Go, Spread the Kingdom
Thursday of the
Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:7-15
Jesus sent out the
Twelve with the following instructions, “As you go, make this proclamation:
´The kingdom of heaven is at hand.´ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are
to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the
journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves
his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the
house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to
you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words -- go outside that
house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than
for that town.”
Introductory
Prayer: Lord, in Your presence I break away from the
spiritual laziness and indifference that deprives me of the fruit of this
prayer which I need so much. I know my poverty, and You are immensely rich in
all that I need. I am so slow to give, whereas You are prompt and total in Your
gifts to me. I offer You this unruly heart of mine to do all that You wish of
me today.
Petition:
Lord, please grant me
the grace to be a better apostle today than I was yesterday.
1.
Go Out: The command is “Go.”
The Kingdom cannot be spread while sitting in an easy chair. We cannot wait for
the world that needs Christ to come to our door. Letting opportunities where we
can serve pass by, hoping someone else will take the initiative, is simply a
“no” to Christ’s command. “Go” means sensitizing our heart and eyes to those
who are hungry for Christ, seeing in the faces of our family members and
co-workers a hunger for his power and grace. In this culture that is sick and
waning, “go” means reaching out to those who need to know Christ, so that his
Kingdom will expand. We cannot take the easy route of preaching to the choir;
we must reach out to those professions and fields of study that have lost all
sense of the dignity of the human person – especially medicine, law, politics
and education. This is what the King is asking. What is the response which I am
giving to my King?
2.
“Nobody Gives What He Doesn’t Possess”: Christ’s command is to give from what we have
received. If every day we make ourselves more aware of the gifts we have been
given through Christ’s power, we will be better at giving Christ to others. As
apostles, we go not with our own power; rather, we carry Christ’s power to
heal, save and conquer evil. It is he who drives the mission, who makes the
apostles a team. How often do I calculate what I can contribute to the mission
based only on the strength of my human qualities? How often do I give only from
what is just me, rather than from the graces I have received from the Holy
Spirit? Moreover, do I measure my effectiveness solely from an individual
perspective, rather than from that of the whole body of the Church, in which
other apostles are locked arm-in-arm with me for the cause of Christ? God’s
saving power is found where obedience and unity are, not where only natural
talents, gifts and abilities are at play.
3.
Failures and Disappointments: Christ affirms that when we reach an impasse in our lives, this
is, in and of itself, no sign of the lack of the authenticity of our mission.
Its results are tied to the free-will choices of others, as well as to a plan
where apparent barrenness is part of God’s economy of salvation. A period of
few fruits in the mission can be a period of consolidation of our commitment to
follow him in season and out of season. Take this time to repel all discouragement
and doubt and to prove how authentic our “yes” is. A pure “yes” will seek God’s
will and the mission at hand simply because he wants it, not for any easy or
short-term results.
Conversation
with Christ: Jesus,
I wish to ignite my own zeal for Your Kingdom from the furnace of divine love
which burns in Your heart. I offer You the promise of a soldier in combat: to
be courageous, honorable, persevering, and worthy of the name I bear – “Apostle
of the Kingdom of Christ.” I work aware of the fact that I have only one life
to live on this earth. Not one minute must be wasted in comfort-seeking and
selfishness. My heart is ready for the mission, Lord; please sustain it today
with the strength of Your own.
Resolution:
Today I will review my
daily and weekly time commitments before Christ, and I will ensure that I am
using my time as fruitfully as I can to expand his Kingdom in the world.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
49 When I
told this to my confessor,[29]
I received this for a reply: "That refers to your soul." He told me,
"Certainly, paint God's image in your soul." When I came out of the
confessional, I again heard words such as these: My image already is in your
soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you
will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after
Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.
50 + I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out upon these souls.
Jesus complained to me in these words, Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even My death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these [gifts].
301 Proclaim that mercy is the
greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy.
341
November 5, 1934. One morning, when it was my duty to open the gate to let out
our people who deliver baked goods, I entered the little chapel to visit Jesus
for a minute and to renew the intentions of the day. Today, Jesus, I offer You
all my sufferings, mortifications and prayers for the intentions of the Holy
Father, so that he may approve the Feast of Mercy. But, Jesus, I have one more
word to say to You: I am very surprised that You bid me to talk about this
Feast of Mercy, for they tell me that there is already such a feast[81]
and so why should I talk about it? And Jesus said to me, And who knows anything about this
feast? No one! Even those who should be proclaiming My mercy and teaching
people about it often do not know about it themselves. That is why I want the
image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to
be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. Make a novena for
the Holy Father's intention. It should consist of thirty-three acts; that is,
repetition that many times of the short prayer-which I have taught you-to The
Divine Mercy.
375 Particular
interior practice; that is, the examination of conscience. Self-denial, denial
of my own will.
I. The denial of my
reason. Subjecting it to the reason of those who represent God to me here on
earth.
II. The denial of my
will. Doing the will of God, which is revealed in the will of those who
represent God to me and which is contained in the rule of our order.
III. The denial of my
judgment. Accepting immediately and without reflection, analysis or reasoning
all orders given by those who represent God to me.
IV. The denial of my
tongue. I will not give it the least bit of freedom; but in one case only I will
give it complete freedom; that is, in proclaiming the glory of God. Whenever I
receive Holy Communion, I will ask Jesus to fortify and cleanse my tongue that
I may not injure my neighbor with it. That is why I have the greatest respect
for the rule which speaks about silence.
378 Once as I was talking with my
spiritual director, I had an interior vision-quicker than lightning-of his soul
in great suffering, in such agony that God touches very few souls with such
fire. The suffering arises from this work. There will come a time when this
work, which God is demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone.
And then God will act with great power, which will give evidence of its
authenticity. It will be a new splendor for the Church, although it has been
dormant in it from long ago. That God is infinitely merciful, no one can deny.
He desires everyone to know this before He comes again as Judge. He wants souls
to come to know Him first as King of Mercy. When this triumph comes, we shall
already have entered the new life in which there is no suffering. But before
this, your soul [of the spiritual director] will be surfeited with bitterness
at the sight of the destruction of your efforts. However, this will only appear
to be so, because what God has once decided upon, He does not change. But
although this destruction will be such only in outward appearance, the
suffering will be real. When will this happen? I do not know. How long will it
last? I do not know.[89]
But God has promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... who
will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death,
as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night, when the
sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My
Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to
the very bottom of hell.
379
During one of the adorations, Jesus promised me that: With souls that have recourse to My
mercy and with those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will
deal according to My infinite mercy at the hour of their death.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart 1 Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart 1 Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds.
491 When I entered the chapel, once again the majesty of God
overwhelmed me. I felt that I was immersed in God, totally immersed in Him and
penetrated by Him, being aware of how much the heavenly Father loves us. Oh,
what great happiness fills my heart from knowing God and the divine life! It is
my desire to share this happiness with all people. I cannot keep this happiness
locked in my own heart alone, for His flames burn me and cause my bosom and my
entrails to burst asunder. I desire to go throughout the whole world and speak
to souls about the great mercy of God. Priests, help me in this; use the
strongest words [at your disposal] to proclaim His mercy, for every word falls
short of how merciful He really is.
930 + O my Jesus, although I will go to You, and You will fill
me with Yourself, and that will make my happiness complete, I will nevertheless
not forget about humanity. I desire to draw aside the veils of heaven, so that
the earth would have no doubts about The Divine Mercy. My repose is in
proclaiming Your mercy. The soul gives the greatest glory to its Creator when
it turns with trust to The Divine Mercy.
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.
1104 Today there was a beautiful teaching [by Father Plaza
on the goodness and mercy of God. During this conference my soul experienced
the flames of God's love, and I understood that God's word is a living word.
1142 June 4. Today is the Feast of
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. During Holy Mass, I was given the knowledge of
the Heart of Jesus and of the nature of the fire of love with which He burns
for us and of how He is an Ocean of Mercy. Then I heard a voice: Apostle of
My mercy, proclaim to the whole world My unfathomable mercy. Do not be
discouraged by the difficulties you encounter in proclaiming My mercy. These
difficulties that affect you so painfully are needed for your sanctification
and as evidence that this work is Mine. My daughter, be diligent in writing
down every sentence I tell you concerning My mercy, because this is meant for a
great number of souls who will profit from it.
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.
1256 [August] 30. Reverend Father Sopocko left
this morning. When I was steeped in a prayer of thanksgiving for the great
grace that I had received from God; namely, that of seeing Father, I became
united in a special way with the Lord who said to me, He is a priest after
My own Heart; his efforts are pleasing to Me. You see, My daughter, that My
will must be done and that which I had promised you, I shall do. Through him I
spread comfort to suffering and careworn souls. Through him it pleased Me to
proclaim the worship of My mercy. And through this work of mercy more souls
will come close to Me than otherwise would have, even if he had kept giving
absolution day and night for the rest of his life, because by so doing, he
would have labored only for as long as he lived; whereas, thanks to this work
of mercy, he will be laboring till the end of the world.
1298 O God, show me
Your mercy
According to the
compassion of the Heart of Jesus.
Hear my sighs and
entreaties,
And the tears of a
contrite heart.
O Omnipotent,
ever-merciful God,
Your compassion is
never exhausted.
Although my misery is
as vast as the sea,
I have complete trust
in the mercy of the Lord.
O Eternal Trinity,
yet ever-gracious God,
Your compassion is
without measure.
And so I trust in the
sea of Your mercy,
And sense You, Lord,
though a veil holds me aloof.
May the omnipotence
of Your mercy, O Lord,
Be glorified all over
the world.
May its veneration
never cease.
Proclaim,
my soul, God's mercy with fervor.
1463 +
The Lord also gave me to know that many bishops were considering the question
of this Feast, as well as a certain lay person. Some were enthusiastic about
this work of God, while others regarded it with disbelief; but in spite of
everything, the result was great glory for the work of God. Mother Irene and
Mother Mary Joseph were giving some kind of a report to these dignitaries, but
they were being questioned, not so much about the work, as about myself.227
As regards the work itself, there was no doubt, since the glory of
God was already being proclaimed.
1501 + Now that I
have difficulty sleeping at night, because my suffering won't allow it, I visit
all the churches and chapels and, if only for a brief moment, I make an act of
adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. When I return to my chapel, I then pray
for certain priests who proclaim and glorify The Divine Mercy. I also pray for
the intentions of the Holy Father and to obtain mercy for sinners-such are my
nights.
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.
1521 The Lord said to me, My daughter, do not tire of
proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which
burns with a flame of pity for sinners. Tell My priests that hardened sinners
will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy,
about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who proclaim and
extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch
the hearts of those to whom they will speak.
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...
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.
1680 Low Sunday.
Today, I again offered myself to the Lord as a holocaust for sinners. My Jesus,
if the end of my life is already approaching, I beg You most humbly, accept my
death in union with You as a holocaust which I offer You today, while I still
have full possession of my faculties and a fully conscious will, and this for a
threefold purpose:
Firstly: that the work of Your mercy may spread throughout the whole world and that the Feast of The Divine Mercy may be solemnly promulgated and celebrated.
Secondly: that sinners, especially dying sinners, may have recourse to Your mercy and experience the unspeakable effects of this mercy.
Thirdly: that all the work of Your mercy may be realized according to Your wishes, and for a certain person who is in charge of this work...
Accept, most merciful Jesus, this, my inadequate sacrifice, which I offer to You today before heaven and earth. May Your Most Sacred Heart, so full of mercy, complete what is lacking in my offering, and offer it to Your Father for the conversion of sinners. I thirst after souls, O Christ.
Firstly: that the work of Your mercy may spread throughout the whole world and that the Feast of The Divine Mercy may be solemnly promulgated and celebrated.
Secondly: that sinners, especially dying sinners, may have recourse to Your mercy and experience the unspeakable effects of this mercy.
Thirdly: that all the work of Your mercy may be realized according to Your wishes, and for a certain person who is in charge of this work...
Accept, most merciful Jesus, this, my inadequate sacrifice, which I offer to You today before heaven and earth. May Your Most Sacred Heart, so full of mercy, complete what is lacking in my offering, and offer it to Your Father for the conversion of sinners. I thirst after souls, O Christ.
1688 Today, the Lord said to me, My
daughter, look into My Merciful Heart and reflect its compassion in your own
heart and in your deeds, so that you, who proclaim My mercy to the world, may
yourself be aflame with it.
1749 + God's Infinite
Goodness in Adorning the Whole World with Beauty
in Order to Make Man's Stay on Earth Pleasant.
O God, how generously Your mercy is spread everywhere, and You have done all this for man. Oh, how much You must love him, since Your love is so active on his behalf. O my Creator and Lord, I see on all sides the trace of Your hand and the seal of Your mercy, which embraces all created things. O my most compassionate Creator, I want to give You worship on behalf of all creatures and all inanimate creation; I call on the whole universe to glorify Your mercy. Oh, how great is Your goodness, O God!
in Order to Make Man's Stay on Earth Pleasant.
O God, how generously Your mercy is spread everywhere, and You have done all this for man. Oh, how much You must love him, since Your love is so active on his behalf. O my Creator and Lord, I see on all sides the trace of Your hand and the seal of Your mercy, which embraces all created things. O my most compassionate Creator, I want to give You worship on behalf of all creatures and all inanimate creation; I call on the whole universe to glorify Your mercy. Oh, how great is Your goodness, O God!
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-49-50, 301, 341, 375, 378-379, 491)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-783, 930)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1074-1075, 1104, 1142, 1156)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1298)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1463, 1501, 1519, 1521, 1540, 1548)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1680, 1688, 1692, 1749)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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