Better Than Success
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October 1, 2016. Saturday of the Twenty-Sixth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Father Edward McIlmail, LC
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Luke
10: 17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned
rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of
your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning
from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ´to tread upon serpents´ and
scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but
rejoice because your names are written in heaven." At that very moment
he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise
and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such
has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my
Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is
except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." Turning
to the disciples in private he said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what
you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you
see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
Introductory Prayer: Jesus, I approach You in prayer, knowing
that these are some of the most important moments of the day. This time I
spend with You helps put the rest of the day in perspective and gives me a
sense of my total dependence on You. With childlike simplicity I trust in
Your loving providence. Though I am unworthy to be in Your presence, I at
least want to offer You my best effort during this prayer, seeking only to
please You.
Petition: Let me see, Holy Spirit, that the most important thing in life
is to reach heaven.
1. Name-dropping: The disciples marvel at the power of Jesus´
name, even before demons. Such is the great power of Christ in the world.
"There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name
under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved" (Acts
4:12). Christ, as the Messiah who came to redeem us, is in a league by
himself. Thus, all authentic devotion, be it to Mary, be it to a favorite
patron saint, only has sense insofar as it leads us to Christ. He is and
remains the best model for us. As Vatican II teaches, Christ "fully
reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear" (Gaudium
et Spes, 22). Is there anyone I put ahead of Christ in my life?
2. The Ledger: Jesus seems to shrug off the victories over
Satan. What he deems more important for his disciples is that their names are
written in heaven. Indeed, Christianity is about more than just defeating the
devil. Ours is an eminently positive faith, designed to help us grow in our
love for God and in our imitation of the virtues of Christ. As an exercise in
love, it is open-ended, always inviting us to do more for others and for
Christ. Love knows no limits, so we shouldn´t think that we "have
arrived." Do I understand that I´m called to love and to imitate Christ
till the last moment of life?
3. Model Son: Love drives Christ, specifically love for
his heavenly Father. The realization that he does his Father´s will impels
Christ to undergo hardships, tiredness, hunger and rejection. But he won´t be
deterred. As a young man in love, Christ seems to have an endless reserve of
energy for the sake of his Beloved. It is his secret source of strength, so
to speak. Thus he teaches us a deep truth of human nature. "Man cannot
live without love," wrote Pope John Paul II in his first encyclical.
"He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself; his life is
senseless, if love is not revealed to him." If ever we feel burned out
by the world, we should ask ourselves, “How much do I love others? Do I
gladly sacrifice myself for others? Do I seek the good of others first?”
Conversation with Christ: My faith is first and foremost a
relationship with You, Lord. It requires a constant response of love on my
part. Help me be generous in responding to Your inspirations toward love.
Resolution: I will show thanks for my faith by doing an
extra act of charity today.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina
Kowalska
96 +Trials sent by God to a soul
which is particularly loved by Him.
Temptations and darkness; Satan. The soul's love [for God] is still not such as God would have it. The soul suddenly loses the tangible perception of God's presence. Various defects and imperfections rise up within it, and it must fight them furiously. All her faults lift up their heads, but the soul's vigilance is great. The former awareness of the presence of God gives place to coldness and spiritual dryness; the soul has no taste for spiritual exercises; it cannot pray, either in the old way, or in the manner in which it had just begun to pray. It struggles this way and that, but can find no satisfaction. God has hidden himself from it, and it can find no consolation in creatures, nor can any of these creatures find a way of consoling it. The soul craves passionately for God, but sees its own misery; it begins to sense God's justice; it seems to it that it has lost all the gifts that God had given it; its mind is dimmed, and darkness fills it; unspeakable torment begins. The soul tries to explain its state to the confessor, but it is not understood and is assailed by an even greater unrest. Satan begins his work.
97 Faith staggers under the
impact; the struggle is fierce. The soul tries hard to cling to God by an act
of will. With God's permission, Satan goes even further: hope and love are
put to the test. These temptations are terrible. God supports the soul in
secret, so to speak. The soul is not aware of this, but otherwise it would be
impossible to stand firm; and God knows very well how much He can allow to
befall a soul. The soul is tempted to unbelief in respect to revealed truths
and to insincerity toward the confessor. Satan says to it, "Look, no one
understands you; why speak about all this?" Words that terrify it sound
in its ears, and it seems to the soul that it is uttering these against God.
It sees what it does not want to see. It hears what it does not want to hear.
And, oh, it is a terrible thing at times like these not to have an
experienced confessor! The soul carries the whole burden alone. However, one
should make every effort to find, if it is at all possible, a well-informed
confessor, for the soul can collapse under the burden and come to the very
edge of the precipice. All these trials are heavy and difficult. God does not
send them to a soul which has not already been admitted to a deeper intimacy
with Him and which has not yet tasted the divine delights. Besides, in this
God has His own plans, which for us are impenetrable. God often prepares a
soul in this way for His future designs and great works. He wants to try it
as pure gold is tried. But this is not yet the end of the testing; there is
still the trial of trials, the complete abandonment of the soul by God.
+ The Trial of Trials, Complete
Abandonment - Despair
98 When the soul comes out victorious from the preceding trials, even though it may stumble here and there, it fights on valiantly, humbly calling upon God, "Save me, I am perishing!" And it is still able to fight on. At this point, however, the soul is engulfed in a horrible night. It sees within itself only sin. It feels terrible. It sees itself completely abandoned by God. It feels itself to be the object of His hatred. It is but one step away from despair. The soul does its best to defend itself; it tries to stir up its confidence; but prayer is an even greater torment for it, as this prayer seems to arouse God to an even greater anger. The soul finds itself poised on the summit of a lofty mountain on the very brink of a precipice. The soul is drawn to God, but feels repulsed. All other sufferings and tortures in the world are as nothing compared with this sensation into which it has been plunged; namely, that of being rejected by God. No one can bring it any relief; it finds itself completely alone; there is no one to defend it. It raises its eyes to heaven, but is convinced that this is not for her-for her all is lost. It falls deeper and deeper from darkness to darkness, and it seems to it that it has lost forever the God it used to love so dearly. This thought is torture beyond all description. But the soul does not agree to it and tries to lift its gaze toward heaven, but in vain! And this makes the torture even more intense. If God wishes to keep the soul in such darkness, no one will be able to give it light. It experiences rejection by God in a vivid and terrifying manner. From its heart burst forth painful moans, so painful that no priest will comprehend it, unless he himself has been through these trials. In the midst of this, the evil spirit adds to the soul's suffering, mocking it: "Will you persist in your faithfulness? This is your reward; you are in our power!" But Satan has only as much influence over the soul as God allows him, and God knows how much we can bear. "What have you gotten out of your mortifications," says Satan, "and out of your fidelity to the rule? What use are all these efforts? You have been rejected by God!" This word, rejected, becomes a fire which penetrates every nerve to the marrow of the bone. It pierces right through her entire being. The ordeal reaches its climax. The soul no longer looks for help anywhere. It shrinks into itself and loses sight of everything; it is as though it has accepted the torture of being abandoned. This is a moment for which I have no words. This is the agony of the soul.
129 Satan always takes advantage
of such moments; thoughts of discouragement began to rise to the surface-for
your faithfulness and sincerity-this is your reward. How can one be sincere
when one is so misunderstood? Jesus, Jesus, I cannot go on any longer. Again
I fell to the ground under this weight, and I broke out in a sweat, and fear
began to overcome me. I had no one to lean on interiorly. Suddenly I heard a
voice within my soul, Do not fear; I am with you. And an unusual light
illumined my mind, and I understood that I should not give in to such
sorrows. I was filled with a certain strength and left my cell with new
courage to suffer.
173 Satan's temptations during meditation. I felt a
strange fear that the priest would not
understand me, or that he would have no time to hear
everything I would have to say. How am I going to tell him all this? If it
were Father Bukowski I could do it more easily, but this Jesuit whom I am
seeing for the first time... Then I remembered Father Bukowski's advice that
I should at least take brief notes of the lights sent to me by God during the
retreats and give him at least a brief report on them. My God, for a day and
a half all has gone well, and now a life and death struggle is beginning. The
conference is to start in a half hour, and then I am to go to confession.
Satan tried to persuade me into believing that if my superiors have told me
that my inner life is an illusion, why should I ask again and trouble the
confessor? Didn't MX [probably Mother Jane] tell you that the Lord Jesus does
not commune with souls as miserable as yours? This confessor is going to tell
you the same thing. Why speak to him about all this? These are not sins, and
Mother X, told you that all this communing with the Lord Jesus was daydreaming
and pure hysteria. So why tell it to this confessor? You would do better to
dismiss all this as illusions. Look how many humiliations you have suffered
because of them, and how many more are still awaiting you, and all the
sisters know that you are a hysteric. "Jesus!" I called out with
all the strength of my soul.
378 Once as I was talking with my spiritual director, I
had an interior vision-quicker than lightning-of his soul in great suffering,
in such agony that God touches very few souls with such fire. The suffering
arises from this work. There will come a time when this work, which God is
demanding so very much, will be as though utterly undone. And then God will
act with great power, which will give evidence of its authenticity. It will be
a new splendor for the Church, although it has been dormant in it from long
ago. That God is infinitely merciful, no one can deny. He desires everyone to
know this before He comes again as Judge. He wants souls to come to know Him
first as King of Mercy. When this triumph comes, we shall already have
entered the new life in which there is no suffering. But before this, your
soul [of the spiritual director] will be surfeited with bitterness at the
sight of the destruction of your efforts. However, this will only appear to
be so, because what God has once decided upon, He does not change. But
although this destruction will be such only in outward appearance, the
suffering will be real. When will this happen? I do not know. How long will
it last? I do not know.[89]
But God has promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... who
will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of
death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night,
when the sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the
glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before
it and flees to the very bottom of hell.
411 March 21, 1935. Often during
Mass, I see the Lord in my soul; I feel His presence which pervades my being.
I sense His divine gaze; I have long talks with Him without saying a word; I
know what His divine Heart desires, and I always do what will please Him the
most. 1 love Him to distraction, and I feel that I am being loved by God. At
those times when I meet with God deep within myself, I feel so happy that I
do not know how to express it. Such moments are short, for the soul could not
bear it for long, as separation from the body would be inevitable. Though
these moments are very short, their power, however, which is transmitted to
the soul, remains with it for a very long time. Without the least effort, I
experience the profound recollection which then envelops me-and it does not
diminish even if I talk with people, nor does it interfere with the
performance of my duties. I feel the constant presence of God without any
effort of my soul. I know that I am united with Him as closely as a drop of
water is united with the bottomless ocean.
Last Thursday, toward the end of my prayers, I felt this grace, and it lasted for an unusually long time, for it was throughout Mass, so that I thought I would die of joy. At such times, my knowledge of God and His attributes becomes more acute, and also I know my own self and my misery much better. I am amazed at the Lord's great condescension to such a miserable soul as mine. After Holy Mass, I felt completely immersed in God and am still conscious of His every glance into the depth of my heart. About midday I entered the chapel for a moment, ' and again the power of grace struck my heart. As I continued in a state of recollection, Satan took a flowerpot and angrily hurled it to the ground with all his might. I saw all his rage and his jealousy.
412 There was no one in the
chapel, so I got up, picked up the pieces of the flowerpot, repotted the
flower and tried to do all this before anyone came in. But I did not manage
to do so, as Mother Superior [Borgia] came in at that moment together with
the sister sacristan [93]
and several other sisters. Mother Superior was surprised that I had been
touching something on the altar and thus caused the flowerpot to fall. Sister
sacristan showed her displeasure, and I did my best not to explain or excuse
myself. But towards evening I felt very exhausted and could not make my Holy
Hour, so I asked Mother Superior to allow me to go to bed early. I fell
asleep as soon as I lay down, but at about eleven o'clock Satan shook my bed.
I awoke instantly, and I started to pray peacefully to my Guardian Angel.
Then I saw the souls who were doing penance in purgatory. They appeared like
shadows, and among them I saw many demons. One of these tried to vex me;
taking the form of a cat, he kept throwing himself onto my bed and on my
feet, and he was quite heavy, as if [weighing] a ton.
I kept praying the rosary all the while, and toward dawn these beings vanished, and I was able to get some sleep. When I entered the chapel in the morning I heard a voice in my soul, You are united to Me; fear nothing. But know, my child, that Satan hates you; he hates every soul, but he burns with a particular hatred for you, because you have snatched so many souls from his dominion.
Nocturnal Adoration.
450 I was suffering very much, and it seemed to me I would not be able to make my adoration, but I gathered up all my will power and, although I collapsed in my cell, I paid no attention to what ailed me, for I had the Passion of Jesus before my eyes. When I entered the chapel, I received an inner understanding of the great reward that God is preparing for us, not only for our good deeds, but also for our sincere desire to perform them. What a great grace of God this is! Oh, how sweet it is to toil for God and souls! I want no respite in this battle, but I shall fight to the last breath for the glory of my King and Lord. I shall not lay the sword aside until He calls me before His throne; I fear no blows, because God is my shield. It is the enemy who should fear us, and not we him. Satan defeats only the proud and the cowardly, because the humble are strong. Nothing will confuse or frighten a humble soul. I have directed my flight at the very center of the sun's heat, and nothing can lower its course. Love will not allow itself to be taken prisoner; it is free like a queen. Love attains God.
520 During the night, a soul I had
already seen before visited me. However, it did not ask for prayer, but
reproached me, saying that I used to be very haughty and vain... "and
now you are interceding for others while you yourself still have certain
vices." I answered that I indeed had been vain and haughty, but that I
had confessed this and had done penance for my stupidity, and that I trusted
in the goodness of my God, and that if I still fell occasionally, this was
indeliberate and never premeditated, even in the smallest things. Still, the
soul continued to reproach me, saying, "Why are you unwilling to
recognize my greatness? Why do you alone not glorify me for my great deeds as
all others do?" Then I saw that this was Satan under the assumed
appearance of this soul and I said, "Glory is due to God alone; begone
Satan!" And in an instant this soul fell into an abyss, horrible beyond
all description. And I said to the wretched soul that I would tell the whole
Church about this.
540 In the evening when I was
writing, I heard a voice in my cell which said, "Do not leave this
Congregation; have mercy upon yourself, such great sufferings are in store
for you." When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw nothing,
and I continued to write. Suddenly I heard a noise and the words: "When
you leave, we will destroy you. Do not torture us." I glanced around and
saw many ugly monsters. So I mentally made the sign of the Cross and they
disappeared immediately. How terribly ugly Satan is! The poor damned souls
that have to keep him company! Just the sight of him is more disgusting than
all the torments of hell.
644 When I left the confessional,
a multitude of thoughts oppressed my soul. Why be sincere? What I have told
is no sin, so I have no duty to tell it to the confessor. And again, what a
relief that I do not have to heed my interior any more as long as things are
all right on the outside. I do not have to pay attention to anything or to
follow the inner voices that have often cost me so much humiliation. From now
on, I will be free. And again, a strange pain seized my soul: can I not,
then, commune with the One whom I desire so greatly? The One who is the whole
strength of my soul? I began to cry out, "To whom shall I go, O
Jesus?" But from the moment of the confessor's prohibition, great
darkness fell upon my soul. I feared lest I hear some inner voice, which
would occasion the breaking of my confessor's prohibition. And then again, I
die of longing for God. My interior is torn asunder, not having any will of
its own, since it has been turned over completely to God.
That was on Wednesday of Holy Week. The suffering intensified on Holy Thursday. When I came to make my meditation, I entered into a kind of agony. I did not feel the presence of God, but all the justice of God weighed heavily upon me. I saw myself as if knocked down for the sins of the world. Satan began to mock me, "See, now you will no longer strive to win souls; look how you've been paid! Nobody will believe you that Jesus demands this. See how much you are suffering now, and how much more you are going to suffer! After all, the confessor has now released you from all these things." Now I can live as I like, as long as things are all right outwardly. These dreadful thoughts tormented me throughout the whole hour. When it was almost time for Holy Mass, my heart was seized with pain; am I, then, to leave the Congregation? And since Father has told me that this is a kind of heresy, am I to fall away from the Church? I cried out to the Lord with a sorrowful interior cry, "Jesus, save me!" Still, not a single ray of light entered my soul, and I felt my strength failing, as if the body were separating itself from the soul. I submitted to the will of God and repeated, "O God, let whatever You have decided upon happen to me. Nothing in me is any longer my own." Then, suddenly, God's presence enveloped me and penetrated me through and through. This was just as I was receiving Holy Communion. A moment after Holy Communion, I lost all awareness of everything around me and of my whereabouts.
646 But after a short while, I
entered into the sufferings which Jesus underwent in the Garden of Olives.
This lasted until Friday morning. On Friday, I experienced the Passion of
Jesus but, this time, in a different way. On that day, Father Bukowski came
from Derdy. Some strange power pushed me to go to confession and tell him
about everything that had happened to me and about what Jesus had said to me.
When I told Father, he was quite different and he said to me, "Sister,
don't be afraid of anything; you will come to no harm, for the ' Lord Jesus
will not allow it. If you are obedient and persevere in this disposition, you
need not worry about anything. God will find a way to bring about His work.
You should always have this simplicity and sincerity and tell everything to
Mother General. What I said to ; you was said as a warning, because illusions
may afflict even holy persons, and Satan's insinuations may play a part in
this, and sometimes this comes from our own selves, so one has to be careful.
And so continue as you have thus far. You can see, Sister, that the Lord is
not angered by this. And Sister, you can repeat these things that have
happened to you at present to your regular confessor [Father Sopocko]."
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.
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.
713 October 11. This evening, as I
was writing about this great mercy of God and its great advantage to souls,
Satan rushed into my room with great anger and fury. He seized the screen and
began to break and crush it. I was a little frightened at first, but I
immediately made the sign of the cross with my little crucifix, and the beast
fell quiet and disappeared at once. Today, I did not see this hideous figure
but only his anger. Satan's anger is terrible, and yet the screen was not
shattered or broken, and I went on writing quietly. I know well that the
wretch will not touch me without God's willing it, but what is he up to? He
is beginning to attack me openly and with such great fury and hate, but he
does not disturb my peace for a moment, and this composure of mine makes him
furious.
723 + Today, I heard these words:
The graces I grant you are not for you alone, but for a great number of other
souls as well... And your heart is My constant dwelling place, despite the
misery that you are. I unite Myself with you, take away your misery and give
you My mercy. I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner,
the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in every work
of My hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his affairs
are Mine, and his enemies will be shattered at the base of My footstool.
741 Today, I was led by an Angel
to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large
and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that
constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of
conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth
is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it-a terrible
suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; the fifth
torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite
the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all
the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant
company of Satan; the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God,
vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all
the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are
special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the
senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to
the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture
where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very
sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let
the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those
senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God,
so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody
has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like.
I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin.
764 November 24. Today, I received
a letter from Father Sopocko. [147]
I learned from it that God himself is conducting this whole affair. And as
the Lord has begun it, so will He continue to carry it along. And the greater
the difficulties which I see, the more am I at peace. Oh, if in this whole
matter the glory of God and the profit to souls were not greatly served,
Satan would not be opposing it so much. But he senses what he is going to
lose because of it. I have now learned that Satan hates mercy more than
anything else. It is his greatest torment. Still, the word of God will not
pass away; God's utterance is living; difficulties will not suppress the
works of God, but show that they are God's...
812 + Today I have fought a battle with the
spirits of darkness over one soul. How terribly Satan hates God's mercy! I
see how he opposes this whole work.
938 The soul should have prayed
ardently and at greater length for a director and should have asked the Lord
himself to choose a spiritual director for it. What begins in God will be
godly, and what begins in a purely human manner will remain human. God is so
merciful that, in order to help a soul He himself chooses the spiritual guide
and will enlighten the soul concerning the one before whom it should uncover
the most hidden depths of its soul just as it sees itself before the Lord
Jesus himself. And when the soul considers and recognizes that God has been
arranging all this, it should pray fervently for the confessor that he might
have the divine light to know it well. And let it not change such a director
except for a serious reason. Just as it had prayed fervently and at great
length in order to learn God's will before choosing a director, so too should
it pray fervently and at great length to discern whether it is truly God's
will that he leave this director and choose another. If God's will is not
absolutely clear, he should not make this change, for a person will not go
far by himself, and Satan wants just this: to have the person who is aspiring
for sanctity direct himself because then, without doubt, he will never attain
it.
939 There is an exception [to
this], and that is when God himself directs the person, but the director will
immediately recognize that the person in question is being guided by God
himself. God will allow him to know this clearly and distinctly, and such a
person should be even more under the director's control than anyone else. In
this case, the director does not so much guide and point out the road along
which the soul is to journey; but rather, he judges and confirms that the
soul is following the right path and is being led by a good spirit.
In this situation, the director should be not only holy, but also experienced and prudent, and the soul should give priority to his opinion over that of God himself, for then the soul will be safe from illusions and deviations. A soul that will not fully submit its inspirations to the strict control of the Church; that is, to the director, clearly shows by this that a bad spirit is guiding it. The director should be extremely prudent in such cases and test the soul's obedience. Satan can even clothe himself in a cloak of humility, but he does not know how to wear the cloak of obedience and thus his evil designs will be disclosed. But the director should not be overly afraid of such a soul, because if God puts that special soul in his care, He will also give him great divine light regarding it, for otherwise how could he deal wisely with the great mysteries which take place between the soul and God.
1127 On one occasion, I saw Satan
hurrying about and looking for someone among the sisters, but he could find
no one. I felt an interior inspiration to command him in the Name of God to
confess to me what he was looking for among the sisters. And he confessed,
though unwillingly, "I am looking for idle souls [cf. Si. 33:28; Pr.
12:11]." When I commanded him again in the Name of God to tell me to
which souls in religious life he has the easiest access, he said, again
unwillingly, "To lazy and idle souls." I took note of the fact
that, at present, there were no such souls in this house. Let the toiling and
tired souls rejoice.
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.
1338 As I write these words, I
hear the cry of Satan: "She's 'writing everything, she's writing
everything, and because of this we are losing so much! Do not write about the
goodness of God; He is just!" And howling with fury, he vanished.
1384 I see a certain priest
[probably Father Sopocko] whom God loves greatly, but whom Satan hates
terribly because he is leading many souls to a high degree of sanctity and
has regard only for God's glory. But I keep asking God that his patience with
those who constantly oppose him might not run out. Where Satan himself can do
no harm, he uses people.
1405 November 30, 1937. When I was
going upstairs this evening, a strange dislike for everything having to do
with God suddenly came over me. At that, I heard Satan who said to me,
"Think no more about this work. God is not as merciful as you say He is.
Do not pray for sinners, because they will be damned all the same, and by
this work of mercy you expose your own self to damnation. Talk no more about
this mercy of God with your confessor and especially not with Father Sopocko
and Father Andrasz." At this point, the voice took the appearance of my
Guardian Angel, and at that moment I replied, "I know who you are: the
father of lies [cf. Jn. 8:44]." I made the sign of the cross, and the
angel vanished with great racket and fury.
1465 Taking the form of an
apparition he said," Do not pray for sinners, but for yourself, for you
will be damned." Paying no attention to Satan, I continued to pray with
redoubled fervor for sinners. The Evil Spirit howled with fury, "Oh, if
I had power over you!" and disappeared. I saw that my suffering and
prayer shackled Satan and snatched many souls from his clutches.
1497 When I went, in my thoughts,
to the chapel, my spirit was plunged into even greater darkness. Total
discouragement came over me. Then I heard Satan's voice: "See how
contradictory everything is that Jesus gives to you: He tells you to found a
convent, and then He gives you sickness; He tells you to set about
establishing this Feast of Mercy while the whole world does not at all want
such a feast. Why do you pray for this feast? It is so inopportune." My
soul remained silent and, by an act of will, continued to pray without entering
into conversation with the Spirit of Darkness. Nevertheless, such an
extraordinary disgust with life came over me that I had to make a great act
of the will to consent to go on living...
And again I heard the tempter's words: "Ask for death for yourself, tomorrow after Holy Communion. God will hear you, for He has heard you so many times before and has given you what you asked for." I remained silent and, by an act of will, I began to pray, or rather, submitted myself to God, asking Him interiorly not to abandon me at this moment. It was already eleven o'clock at night, and there was silence all around. The sisters were all asleep in their cells, and my soul alone was struggling with great exertion. The tempter went on: "Why should you bother about other souls? You ought to be praying only for yourself. As for sinners, they will be converted without your prayers. I see that you are suffering very much at this moment. I'm going to give you a piece of advice on which your happiness will depend: never speak about God's mercy and, in particular, do not encourage sinners to trust in God's mercy, because they deserve a just punishment. Another very important thing: do not tell your confessors, and especially this extraordinary confessor and the priest in Vilnius, about what goes on in your soul. I know them; I know who they are, and so I want to put you on your guard against them. You see, to live as a good nun, it is sufficient to live like all the others. Why expose yourself to so many difficulties?"
1499 At that moment, I saw Jesus,
who said, I am pleased with what you are doing. And you can continue to be
at peace if you always do the best you can in respect to this work of mercy.
Be absolutely as frank as possible with your confessor.
Satan gained nothing by tempting you, because you did not enter into conversation with him. Continue to act in this way. You gave Me great glory today by fighting so faithfully. Let it be confirmed and engraved on your heart that I am always with you, even if you don't feel My presence at the time of battle.
1583 As I write this, I hear Satan
grinding his teeth. He cannot stand God's mercy, and keeps banging things in
my cell. But I feel so much of God's power within me that it does not even
bother me that the enemy of our salvation gets angry, and I quietly keep on
writing.
1702 Towards the end of the Way of
the Cross which I was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the
souls of religious and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls. I
will allow convents and churches to be destroyed. I answered,
"Jesus, but there are so many souls praising You in convents." The
Lord answered, That praise wounds My Heart, because love has been banished
from convents. Souls without love and without devotion, souls full of egoism
and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full of deceit and
hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep them alive: My
Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off
them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them, because they are neither
good or bad. I called convents into being to sanctify the world through them.
It is from them that a powerful flame of love and sacrifice should burst
forth. And if they do not repent and become enkindled by their first love, I
will deliver them over to the fate of this world...
How can they sit on the promised throne of judgment to judge the world, when their guilt is greater than the guilt of the world? There is neither penance nor atonement. O heart, which received Me in the morning and at noon are all ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart specially chosen by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain? The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through...
1715 A strong temptation. The Lord
gave me to know how pleasing a pure heart is to Him, and thereby I was given
a deeper knowledge of my own misery. When I began to prepare for confession,
strong temptations against confessors assaulted me. I did not see Satan, but
I could sense him, his terrible anger. - "Yes, he's an ordinary
man." - "Not ordinary, because he has the power of God." -
Yes, it is not difficult for me to accuse myself of my sins. But to uncover
the most secret depths of my heart, to give an account of the action of God's
grace, to speak about God's every demand, about all that goes on between God
and myself... to tell that to a man is beyond my strength. I felt I was
fighting against the powers and I cried out: "O Christ, You and the
priest are one; I will approach confession as if I were approaching, not a
man, but You." When I entered the confessional, I began by disclosing my
difficulties. The priest replied that the best thing I could have done was to
disclose these temptations from the outset. However, after the confession,
they took flight, and my soul is enjoying peace.
1742 Be praised, merciful God, One
God in the Holy Trinity,
Unfathomable, infinite, incomprehensible, immersing themselves in You, their minds cannot comprehend You, So they repeat without end their eternal: Holy. Be glorified, O merciful Creator of ours, O Lord, Omnipotent, but full of compassion, inconceivable. To love You is the mission of our existence, Singing our eternal hymn: Holy... Be blessed, merciful God, Eternal Love. You are above the heavens, the saphires, the firmaments. The host of pure spirits sings You praises, With its eternal hymn: Thrice Holy. And, gazing upon You, face to face, O God, I see that You could have called other creatures before them. Therefore they humble themselves before You in great humility, For well they see that this grace comes solely from Your mercy. One of the most beautiful spirits would not recognize Your mercy, And, blinded by his pride, he drew others after him. Angel of great beauty, he became Satan And was cast down in one moment from heaven's heights into hell. Then the faithful spirits cried, "Glory to God's mercy!" And they stood firm in spite of the fiery test. Glory to Jesus, the Christ abased, Glory to His Mother, the humble and pure Virgin. After this battle, the pure spirits plunged into the ocean of Divinity; Contemplating and praising the depths of His mercy, They drown in His mercy and manifold light, Possessing in knowledge the Trinity of Persons, the Oneness of Godhead.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-96-98 129, 173, 378)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-411-412, 450, 520)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-540, 644, 646, 674, 699, 713, 723)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-741, 764, 812, 938, 939)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1127, 1167)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1338, 1405, 1465, 1497, 1499, 1583)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1702, 1715, 1742)
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Oktubre 01, 2016
Better Than Success-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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