Costly Catholicism
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November 26, 2014. Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in
Ordinary Time
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Father
Edward McIlmail, LC
Luke
21:12-19
Jesus said to his disciples: "Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Introductory Prayer: Jesus my Savior, thank You for another day and another chance
to grow in holiness with your grace. I love You and wish to make You the true
center of my thoughts, desires and actions.
Petition: Lord, help me face the difficulties of practicing my faith
day-to-day.
1. Persecution: Opposition from the world is the price we
pay for following Christ. No pain, no gain. Why should that surprise us? If
living the Gospel were easy, all the world would be saints. But the Gospel is
demanding. It rubs against our fallen human nature. It demands of us — and
even makes us unpopular. Why? Because people who do good are a thorny
reminder to those who don´t. It shouldn´t surprise us that the neighbors look
down on us for having so many kids. Or that the guys in the dorm snicker at
us for living chastely. Or that the boss overlooks us for a promotion because
we wouldn´t donate to that pro-abortion group last Christmas during the
company fund drive. Do I realize that to be a Christian is to be persecuted?
2. No Defense: When Christ tells us not to prepare our
defense he´s not telling us to sit back and do nothing. Rather, he wants us
to use our talents for the Kingdom. Christ is inviting us to trust that
ultimately the victory of good over evil belongs to him. God has his time and
place for everything. In the meantime we are called to build the Kingdom
wherever we can — in our families, our offices, our schools, our communities.
How am I building the Kingdom in the areas around me?
3. Wisdom from Above: "I myself shall give you a wisdom in
speaking…" When we stay close to Christ in prayer and deed, he takes
over our lives little by little. And that´s good. Our selfishness fades. Our
heart grows. We die to ourselves. "He must increase; I must
decrease" (John 3:30). But we have to ask ourselves: Do we really
believe in the Gospel? Do we believe in it enough to use Christ´s words when
we have to respond to the nonbelievers around us? How often do we identify
ourselves as Catholic in public?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, You know it´s not easy to be seen as Your friend. People
laugh at us — if they don´t feel sorry for us. They don´t understand where we
are coming from. Help me understand some of the loneliness You must have felt
when You went against the world´s standards. Help me be faithful to You
regardless of the cost.
Resolution: In conversation or in an e-mail I will use a
line of Christ’s wisdom from the Gospel.
Excerpts from the DIARY
of Saint Faustina Kowalska
94 O
my Lord, inflame my heart with love for You, that my spirit may not grow
weary amidst the storms, the sufferings and the trials. You see how weak I
am. Love can do all.
153
One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full
of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and
enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realizing it. And at the
end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell.
The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their
number was so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other
road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks;
and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of
suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up
immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent
garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there.
At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings.
163
JMJ The Year 1937
General Exercises +O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy. +I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, 0 Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor. Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue. Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings. Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all. Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks. Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor. Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me. +You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy-if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer-if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
241
Love of neighbor. First: Helpfulness towards the sisters. Second: Do not
speak about those who are absent, and defend the good name of my neighbor.
Third: Rejoice in the success of others.
242 +O
God, how much I desire to be a small child.[71]
You are my Father, and You know how little and weak I am. So I beg You,
keep me close by Your side all my life and especially at the hour of my
death. Jesus, I know that Your goodness surpasses the goodness of a most
tender mother.
294
+Once the Lord said to me, Act like a beggar who does not back away when
he gets more alms [than he asked for], but offers thanks the more fervently.
You too should not back away and say that you are not worthy of receiving
greater graces when I give them to you. I know you are unworthy, but rejoice all
the more and take as many treasures from My Heart as you can carry, for then
you will please Me more. And I will tell you one more thing: Take these
graces not only for yourself, but also for others; that is, encourage the
souls with whom you come in contact to trust in My infinite mercy. Oh, how I
love those souls who have complete confidence in Me. I will do everything for
them.
303
Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which
lends value to our actions. And the purer our love becomes, the less there
will be within us for the flames of suffering to feed upon, and the suffering
will cease to be a suffering for us; it will become a delight! By the grace
of God, I have received such a disposition of heart that I am never so happy
as when I suffer for Jesus, whom I love with every beat of my heart.
Once when I was suffering greatly, I left my work and escaped to Jesus and asked Him to give me His strength. After a very short prayer I returned to my work filled with enthusiasm and joy. Then, one of the sisters [probably Sister Justine] said to me, "You must have many consolations today, Sister; you look so radiant. Surely, God is giving you no suffering, but only consolations." "You are greatly mistaken, Sister," I answered, "for it is precisely when I suffer much that my joy is greater; and when I suffer less, my joy also is less." However, that soul was letting me recognize that she does not understand what I was saying. I tried to explain to her that when we suffer much we have a great chance to show God that we love Him; but when we suffer little we have less occasion to show God our love; and when we do not suffer at all, our love is then neither great nor pure. By the grace of God, we can attain a point where suffering will become a delight to us, for love can work such things in pure souls.
340 I
know now that nothing can put a stop to my love for You, Jesus, neither
suffering, nor adversity, nor fire nor the sword, nor death itself. I feel
stronger than all these things. Nothing can compare with love. I see that the
smallest things done by a soul that loves God sincerely have an enormous
value in His Holy eyes.
502
Only love has meaning; it raises up our smallest actions into infinity.
534
Chastity. There is no need to explain that this vow forbids all those things
prohibited by the sixth and ninth commandments: deeds, thoughts, words,
feelings... I understand that a solemn vow differs from a simple vow; I
understand this in all its implications. While reflecting upon this, I heard
these words in my soul: You are My spouse forever; your chastity should be
greater than that of the Angels, for I call no angel to such intimacy as I do
you. The smallest act of My spouse is of infinite value. A pure soul has
inconceivable power before God.
642 Palm Sunday. This Sunday, I experienced in a special
way the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus. My spirit was there
where Jesus was. I saw Jesus riding on a donkey's foal, and the disciples and
a great multitude with branches in their hands joyfully accompanying the Lord
Jesus. Some strewed them before His feet where He was riding, while others
raised their branches in the air, leaping and jumping before the Lord and not
knowing what to do for joy. And I saw another crowd which came out to meet
Jesus, likewise with joyful faces and with branches in their hands, and they
were crying out unceasingly with joy. There were little children there also.
But Jesus was very grave, and the Lord gave me to know how much He was
suffering at the time. And at that moment, I saw nothing but only Jesus,
whose Heart was saturated with ingratitude.
704 I
spend every free moment at the feet of the hidden God. He is my Master; I ask
Him about everything; I speak to Him about everything. Here I obtain strength
and light; here I learn everything; here I am given light on how to act
toward my neighbor. From the time I left the novitiate, I have enclosed
myself in the tabernacle together with Jesus, my Master. He himself drew me
into the fire of living love on which everything converges.
1002 The Lord's Supper is laid,
Jesus sits down at table with His Apostles,
His Being all transformed into love,
For such was the Holy Trinity's counsel.
With great desire, I desire to eat with you,
Before I suffer death.
About to leave you, love holds Me in your midst.
He sheds His Blood, gives His life, for He loves
immensely.
Love hides beneath the appearance of bread,
Departing, He remains with us.
Such self-abasement was not needed,
Yet burning love hid Him under these species.
Over the bread and wine He says these words:
"This is My Blood, this is My Body."
Although mysterious, these are words of love.
Then He passes the Cup among His disciples.
Jesus grew deeply troubled within
And said, "One of you will betray his Master."
They fell silent, with a silence as of the tomb,
And John inclined his head on His breast.
The supper is ended.
Let us go to Gethsemane.
Love is satisfied, And there the traitor is waiting.
+ J.M.J.
1513 + Jesus said to me today, You often call Me your
Master. This is pleasing to My Heart; but do not forget, My disciple, that
you are a disciple of a crucified Master. Let that one word be enough for
you. You know what is contained in the cross.
1701 I
asked the Lord today that He might deign to teach me about the interior life,
because of myself I can neither understand nor conceive anything perfectly.
The Lord answered me, I was your Teacher, I am and I will be; strive to
make your heart like unto My humble and gentle Heart. Never claim your
rights. Bear with great calm and patience everything that befalls you. Do not
defend yourself when you are put to shame, though innocent. Let others
triumph. Do not stop being good when you notice that your goodness is being
abused. I Myself will speak up for you when it is necessary. Be grateful for
the smallest of My graces, because your gratitude compels Me to grant you new
graces...
1710 May 26, [1938-Feast of the Ascension]. Today I
accompanied the Lord Jesus as He ascended into heaven. It was about noon. I
was overcome by a great longing for God. It is a strange thing, the more I
felt God's presence, the more ardently I desired Him. Then I saw myself in
the midst of a huge crowd of disciples and apostles, together with the Mother
of God. Jesus was telling them to... Go out into the whole world and teach
in My name. He stretched out His hands and blessed them and
disappeared in a cloud. I saw the longing of Our Lady. Her soul yearned for
Jesus with the whole force of Her love. But She was so peaceful and so united
to the will of God that there was not a stir in Her heart but for what God
wanted.
1714
Today I interceded earnestly with the Lord Jesus for our house, that He might
deign to take away the cross which has touched our convent. 252
The Lord answered me, Your prayers are accepted for other intentions. I
cannot take away this cross until they recognize its meaning.
Nevertheless, I did not stop praying.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-94, 153, 163, 241-242)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-294, 303, 340, 502, 534)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-704, 642, 1002)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1513)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1701, 1710, 1704)
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