A Call to
Authenticity
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November 8, 2015. Thirty-Second
Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Father Paul Campbell, LC
Mark 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in You. I believe that You are here with me,
within me as the life of my soul. I place all of my trust in You, for without
You I can do nothing. I love You. Thank You for revealing Your loving mercy
to me. I offer You all I do in return.
Petition: Lord, help me to be coherent and sincere in
my decision to follow Your will in my life.
1. Religion for
Show: The Gospel passage
presents us with the stark contrast between the scribes and a poor widow. The
scribes were driven by appearances. They were slaves to their vanity. Their
interior security lasted only as long as praise flowed from the mouths of
those around them. They were more driven by the applause of men than the approval
of God. Since their piety was mere show, it left no deep mark in their soul
and could not free them from their disordered passions. Externally they
appeared religious, but within they were a seething mass of vice. In their
greed, they “devoured the houses of widows.” Is my piety for show or for God
alone?
2. Generosity Means
Giving All: The poor widow went
unnoticed by the crowd, but Jesus saw her. While the rich made a great show
of their gifts, she had only two small coins to give. She quietly slipped in
among the crowd, seeking no one’s notice; but she was noticed by Christ. This
is our choice: the applause of men or the praise of God.
3. Drawing
Comparisons: Sometimes it is easy
for us to get caught up in what others have -- what they are doing or saying.
We fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with others, and probably most
of the time we don’t measure up! It causes nothing but anguish. Yet, God
doesn’t compare us to others. He loves us. He made us as we are, with our own
unique combination of talents and abilities. He measures our generosity not
by what we give, but by what we hold back for ourselves. Remember, the
happiest are not those who have everything but those who give everything they
have.
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, help me to
stop comparing myself to others. Help me to see the good You want me to do
today. Let me see the things I’m holding on to and that which is keeping me
from You. You have given me everything. I want to return Your gifts in full
with interest.
Resolution: I will trust in God’s providence and give
him something today that I’ve been holding back.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint
Faustina Kowalska
55 1933. Spiritual Counsel Given Me by
Father Andrasz, S.J.
First: You must not turn away from these
interior inspirations, but always tell everything to your confessor. If you
recognize that these interior inspirations refer to your own self; that is to
say, they are for the good of your soul or for the good of other souls, l
urge you to follow them; and you must not neglect them, but always do so in
consultation with your confessor.
Second: If these inspirations are not in
accord with the faith or the spirit of the Church, they must be rejected
immediately as coming from the evil spirit.
Third: If these inspirations do not refer
to souls, in general, nor specifically to their good, you should not take
them too seriously, and it would be better to even ignore them.
But you should not make this decision by
yourself, either one way or the other, as you can easily be led astray
despite these great favors from God. Humility, humility, and ever humility,
as we can do nothing of ourselves; all is purely and simply God's grace.
You say to me that God demands great trust
from souls; well then, you be the first to show this trust. And one more
word-accept all this with serenity.
Words of one of the confessors:
"Sister, God is preparing many special graces for you, but try to make
your life as clear as crystal before the Lord, paying no attention to what
anyone else thinks about you. Let God suffice you; He alone."
Toward the end of my novitiate, a confessor
[perhaps Father Theodore] told me: "Go through life doing good, so that
I could write on its pages: `She spent her life doing good.' May God bring
this about in you."
Another time the confessor said to me,
"Comport yourself before God like the widow in the Gospel; although the
coin she dropped into the box was of little value, it counted far more before
God than all the big offerings of others."
On another occasion the instruction I
received was this: " Act in such a way that all those who come in
contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you
have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should
take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no
more than touched the hem of your garment. Keep well in mind the words I am
telling you right now."
Still another time he gave me the following
recommendation: "Let God push your boat out into the deep waters, toward
the unfathomable depths of the interior life."
Here are a few words from a conversation I
had with the Mother Directress [Mary Joseph] toward the end of my novitiate:
"Sister, let simplicity and humility be the characteristic traits of
your soul. Go through life like a little child, always trusting, always full
of simplicity and humility, content with everything, happy in every
circumstance. There, where others fear, you will pass calmly along, thanks to
this simplicity and humility. Remember this, Sister, for your whole life: as waters flow from the
mountains down into the valleys, so, too, do God's graces flow only into
humble souls."
113 And again, I would like to say three
words to the soul that is determined to strive for sanctity and to derive
fruit; that is to say, benefit from confession.
First word-complete sincerity and openness.
Even the holiest and wisest confessor cannot forcibly pour into the soul what
he desires if it is not sincere and open. An insincere, secretive soul risks
great dangers in the spiritual life, and even the Lord Jesus Himself does not
give Himself to such a soul on a higher level, because He knows it would
derive no benefit from these special graces.
Second word-humility. A soul does not benefit
as it should from the sacrament of confession if it is not humble. Pride
keeps it in darkness. The soul neither knows how, nor is it willing, to probe
with precision the depths of its own misery. It puts on a mask and avoids
everything that might bring it recovery.
Third word-obedience. A disobedient soul
will win no victory, even if the Lord Jesus himself, in person, were to hear
its confession. The most experienced confessor will be of no help whatsoever
to such a soul. The disobedient soul exposes itself to great misfortunes; it
will make no progress toward perfection, nor will it succeed in the spiritual
life. God lavishes His graces most generously upon the soul, but it must be
an obedient soul.
135 During the third probation, the Lord
gave me to understand that I should offer myself to Him so that He could do
with me as He pleased. I was to remain standing before Him as a victim
offering. At first, I was quite frightened, as I felt myself to be so utterly
miserable and knew very well that this was the case. I answered the Lord once
again, "I am misery itself; how can I be a hostage [for others]? You do not understand this today.
Tomorrow, during your adoration, I will make it known to you. My heart
trembled, as did my soul, so deeply did these words sink into my soul. The
word of God is living.
When I came to the adoration, I felt within
my soul that I had entered the temple of the living God, whose majesty is
great and incomprehensible. And He made known to me what even the purest
spirits are in His sight. Although I saw nothing externally, God's presence
pervaded me. At that very moment my intellect was strangely illumined. A
vision passed before the eyes of my soul; it was like the vision Jesus had in
the Garden of Olives. First, the physical sufferings and all the
circumstances that would increase them; [then] the full scope of the
spiritual sufferings and those that no one would know about. Everything
entered into the vision: false suspicions, loss of good name. I've summarized
it here, but this knowledge was already so clear that what I went through
later on was in no way different from what I had known at that moment. My
name is to be: "sacrifice."
When the vision ended, a cold sweat bathed
my forehead. Jesus made it known to me that, even if I did not give my
consent to this, I could still be saved; and He would not lessen His graces,
but would still continue to have the same intimate relationship with me, so
that even if I did not consent to make this sacrifice, God's generosity would
not lessen thereby.
244 Now a gray, ordinary day has begun. The
solemn hours of the perpetual vows have passed, but God's great grace has
remained in my soul. I feel I am all God's; I feel I am His child, I feel I
am wholly God's property. I experience this in a way that can be physically
sensed. I am completely at peace about everything, because I know it is the
Spouse's business to look after me. I have forgotten about myself completely.
My trust placed in His Most Merciful Heart has no limit. I am continuously
united with Him. It seems to me as though Jesus could not be happy without
me, nor could I without Him. Although I understand that, being God, He is
happy in himself and has absolutely no need of any creature, still, His
goodness compels Him to give himself to the creature, and with a generosity
which is beyond understanding.
291 On a certain occasion, I saw a person
about to commit a mortal sin. I asked the Lord to send me the greatest
torments so that that soul could be saved. Then I suddenly felt the terrible
pain of a crown of thorns on my head. It lasted for quite a long time, but
that person remained in the Lord's grace. 0 my Jesus, how very easy it is to
become holy; all that is needed is a bit of good will. If Jesus sees this
little bit of good will in the soul, He hurries to give himself to the soul,
and nothing can stop Him, neither shortcomings nor falls-absolutely nothing.
Jesus is anxious to help that soul, and if it is faithful to this grace from
God, it can very soon attain the highest holiness possible for a creature
here on earth. God is very generous and does not deny His grace to anyone.
Indeed He gives more than what we ask of Him. Faithfulness to the
inspirations of the Holy Spirit-that is the shortest route.
383 At the beginning of the retreat, I saw,
on the ceiling of the chapel, Jesus nailed to the Cross. He was looking at
the sisters with great love, but not at all of them. There were three sisters
at whom Jesus looked severely, for what reasons I do not know. I only know
what a terrible thing it is to meet with such a look, which is the look of a
severe Judge. That look was not directed at me, and yet I was paralyzed with
terror. I still tremble as I write these words. I did not dare to say so much
as a single word to Jesus. My physical strength failed me, and I thought I
would not live to the end of the conference. The next day, I saw the same
thing again, just as I had seen it the first time, and this time I dared to
speak these words: "Jesus, how great is Your mercy!"
On the third day, that gaze of great
kindness upon all the sisters, except the three, was again repeated. I
gathered up my courage, which drew its force from love of neighbor, and I
said to the Lord, "You, who are Mercy Itself, as You yourself told me, I
beg You by the power of Your mercy, to look then with kindness at these three
sisters as well. And if this is not in accord with Your wisdom, I ask You for
an exchange: turn to them the kind look meant for my soul, and let Your
severe gaze at their souls be turned on me." Jesus then said to me these
words: My daughter, for the sake of
your sincere and generous love, I grant them many graces although they are
not asking Me for them. But I am doing so because of the promise I have made
to you. And at that moment, He turned a merciful look towards those three
sisters as well. My heart leapt with joy to see the goodness of God.
396 My traveling companions were very kind;
several women of the Sodality of Mary were in the same compartment with me. I
sensed that one of them was suffering greatly and fighting a difficult battle
in her soul. l began to pray in spirit for this soul. At eleven o'clock these
women went to another compartment for a chat, leaving only the two of us
behind in the carriage. I could feel that my prayer was causing this soul's
struggle to become even fiercer. I did not console her, but prayed all the
more fervently. Finally, the lady turned to me and asked if she was obliged
to fulfill a certain promise which she had made to God. At that moment, I
received inner knowledge of the promise and replied, "You are absolutely
obliged to keep it, or else you will be miserable for the rest of your life.
This thought will pursue you everywhere and give you no peace."
Surprised at my answer, she opened her soul to me.
She was a schoolteacher. When she was about
to take her examinations, she had promised God that if she did well in her
examinations she would devote herself to His service; that is, enter a
religious congregation. She passed the examinations very well.
"But," she said, "when I entered into the hustle and bustle of
the world, I no longer wanted to enter a convent. However, my conscience has
given me no peace, and despite amusements I am always unhappy."
After a lengthy conversation, she was
completely changed and told me that she would immediately take steps to enter
a convent. She asked me to pray for her, and I felt that God would be
generous with His grace.
548 Suddenly I heard these words in my
soul: My daughter, I assure you of a
permanent income on which you will live. Your duty will be to trust
completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am
making Myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My
generosity will be without limit.
1068 Today, I had a conversation with
Father [Andrasz] and he recommended great caution in the matter of these
sudden appearances of the Lord Jesus. When he was speaking about divine
mercy, some sort of strength and power entered my heart. My God, I want so
much to express everything and am so very unable to do so. Father tells me
that the Lord Jesus is very generous in communicating himself to souls and,
on the other hand, He is, so to speak, stingy. "Although God's
generosity is very great," said Father, "be careful anyway, because
these sudden appearances arouse suspicion; although, personally, I do not see
anything wrong here, or anything contrary to faith. Be a little more careful,
and when Mother Superior comes, you can talk to her about these things."
1275
My Secretary, write that I am more generous toward sinners than toward the
just. It was for their sake that I came down from heaven; it was for their
sake that My Blood was spilled. Let them not fear to approach Me; they are
most in need of My mercy.
1300 When I looked at this image, I was
pierced with such a lively love for God that, for a moment, I did not know
where I was. When we had finished our business, we went to the Church of the
Most Holy Virgin Mary. We attended Holy Mass, during which the Lord gave me
to know what a great number of souls would attain salvation through this
work. Then I entered into an intimate conversation with the Lord, thanking
Him for having condescended to grant me the grace of seeing how the
veneration of His unfathomable mercy is spreading. I immersed myself in a
profound prayer of thanksgiving. Oh, how great is God's generosity! Blessed
be the Lord, who is faithful in His promises...
1318 October 10, [1937]. O my Jesus, in
thanksgiving for Your many graces, I offer You my body and soul, intellect
and will, and all the sentiments of my heart. Through the vows, I have given
myself entirely to You; I have then nothing more that I can offer You. Jesus
said to me, My daughter, you have not
offered Me that which is really yours. I probed deeply into myself and
found that I love God with all the faculties of my soul and, unable to see
what it was that I had not yet given to the Lord, I asked, "Jesus, tell
me what it is, and I will give it to You at once with a generous heart."
Jesus said to me with kindness, Daughter,
give Me your misery, because it is your exclusive property. At that
moment, a ray of light illumined my soul, and I saw the whole abyss of my
misery. In that same moment I nestled close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
with so much trust that even if I had the sins of all the damned weighing on
my conscience, I would not have doubted God's mercy but, with a heart crushed
to dust, I would have thrown myself into the abyss of Your mercy. I believe,
O Jesus, that You would not reject me, but would absolve me through the hand
of Your representative.
1602 Today the Lord said to me, Daughter, when you go to confession, to
this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart
always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to
confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that
I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the
confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden
by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul
meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw
graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no
limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The
proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from
them to humble souls.
1631 O Wound of Mercy, Heart of Jesus, hide
me in Your depths as a drop of Your own blood, and do not let me out forever!
Lock me in Your depths, and do You Yourself teach me to love You! Eternal
Love, do You Yourself form my soul that it be made capable of returning Your
love. O living Love, enable me to love You forever. I yearn to eternally
reciprocate Your love. O Christ, a single gaze from You is dearer to me than
a thousand worlds, than all heaven itself. Lord, You can make my soul capable
of understanding completely who You are. I know and I believe that You can do
all things; if You have deigned to give Yourself to me so generously, then I
know that You can be even more generous. Bring me into an intimacy with You
so far as it is possible for human nature to be brought...
1650 First Friday. When I took the
Messenger of the Sacred Heart into my hand and read the account of the canonization
of Saint Andrew Bobola, my soul was instantly filled with a great longing
that our Congregation, too, might have a saint, and I wept like a child that
there was no saint in our midst. And I said to the Lord, "I know Your
generosity, and yet it seems to me that You are less generous toward
us." And I began again to weep like a little child. And the Lord Jesus
said to me, Don't cry. You are that
saint. Then the light of God inundated my soul, and I was given to know
how much I was to suffer, and I said to the Lord, "How will that come
about? You have been speaking to me about another Congregation." And the
Lord answered, It is not for you to
know how this will come about. Your duty is to be faithful to My grace and to
do always what is within your power and what obedience allows you to do...
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.
1728
Write: I am Thrice Holy, and I detest the smallest sin. I cannot love a soul
which is stained with sin; but when it repents, there is no limit to My
generosity toward it. My mercy embraces and justifies it. With My mercy, I
pursue sinners along all their paths, and My Heart rejoices when they return
to Me. I forget the bitterness with which they fed My Heart and rejoice at
their return.
Tell
sinners that no one shall escape My Hand; if they run away from My Merciful
Heart, they will fall into My Just Hands. Tell sinners that I am always
waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart...
when will it beat for Me? Write, that I am speaking to them through their
remorse of conscience, through their failures and sufferings, through
thunderstorms, through the voice of the Church. And if they bring all My
graces to naught, I begin to be angry with them, leaving them alone and
giving them what they want.
The Infinite Goodness of God in the
Creation of the Angels.
1741 O God, who are happiness in Your very
self and have no need of creatures to make You happy, because of Yourself You
are the fullness of love; yet, out of Your fathomless mercy You call
creatures into being and grant them a share in Your eternal happiness and in
Your life, that divine indwelling life which You live, One God in Three
Persons. In Your unfathomable mercy, You have created angelic spirits and
admitted them to Your love and to Your divine intimacy. You have made them
capable of eternal love. Although You bestowed on them so generously, O Lord,
the splendor of love and beauty, Your fullness was not diminished in the
least, O God, nor have their love and beauty completed You, because You are
everything in Yourself. And if You have allowed them to participate in Your
happiness and to exist and to love You, that is only due to the abyss of Your
mercy. This is Your unfathomable goodness, for which they glorify You without
end, humbling themselves at the feet of Your majesty as they chant their
eternal hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy...
1743 + God's Infinite Goodness in Creating
Mankind.
God, who in Your mercy have deigned to call
man from nothingness into being, generously have You bestowed upon him nature
and grace. But that seemed too little for Your infinite goodness. In Your
mercy, O Lord, You have given us everlasting life. You admit us to Your
everlasting happiness and grant us to share in Your interior life. And You do
this solely out of Your mercy. You bestow on us the gift of Your grace, only
because You are good and full of love. You had no need of us at all to be
happy, but You, O Lord, want to share Your own happiness with us. But man did
not stand the test. You could have punished him, like the angels, with
eternal rejection, but here Your mercy appeared, and the very depths of Your
being were moved with great compassion, and You promised to restore our
salvation. It is an incomprehensible abyss of Your compassion that You did
not punish us as we deserved. May Your mercy be glorified, O Lord; we will
praise it for endless ages. And the angels were amazed at the greatness of
the mercy which You have shown for mankind...
1749 + God's Infinite Goodness in Adorning
the Whole World with Beauty in Order to Make Man's Stay on Earth Pleasant.
O God, how generously Your mercy is spread
everywhere, and You have done all this for man. Oh, how much You must love
him, since Your love is so active on his behalf. O my Creator and Lord, I see
on all sides the trace of Your hand and the seal of Your mercy, which
embraces all created things. O my most compassionate Creator, I want to give
You worship on behalf of all creatures and all inanimate creation; I call on
the whole universe to glorify Your mercy. Oh, how great is Your goodness, O
God!
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-55, 113, 135, 244, 291, 383, 396)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-548)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-III-1068)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-IV-1275, 1300, 1318)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-VI-1600, 1631, 1650, 1687, 1728, 1741)
(Diary of Sister
Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1743, 1749)
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