A Most High Ideal
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September 10, 2015.
Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
By Father Patrick
Butler, LC
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Luke 6: 27-38
Jesus said to his disciples: "To you
who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those
who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you
on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your
cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and
from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as
you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what
credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do
good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do
the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what
credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same
amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting
nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the
Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be
merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you
will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive
and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good
measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into
your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured
out to you."
Introductory Prayer: God the Father, thank You for the gift of
creation, including my own life. God the Son, thank You for redeeming me at
the price of Your own Body and Blood. God the Holy Spirit, thank You for being
the sweet guest of my soul, enlightening my mind, strengthening my spirit and
kindling the fire of Your love in my heart.
Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to actively seek the perfection You
desire for me.
1. Revolution or Civil War? The values that Jesus proposes in his sermon on the mountain
might be termed “revolutionary.” Never had the ideal of love been placed so
high, demanding such heroism in practice. That’s why what Jesus asks provokes
a struggle within me, between the “old man,” who resists this message, and
the ideals my Lord places before me. This might be termed a “civil war”
played out on the battlefield of my heart.
2. The Golden Rule: Jesus gives me what has been termed the “Golden Rule”: do to
others as you would have them do to you. Since I naturally love myself to the
point of desiring all good things and nothing bad to come my way, Jesus
exhorts me to transfer that benevolence to others. This requires an effort
for me, since I tend towards egoism. What can lift me up out of my smallness,
my narrowness?
3. Becoming like God: God’s plan for me is marvelous. It exceeds my comprehension
to hear Jesus tell me to be perfect, not according to a standard of human
perfection, but according to divine perfection. My vocation is to become like
God – for his divine life to increase in me and for my narrow, egoistic
standards to diminish and disappear. I would not strive for such a high goal,
if it were not commanded by my Lord. I must trust that he can do it in me.
What I have to do is to collaborate with him, seeking him in prayer and
discerning his will for me always.
Conversation with Christ: I thank You, Lord Jesus, for wanting to
transform me into a greater likeness of God. Without You, this is impossible.
With You, everything is possible, even in me with all my weaknesses and
limitations. Your will be done!
Resolution: I will transform my way of judging from my
point of view to God’s. Today I will strive to put into practice the “Golden
Rule”.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
216 We
have come to Cracow today [April 18, 1933]. What a joy it is to find myself
again where I took my first steps in the spiritual life! Dear Mother
Directress [Mary Joseph] is ever the same, cheerful and full of love of
neighbor. I entered the chapel for a moment and joy filled my soul. In a
flash I recalled the whole ocean of graces that had been given me as a novice
here.
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.
588 On one
occasion, I heard these words within me: Every movement of your heart is
known to me. Know, My daughter, that one glance of yours directed at someone
else would wound Me more than many sins committed by another person.
590 When I
receive Holy Communion, I entreat and beg the Savior to heal my tongue, that
I may never fail in love of neighbor.
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.
742 My
daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be
the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand
from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to
show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from
this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first-by deed, the second-by word, the third-by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. O my Jesus, You yourself must help me in everything, because You see how very little I am, and so I depend solely on Your goodness, O God.
861 Particular examen: remains the same; namely, to unite
myself with the Merciful Christ (that is; what would Christ do in such and
such a case?) and, in spirit, to embrace the whole world, especially Russia
and Spain.
General resolutions.
I. Strict observance of silence -
interior silence.
II. To see the image of God in every sister; all love of neighbor must flow from this motive. III. To do the will of God faithfully at every moment of my life and to live by this. IV. To give a faithful account of everything to the spiritual director and not to undertake anything of importance without a clear understanding with him. I shall try to clearly lay bare to him the most secret depths of my soul, bearing in mind that I am dealing with God himself, and that His representative is just a human being, and so I must pray daily that he be given light. V. During the evening examination of conscience, I am to ask myself the question: What if He were to call me today? VI. Not to look for God far away, but within my own being to abide with Him alone. VII. In sufferings and torments, to take refuge in the tabernacle and to be silent. VIII. To join all sufferings, prayers, works and mortifications to the merits of Jesus in order to obtain mercy for the world. IX. To use free moments, however short, for prayers for the dying. X. There must not be a day in my life when I do not recommend to the Lord the works of our Congregation. Never have regard for what others think of you [for human respect]. XI. Have no familiar relationships with anyone. Gentle firmness toward the girls, boundless patience; punish them severely but with such punishments as these: prayer and self-sacrifice. The strength that is in the emptying of myself for their sake is for them a [source of] constant remorse and the softening of their obdurate hearts. XII. The presence of God is the basis of all my thoughts, words and deeds. XIII. To take advantage of all spiritual help. To always put self-love in its proper place; namely, the last. To perform my spiritual exercises as though I were doing them for the last time in my life, and in like manner to carry out all my duties.
871 + My
Master, cause my heart never to expect help from anyone, but I will always
strive to bring assistance, consolation and all manner of relief to others.
My heart is always open to the sufferings of others; and I will not close my
heart to the sufferings of others, even though because of this I have been
scornfully nicknamed "dump"; that is, [because] everyone dumps his
pain into my heart. [To this] I answered that everyone has a place in my
heart and I, in return, have a place in the Heart of Jesus. Taunts regarding
the law of love will not narrow my heart. My soul is always sensitive on this
point, and Jesus alone is the motive for my love of neighbor.
1029 The
doctor did not allow me to go to the chapel to attend the Passion Service,
although I had a great desire for it; however, I prayed in my own room.
Suddenly I heard the bell in the next room, and I went in and rendered a
service to a seriously sick person. When I returned to my room, I suddenly
saw the Lord Jesus, who said, My daughter, you gave Me greater pleasure by
rendering Me that service than if you had prayed for a long time. I
answered, "But it was not to You, Jesus, but to that patient that I
rendered this service." And the Lord answered me, Yes, My daughter,
but whatever you do for your neighbor, you do for Me.
1039 + I
suffer great pain at the sight of the sufferings of others. All these
sufferings are reflected in my heart. I carry their torments in my heart so
that it even wears me out physically. I would like all pains to fall upon me
so as to bring relief to my neighbor.
1148 June
20, [1937]. We resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors. God is Love,
Goodness, and Mercy...
Every
soul, and especially the soul of every religious, should reflect My mercy. My
Heart overflows with compassion and mercy for all. The heart of My beloved
must resemble Mine; from her heart must spring the fountain of My mercy for
souls; otherwise I will not acknowledge her as Mine.
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.
1358 Where
there is genuine virtue, there must be sacrifice as well; one's whole life
must be a sacrifice. It is only by means of sacrifice that souls can become
useful. It is my self-sacrifice which, in my relationship with my neighbor,
can give glory to God, but God's love must flow through this sacrifice,
because everything is concentrated in this love and takes its value from it.
1382 +
When Sister Dominic [219] died at about one o'clock in the night,
she came to me and gave me to know that she was dead. I prayed fervently for
her. In the morning, the sisters told me that she was no longer alive, and I
replied that I knew, because she had visited me. The sister infirmarian
[Sister Chrysostom] asked me to help dress her. And then when I was alone
with her, the Lord gave me to know that she was still suffering in purgatory.
I redoubled my prayers for her. However, despite the zeal with which I always
pray for our deceased sisters, I got mixed up as regards the days, and
instead of offering three days of prayer, as the rule directs us to do, by
mistake I offered only two days. On the fourth day, she gave me to know that I
still owed her prayers, and that she was in need of them. I immediately
formed the intention of offering the whole day for her, and not just that day
but much more, as love of neighbor dictated to me.
1633 March
10, [1938]. Continuous physical suffering. I am on the cross with Jesus. On
one occasion, M. Superior [Irene] said to me, "It is a lack of love of
neighbor on your part, Sister, that you eat something and then you suffer and
disturb the others during their night's rest." Yet I know for sure that
these pains which occur in my intestines are not at all caused by food. The
doctor [probably Dr. Silberg] has said the same thing. These sufferings come
from the body itself, or rather are a visitation of the Lord. Nevertheless,
after that remark I resolved to suffer in secret and not to ask for help,
because it is of no avail anyway, since I throw up the medicines that are
given to me.
Many a time, I have managed to suffer through attacks that were known only to Jesus. The pains are so violent and severe that they cause me to lose consciousness. When they cause me to faint, and I am drenched in cold sweat, then they gradually begin to go away. Sometimes they last three hours or more. O my Jesus, may Your holy will be done; I accept everything from Your hand. If I accept the delights and raptures of love to the point of becoming oblivious to what is going on around me, it is only right that I should accept with love these sufferings which cause me to faint.
Third Day.
1768 My
daughter, in this meditation, consider the love of neighbor. Is your love for
your neighbor guided by My love? Do you pray for your enemies? Do you wish
well to those who have, in one way or another, caused you sorrow or offended
you?
Know that whatever good you do to any soul, I accept it as if you had done it to Me. 1769 Application: O Jesus, my Love, You know that it has only been for a short while that I have acted toward my neighbor guided solely by Your love. You alone know of my efforts to do this. It comes to me more easily now, but if You Yourself did not kindle that love in my soul, I would not be able to persevere in this. This is due to Your Eucharistic love which daily sets me afire.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-216, 241-242)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-588, 590, 704, 742, 861, 871)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1029, 1039, 1148)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1244)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1358, 1382)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1633, 1768-1769)
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Setyembre 10, 2015
A Most High Ideal-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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