A Clean Heart
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Feast Day of St. Anthony of Padua |
Father Matthew Kaderabek, LC
Matthew
5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have
heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to
you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and
throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have
your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to
sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your
members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. It was also said, Whoever
divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to
commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, today I will contemplate Your
love in action. You continually go out of Your way to make Your presence felt
in my life, and I am very grateful. Thank You, Lord, for another day; it is
another opportunity to deepen my love and friendship with You.
Petition: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right
spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).
1. Guard Your Eyes: Concerning purity of heart, Jesus takes this
demand for purity a step further than the Old Testament. He teaches that to even
look at a woman with lust in your heart, seeing her as merely an object to
satisfy your lustful desires, is seriously sinful. Jesus does not say that it
is sinful to simply recognize a woman as beautiful, or by extension, a woman
recognizing a man as handsome. It is when we see the other as an object and
have impure thoughts about them that we give in to sin. In other words, the
temptation itself is not a sin; it is when we accept that temptation into our
heart and give it a home by willfully playing with it in our mind that we
step over the line. Lord Jesus, it’s so easy to grant myself concessions in
this area, but with your aid I will be firm in my resolve to guard my senses,
remembering an adage from the computer age: “Garbage in, garbage out!”
2. If It Puts Your Soul in Danger, It’s Got
to Go: Christ’s call to
holy purity, like every other virtue, is eminently positive. “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind” (Matthew 22:37). Purity is a consequence of the love that prompts us to
commit to Christ our soul and body, our faculties and senses. Jesus uses the
images of “right eye” and “right hand” to refer to that which we value most.
He is telling us that if that which we value most in life has become a
stumbling block in our relationship with the Lord, then, simply put, it’s got
to go. It is far better to lose a possession or a position or to break off a
relationship than to risk the eternal salvation of our soul. We must be
prepared to fight for righteousness with all of our strength, being ready to
eliminate whatever could clearly lead us to offend the Lord.
3. And the Two Shall Become One: Jesus re-established the principle of the
absolute indissolubility of marriage, a principle that has been
unhesitatingly taught by the Church from the very beginning. Pope Pius XI
reminded us in Casti Connubii (December 31, 1930) about the immutable and
inviolable truth that “matrimony was not instituted or re-established by men,
but by God. … Consequently those laws can in no way be subject to human wills
or to any contrary pact made even by the contracting parties. This is the
teaching of Sacred Scripture; it is the constant and universal Tradition of
the Church.” Marriage endures until death though the love may last forever.
What God has joined together, let nothing separate. Am I living my marriage
as a covenant? Do I treat my spouse with respect and affection? Do I dedicate
my heart, time and energy to cultivating our love so it will endure and flourish?
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to live with purity, and
I know that this requires a strong will and a constant effort in this world
that encourages instant gratification of the senses. Give me the strength in
particular to guard my eyes and control my imagination. Help me to be
exquisitely faithful to my spouse.
Resolution: I will promote the virtue of purity in my
personal life and set a good example for others by incorporating into my
lifestyle the time-tested ascetical methods that the Church has proposed to
us down through the ages: frequent confession and Communion; devotion to Our
Lady; a spirit of prayer and mortification; guarding of the senses; flight
from occasions of sin; and striving to avoid idleness by always being engaged
in doing useful things.
Excerpts from the DIARY of
Saint Faustina Kowalska
845 Before the vigil supper, I entered the chapel for a
moment to break the wafer spiritually with those dear to my heart. I
presented them all, by name, to Jesus and begged for graces on their behalf.
But that wasn't all. I commended to the Lord all those who are being
persecuted, those who are suffering, those who do not know His Name, and
especially poor sinners. O little Jesus, I fervently ask You, enclose them
all in the ocean of Your incomprehensible mercy. O sweet little Jesus, here
is my heart; let it be a little cozy dwelling place for Yourself. O Infinite
Majesty, with what sweetness You drew close to us. Here, there is no dread of
the thunderbolts of the great Jehovah; here, there is the sweet little Jesus.
Here, no soul is afraid, although Your majesty has not lessened, but only
concealed itself. After supper, I felt very tired and was in pain. I had to
lie down. But I kept vigil with the Most Holy Mother, awaiting the arrival of
the little Child.
875 Today, I experienced a great suffering during the
visit of our sisters. I learned of something that hurt me terribly, but I controlled
myself so that the sisters didn't notice anything. For some time, the pain
was tearing my heart apart, but all that is for the sake of poor sinners....
O Jesus, for poor sinners.... Jesus, my strength, stay close to me, help
me....
885 Jesus, give me the strength and wisdom to get through
this terrible wilderness, that my heart may bear patiently this longing for
You, O my Lord! I always remain in holy
amazement when I sense that You are approaching me, You,
the Lord of the awesome
throne; that You descend to this miserable exile and visit
this poor beggar who has nothing but misery! I do not know how to entertain
You, my Royal Prince, but You know that I love You with every beat of my
heart. I see how You lower yourself, but nevertheless Your majesty does not
diminish in my eyes. I know that You love me with the love of a bridegroom,
and that is enough for me. Although we are separated by a great chasm, for
You are the Creator and I am Your creature, nevertheless, love alone explains
our union. Without it, all is incomprehensible. Only love makes it possible
to understand these incomprehensible intimacies with which You visit me. O
Jesus, Your greatness terrifies me, and I would be in constant astonishment
and fear, if You yourself did not set me at peace. You make me capable of
communing with You before each approach.
892 Today the Lord gave me to know, in spirit, about the
Convent of Divine Mercy. I saw a great spirit in this convent, but everything
was poor and very scanty. O my Jesus, you are allowing me to live in spirit
with these souls, but perhaps I shall never set foot there; but may Your Name
be blessed, and whatever You have intended, may it be done.
908 + O Jesus, how sorry I feel for poor sinners. Jesus,
grant them contrition and repentance. Remember Your own sorrowful Passion. I
know Your infinite mercy and cannot bear it that a soul that has cost You so
much should perish. Jesus, give me the souls of sinners; let Your mercy rest
upon them. Take everything away from me, but give me souls. I want to become
a sacrificial host for sinners. Let the shell of my body conceal my offering,
for Your Most Sacred Heart is also hidden in a Host, and certainly You are a
living sacrifice.
Transform me into Yourself, O Jesus, that I may be a
living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at each moment for
poor sinners. The sacrifice of my spirit is hidden under the veil of the
body; the human eye does not perceive it, and for that reason it is pure and
pleasing to You. O my Creator and Father of great mercy, I trust in You, for
You are Goodness Itself. Souls, do not be afraid of God, but trust in Him,
for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting.
912 Then I heard the following words spoken thus: I
want you to be My spouse. Fear pierced my soul, but I calmly continued to
reflect on what sort of an espousal this could be. However, each time fear
would invade my soul, a power from on high would give it peace. After all, I
have taken perpetual vows, and I have taken them of my own completely free
will. And so I continued to reflect on what this could mean. I sensed, and
came to realize, that this was some special kind of grace. Whenever I think
about it, I feel faint for God, but in this swooning, my mind is clear and
penetrated with light. When I am united to Him, I faint from an abundance of
happiness, but my mind is bright and clear and free from all shadows. You a
base Your majesty to dwell with a poor creature. Thank you, O Lord, for this
great grace that makes it possible for me to commune with You. Jesus, Your
Name is my delight, I have a presentiment of my Beloved from afar, and my
languishing soul rests in His embrace; I don't know how to live without Him.
I would rather be with Him in afflictions and suffering than without Him in
the greatest heavenly delights.
920 +There is a woman here [165] who was once one of our students. Naturally, she puts my
patience to the test. She comes to see me several times a day. After each of
these visits I am tired out, but I see that the Lord Jesus has sent that soul
to me. Let everything glorify You, O Lord. Patience gives glory to God. O how
poor the souls are!
927 On these two days, I received Holy Communion as an act
of reparation, and I said to the Lord, "Jesus, I offer everything today
for sinners. Let the blows of Your justice fall on me, and the sea of Your
mercy engulf the poor sinners." And the Lord heard my prayer: many souls
returned to the Lord, but I was in agony under the yoke of God's justice. I
felt I was the object of the anger of the Most High God. By evening my
sufferings had reached such a stage of interior desolation that moans welled
up involuntarily from my breast. I locked the door of my room and began an
adoration; that is to say, a Holy Hour. Interior desolation and an experience
of God's justice-that was my prayer; and the moans and pain that welled up
from my soul took the place of a sweet conversation with the Lord.
929 When I had rested near His sweetest Heart, I told Him,
"Jesus, I have so much to tell You." And the Lord said to me with
great love, Speak, My daughter. And I started to enumerate the pains
of my heart; that is, how greatly concerned I am for all mankind, that
"they all do not know You, and those who do know You do not love You as
You deserve to be loved. I also see how terribly sinners offend You; and then
again, I see how severely the faithful, especially Your servants, are
oppressed and persecuted. And then, too, I see many souls rushing headlong
into the terrible abyss of hell. You see, Jesus, this is the pain that gnaws
at my heart and bones. And, although You show me special love and inundate my
heart with streams of Your joys, nevertheless, this does not appease the
sufferings I have just mentioned, but rather they penetrate my poor heart all
the more acutely. Oh, how ardently I desire that all mankind turn with trust
to Your mercy. Then, seeing the glory of Your name, my heart will be
comforted."
Jesus listened to these outpourings of my heart with
gravity and interest, as if He had known nothing about them, and this seemed
to make it easier for me to talk. And the Lord said to me, My daughter,
those words of your heart are pleasing to Me, and by saying the chaplet
you are bringing humankind closer to Me. After these words, I found myself
alone, but the presence of God is always in my soul.
934 Small practices for Lent. Although I wish and desire
to do so, I cannot practice big
mortifications as before, because I am under the strict
surveillance of the doctor. But I can practice little things: first-sleep
without a pillow; keep myself a little hungry; every day, with my arms
outstretched, say the chaplet which the Lord taught me; occasionally, with
arms outstretched, for an indefinite period of time pray informally.
Intention: to beg divine mercy for poor sinners, and for priests, the power
to bring sinful hearts to repentance.
936 + A certain person in our ward was beginning to die.
Amidst terrible tortures, she was dying for three days, sometimes regaining
consciousness. Everyone in the ward was praying for her. I longed to go to
her, but Mother Superior had forbidden me to go to visit the dying, so I
prayed for that poor soul in my room. But when I heard that she was still in
agony, and there was no saying how long it was going to take, I suddenly felt
inspired in my soul and said to the Lord, "Jesus, if all I do is
pleasing to You, I ask You, as evidence, to let that soul stop suffering and
pass on immediately to her happy eternity." A few minutes later I
learned that the person had passed away so peacefully and quickly that they
did not even have time to light the candle.
953 + February 15, 1937. Today my suffering increased
somewhat: I not only feel greater pain all through my lungs, but also some
strange pains in my intestines. I am suffering as much as my weak nature can
bear, all for immortal souls, to plead the mercy of God for poor sinners and
to beg for strength for priests. Oh, how much reverence I have for priests;
and I am asking Jesus, the High Priest, to grant them many graces.
1156 The second is prayer joined to the act of mercy. In
particular, they will defend the souls of children against the spirit of
evil. Prayer and merciful deeds are all that will be required of these souls,
and even the poorest persons can be admitted to their number. And in this
egoistic world they will try to rouse up love, the mercy of Jesus.
1158 A member of this group ought to perform at least one
act of mercy a day; at least one, but there can be many more, for such deeds
can easily be carried out by anyone, even the very poorest. For there are
three ways of performing an act of mercy: the merciful word, by forgiving and
by comforting; secondly, if you can offer no word, then pray-that too is
mercy; and thirdly, deeds of mercy. And when the Last Day comes, we shall be
judged from this, and on this basis we shall receive the eternal verdict.
1167 Satan has admitted to me that I am the object of his
hatred. He said that "a thousand souls do me less harm than you do when
you speak of the great mercy of the Almighty One. The greatest sinners regain
confidence and return to God, and I lose everything. But what is more, you
persecute me personally with that unfathomable mercy of the Almighty
One." I took note of the great hatred Satan has for the Mercy of God. He
does not want to acknowledge that God is good.
1274 I experience great torments of soul when I see God
offended. Today I recognized that mortal sins were being committed not far
from our door. It was evening. I prayed earnestly in the chapel, and then I
went to scourge myself. When I knelt down to pray, however, the Lord allowed
me to experience how a soul rejected by God suffers. It seems to me that my
heart was torn to pieces, and at the same time I understood how much such a soul
wounds the most merciful Heart of Jesus. The poor creature does not want to
accept God's mercy. The more God has pursued a soul with His mercy, the more
just will He be towards it.
1282 + When the same poor people come to the gate a second
time, I treat them with greater gentleness, and I do not let them see that I
know they have been here before; [I do this] in order not to embarrass them.
And then they speak to me freely about their troubles and needs.
Although Sister N. tells me that is not the way to deal
with beggars, and slams the door in their faces, when she is not there, I
treat them as my Master would. Sometimes more is given when giving nothing,
than when giving much in a rude manner.
1309 When I make the Way of the Cross, I am deeply moved
at the twelfth station. Here I reflect on the omnipotence of God's mercy
which passed through the Heart of Jesus. In this open wound of the Heart of
Jesus I enclose all poor humans... and those individuals whom I love, as
often as I make the Way of the Cross. From that Fount of Mercy issued the two
rays; that is, the Blood and the Water. With the immensity of their grace
they flood the whole world....
1312 + Jesus came to the main entrance today, under the
guise of a poor young man. This young man, emaciated, barefoot and
bareheaded, and with his clothes in tatters, was frozen because the day was
cold and rainy. He asked for something hot to eat. So I went to the kitchen,
but found nothing there for the poor. But, after searching around for some
time, I succeeded in finding some soup, which I reheated and into which I
crumbled some bread, and I gave it to the poor young man, who ate it. As I
was taking the bowl from him, he gave me to know that He was the Lord of
heaven and earth. When I saw Him as He was, He vanished from my sight. When I
went back in and reflected on what had happened at the gate, I heard these
words in my soul: My daughter, the blessings of the poor who bless
Me as they leave this gate have reached My ears. And your compassion, within
the bounds of obedience, has pleased Me, and this is why I came down from My
throne-to taste the fruits of your mercy.
1313 O my Jesus, now everything is clear to me, and I
understand all that has just happened. I somehow felt and asked myself what
sort of a poor man is this who radiates such modesty. From that moment on,
there was stirred up in my heart an even purer love toward the poor and the
needy. Oh, how happy I am that my superiors have given me such a task! I
understand that mercy is manifold; one can do good always and everywhere and
at all times. An ardent love of God sees all around itself constant
opportunities to share itself through deed, word and prayer. Now I understand
the words which You spoke to me, O Lord, some time ago.
1487 Jesus: Poor soul, I see that you suffer much and
that you do not have even the strength to converse with me. So I will speak
to you. Even though your sufferings were very great, do not lose heart or
give in to despondency. But tell Me, my child, who has dared to wound your
heart? Tell me about everything, be sincere in dealing with Me, reveal all
the wounds of your heart. I will heal them, and your suffering will become a
source of your sanctification.
Soul: Lord, my sufferings are so great and numerous and
have lasted so long that I become discouraged.
Jesus: My child, do not be discouraged. I know your
boundless trust in Me; I know
you are aware of My goodness and mercy. Let us talk in
detail about everything
that weighs so heavily upon your heart.
Soul: There are so many different things that I do not
know what to speak about first, nor how to express it.
Jesus: Talk to Me simply, as a friend to a friend. Tell
Me now, My child, what hinders you from advancing in holiness?
Soul: Poor health detains me on the way to holiness. I
cannot fulfill my duties. I am as
useless as an extra wheel on a wagon. I cannot mortify
myself or fast to any extent, as the saints did. Furthermore, nobody believes
I am sick, so that mental pain is added to those of the body, and I am often
humiliated. Jesus, how can anyone become holy in such circumstances?
Jesus: True, My child, all that is painful. But there
is no way to heaven except the
way of the cross. I followed it first. You must learn that
it is the shortest and
surest way.
Soul: Lord, there is another obstacle on the road to
holiness. Because I am faithful to You, I am persecuted and suffer much.
Jesus: It is because you are not of this world that the
world hates you. First it
persecuted Me. Persecution is a sign that you are
following in My footsteps
faithfully.
Soul: My Lord, I am also discouraged because neither my
superiors nor my confessor
understand my interior trials. A darkness clouds my mind.
How can I advance? All this
discourages me from striving for the heights of sanctity.
Jesus: Well, My child, this time you have told Me a
good deal. I realize how painful
it is not to be understood, and especially by those whom
one loves and with whom one has been very open. But suffice it to know that I
understand all your troubles and misery. I am pleased by the deep faith you
have, despite everything, in My representatives. Learn from this that no one
will understand a soul entirely-that is beyond human ability. Therefore, I
have remained on earth to comfort your aching heart and to fortify your soul,
so that you will not falter on the way. You say that a dense darkness is
obscuring your mind. But why, at such times, do you not come to Me, the light
who can in an instant pour into your soul more understanding about holiness
than can be found in any books? No confessor is capable of teaching and
enlightening a soul in this way. Know, too, that the darkness about which you
complain I first endured in the Garden of Olives when My Soul was crushed in
mortal anguish. I am giving you a share in those sufferings because of My
special love for you and in view of the high degree of holiness I am
intending for you in heaven. A suffering soul is closest to My Heart.
Soul: One more thing, Lord. What should I do when I am
ignored and rejected by people, especially by those on whom I had a right to
count in times of greatest need?
Jesus: My child, make the resolution never to rely on
people. Entrust yourself
completely to My will saying, "Not as I want, but
according to Your will, O God, let
it be done unto me." These words, spoken from the
depths of one's heart, can
raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In
such a soul I delight. Such a soul gives Me glory. Such a soul fills heaven
with the fragrance of her virtue. But understand that the strength by which
you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain
of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need.
Soul: Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness in remaining with
us in this exile as the God of mercy and blessing us with the radiance of
Your compassion and goodness. It is through the light of Your mercy that I
have come to understand how much You love me.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-845, 875, 885, 892, 908, 912, 920,
927)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-929, 934, 936, 953)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1153, 1158, 1167, 1274, 1282, 1309)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1312, 1313
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-V-1487)
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Hunyo 13, 2014
A Clean Heart -Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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