Greater Deeds Still
|
|
Wednesday of the
Fourth Week of Lent
|
|
John 5:17-30
Jesus answered the
Jews, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this
reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the
Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot
do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he
does, his son will do also. For the Father loves his Son and shows him
everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than
these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and
gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does
the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to his Son, so that
all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor
the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life
and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen,
amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as
the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of
life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is
the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which
all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who
have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done
wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. "I cannot do anything
on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek
my own will but the will of the one who sent me."
Introductory Prayer: Christ, I certainly believe in You, because in baptism You
gave me the gift of faith. I believe for all those who do not believe in You.
See my effort, Lord. I trust in Your divine plan, and I hope in Your saving
grace.
Petition: Lord, grant me the gift of piety.
1. Like Father, Like
Son: “I say to you, a son
cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for
what he does, his son will do also. For the Father loves his Son and shows
him everything that he himself does.” The relationship between Christ and his
Father was one of total respect and love. It wasn’t marred by the breakdown
so frequently and tragically experienced in our modern family. The intensity
of filial love that Jesus lived toward his Father was so powerful that it
provides a path for all of us to follow. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
is the gift of piety. Piety lavishes the soul with the capacity for
considering God as our Father and all men as our brothers. A forgiving heart,
which prevails over any rancor for injuries received, is one of the fruits of
this gift.
2. The Requirements
of Piety: Jesus said, “Do not
be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the
tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the
resurrection of condemnation.” There is no need to squander time in hatred
for our brothers and sisters. Only God can judge their hearts. Our duty is to
treat everyone with respect and love; this is the best way we have to foster
the gift of piety.
3. Humility is The
Key: Jesus said, “I do
not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” Believe it or not,
the humble are the only ones who can lead a peaceful coexistence with all
and, at the same time, stalwartly uphold truths and principles. Who can
imagine a sunny day without the sun? Who can imagine the gift of piety
without the practice of humility? I should examine those times when I blame
everyone else for my impatience. Are they not a result of the difficulty I
experience in shouldering someone else’s plans over my own or in accepting
God’s will at the expense of my preferences?
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, so many times
have I come to You on my knees. I come now, confident that You will pour into
my heart an abundance of the gift of piety through the infinite merits You won
for me on the cross. Help me, Lord, to see You in everyone I meet.
Resolution: I will be a pious friend and a forgiving
neighbor. I will humbly offer my services to the neighbor who interests me
the least.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
+ 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.
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.
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
|
Mga Pahina
▼
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento