practice this humility
in my daily life.
3. Jesus Was Also
Baptized: By being baptized,
Jesus associates himself with sinful humanity. He has taken our flesh in the
Incarnation. Now he sets out on the path of taking our sins upon himself so
that he might redeem us from them. If it was a scandal for the Jewish people
that God would become a man, how much more scandalous was it that he would be
baptized, a manifest sign of repentance for sins? So great is God’s love for
us that even this act is not beneath him. It is one of many steps by which he
will allow his love for us to lead him even to the ignominy of the cross.
Have I truly contemplated how important I am to Jesus?
Conversation with
Christ: Blessed Lord, You
went to the extreme of the cross to prove Your love for me. You have borne my
pride, and with Your love and humility, You have proven Yourself stronger
than my greatest sin. Give me the strength and courage to follow You down the
path of self-giving and humble service to those around me. Free me from the
shackles of pride.
Resolution: Today I will read and reflect upon the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, paragraphs 1262-1270.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
55 1933. Spiritual Counsel Given Me by Father
Andrasz, S.J.
First: You must
not turn away from these interior inspirations, but always tell everything to
your confessor. If you recognize that these interior inspirations refer to
your own self; that is to say, they are for the good of your soul or for the
good of other souls, l urge you to follow them; and you must not neglect
them, but always do so in consultation with your confessor.
Second: If these inspirations are not in accord with the faith or the spirit of the Church, they must be rejected immediately as coming from the evil spirit. Third: If these inspirations do not refer to souls, in general, nor specifically to their good, you should not take them too seriously, and it would be better to even ignore them. But you should not make this decision by yourself, either one way or the other, as you can easily be led astray despite these great favors from God. Humility, humility, and ever humility, as we can do nothing of ourselves; all is purely and simply God's grace. You say to me that God demands great trust from souls; well then, you be the first to show this trust. And one more word-accept all this with serenity. Words of one of the confessors: "Sister, God is preparing many special graces for you, but try to make your life as clear as crystal before the Lord, paying no attention to what anyone else thinks about you. Let God suffice you; He alone." Toward the end of my novitiate, a confessor [perhaps Father Theodore] told me: "Go through life doing good, so that I could write on its pages: `She spent her life doing good.' May God bring this about in you." Another time the confessor said to me, "Comport yourself before God like the widow in the Gospel; although the coin she dropped into the box was of little value, it counted far more before God than all the big offerings of others." On another occasion the instruction I received was this: " Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no more than touched the hem of your garment. Keep well in mind the words I am telling you right now." Still another time he gave me the following recommendation: "Let God push your boat out into the deep waters, toward the unfathomable depths of the interior life." Here are a few words from a conversation I had with the Mother Directress [Mary Joseph] toward the end of my novitiate: "Sister, let simplicity and humility be the characteristic traits of your soul. Go through life like a little child, always trusting, always full of simplicity and humility, content with everything, happy in every circumstance. There, where others fear, you will pass calmly along, thanks to this simplicity and humility. Remember this, Sister, for your whole life: as waters flow from the mountains down into the valleys, so, too, do God's graces flow only into humble souls."
O
Divine Sun, in Your rays the soul sees the tiniest specks of dust which
displease You.
72 O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood. O Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God's mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages.
92 Humiliation
is my daily food. I understand that the bride must herself share in
everything that is the groom's; and so His cloak of mockery must cover me,
too. At those times when I suffer much, I try to remain silent, as I do not
trust my tongue which, at such moments, is inclined to talk for itself, while
its duty is to help me praise God for all the blessings and gifts which He
has given me. When I receive Jesus in Holy Communion, I ask Him fervently to
deign to heal my tongue so that I would offend neither God nor neighbor by
it. I want my tongue to praise God without cease. Great are the faults
committed by the tongue. The soul will not attain sanctity if it does not
keep watch over its tongue.
93
+A Short Version of the Catechism of the Vows[39]
Q. What is a vow? A. A vow is a voluntary promise made to God, to carry out a more perfect act. Q. Is a vow binding in a matter which is the object of a commandment? A. Yes. The carrying out of an act which is the object of a commandment has a double value and merit; and the neglect of such an act is a double transgression and evil, because by breaking such a vow we add to the sin against the commandment, the sin of sacrilege. Q. Why do religious vows have such value? A. Because they are the foundation of the religious life approved by the Church, in which the members bound together in a religious community undertake to strive always for perfection by means of the three religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, observed according to the rules. Q. What is the meaning of the words, "strive for perfection?" A. To strive for perfection means that the religious life does not in itself demand that perfection be already attained, but obliges, under the pain of sin, that we work daily to attain it. Therefore, a religious who does not want to become perfect neglects his principal duty of state. Q. What are "solemn" religious vows? A. " Solemn" religious vows are so absolute that, in extraordinary cases, only the Holy Father can dispense from them. Q. What are simple religious vows? A. These are vows which are less absolute - the Holy See dispenses from perpetual and annual vows. Q. What is the difference between a vow and a virtue? A. A vow pertains only to that which is commanded under pain of sin; the virtue goes beyond this and helps in the carrying out of the vow; on the other hand, by breaking the vow we fail in the virtue and do it damage. Q. To what do the religious vows oblige us? A. The religious vows oblige us to strive to acquire the virtues and to submit ourselves completely to our Superiors and to the Rules which are in force; thus the religious gives his own person to the Community, renouncing every right over himself and his actions, which he sacrifices to the service of God. The Vow of Poverty The vow of poverty is the voluntary renunciation of the right over property or to the use of such property with the purpose of pleasing God. Q. What objects does the vow of poverty concern? A. All those goods and those objects which appertain to the Community. We have no longer any right over anything that has been given to us, once it has been accepted, whether an article or money. All these donations and presents, which may have been given us out of gratitude or in any other way, belong by right to the Community. We cannot make use, without violating the vow, of any wages we may receive for work or even any annuity. Q. When do we break or violate the vow in a matter which entails the seventh commandment? A. We break or violate it when, without permission, we take for ourselves anything that belongs to the house; when, without permission, we retain something in order to appropriate it; and when, without authorization, we sell or exchange something that belongs to the Community. When we make use of an object for some other purpose than that intended by the Superior. When we give to, or accept from another, anything whatsoever without permission. When by negligence we destroy or damage something. When, in going from one house to another, we take something with us without permission. In a situation where the vow is broken, the religious is bound to restitution to the Community. The Virtue of Poverty This is an evangelical virtue which impels the heart to detach itself from temporal things; the religious, in virtue of his profession, is strictly obliged to it. Q. When do we sin against the virtue of poverty? When we desire something, contrary to this virtue. When we become attached to something, and when we make use of superfluous things. How many degrees of poverty are there and what are they? A. There are, in practice, four degrees of poverty for one who is a professed religious: to dispose of nothing without the consent of the Superiors (the strict matter of the vow); to avoid superfluities and be content with necessities (this pertains to the virtue); to readily content oneself with things of inferior quality in what concerns one's cell, clothing, nourishment, etc., and to experience this contentment interiorly; to rejoice in extreme poverty. The Vow of Chastity Q. To what does this vow oblige us? A. To renounce marriage and to avoid everything that is forbidden by the sixth and ninth commandments. Q. Is a fault against the virtue a violation of the vow? A. Every fault against the virtue is at the same time a violation of the vow, because here there is no difference, as in the case of poverty and obedience, between the vow and the virtue. Q. Is every bad thought a sin? A. No, every bad thought is not a sin; it becomes so only when the acquiescence of the will and consent are joined to the consideration of the mind. Q. Is there anything, over and above sins against chastity, which is detrimental to the virtue? A. Lack of custody of the senses, of the imagination, of the feelings; familiarity and sentimental friendships are detrimental to the virtue. Q. What are the means by which this virtue may be preserved? A. To conquer interior temptations with the thought of the presence of God, and moreover to fight without fear. And for exterior temptations, to avoid occasions. There are, in all, seven principal means: to guard the senses, to avoid occasions, to avoid idleness, to remove temptations promptly, to remove oneself from all - and especially particular friendships, the spirit of mortification, and to reveal all these temptations to one's confessor. Besides this, there are also five means of preserving this virtue: humility, the spirit of prayer, modesty of the eyes, fidelity to the rule, a sincere devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Vow of Obedience The vow of obedience is superior to the first two. It is, to tell the truth, a holocaust, and it is more necessary because it forms and animates the monastic body. Q. To what does the vow of obedience oblige us? A. By the vow of obedience, the religious promises to God to be obedient to his legitimate superiors in everything that they will ordain in virtue of the rule. The vow of obedience makes the religious dependent on his superior in virtue of these rules for his whole life and in all his affairs. A religious commits a grave sin against the vow every time he disobeys an order given in virtue of obedience and of these rules. The Virtue of Obedience The virtue of obedience goes further than the vow; it embraces the rules, the regulations and even the counsels of the superiors. Q. Is the virtue of obedience indispensable for a religious? A. The virtue of obedience is so indispensable to a religious that, even if he were to perform good actions contrary to obedience, these would be evil and without merit. Q. Can we sin gravely against the virtue of obedience? A. We sin gravely when we scorn the authority or the order of the superior, or when spiritual or temporal harm to the community results from our disobedience. Q. What faults endanger the vow? A. To be prejudiced against the superior, or to harbor an antipathy for him - murmuring and criticism, tardiness and negligence. The Degrees of Obedience Prompt and complete fulfillment - the obedience of the will, when the will persuades the intellect to submit to the advice of the superior. To facilitate obedience, Saint Ignatius suggests, moreover, three means: always to see God in our superior, whoever he might be; to justify in itself the order or advice of the superior; to accept each order as an order from God, without examining it or reflecting on it. General means: humility. Nothing is difficult for the humble.
95 +A Deeper
Knowledge of God and the Terror of the Soul.
In the beginning,
God lets himself be known as Holiness, Justice, Goodness - that is to say, Mercy.
The soul does not come to know this all at once, but piecemeal, in flashes;
that is to say, when God draws near. And this does not last for long, because
the soul could not bear such light. During prayer the soul experiences
flashes of this light which make it impossible to pray as before. Try as it
may to force itself to pray as it did before, all is in vain; it becomes
completely impossible for it to continue to pray as it did before it received
this light. This light which has touched the soul is alive within it, and
nothing can either quench or diminish it. This flash of the knowledge of God
draws the soul and enkindles its love for Him.
But this same
flash, at the same time, allows the soul to know itself as it is; the soul
sees its whole interior in a superior light, and it rises up alarmed and
terrified. Still, it does not remain under the effects of terror, but it
begins to purify itself, to humble and abase itself before the Lord. These
lights become stronger and more frequent; the more the soul is crystallized,
the more these lights penetrate it. However, if the soul has responded
faithfully and courageously to these first graces, God fills it with His
consolations and gives himself to it in a perceptible manner. At certain
moments, the soul, as it were, enters into intimacy with God and greatly
rejoices in this; it believes that it has already reached the degree of perfection
destined for it, because its defects and faults are asleep within it, and
this makes it think that they no longer exist. Nothing seems difficult for
it; it is ready for everything. It begins to plunge itself into God and taste
the divine delights. It is carried along by grace and does not take account
of the fact that the time of trial and testing may come. And, in fact, this
state does not last long. Other moments will soon come. I should add here,
however, that the soul will respond more faithfully to divine grace if it has
a well - informed confessor to whom it can confide everything.
+ The Trial of
Trials, Complete Abandonment - Despair
98 When the soul
comes out victorious from the preceding trials, even though it may stumble here
and there, it fights on valiantly, humbly calling upon God, "Save me, I
am perishing!" And it is still able to fight on.
At this point,
however, the soul is engulfed in a horrible night. It sees within itself only
sin. It feels terrible. It sees itself completely abandoned by God. It feels
itself to be the object of His hatred. It is but one step away from despair.
The soul does its best to defend itself; it tries to stir up its confidence;
but prayer is an even greater torment for it, as this prayer seems to arouse
God to an even greater anger. The soul finds itself poised on the summit of a
lofty mountain on the very brink of a precipice.
The soul is drawn
to God, but feels repulsed. All other sufferings and tortures in the world
are as nothing compared with this sensation into which it has been plunged;
namely, that of being rejected by God. No one can bring it any relief; it
finds itself completely alone; there is no one to defend it. It raises its
eyes to heaven, but is convinced that this is not for her-for her all is
lost. It falls deeper and deeper from darkness to darkness, and it seems to
it that it has lost forever the God it used to love so dearly. This thought
is torture beyond all description. But the soul does not agree to it and
tries to lift its gaze toward heaven, but in vain! And this makes the torture
even more intense.
If God wishes to
keep the soul in such darkness, no one will be able to give it light. It
experiences
rejection by God in a vivid and terrifying manner. From its heart burst forth
painful moans, so
painful that no priest will comprehend it, unless he himself has been
through these
trials. In the midst of this, the evil spirit adds to the soul's suffering,
mocking it: "Will you persist in your faithfulness? This is your reward;
you are in our power!" But Satan has only as much influence over the
soul as God allows him, and God knows how much we can bear. "What have
you gotten out of your mortifications," says Satan, "and out of
your fidelity to the rule? What use are all these efforts? You have been rejected
by God!" This word, rejected, becomes a fire which penetrates every
nerve to the marrow of the bone. It pierces right through her entire being.
The ordeal reaches its climax. The soul no longer looks for help anywhere. It
shrinks into itself and loses sight of everything; it is as though it has accepted
the torture of being abandoned. This is a moment for which I have no words.
This is the agony of the soul.
113 And again, I would like to say three words to the soul
that is determined to strive for sanctity and to derive fruit; that is to
say, benefit from confession.
First word-complete sincerity and openness. Even the holiest and wisest confessor cannot forcibly pour into the soul what he desires if it is not sincere and open. An insincere, secretive soul risks great dangers in the spiritual life, and even the Lord Jesus Himself does not give Himself to such a soul on a higher level, because He knows it would derive no benefit from these special graces. Second word-humility. A soul does not benefit as it should from the sacrament of confession if it is not humble. Pride keeps it in darkness. The soul neither knows how, nor is it willing, to probe with precision the depths of its own misery. It puts on a mask and avoids everything that might bring it recovery. Third word-obedience. A disobedient soul will win no victory, even if the Lord Jesus himself, in person, were to hear its confession. The most experienced confessor will be of no help whatsoever to such a soul. The disobedient soul exposes itself to great misfortunes; it will make no progress toward perfection, nor will it succeed in the spiritual life. God lavishes His graces most generously upon the soul, but it must be an obedient soul.
115 + When a soul
has come out of these tribulations, it is deeply humble. Its purity of soul
is great. It knows better without need of reflecting, as it were, what it
ought to do at a given moment and what to forbear. It feels the lightest
touch of grace and is very faithful to God. It recognizes God from afar and
continuously rejoices in Him. It discovers God very quickly in other souls
and in its environment in general. The soul has been purified by God himself.
God, as Pure Spirit, introduces the soul to a life which is purely spiritual.
God himself has first prepared and purified the soul; that is, He has made it
capable of close communion with himself. The soul, in a state of loving repose,
communes spiritually with the Lord. It speaks to God without the need of
expressing itself through the senses. God fills it with His light.
The enlightened mind sees clearly and distinguishes the various degrees of the spiritual life. It recognizes [that state] when its union with God was imperfect: where the senses were involved, and the spirit was linked with the senses in a manner-exalted and special, to be sure but not yet perfect. There is a higher and more perfect union with God; namely, intellectual union. Here, the soul is safer from illusions; its spirituality is purer and more profound. In a life where the senses are involved, there is more danger of illusion. Both for the soul and for its confessor, prudence must play a greater part. There are moments when God introduces the soul to a purely spiritual state. The senses dim and are seemingly dead. The soul is most closely united to God; it is immersed in the Deity; its knowledge is complete and perfect, not sporadic as before, but total and absolute. It rejoices in this. But I want to say more about those moments of trial; at those times the confessor must have patience with such a soul. But the soul must have even greater patience with itself.
132 I must again mention that
there are some confessors who seem to be true spiritual fathers, but only as
long as things go well. When the soul finds itself in greater need, they
become perplexed, and either cannot or will not understand the soul. They try
to get rid of the person as soon as possible. But if the soul is humble, it
will always profit in some little way or other. God himself will sometimes
cast a shaft of light into the depths of the soul, because of its humility
and faith. The confessor will sometimes say something he had never intended
to say, without even realizing it himself. Oh, let the soul believe that such
words are the words of the Lord himself! Though indeed we ought to believe
that every word spoken in the confessional is God's, what I have referred to
above is something that comes directly from God. And the soul perceives that
the priest is not master of himself, that he is saying things that he would
rather not say. This is how God rewards faith.
I have experienced this many times myself. A certain very learned and respected priest [probably Father Wilkowski, the sisters' confessor at Plock], to whom I sometimes happened to go to confession, was always severe and opposed to these matters [which I brought up to him]. But on one occasion he replied to me, "Bear in mind, Sister, that if God is asking this of you, you should not oppose Him. God sometimes wants to be praised in just this way. Be at peace; what God has started, He will finish. But I say this to you: faithfulness to God and humility. And once again: humility. Bear well in mind what I have told you today." I was delighted, and I thought that perhaps this priest had understood me. But it so turned out that I never went to confession to him again.
138 A
great mystery has been accomplished between God and me. Courage and strength
have remained in my soul. When the time of adoration came to an end, I came
out and calmly faced everything I had feared so much before. When I came out
into the corridor, a great suffering and humiliation, at the hands of a
certain person, was awaiting me. I accepted it with submission to a higher
will and snuggled closely to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, letting Him know
that I was ready for that for which I had offered myself.
Suffering seemed to spring out of the ground. Even Mother Margaret herself was surprised. For others, many things passed unnoticed, for indeed it wasn't worth paying any attention to them; but in my case, nothing passed unnoticed; each word was analyzed, each step watched. One sister said to me, "Get ready, Sister, to receive a small cross at the hands of Mother Superior. I feel sorry for you." But as for me, I rejoiced at this in the depths of my soul and had been ready for it for a long time. When she saw my courage, she was surprised. I see now that a soul cannot do much of itself, but with God it can do all things. Behold what God's grace can do. Few are the souls that are always watchful for divine graces, and even fewer of such souls who follow those inspirations faithfully.
144 Later Jesus gave me another priest [Father
Sopocko], before whom He ordered me to reveal my soul. At first I did so with
a bit of hesitation, but a severe reprimand from Jesus brought about a deep
humility within my soul. Under his direction, my soul made quick progress in
the love of God, and many wishes of the Lord were carried out externally.[46] Many a time have I been astounded at his courage and his
profound humility.
148 +A noble and delicate soul,
even the most simple, but one of delicate sensibilities, sees God in
everything, finds Him everywhere, and knows how to find Him in even the most
hidden things. It finds all things important, it highly appreciates all things,
it thanks God for all things, it draws profit for the soul from all things,
and it gives all glory to God. It places its trust in God and is not confused
when the time of ordeals comes. It knows that God is always the best of
Fathers and makes little of human opinion. It follows faithfully the faintest
breath of the Holy Spirit; it rejoices in this Spiritual Guest and holds onto
Him like a child to its mother. Where other souls come to a standstill and
fear, this soul passes on without fear or difficulty.
159
+O Blessed Host, in golden chalice enclosed for me,
That through the vast wilderness of exile I may pass-pure, immaculate, undefiled; Oh, grant that through the power of Your love this might come to be. O Blessed Host, take up Your dwelling within my soul, O Thou my heart's purest love! With Your brilliance the darkness dispel. Refuse not Your grace to a humble heart. O Blessed Host, enchantment of all heaven, Though Your beauty be veiled And captured in a crumb of bread, Strong faith tears away that veil.
161 Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart, You are my strength, O sturdy anchor! You are the weak heart's shield and protection. Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable; At once both Virgin and Mother, You are beautiful as the sun, without blemish, And your soul is beyond all comparison. Your beauty has delighted the eye of the Thrice-Holy One. He descended from heaven, leaving His eternal throne, And took Body and Blood of your heart And for nine months lay hidden in a Virgin's Heart. O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies, Your heart was Jesus' first tabernacle on earth. Only because no humility was deeper than yours Were you raised above the choirs of Angels and above all Saints. O Mary, my sweet Mother, I give you my soul, my body and my poor heart. Be the guardian of my life, Especially at the hour of death, in the final strife.
173 Satan's
temptations during meditation. I felt a strange fear that the priest would
not
understand me, or
that he would have no time to hear everything I would have to say. How am I
going to tell him all this? If it were Father Bukowski I could do it more
easily, but this Jesuit whom I am seeing for the first time... Then I
remembered Father Bukowski's advice that I should at least take brief notes
of the lights sent to me by God during the retreats and give him at least a
brief report on them. My God, for a day and a half all has gone well, and now
a life and death struggle is beginning. The conference is to start in a half
hour, and then I am to go to confession. Satan tried to persuade me into
believing that if my superiors have told me that my inner life is an
illusion, why should I ask again and trouble the confessor? Didn't MX
[probably Mother Jane] tell you that the Lord Jesus does not commune with
souls as miserable as yours? This confessor is going to tell you the same
thing. Why speak to him about all this? These are not sins, and Mother X,
told you that all this communing with the Lord Jesus was daydreaming and pure
hysteria. So why tell it to this confessor? You would do better to dismiss
all this as illusions. Look how many humiliations you have suffered because of
them, and how many more are still awaiting you, and all the sisters know that
you are a hysteric. "Jesus!" I called out with all the strength of
my soul.
178 Today we are beginning the
third probation. All three of us met at Mother Margaret's, as the other
sisters were having their probation in the novitiate. Mother Margaret began
with a prayer, explained to us what the third probation consists of, and then
spoke on how great is the grace of the perpetual vows. Suddenly I began to
cry out loud. In an instant all God's graces appeared before the eyes of my
soul, and I saw myself so wretched and ungrateful toward God. The sisters
began to rebuke me, saying, "Why did she break out crying?" But
Mother Margaret came to my defense, saying that she was not surprised.
At the end of the hour, I went before the Blessed Sacrament and, like the greatest and most miserable of wretches, I begged for His mercy that He might heal and purify my poor soul. Then I heard these words, My daughter, all your miseries have been consumed in the flame of My love, like a little twig thrown into a roaring fire. By humbling yourself in this way, you draw upon yourself and upon other souls an entire sea of My mercy. I answered, "Jesus, mold my poor heart according to Your divine delight."
179 Throughout the third probation
it was my duty to help the sister in the vestiary.[60]
This duty gave me many occasions to practice virtues. Sometimes I had to take
linen to certain sisters three times and still one could not satisfy them.
But I also came to recognize the great virtues of some sisters who always
asked for the poorest things from the vestiary. I admired their spirit of
humility and mortification.
180 +During Advent,
a great yearning for God arose in my soul. My spirit rushed toward God with all
its might. During that time, the Lord gave me much light to know His
attributes.
The first attribute
which the Lord gave me to know is His holiness. His holiness is so great that
all the Powers and Virtues tremble before Him. The pure spirits veil their
faces and lose themselves in unending adoration, and with one single word
they express the highest form of adoration; that is-Holy... The holiness of
God is poured out upon the Church of God and upon every living soul in it,
but not in the same degree. There are souls who are completely penetrated by
God, and there are those who are barely alive.
The second kind of
knowledge which the Lord granted me concerns His justice. His justice is so
great and penetrating that it reaches deep into the heart of things, and all
things stand before Him in naked truth, and nothing can withstand Him.
The third attribute
is love and mercy. And I understood that the greatest attribute is love and mercy.
It unites the creature with the Creator. This immense love and abyss of mercy
are made known in the Incarnation of the Word and in the Redemption [of
humanity], and it is here that I saw this as the greatest of all God's
attributes.
184 +Holy Hour. During this hour, l tried to meditate on
the Lord's Passion. But my soul was filled with joy, and suddenly I saw the
Child Jesus. But His majesty penetrated me to such an extent that I said,
"Jesus, You are so little, and yet I know that You are my Creator and
Lord." And Jesus answered me, I am, and I keep company with you as a
child to teach you humility and simplicity.
I gathered all my sufferings and difficulties into a
bouquet for Jesus for the day of our perpetual betrothal. Nothing was
difficult for me, when I remembered it was for my Betrothed as proof of my
love for Him.
190 Once during an
adoration, the Lord demanded that I give myself up to Him as an offering, by bearing
a certain suffering in atonement, not only for the sins of the world in
general, but specifically for transgressions committed in this house.
Immediately I said, "Very good; I am ready." But Jesus gave me to
see what I was going to suffer, and in one moment the whole passion unfolded
itself before my eyes. Firstly, my intentions will not be recognized; there will
be all kinds of suspicion and distrust as well as various kinds of
humiliations and adversities. I will not mention everything here. All these
things stood before my soul's eye like a dark storm from which lightning was
ready to strike at any moment, waiting only for my consent. For a moment, my
nature was frightened. Then suddenly the dinner bell rang. I left the chapel,
trembling and undecided. But the sacrifice was ever present before me, for I had
neither decided to accept it, nor had I refused the Lord. I wanted to place
myself completely in His will. If the Lord Jesus himself were to impose it on
me, I was ready. But Jesus gave me to know that I myself was to give my free
consent and accept it with full consciousness, or else it would be
meaningless. Its whole power was contained in my free act before God. But at
the same time, Jesus gave me to understand that the decision was completely
within my power. I could do it or not do it. And so I then answered
immediately, "Jesus, I accept everything that You wish to send me; I
trust in Your goodness." At that moment, I felt that by this act I
glorified God greatly. But I armed myself with patience. As soon as I left
the chapel, I had an encounter with reality. I do not want to describe the details,
but there was as much of it as I was able to bear. I would not have been able
to bear even one drop more.
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.
243 I will thank
the Lord Jesus for every humiliation and will pray specially for the person
who has given me the chance to be humiliated. I will immolate myself for the
benefit of souls. I will not count the cost of any sacrifice. I will cast
myself beneath the feet of the sisters, like a carpet on which they can not
only tread, but also wipe their feet. My place is under the feet of the
sisters. I will make every effort to obtain that place unnoticed by others.
It is enough that God sees this.
267 Jesus told me that I please Him best by meditating on
His sorrowful Passion, and by such meditation much light falls upon my soul.
He who wants to learn true humility should reflect upon the Passion of Jesus.
When I meditate upon the Passion of Jesus, I get a clear understanding of
many things I could not comprehend before. I want to resemble You, O
Jesus,-You crucified, tortured and humiliated. Jesus, imprint upon my heart
and soul Your own humility. I love You, Jesus, to the point of madness, You
who were crushed with suffering as described by the prophet [cf. Isaiah
53:2-9], as if he could not see the human form in You because of Your great
suffering. It is in this condition, Jesus, that I love You to the point of madness.
O eternal and infinite God, what has love done to You?...
268 October 11,
1933.-Thursday.-I tried to make a Holy Hour, but began it with great
difficulty. A certain yearning started to tear at my heart. My mind was
dimmed so that I could not understand the simplest forms of prayer. And so
passed by an hour of prayer, or rather of struggle. I resolved to pray for a
second hour, but my inner sufferings increased-great dryness and
discouragement. I resolved to pray for a third hour. In the third hour, which
I resolved to spend kneeling without any support, my body started to clamor
for rest. But I in no way relented. I stretched out my arms and, though I
spoke no words, I persisted by sheer will. After a while, I took the ring off
my finger and asked Jesus to look at the ring, that sign of our eternal
union, and I offered Jesus the feelings I had had on the day of perpetual
vows. After a while, I feel my heart inundated with a wave of love. A sudden
recollection of spirit, the senses quiet down, and God's presence pervades my
soul. I know only this: that it is Jesus and I. I saw Him just as He had
appeared to me in that instant after my perpetual vows, when I was likewise
making a Holy Hour. Jesus was suddenly standing before me, stripped of His
clothes, His body completely covered with wounds, His eyes flooded with tears
and blood, His face disfigured and covered with spittle. The Lord then said
to me, The bride must resemble her Betrothed. I understood
these words to their very depth. There is no room for doubt
here. My likeness to Jesus must be through suffering and humility. See what love of human souls has done to Me. My daughter, in your heart I find
everything that so great a number of souls refuses Me. Your heart is My
repose. I often wait with great graces until towards the end of prayer.
270 Without humility, we cannot be pleasing to
God. Practice the third degree of humility;[76] that is, not only must
one refrain from explaining and defending oneself when reproached with
something, but one should rejoice at the humiliation.
If the things you are telling me really come
from God, prepare your soul for great suffering. You will encounter
disapproval and persecution. They will look upon you as a hysteric and an
eccentric, but the Lord will lavish His graces upon you. True works of God
always meet opposition and are marked by suffering. If God wants to
accomplish something, sooner or later He will do so in spite of the
difficulties. Your part, in the meantime, is to arm yourself with great
patience.
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.
God, One in the
Holy Trinity.
296 +O Supreme Good, I want to love You as no one on earth
has ever loved You before! I want to adore You with every moment of my life
and unite my will closely to Your holy will. My life is not drab or
monotonous, but it is varied like a garden of fragrant flowers, so that I
don't know which flower to pick first, the lily of suffering or the rose of
love of neighbor or the violet of humility. I will not enumerate these
treasures in which my every day abounds. It is a great thing to know how to
make use of the present moment.
320 Jesus made
known to me how very pleasing to Him were prayers of atonement. He said to me,
The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and
draws down an ocean of blessings. After the adoration, half way to my
cell, I was surrounded by a , pack of huge black dogs who were jumping and
howling and trying to tear me to pieces. I realized that they were not dogs,
but demons. One of them spoke up in a rage, "Because you have snatched
so many souls away from us this night, we will tear you to pieces." I
answered, "If that is the will of the most merciful God, tear me to
pieces, for I have justly deserved it, because I am the most miserable of all
sinners, and God is ever holy, just, and infinitely merciful." To these
words all the demons answered as one, "Let us flee, for she is not
alone; the Almighty is with her!" And they vanished like dust, like the
noise of the road, while I continued on my way to my cell undisturbed,
finishing my Te Deum and pondering the infinite and unfathomable mercy of
God.
335 Once, when I saw Jesus in the form of a small child, I
asked, "Jesus, why do you now take on the form of a child when You
commune with me? In spite of this, I still see in You the infinite God, my
Lord and Creator. Jesus replied that until I learned simplicity and humility,
He would commune with me as a little child.
343 True love is
measured by the thermometer of suffering. Jesus, I thank You for the little
daily crosses, for opposition to my endeavors, for the hardships of communal
life, for the misinterpretation of my intentions, for humiliations at the
hands of others, for the harsh way in which we are treated, for false
suspicions, for poor health and loss of strength, for self-denial, for dying
to myself, for lack of recognition in everything, for the upsetting of all my
plans.
Thank You, Jesus, for interior sufferings, for dryness of spirit, for terrors, fears and incertitude's, for the darkness and the deep interior night, for temptations and various ordeals, for torments too difficult to describe, especially for those which no one will understand, for the hour of death with its fierce struggle and all its bitterness. I thank You, Jesus, You who first drank the cup of bitterness before You gave it to me, in a much milder form. I put my lips to this cup of Your holy will. Let all be done according to Your good pleasure; let that which Your wisdom ordained before the ages be done to me. I want to drink the cup to its last drop, and not seek to know the reason why. In bitterness is my joy, in hopelessness is my trust. In You, O Lord, all is good, all is a gift of Your paternal Heart. I do not prefer consolations over bitterness or bitterness over consolations, but thank You, O Jesus, for everything! It is my delight to fix my gaze upon You, O incomprehensible God! My spirit abides in these mysterious dwelling places, and there I am at home. I know very well the dwelling place of my Spouse. I feel there is not a single drop of blood in me that does not burn with love for You. O Uncreated Beauty, whoever comes to know You once cannot love anything else. I can feel the bottomless abyss of my soul, and nothing will fill it but God himself. I feel that I am drowned in Him like a single grain of sand in a bottomless ocean.
346 December 24,
1934. The Vigil of Christmas. During the morning Mass, I felt the closeness
of God. Though I was hardly aware of it, my spirit was drowned in God.
Suddenly, I heard these words: You are My delightful dwelling place; My
Spirit rests in you. After these words, I felt the Lord looking into the
depths of my heart; and seeing my misery, I humbled myself in spirit and
admired the immense mercy of God, that the Most High Lord would approach such
misery.
During Holy Communion, joy filled my soul. I felt that I am closely united to the Godhead. His omnipotence enveloped my whole being. Throughout the whole day I felt the closeness of God in a special manner; and although my duties prevented me throughout the whole day from going to chapel even for a moment, there was not a moment when I was not united with God. I felt Him within me more distinctly than ever. Unceasingly greeting the Mother of God and entering into Her spirit, I begged Her to teach me true love of God. And then I heard these words: I will share with you the secret of My happiness this night during Holy Mass. We had supper before six o'clock. Despite all the joy and the external noise accompanying the sharing of the wafer and the mutual exchange of good wishes, I did not for a moment lose the awareness of God's presence. After supper we hurried away to finish our work, and at nine I was able to go to the chapel for adoration. I was allowed to stay up and wait for the Midnight Mass. I was delighted to have free time from nine until midnight. From nine to ten o'clock I offered my adoration for my parents and my whole family. From ten to eleven, I offered it for the intention of my spiritual director, in the first place thanking God for granting me this great visible help here on earth, just as He had promised me, and I also asked God to grant him the necessary light so that he could get to know my soul and guide me according to God's good pleasure. And from eleven to twelve I prayed for the Holy Church and the clergy, for sinners, for the missions and for our houses. I offered the indulgences for the souls in purgatory.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-55, 72, 92-93, 95, 98, 113, 115, 132)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-138, 144, 148, 159, 161, 173,178-179)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-180, 184, 190, 220, 243, 267-268)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-270, 282, 296, 320, 335, 343, 346)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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