Separated From Christ
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Wednesday of the
Fifth Week of Easter
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Father Patrick Langan, LC
John 15: 1-8
Jesus said to his
disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He
takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that
does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of
the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a
branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither
can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever
remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can
do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch
and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will
be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever
you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that
you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
Introductory Prayer:
Lord, thank You for
granting me the opportunity to be with You. There are things in life, Lord,
that attract me, but You attract me more. I hope in you, and I love You.
Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love
the way I should, but I do love You.
Petition: Lord, help me to grow in my interior life so
I can remain united to You.
1. Forgetfulness of
God: Lord, it is so easy
to forget you when life gets busy. It is easy to forget you when things go
well. Almost without realizing it, I begin to separate myself from the vine.
My prayer time is a good thermometer: When I am separating myself from the
vine, it becomes shorter and shorter until it almost fades. I go my own way.
I forget to pray. However, it isn’t necessarily a question of eliminating
activities but of doing all of these tasks for God and in union with him.
2. Barrenness: If I separate myself from Christ, the vine,
and invest my energies in something else, I know what is going to happen. I
will produce no fruit. This is my experience; it has already happened.
Eventually I will wither and be thrown out like a dry branch. Lastly, these
withered, old, dried-up branches will be gathered and thrown into a fire, and
they will be burned. There is no way I can bear fruit if I am separated from
the vine.
3. Abundant Fruit: I want to produce abundant fruit. I want to
help bring about a change in this world. That is attractive to me. That means
a lot to me. I have tried different ways, and I know that only united to the
vine can I bear lasting fruits for Christ’s Kingdom. This is the way I will
glorify the Father. In this meditation, I already sense the sap running back
into my soul. My life will produce fruit for others. Lord, help me to cling
to the vine. Help me to strengthen that bond of unity. Help my faith and love
for you grow, for you are my all.
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, it is easy to
trust what I can see, feel and touch. It is wiser, infinitely wiser to trust You,
even if you are hidden from me for now.
Resolution: At least three times today I will lift up my
thoughts to offer one of my activities to God.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
164
+JMJ Warsaw, 1933.
Probation Before Perpetual Vows[56] When I learned I was to go for probation, my heart beat with joy at the thought of such an immense grace, that of the perpetual vows. I went before the Blessed Sacrament; and when I immersed myself in a prayer of thanksgiving, I heard these words in my soul: My child you are My delight, you are the comfort of My Heart. I grant you as many graces as you can hold. As often as you want to make Me happy, speak to the world about My great and unfathomable mercy.
165
A few weeks before I was told about the probation, I entered the chapel for a
moment and Jesus said to me, At this very moment the superiors are
deciding which sisters are going to take perpetual vows. Not all of them will
be granted this grace, but this is their own fault. He who does not take
advantage of small graces will not receive great ones. But to you, my child,
this grace is being given. My soul was seized with joyful surprise,
because a few days earlier one of the sisters had said to me, "Sister,
you will not be going for the third probation. I myself will see to it that
you will not be permitted to make your vows." I said nothing to the
sister, but felt great pain which I tried to conceal as best I could.
O Jesus, how strange are Your ways! I now see that people can do very little on their own, for I did make my probation, as Jesus had told me.
186
+Today Jesus said to me, I desire that you know more profoundly the love
that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate
upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their
salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on
behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the
prayer:
187
"O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a
fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
652
There is one word I heed and continually ponder; it alone is everything to
me; I live by it and die by it, and it is the holy will of God. It is my daily
food. My whole soul listens intently to God's wishes. I do always what God
asks of me, although my nature often quakes and I feel that the magnitude of
these things is beyond my strength. 1 know well what I am of myself, but I
also know what the grace of God is, which supports me.
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.
674
I gave no answer to Jesus, but poured out all my sorrow before Him, and
Satan's attempts ceased. Jesus then said to me, The inner peace that you have is a
grace, and suddenly He was gone. I felt happy and
unaccountably peaceful. Really, for so much peace to return within a
moment-that is a thing only Jesus can do, He, the most high Lord.
687
Once, as I was going down the hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my
soul: Say unceasingly
the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great
mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their
last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were
to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite
mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to
grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.
688 Jesus, Life and Truth, my Master, guide every step of my life, that I may act according to Your holy will.
690
+ On one occasion, I came to know of the condition of two religious sisters
who were grumbling interiorly about an order the superior had given them, and
for this reason God had withheld many special graces from them. My heart
ached at this sight. How sad it is, O Jesus, when we ourselves are the cause
of the loss of graces. Whoever understands this is always faithful.
699
On one occasion, I heard these words:
My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that
the Feast of Mercy [139] be a refuge and
shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very
depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon
those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to
Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of
sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which
grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its
sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of
angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that
exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every
soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout
eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is
My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.
Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.
1661
I spent the whole day in thanksgiving, and gratitude kept flooding my soul. O
my God, how good You are, how great is Your mercy! You visit me with so many
graces, me who am a most wretched speck of dust. Prostrating myself at Your
feet, O Lord, I confess with a sincere heart that I have done nothing to
deserve even the least of Your graces. It is in Your infinite goodness that
You give Yourself to me so generously. Therefore, the greater the graces
which my heart receives, the deeper it plunges itself in humility.
1675
On the following day, Sister Felicia took me there. I left in great peace and
a calm spirit. When we arrived, they told us there was a private room for
Sister Faustina. When we entered the room, we were surprised that everything
had been prepared so beautifully: all was clean and neat, covered with
tablecloths and bedecked with flowers; a pretty Easter Lamb had been placed
on the night table by the Sisters. 248 At once, three
Sacred Heart Sisters 249 who work at the
sanatorium, my old acquaintances, came and greeted me warmly. Sister Felicia
was surprised at all this. We bid a warm farewell to each other, and she
left. When I was alone, with just the Lord Jesus and myself, I thanked Him
for this great grace.
1682
+ May 1, [1938]. This evening, Jesus said to me, My daughter, do you need anything?
I answered, "O my Love, when I have You I have everything." And the
Lord answered, If
souls would put themselves completely in My care, I Myself would undertake
the task of sanctifying them, and I would lavish even greater graces on them.
There are souls who thwart My efforts, but I have not given up on them; as
often as they turn to Me, I hurry to their aid, shielding them with My mercy,
and I give them the first place in My compassionate Heart.
1683
Write for the benefit
of religious souls that it delights Me to come to their hearts in Holy Communion.
But if there is anyone else in such a heart, I cannot bear it and quickly
leave that heart, taking with Me all the gifts and graces I have prepared for
the soul. And the soul does not even notice My going. After some time, inner
emptiness and dissatisfaction will come to her attention. Oh, if only she
would turn to Me then, I would help her to cleanse her heart, and I would
fulfill everything in her soul; but without her knowledge and consent, I
cannot be the Master of her heart.
1687
Today I saw the Crucified Lord Jesus. Precious pearls and diamonds were
pouring forth from the wound in His Heart. I saw how a multitude of souls was
gathering these gifts, but there was one soul who was closest to His Heart
and she, knowing the greatness of these gifts, was gathering them with
liberality, not only for herself, but for others as well. The Savior said to
me, Behold, the
treasures of grace that flow down upon souls, but not all souls know how to
take advantage of My generosity.
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.
The
Creator and The Creature.
1692
I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. I adore You
for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness
and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth, and it
tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a
faint reflection of You, Incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have
hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith,
reaches You, and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good; and my
heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.
My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here Your light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature. Here, without searching for words, our hearts understand each other. Here, no one is able to interrupt our conversation. What I talk to You about, Jesus, is our secret, which creatures shall not know and Angels dare not ask about. These are secret acts of forgiveness, known only to Jesus and me; this is the mystery of His mercy, which embraces each soul separately. For this incomprehensible goodness of Yours, I adore You, O Lord and Creator, with all my heart and all my soul. And, although my worship is so little and poor, I am at peace because I know that You know it is sincere, however inadequate...
1693
As I was writing the above words, I saw the Lord Jesus leaning over me, and
He asked, My daughter,
what are you writing? I answered, "I am writing about
You, Jesus, about Your being hidden in the Blessed Sacrament, about Your
inconceivable love and mercy for people." And Jesus said, Secretary of My most profound mystery,
know that yours is an exclusive intimacy with Me. Your task is to write down
everything that I make known to you about My mercy, for the benefit of those
who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have
the courage to approach Me. I therefore want you to devote all your free
moments to writing. "But, O Lord, shall I always have a
moment, at least a brief one, in which to write?" And Jesus answered, It is not for you to think about
that. Only do as much as you can, and I will always arrange things so that
you will easily be able to do what I ask of you...
1694
Today, I was visited by a certain lay person [probably Stanislava
Kwietniewska] who has caused me a lot of sorrow and who has abused my
goodness, telling many lies. At the first moment I saw her, the blood froze
in my veins, because there stood before my eyes all that I had to suffer
because of her, although with one word I could have freed myself of them all.
And the thought came to me to tell her the truth, firmly and immediately. But
at the same moment, the mercy of God came before my eyes, and I resolved to
act toward her as Jesus would have acted in my place. I started to talk to
her gently, and when she expressed the wish to talk to me alone; I then, in a
very delicate manner, made known to her clearly the sad condition of her
soul. I saw that she was deeply moved, though she was trying to hide this
from me. At that point, a third person came in, and so our heart-to-heart
talk came to an end. She asked me for a glass of water and for two other
things which I did willingly. However, had it not been for the grace of God,
I would not have been able to act in such a way toward her. When they left, I
thanked God for the grace which had supported me during that time.
1696 O
Christ, although much effort is required, all things can be done with Your
grace.
1697
I was feeling fairly well today, and I was glad that I would be able to make
the Holy Hour. But when I began to make the Holy Hour, my physical sufferings
intensified, so that I was not able to pray. When the Holy Hour was over, my
sufferings came to an end, and I complained to the Lord that I had wanted so
much to steep myself in His sorrowful Passion, but that my sufferings had not
allowed me to do so. Then Jesus said to me, My daughter, know that if I allow you to feel and have
a more profound knowledge of My sufferings, that is a grace from Me. But when
your mind is dimmed and your sufferings are great, it is then that you take
an active part in My Passion, and I am conforming you more fully to Myself.
It is your task to submit yourself to My will at such times, more than at
others...
1698
l often attend upon the dying and through entreaties obtain for them trust in
God's mercy, and I implore God for an abundance of divine grace, which is
always victorious. God's mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last
moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything
were lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God's powerful final
grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an
instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while
outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because
souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond
comprehension is God's mercy! But-horror!-there are also souls who
voluntarily and consciously reject and scorn this grace! Although a person is
at the point of death, the merciful God gives the soul that interior vivid
moment, so that if the soul is willing, it has the possibility of returning
to God. But sometimes, the obduracy in souls is so great that consciously
they choose hell; they [thus] make useless all the prayers that other souls
offer to God for them and even the efforts of God Himself...
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-164-165, 186-187)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-652, 666, 674,
687-688, 690, 699 )
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1059, 1065, 1074-1076
)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1661, 1675, 1682-1683,
1687-1688)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1692-1694,
1696-1698)
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Mayo 21, 2014
Separated From Christ-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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