Scoring Goals in Life
Tuesday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Father Robert DeCesare, LC
Matthew 12: 46-50
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Introductory
Prayer: Lord, I begin my meditation aware of my need
of Your grace and Your help. Without You, Lord, I can do nothing, but with You,
Lord, I can do all things. I believe that You are truly present in the
Eucharist. There, under the guise of bread, Lord, You remain to be with me. I
trust in You, Lord, because You have given me a reason for living. I trust You
because You are faithful to Your promises. Lord, I love You because You have
given me the treasure of my Catholic faith. You have given me this gift to
enable me to follow the path to heaven and be with You forever.
Petition:
Lord, grant me the
grace to know your will and to follow it in my life.
1.
What is the Goal of My Life? This is the fundamental question of our purpose in life. The
Father made us so that we may come to know, love and serve him in this world,
so as to be happy with him forever in the next. “Of all visible creatures only
man is ‘able to know and love his creator’. He is "the only creature on
earth that God has willed for its own sake", and he alone is called to
share, by knowledge and love, in God´s own life. It was for this end that he
was created” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 356). To aid us, God gave his
Son for us to follow and to learn from, so that we might fulfill our purpose in
life. This is why we follow him, this is why we listen to him; so that we may
fulfill our purpose.
2.
I’m On a Mission: Our mission in life is to fulfill our purpose. Thus the
fulfillment of our mission is a fundamental concern for our conscience. The
immediate norm for the right exercise of our conscience could put it like this:
“Anything that helps me fulfill my mission is good for me; anything that comes
between me and it is bad for me.” Or, using Christ´s words: “My food is to do
the Will of Him who sent me and to complete his work” (John 4:34); "I do
always what pleases Him" (John 8:29). The reason is obvious: Action
follows being, so what we are determines what we do. Similarly, the apostolic
mission flows from our Christian essence. What we are and what we do are two
sides of the same coin.
3.
Part of God’s Family: As Christ says in another passage of the Gospel, “Whoever does
the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3: 35). The
family of Christ is eternal. He welcomes those who do his will because we were
made to do his will. If we are faithful to our vocation, and we fulfill our
purpose in life, then we meet the hopes and dreams the Lord has for us. He
wants us to be holy. He made us for himself. Nothing would please him more than
to be able to say to us at the end of time: “Come, you that are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”
(Matthew 25:34).
Conversation
with Christ: Lord,
I want to be part of Your family. I want to do Your will, because I know that
it will make me holy. Your will is sanctifying. I want to be sanctified. Grant
me the grace to know Your will, love it and fulfill it.
Resolution:
I will review my day
before I go to bed to examine how I have fulfilled God’s will today.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
64 When I
came to Vilnius for two months to replace a sister who had gone for her third
probation
[Sister Peter, who worked in the kitchen], I stayed a little longer than two
months. One day, the Mother Superior [Irene[34]],
wanting to give me a bit of pleasure, gave me permission to go, together with
another sister,[35] to Calvary to "walk
the paths," as they say. I was delighted. Although it was not very far, it
was Mother Superior's wish that we should go by boat. That evening Jesus said
to me, I want you to stay home. I answered, "Jesus, everything is
ready for us to leave tomorrow morning; what am I to do now?" The Lord
answered, This trip will be harmful to your soul. I replied to Jesus,
"You can find a way out. Arrange things in such a way that Your will may
be done." At that moment the bell announced the time for sleep. I gave
Jesus a parting glance and went to my cell.
Next
morning the weather was beautiful, and my companion was filled with joy at the
prospect
of the great pleasure we would have in getting to see everything. But as for
me, I was sure we would not go, even though there were no obstacles so far.
We were
to receive Holy Communion earlier and leave right after the thanksgiving. But
during
the time of Communion, all of a sudden, the weather changed. Clouds covered the
sky, and the rain came down in torrents. Everyone was astounded at such a
sudden change in the weather.
Mother
Superior said to me, "I am so sorry you cannot go, Sisters!" I
answered, "Dear Mother, it doesn't really matter that we cannot go; it was
God's will that we stay home." However, no one knew that it was Jesus'
express desire that I stay home. I spent the whole day in recollection and
meditation, thanking the Lord for having kept me home. That day, God
granted me many heavenly consolations.
75
But these doubts always come from without, a fact which inclined me to close
myself up more and more within myself. When, during confession, I sense
uncertainty on the part of the priest, I do not open my soul to its depths, but
only accuse myself of my sins. A priest who is not at peace with himself will
not be able to inspire peace in another soul.
O priests, you bright candles enlightening human souls, let your brightness never be dimmed. I understood that at that time it was not God's will that I uncover my soul completely. Later on, God did give me this grace.
O priests, you bright candles enlightening human souls, let your brightness never be dimmed. I understood that at that time it was not God's will that I uncover my soul completely. Later on, God did give me this grace.
170 The first day of the retreat. I
tried to be the first in the chapel in the morning; before the meditation I had
a bit of time for prayer to the Holy Spirit and to Our Lady. I earnestly begged
the Mother of God to obtain for me the grace of fidelity to these inner
inspirations and of faithfully carrying out God's will, whatever it might be. I
began this retreat with a very special kind of courage.
279 God made known to
me what true love consists in and gave light to me about how, in practice, to
give proof of it to Him. True love of God consists in carrying out God's will.
To show God our love in what we do, all our actions, even the least, must
spring from our love of God. And the Lord said to me, My child, you please Me
most by suffering. In your physical as well as your mental sufferings, My
daughter, do not seek sympathy from creatures. I want the fragrance of your
suffering to be pure and unadulterated. I want you to detach yourself, not only
from creatures, but also from yourself. My daughter, I want to delight in the
love of your heart, a pure love, virginal, unblemished, untarnished. The more
you will come to love suffering, My daughter, the purer your love for Me will
be.
God
and Souls. An Act of Oblation.
309 Before heaven and
earth, before all the choirs of Angels, before the Most Holy Virgin Mary,
before all the Powers of heaven, I declare to the One Triune God that today, in
union with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I make a voluntary offering of
myself for the conversion of sinners, especially for those souls who have lost
hope in God's mercy. This offering consists in my accepting, with total subjection
to God's will, all the sufferings, fears and terrors with which sinners are
filled. In return, I give them all the consolations which my soul receives from
my communion with God. In a word, I offer everything for them: Holy Masses,
Holy Communions, penances, mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the blows,
blows of divine justice, because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in this way
I want to make amends to You for the souls that do not trust in Your goodness.
I hope against all hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my God, my
portion-my portion forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my own
strength, but on the strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ. I
will daily repeat this act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following prayer
which You yourself have taught me, Jesus:
"O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
"O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
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.
395
[February] 15, 1935. A few days' visit at my parents' home [92]
to see my dying mother. When I learned that my mother was
seriously ill and near death, and that she had asked that I come home, as she
wanted to see me once more before dying, a host of emotions were awakened in my
heart. As a child who sincerely loves its mother, I wanted very much to fulfill
her wish. But I left this to God and resigned myself completely to His will.
Paying no heed to the ache in my heart, I followed God's will. On the morning
of my name day, February fifteen, Mother Superior gave me a second letter from
my family and granted me permission to go to my parents' home to fulfill the
wish and request of my dying mother. I began at once to make the necessary
preparations for the journey and left Vilnius in the evening. I offered the
whole night for my seriously ill mother, that God might grant her the grace of
losing none of the merits of her suffering.
435 As I
was walking in the garden in the evening, I heard these words: By your
entreaties, you and your companions shall obtain mercy for yourselves and for
the world. I understood that I would not remain in the Congregation
in which I am at the present time.[95] I
saw clearly that God's will regarding me was otherwise. But I kept making
excuses before God, telling Him that I was unable to carry out this
task. "Jesus, You know very well what I am" [I said], and I
started enumerating my weaknesses to the Lord, hiding behind them so
that He would agree that I was unable to carry out His plans. Then I heard
these words: Do not fear; I myself will make up for everything that
is lacking in you. But these words penetrated me to my depths and
made me even more aware of my misery, and I understood that the word of
the Lord is living and that it penetrates to the very depths. I understood
that God demands a more perfect way of life of me. However, I kept using my incompetence
as an excuse.
439 Then came the
moment to receive Holy Communion, and Jesus disappeared, and I saw a great
brightness. Then I heard these words: We
give Our blessing, and at that moment a bright ray issued from
that light and pierced my heart; an extraordinary fire was enkindled in my
soul-I thought I would die of joy and happiness. I felt the separation of my
spirit from my body. I felt totally immersed in God, I felt I was snatched up
by the Almighty, like a particle of dust, into unknown expanses.
444 The priest spoke
these profound words to me, "There are three degrees in the
accomplishment of
God's will: in the first, the soul carries out all rules and statutes
pertaining to
external observance; in the second degree, the soul accepts interior
inspirations and carries them out faithfully; in the third degree, the soul,
abandoned to the will of God, allows Him to dispose of it freely, and God does
with it as He pleases, and it is a docile tool in His hands." And the
priest said that I was at the second degree in the accomplishment of God's will
and that I had not yet reached the third degree, but that I should strive to
attain it. These words pierced my soul. I see clearly that God often gives the
priest knowledge of what is going on in the depths of my soul. This does not
surprise me at all; indeed, I thank God that He has such chosen persons.
477 Silence is a
sword in the spiritual struggle. A talkative soul will never attain sanctity.
The sword of silence will cut off everything that would like to cling to the
soul. We are sensitive to words and quickly want to answer back, without taking
any regard as to whether it is God's will that we should speak. A silent soul
14 strong; no adversities will harm it if it perseveres in silence. The silent
soul is capable of attaining the closest union with God. It lives almost always
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God works in a silent soul without
hindrance.
478 O my Jesus, You
know, You alone know well that m heart knows no other love but You! All my
virginal love is drowned eternally in You, O Jesus! I sense keenly ho Your
divine Blood is circulating in my heart; I have no the least doubt that Your
most pure love has entered m heart with Your most sacred Blood. I am aware did
You are dwelling in me, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, or
ratherIam aware that it is I who it living in You, O incomprehensible God! I am
aware that I am dissolving in You like a drop in an ocean. I am aware that You
are within me and all about me, that You are in all things that surround me, in
all that happens to me. O my God, I have come to know You within my heart, and
I have loved You above all things that exist on earth or in heaven. Our hearts
have a mutual understanding, and no one of humankind will comprehend this.
506 "Do nothing without the consent of the superiors.
One must think this matter over thoroughly and pray much. One must be very
careful about these things because, in your present situation, Sister, the will
of God is certain and clear, for you are in fact bound to this Congregation by
vows, and perpetual vows at that; so there should be no doubt. What you are
experiencing interiorly, Sister, are only the glimmerings of a project. God can
make some alterations, but such things are very rare. Don't be in a hurry,
Sister, until you have received more precise knowledge. The works of God
proceed slowly, but if they are of Him, you will surely recognize them clearly.
If they are not, they will disappear; and you, by being obedient, will not go
astray. Speak frankly about everything to your confessor and obey him blindly.
"For the present, Sister, there is nothing more for you to do than accept the suffering until the time when everything will become clear; that is, all things will be resolved. You are well disposed as regards these matters, and so continue in this simplicity and spirit of obedience; this is a good sign. If you continue in this attitude, God will not allow you to fall into error. Still, as much as is possible, keep far away from these things, but if despite that they still come your way, receive them calmly and do not fear anything. You are in the good hands of a very good God. In all that you have told me, I do not see any illusion or anything contrary to faith. These are things which are good in themselves, and it would indeed be good if there were a group of souls pleading with God for the world, as we all are in need of prayer. You have a good director; stay with him and be at peace. Be faithful to God's will and carry it out. As to your duties, always do what you are told to do and as you are told to do it, no matter how humiliating or toilsome it might be. Always choose the last place, and then they themselves will say to you, `Go up higher.' In spirit and in your demeanor, consider yourself the least in the whole house and in the entire Congregation. In everything and at all times, be most faithful to God."
"For the present, Sister, there is nothing more for you to do than accept the suffering until the time when everything will become clear; that is, all things will be resolved. You are well disposed as regards these matters, and so continue in this simplicity and spirit of obedience; this is a good sign. If you continue in this attitude, God will not allow you to fall into error. Still, as much as is possible, keep far away from these things, but if despite that they still come your way, receive them calmly and do not fear anything. You are in the good hands of a very good God. In all that you have told me, I do not see any illusion or anything contrary to faith. These are things which are good in themselves, and it would indeed be good if there were a group of souls pleading with God for the world, as we all are in need of prayer. You have a good director; stay with him and be at peace. Be faithful to God's will and carry it out. As to your duties, always do what you are told to do and as you are told to do it, no matter how humiliating or toilsome it might be. Always choose the last place, and then they themselves will say to you, `Go up higher.' In spirit and in your demeanor, consider yourself the least in the whole house and in the entire Congregation. In everything and at all times, be most faithful to God."
518
+ Before All Souls' Day, I went to the cemetery at dusk. Although it was
locked, I managed to open the gate a bit and said, "If you need something,
my dear little souls, I will be glad to help you to the extent that the rule
permits me." I then heard these words, "Do the will of God; we are
happy in the measure that we have fulfilled God's will."
527 On one occasion,
I felt an urge to set to work and fulfill whatever God is demanding of me. I
entered the chapel for a moment and heard a voice in my soul saying, Why are you afraid? Do you think that
I will not have enough omnipotence to support you? At that
moment, my soul felt extraordinary strength, and all the adversities that could
befall me in carrying out God's will seemed as nothing to me.
585
January 8, 1936. When I went to see the Archbishop [Jalbrzykowski], I told him
that Jesus was asking that I pray for God's mercy upon the world and that there
be a religious congregation which would entreat the mercy of God for the world.
I asked his permission for all the Lord Jesus was demanding of me. The Arch
bishop answered me in these words: "As for prayer, I give my permission
and even encourage you, Sister, to pray as much as possible for the world and
to beg God's mercy, as mercy is what we all need; and I presume that your
confessor certainly does not forbid you to pray for this intention. But as
regards this congregation, wait a while, Sister, so that all things may arrange
themselves more favorably. This thing is good in itself, but there is no need
to hurry. If it is God's will, it will be done, whether it be a little sooner
or a little later. Why shouldn't it be? There are so many different kinds of
congregations; this one too will come to be if God so wills. Be completely at
peace. The Lord Jesus can do all things. Strive for a close union with God and
do not lose heart." These words filled me with great joy.
615 March 1, 1936. Today during Holy Mass I experienced a
strange force and urge to start realizing God's wishes. I had such a clear
understanding of the things the Lord was asking of me that truly if I were to
say that I do not understand what God is demanding from me, I would be lying,
because the Lord is making His will known to me so clearly and distinctly that
I do not have the least shadow of a doubt about them. I realized that it would
be the greatest ingratitude to delay any longer this undertaking which the Lord
wishes to bring to fulfillment for His glory and the benefit of a great number
of souls. And He is using me as a miserable tool through which to realize His
eternal plans of mercy. Truly, how ungrateful my soul would be to resist God's
will any longer. Nothing will stop me any longer, be it persecution,
sufferings, sneers, threats, entreaties, hunger, cold, flattery, friendships,
adversities, friends or enemies; be it things I am experiencing now or things
that will come in the future or even the hatred of hell-nothing will deter me
from doing the will of God.
I am not counting on my own strength, but on His omnipotence for, as he gave me the grace of knowing His holy will, He will also grant me the grace of fulfilling it. I cannot fail to mention how much my own lower nature resists this thing, manifesting its own desires, and there results within my soul a great struggle, like that of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. And so I too cry out to God, the Eternal Father, "If it is possible, take this cup from me, but, nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done, O Lord; may Your will be done." What I am about to go through is no secret to me, but with full knowledge I accept whatever You send me, O Lord. I trust in You, O merciful God, and I wish to be the first to manifest to You that confidence which You demand of souls. O Eternal Truth, help me and enlighten me along the roadways of life, and grant that Your will be accomplished in me.
My God, I desire nothing but the fulfillment of Your will. It does not matter whether it will be easy or difficult. I feel an extraordinary force driving me to action. One thing alone holds me back, and that is holy obedience. O my Jesus, You urge me on the one hand and hold me back and restrain me on the other. In this, too, O my Jesus, may Your holy will be done.
I continued in this state, without a break, for many days. My physical strength declined, and though I did not speak to anyone about it, nevertheless Mother Superior [Borgia] noticed my pain and remarked that I had changed in appearance and was very pale. She told me to go to bed earlier and to sleep longer, and she had a cup of hot milk brought to me in the evening. She had a motherly heart, full of care, and tried to help me. But in the case of spiritual sufferings, external things have no influence, and they do not bring much relief. It was from the confessional that I drew my strength and the consolation of knowing that it would not be long before I could begin to act.
I am not counting on my own strength, but on His omnipotence for, as he gave me the grace of knowing His holy will, He will also grant me the grace of fulfilling it. I cannot fail to mention how much my own lower nature resists this thing, manifesting its own desires, and there results within my soul a great struggle, like that of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. And so I too cry out to God, the Eternal Father, "If it is possible, take this cup from me, but, nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done, O Lord; may Your will be done." What I am about to go through is no secret to me, but with full knowledge I accept whatever You send me, O Lord. I trust in You, O merciful God, and I wish to be the first to manifest to You that confidence which You demand of souls. O Eternal Truth, help me and enlighten me along the roadways of life, and grant that Your will be accomplished in me.
My God, I desire nothing but the fulfillment of Your will. It does not matter whether it will be easy or difficult. I feel an extraordinary force driving me to action. One thing alone holds me back, and that is holy obedience. O my Jesus, You urge me on the one hand and hold me back and restrain me on the other. In this, too, O my Jesus, may Your holy will be done.
I continued in this state, without a break, for many days. My physical strength declined, and though I did not speak to anyone about it, nevertheless Mother Superior [Borgia] noticed my pain and remarked that I had changed in appearance and was very pale. She told me to go to bed earlier and to sleep longer, and she had a cup of hot milk brought to me in the evening. She had a motherly heart, full of care, and tried to help me. But in the case of spiritual sufferings, external things have no influence, and they do not bring much relief. It was from the confessional that I drew my strength and the consolation of knowing that it would not be long before I could begin to act.
665 Father Andrasz told me to make a
novena for the intention of knowing better the will of God. I prayed ardently,
adding a certain bodily mortification. Towards the end of the novena, I
received an inner light and the assurance that the Congregation will come into
being and that it is pleasing to God. Despite the difficulties and adversities,
complete peace and strength entered my soul from on high. I understood that
nothing could resist or nullify the will of God. I understood that I must carry
out this will of God despite obstacles, persecution and sufferings of all
kinds, and despite natural repugnance and fear.
666 I understood that all striving for perfection and all sanctity consist in doing God's will. Perfect fulfillment of God's will is maturity in sanctity; there is no room for doubt here. To receive God's light and recognize what God wants of us and yet not do it is a great offense against the majesty of God. Such a soul deserves to be completely forsaken by God. It resembles Lucifer, who had great light, but did not do God's will. An extraordinary peace entered my soul when I reflected on the fact that, despite great difficulties, I had always faithfully followed God's will as I knew it. O Jesus, grant me the grace to put Your will into practice as I have come to know it, O God.
666 I understood that all striving for perfection and all sanctity consist in doing God's will. Perfect fulfillment of God's will is maturity in sanctity; there is no room for doubt here. To receive God's light and recognize what God wants of us and yet not do it is a great offense against the majesty of God. Such a soul deserves to be completely forsaken by God. It resembles Lucifer, who had great light, but did not do God's will. An extraordinary peace entered my soul when I reflected on the fact that, despite great difficulties, I had always faithfully followed God's will as I knew it. O Jesus, grant me the grace to put Your will into practice as I have come to know it, O God.
667 July 14. I received a letter at
three o'clock [from Father Sopocko [135]].
O Jesus, You alone know what I suffer, but I will keep silent and will not say
anything about it to any creature, because I know that no one will comfort me.
You are everything to me, O God, and Your holy will is my nourishment. I am
living now on what I will live on in eternity.
I have great reverence for Saint Michael the Archangel; he had no example to follow in doing the will of God, and yet he fulfilled God's will faithfully.
I have great reverence for Saint Michael the Archangel; he had no example to follow in doing the will of God, and yet he fulfilled God's will faithfully.
713 October 11. This evening, as I
was writing about this great mercy of God and its great advantage to souls,
Satan rushed into my room with great anger and fury. He seized the screen and
began to break and crush it. I was a little frightened at first, but I
immediately made the sign of the cross with my little crucifix, and the beast
fell quiet and disappeared at once. Today, I did not see this hideous figure
but only his anger. Satan's anger is terrible, and yet the screen was not
shattered or broken, and I went on writing quietly. I know well that the wretch
will not touch me without God's willing it, but what is he up to? He is
beginning to attack me openly and with such great fury and hate, but he does
not disturb my peace for a moment, and this composure of mine makes him
furious.
830 O Light Eternal,
who come to this earth, enlighten my mind and strengthen my will that I may not
give up in times of great affliction. May Your light dissipate all the shadows
of doubt. May Your omnipotence act through me. I trust in You, O uncreated
Light! You, O Infant Jesus, are a model for me in accomplishing Your Father's
will, You, who said, "Behold, I come to do Your will." Grant that I
also may do God's will faithfully in all things. O Divine Infant, grant me this
grace!
894
Today the doctor decided that I am not to go to Mass, but only to Holy
Communion. I wanted very much to assist at Mass, but my confessor, [162]
in agreement with the doctor, told me to obey. "It is God's will, Sister,
that you should get well, and you must not undertake mortifications of any
kind. Be obedient, Sister, and God will reward you for it." I felt that
the confessor's words were Jesus' words, and although it made me sad to miss
Holy Mass, during which God had been granting me the grace of seeing the Infant
Jesus; nevertheless, I placed obedience above everything else.
I became absorbed in prayer and said my penance. Then I suddenly saw the Lord, who said to me, My daughter, know that you give Me greater glory by a single act of obedience than by long prayers and mortifications. Oh, how good it is to live under obedience, to live conscious of the fact that everything I do is pleasing to God!
I became absorbed in prayer and said my penance. Then I suddenly saw the Lord, who said to me, My daughter, know that you give Me greater glory by a single act of obedience than by long prayers and mortifications. Oh, how good it is to live under obedience, to live conscious of the fact that everything I do is pleasing to God!
924 Today, I received
a note from Mother Superior forbidding me to go to the bedside of the dying.
And so, I will send to the dying obedience in place of self, and it will
support the souls who are dying. Such is God's will, and that is enough for me.
That which I cannot understand now I will learn later.
937 + I will say a
word more about my spiritual director [Father Andrasz or Father Sopocko [169]].
It is strange that there are so few priests who know how to pour power,
strength and courage into a soul so that it can make constant progress without
getting tired. Under such direction a soul, even of lesser strength, can do
much for the glory of God. And here I discovered a secret; namely, that the
confessor, or rather the spiritual director, does not make light of the trifles
that the soul brings to him. And when the soul notices that it is being
controlled in this, it begins to exert itself and does not omit the slightest
opportunity to practice virtue and also avoids the smallest faults. And from
these efforts, as with little stones, there rises within the soul a most
beautiful temple. On the contrary, if the soul notices that the confessor
neglects these little things, it likewise neglects them and ceases to give an
account of them to the confessor and, worse still, will begin to grow negligent
in little things. Thus, instead of going forward, it gradually retreats
backward and becomes aware of the situation only when it has already fallen
into some serious trouble. Here, a serious question poses itself: who is at
fault, the soul in question or the confessor; that is to say, the director? It
seems to me that all the blame should be put on the imprudent director; the
soul's only fault is to have taken upon itself the choice of a director. ! The
director could well have led the soul along the road of God's will to sanctity.
938 The soul should
have prayed ardently and at greater length for a director and should have asked
the Lord himself to choose a spiritual director for it. What begins in God will
be godly, and what begins in a purely human manner will remain human. God is so
merciful that, in order to help a soul He himself chooses the spiritual guide
and will enlighten the soul concerning the one before whom it should uncover
the most hidden depths of its soul just as it sees itself before the Lord Jesus
himself. And when the soul considers and recognizes that God has been arranging
all this, it should pray fervently for the confessor that he might have the
divine light to know it well. And let it not change such a director except for
a serious reason. Just as it had prayed fervently and at great length in order
to learn God's will before choosing a director, so too should it pray fervently
and at great length to discern whether it is truly God's will that he leave
this director and choose another. If God's will is not absolutely clear, he
should not make this change, for a person will not go far by himself, and Satan
wants just this: to have the person who is aspiring for sanctity direct himself
because then, without doubt, he will never attain it.
956 +
After these words, the knowledge of God's will came to me; that is to say, I
now see everything from a higher point of view and accept all events and
things, pleasant and unpleasant, with love, as tokens of the heavenly Father's
special affection.
972 Today, the doctor
decided that I am to stay here until April. It is God's will, even though I did
want to be back in the company of my sisters.
981 I understood that
these two years of interior suffering which I have undergone in submission to
God's will in order to know it better have advanced me further in perfection
than the previous ten years. For two years now, I have been on the cross
between heaven and earth. That is to say, I am bound by the vow of obedience
and must obey the superior as God himself. And on the other hand, God makes His
will known to me directly, and so my inner torture is so great that no one will
either understand or imagine these spiritual sufferings. It seems to me that it
would be easier to give up my life than to go again and again through one hour
of such pain. I am not even going to write much about this matter, because one
cannot describe what it is like to know God's will directly and at the same
time to be perfectly obedient to the divine will as expressed indirectly
through the superiors. Thanks be to God that He has given me a director;
otherwise, I would not have advanced one single step.
1004 O will of the
Omnipotent God,
You are my delight,
You are my joy.
Whatever the hand of my Lord holds out to me
I will accept with gladness, submission and love.
Your holy will is my repose;
In it is contained all my sanctity,
And all my eternal salvation,
For doing God's will is the greatest glory.
The will of God-those are His various wishes
Which my soul carries out without reserve,
Because such are His divine desires,
In those moments when God shares His confidences with me.
Do with me as You will, Lord.
I place no obstacles, I make no reservations.
For You are my whole delight and the love of my soul,
And to You, in turn, I pour out the confidences of my heart.
You are my delight,
You are my joy.
Whatever the hand of my Lord holds out to me
I will accept with gladness, submission and love.
Your holy will is my repose;
In it is contained all my sanctity,
And all my eternal salvation,
For doing God's will is the greatest glory.
The will of God-those are His various wishes
Which my soul carries out without reserve,
Because such are His divine desires,
In those moments when God shares His confidences with me.
Do with me as You will, Lord.
I place no obstacles, I make no reservations.
For You are my whole delight and the love of my soul,
And to You, in turn, I pour out the confidences of my heart.
1088 Sudden return of
health. After I had written a letter to Father Sopocko on Sunday, April 11, I
suddenly became so very ill that I did not send that letter, but waited for a
clear sign of God's will. However, my health got so bad that I had to go to
bed. The coughing racked me so much that it seemed to me that, if this repeats
a few more times, it will surely be the end of me.
1091 Then I heard
these words: Go tell the superior that you are in good health. I neither
know, nor ask how long I will remain in good health. I only know that I am
enjoying good health
at present. The future does not belong to me. I asked for this health as
evidence of God's will and not in order to seek relief from my suffering.
1101 In
the evening, I heard these words in my soul: My daughter, know that I shall
speak to you in a special way through this priest [Father Plaza [191]]
so that you may not yield to doubt concerning My wishes. Already in the
first meditation my soul was struck by the following words of the
priest: I must not oppose God's will and God's designs, whatever they
might be; and as soon as 1 am convinced of the certitude and the authenticity
of the will of God, I have the duty of carrying it out. No one can release me
from this. Whatever the will of God may be, once I have come to know it, I
ought to carry it out. This is just a very short summary, but the whole
meditation imprinted itself on my soul, and I have no doubts about
anything. I know what God wants of me, and what I ought to do.
1243 "These times of dryness and stark
awareness of one's wretchedness, which God has permitted, allow the soul to
know how little it can do by itself. They will teach you how much you should
appreciate God's graces. Secondly, faithfulness in all exercises and duties,
faithfulness in everything, just as in times of joy. Thirdly, as regards the
matters in question, be absolutely obedient to the Archbishop [Jalbrzykowski]
although, from time to time, the matter can be brought to his attention, but
peacefully. Sometimes, a little bitter truth is necessary."
At the end of the conversation, I asked the priest to allow me to commune with Jesus as I had done formerly. He answered, "I cannot give orders to the Lord Jesus, but if He himself draws you to himself you may follow the attraction. However, always remember to show Him great reverence, for the Lord is great indeed. If you are truly seeking God's will in all this and desire to fulfill it, you can be at peace; the Lord will not allow any sort of error. As to the mortifications and sufferings, you will give me an account next time of how you carry them out. Place yourself in the hands of the Most Holy Mother."
At the end of the conversation, I asked the priest to allow me to commune with Jesus as I had done formerly. He answered, "I cannot give orders to the Lord Jesus, but if He himself draws you to himself you may follow the attraction. However, always remember to show Him great reverence, for the Lord is great indeed. If you are truly seeking God's will in all this and desire to fulfill it, you can be at peace; the Lord will not allow any sort of error. As to the mortifications and sufferings, you will give me an account next time of how you carry them out. Place yourself in the hands of the Most Holy Mother."
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.
1276 September 16, 1937. I wanted very much to make a Holy
Hour before the Blessed Sacrament today, but God's will was otherwise. At eight
o'clock I was seized with such violent pains that I had to go to bed at once. I
was convulsed with pain for three hours; that is, until eleven o'clock at
night. No medicine had any effect on me, and whatever I swallowed I threw up.
At times, the pains caused me to lose consciousness. Jesus had me realize that
in this way I took part in His Agony in the Garden, and that He himself allowed
these sufferings in order to offer reparation to God for the souls murdered in
the wombs of wicked mothers. I have gone through these sufferings three times
now. They always start at eight o'clock in the evening and last until eleven.
No medicine can lessen these sufferings. When eleven o'clock comes, they cease
by themselves, and I fall asleep at that moment. The following day, I feel very
weak.
This happened to me for the first time when I was at the sanatorium. The doctors couldn't get to the bottom of it, and no injection or medicine helped me at all nor did I myself have any idea of what the sufferings were about. I told the doctor that never before in my life had I experienced such sufferings, and he declared he did not know what sort of pains they are. But now I understand the nature of these pains, because the Lord himself has made this known to me.... Yet when I think that I may perhaps suffer in this way again, I tremble. But I don't know whether I'll ever again suffer in this way; I leave that to God. What it pleases God to send, I will accept with submission and love. If only I could save even one soul from murder by means of these sufferings!
This happened to me for the first time when I was at the sanatorium. The doctors couldn't get to the bottom of it, and no injection or medicine helped me at all nor did I myself have any idea of what the sufferings were about. I told the doctor that never before in my life had I experienced such sufferings, and he declared he did not know what sort of pains they are. But now I understand the nature of these pains, because the Lord himself has made this known to me.... Yet when I think that I may perhaps suffer in this way again, I tremble. But I don't know whether I'll ever again suffer in this way; I leave that to God. What it pleases God to send, I will accept with submission and love. If only I could save even one soul from murder by means of these sufferings!
1301 It is
extraordinary how Mother Irene has so much light from God concerning this whole
matter. She was the first to allow me to carry out the Lord's wishes, although
it was not until two years after the revelation that she became my superior.
And despite this fact, she was the first to go with me when the painting of the
image was first undertaken. And now again, when some things concerning the
Divine Mercy are being published, and small holy cards are being printed, again
it is she who is going with me [to take care of] this matter. God has ordained
all this in a mysterious way, because this was begun in Vilnius, and now God's
will has so directed the circumstances that this matter is being continued in
Cracow. I know how pleasing this superior is to God; I see how God is directing
everything and wants me to be under her protection during these important
times.... Thank You, Lord, for such superiors, who live in the love and fear of
God. That is why I pray for her most of all, because she has put herself out
the most for the sake of this work of Divine Mercy....
1389 O my Jesus,
although I have such very strong impulsions, I am to act on them slowly, and
this only in order not to spoil Your work with my haste. O my Jesus, You give
me to know Your mysteries, and You want me to transmit them to other souls.
Soon now it will be possible for me to act. At the moment of apparent absolute
destruction, my mission, now no longer hindered by anything, will begin. Such
is the will of God in this, and it will not change; although many persons will
oppose it, nothing will change God's will.
1431 Nevertheless,
when in the refectory I still had to bear being the object of the frequent
suspicion that I was being fussy [about my food]. At such times, as always, I
hasten to the Tabernacle and bow before the ciborium and there draw strength to
accept God's will. That which I have written is not yet everything.
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.
1525 One day, a
certain sister came to me and asked me for prayers, telling me that she could
no longer stand things as they were. "And so, please pray, Sister." I
answered that I would, and I began a novena to The Divine Mercy. I learned that
God would give her the grace, but that she would once again be dissatisfied
when she received it. However, I kept on praying as she had asked me to do. The
next day, the same sister came looking for me, and when we again began to talk
about the same thing, I told her, "You know, Sister, when we pray, we
ought not force the Lord God to give us what we want, but we should rather
submit to His holy will." But she thought that what she was asking for was
indispensable. Towards the end of the novena, the sister came again and said,
"O Sister, the Lord Jesus has given me the grace, but now I am of a
different mind. Please pray so that things will somehow be different
again." I answered, "Yes, I will pray, but that God's will be done in
you, Sister, and not what you want."
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-64, 75, 170, 279, 309, 354, 395, 435)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-439, 444, 477-478, 506, 515, 518)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-527, 585, 615, 665-667, 713, 830)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-894, 924, 937-938, 956, 972, 981)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1004, 1088, 1091, 1101)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1243-1244, 1276, 1301)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1389, 1431, 1521, 1525)
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