The Mistaken Messiah
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September 23, 2016. Friday
of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
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Father
Barry O’Toole, LC
Luke
9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and
the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that
I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still
others, ´One of the ancient prophets has arisen.´" Then he said to them,
"But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The
Messiah of God." But he gave them strict orders and charged them not to
say this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and
on the third day be raised."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, You are the author of life and the giver
of all that is good. You are the Prince of Peace and my mainstay. You are my
healer and the cure itself. I need You, and I need to give You. I love You
and commit myself to You entirely, knowing You could never let me down or
deceive me. Thank You for giving me Your very self.
Petition: Lord Jesus, grant me the courage to bear witness to You as the
Messiah.
1. “According to the Latest Poll…” Frequently we hear in the news opinion polls
concerning certain topics, people or events. There is nothing novel about
that. But when Christ himself polls popular opinion by asking, “Who do the
crowds say that I am?”, he isn’t interested in his public rating. If this
were his motive he would have become very discouraged, because the public
opinion was so far from the truth. “What do you mean, John the Baptist?” ––
there is quite a difference between the bridegroom and the best man at the
wedding feast. Other’s opinions stray even farther. What matters in life is
not what others think or say about us. The only opinion that matters is
God’s: what he thinks about us and what we do. Lord, not everyone knows you.
We live in a generation that seeks more signs. Send us your gift of faith so
that we might truly believe and thus be saved.
2. Personal Convictions: Jesus had three short years to shed his
blood for our redemption and found his Church. In founding the Church he had
to transform some rough fishermen. He had to bring them to believe firmly his
divinity and mission so that they would continue the work of salvation after
his death. Jesus had just spent some time in prayer, and he knew from where
the transformation would come. Just how much had his disciples managed to
open their hearts to the Father’s work? “Who do you say that I am?” Peter
rises to the occasion. He couldn’t have said it more concisely and exactly:
“The Messiah of God.” How about me? Who is Jesus for me? Is he truly my
Messiah and Redeemer? Do I preach this truth to others by the way I live and
the words I speak? I want to be a more ardent apostle of your Kingdom, Lord.
Give me convincing words and actions so that others might come to recognize
you as the Messiah of God.
3. The Pharisees Got It Wrong: So that there would be no mistake as to the
meaning of Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus decided to define the term.
‘Messiah’ means… “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third
day be raised." The Pharisees misunderstood the figure of the Messiah.
They thought the Messiah would deliver them from Roman occupation. They had
not understood that slavery to Rome was nothing in comparison to the slavery
to sin and to the “prince of this world.” If we are to conquer sin and Satan
today, there is only one way: the cross. Jesus is the savior of the world.
Through his passion and death he has become the solution to all of our
problems. This is why he tells us: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine,
let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me” (Luke
9:23).
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I fear that cross with every fiber of
my being, but let Your will –– and not mine –– be done. I know that if You
are with me, everything will work out in the end. I want to be a better
apostle of Your kingdom.
Resolution: Despite the opposition I may encounter, I
will try to make every encounter with others today an occasion to share my
faith with them and bring them closer to God.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
1 O Eternal Love, You command Your
Sacred Image [1] to be painted And reveal to us the inconceivable
fount of mercy,
You bless whoever approaches Your rays, And a soul all black will turn into snow. O sweet Jesus, it is here [2] You established the throne of Your mercy To bring joy and hope to sinful man. From Your open Heart, as from a pure fount, Flows comfort to a repentant heart and soul. May praise and glory for this Image Never cease to stream from man's soul. May praise of God's mercy pour from every heart, Now, and at every hour, and forever and ever. O My God 2 When I look into the future, I am frightened, But why plunge into the future? Only the present moment is precious to me, As the future may never enter my soul at all. It is no longer in my power, To change, correct or add to the past; For neither sages nor prophets could do that. And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God. O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire. I desire to use you as best I can. And although I am weak and small, You grant me the grace of your omnipotence. And so, trusting in Your mercy, I walk through life like a little child, Offering You each day this heart Burning with love for Your greater glory.
79 O Mary, my Mother and my Lady,
I offer You my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will Follow
it. I place everything in Your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with Your
virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body.
Defend me with Your power against all enemies, and especially against those
who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. O lovely lily! You are for
me a mirror, O my Mother!
80 O Jesus, Divine Prisoner of
Love, when I consider Your love and how You emptied Yourself for me, my
senses fail me. You hide Your inconceivable majesty and lower Yourself to
miserable me. O King of Glory, though You hide Your beauty, yet the eye of my
soul rends the veil. I see the angelic choirs giving You honor without cease,
and all the heavenly Powers praising You without cease, and without cease
they are saying: Holy, Holy, Holy.
Oh, who will comprehend Your love and Your unfathomable mercy toward us! O Prisoner of Love, I lock up my poor heart in this tabernacle, that it may adore You without cease night and day. I know of no obstacle in this adoration, and even though I be physically distant, my heart is always with You. Nothing can put a stop to my love for You. No obstacles exist for me. O my Jesus, I will console You for all the ingratitude, the blasphemies, the coldness, the hatred of the wicked, the sacrileges. O Jesus, I want to burn as 'a pure offering and to be consumed before the throne of Your hiddenness. I plead with You unceasingly for poor dying sinners.
81 O Holy Trinity, One and
Indivisible God, may You be blessed for this great gift and testament of
mercy. My Jesus, to atone for blasphemers I will keep silent when unjustly
reprimanded and in this way make partial amends to You. I am singing within
my soul an unending hymn to You, and no one will suspect or understand this.
The song of my soul is known to You alone, O my Creator and Lord!
82 I will not allow myself to be
so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God. I will spend all
my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. He
has been tutoring me from my most tender years.
83 Write this: before I come as
the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of
justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this
sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great
darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the
sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were
nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a
period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.
84 O Blood and Water, which gushed
forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You
248 The words of the Bishop
[Rospond[73]], spoken at the ceremony of the taking of perpetual
vows: "Accept this candle as a sign of heavenly light and of burning
love." While giving the ring: "I betroth you to Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father Most High; may He keep you unblemished. Take this ring as a
sign of the eternal covenant you are making with Christ, the Spouse of
Virgins. May it be for you the ring of faith and the sign of the Holy Spirit,
that you may be called the bride of Christ and, if you serve Him faithfully,
be crowned [as such] for all eternity.
267 Jesus told me that I please
Him best by meditating on His sorrowful Passion, and by such meditation much
light falls upon my soul. He who wants to learn true humility should reflect
upon the Passion of Jesus. When I meditate upon the Passion of Jesus, I get a
clear understanding of many things I could not comprehend before. I want to
resemble You, O Jesus,-You crucified, tortured and humiliated. Jesus, imprint
upon my heart and soul Your own humility. I love You, Jesus, to the point of
madness, You who were crushed with suffering as described by the prophet [cf.
Isaiah 53:2-9], as if he could not see the human form in You because of Your
great suffering. It is in this condition, Jesus, that I love You to the point
of madness. O eternal and infinite God, what has love done to You?...
525 O Holy Trinity, in whom is
contained the inner life of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
eternal joy, inconceivable depth of love, poured out upon all creatures and
constituting their happiness, honor and glory be to Your holy name forever
and ever. Amen.
When I consider Your greatness and beauty, O my God, I rejoice exceedingly that the Lord I serve is so great. With love and joy I carry out His will, and the more I come to know Him, the more I desire to love Him. I burn with the desire to love Him ever more and more.
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.
589 Love casts out fear. Since I
came to love God with my whole being and with all the strength of my heart,
fear has left me. Even if I were to hear the most terrifying things about God's
justice, I would not fear Him at all, because I have come to know Him well.
God is love, and His Spirit is peace. I see now that my deeds which have
flowed from love are more perfect than those which I have done out of fear. I
have placed my trust in God and fear nothing. I have given myself over to His
holy will; let Him do with me as He wishes, and I will still love Him.
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.
591 Jesus, You know how ardently I
desire to hide so that no one may know me but Your sweetest Heart. I want to
be a tiny violet, hidden in the grass, unknown in a magnificent enclosed
garden in which beautiful lilies and roses grow. The beautiful rose and the
lovely lily can be seen from afar, but in order to see a little violet, one
has to bend low; only its scent gives it away. Oh, how happy I am to be able
to hide myself in this way! O my divine Bridegroom, the flower of my heart
and the scent of my pure love are for You. My soul has drowned itself in You,
Eternal God. From the moment when You yourself drew me to yourself, O my
Jesus, the more I have known You, the more ardently I have desired You.
592 I learned in the Heart of
Jesus that in heaven itself there is a heaven to which not all, but only
chosen souls, have access. Incomprehensible is the happiness in which the
soul will be immersed. O my God, oh, that I could describe this, even in some
little degree. Souls are penetrated by His divinity and pass from brightness
to brightness, an unchanging light, but never monotonous, always new though
never changing. O Holy Trinity, make yourself known to souls!
593 O my Jesus, nothing is better
for the soul than humiliations. In contempt is the secret of happiness, when
the soul recognizes that, of itself, it is only wretchedness and nothingness,
and that whatever it possesses of good is a gift of God. When the soul sees
that everything is given it freely and that the only thing it has of itself
is its own misery, this is what sustains it in a continual act of humble
prostration before the majesty of God. And God, seeing the soul in such a
disposition, pursues it with His graces. As the soul continues to immerse
itself more deeply into the abyss of its nothingness and need, God uses His
omnipotence to exalt it. If there is a truly happy soul upon earth, it can
only be a truly humble soul. At first, one's self-love suffers greatly on
this account, but after a soul has struggled courageously, God grants it much
light by which it sees how wretched and full of deception everything is. God
alone is in its heart. A humble soul does not trust itself, but places all
its confidence in God. God defends the humble soul and lets Himself into its
secrets, and the soul abides in unsurpassable happiness which no one can
comprehend.
598 Oh, how ardently I desire that
every soul would praise Your mercy. Happy is the soul that calls upon the
mercy of the Lord. It will see that the Lord will defend it as His glory, as
He said. And who would dare fight against God? All you souls, praise the
Lord's mercy by trusting in His mercy all your life and especially at the
hour of your death. And fear nothing, dear soul, whoever you are; the greater
the sinner, the greater his right to Your mercy, O Lord. O incomprehensible
goodness! God is the first to stoop to the sinner. O Jesus, I wish to glorify
Your mercy on behalf of thousands of souls. I know very well, O my Jesus,
that I am to keep telling souls about Your goodness, about Your
incomprehensible mercy.
599 On one occasion, after a
person had asked me for prayer, when I met the Lord I said to Him,
"Jesus, I especially love those souls whom You love." And Jesus
answered, And as for Me, I bestow special graces on those souls for whom
you intercede.
600 How wondrously Jesus defends
me; truly this is a great grace of God which I have experienced for a long
time now.
666 I understood that all striving
for perfection and all sanctity consist in doing God's will. Perfect fulfillment
of God's will is maturity in sanctity; there is no room for doubt here. To
receive God's light and recognize what God wants of us and yet not do it is a
great offense against the majesty of God. Such a soul deserves to be
completely forsaken by God. It resembles Lucifer, who had great light, but
did not do God's will. An extraordinary peace entered my soul when I
reflected on the fact that, despite great difficulties, I had always
faithfully followed God's will as I knew it. O Jesus, grant me the grace to
put Your will into practice as I have come to know it, O God.
697 Jesus, You know that I love
suffering and want to drain the cup of suffering to the last drop; and yet,
my nature experienced a slight shudder and fear. Quickly, however, my trust
in the infinite mercy of God was awakened in all its force, and everything
else had to give way before it, like a shadow retreating before the sun's
rays. O Jesus, how great is Your goodness! Your infinite goodness, so well
known to me, enables me to bravely look death itself in the eye. I know that
nothing will happen to me without God's permission. I desire to glorify Your
infinite mercy during my life, at the hour of death, in the resurrection and
throughout eternity.
+ My Jesus, my strength, my peace, my repose; my soul bathes daily in the rays of Your mercy. There is nota moment in my life when I do not experience Your mercy, O God. I count on nothing in my whole life, but only on Your infinite mercy. It is the guiding thread of my life, O Lord. My soul is filled with God's mercy.
698 + Oh, how sorely Jesus is hurt
by the ingratitude of a chosen soul! What a martyrdom it is for His
unspeakable love! God loves us with the entire infinite Being that He is; and
imagine, a miserable particle of dust scorns that love! My heart bursts with
pain when I see this ingratitude.
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.
The Goodness of God.
1485 The mercy of God, hidden in
the Blessed Sacrament, the voice of the Lord who speaks to us from the throne
of mercy: Come to Me, all of you.
Conversation of the Merciful God with a Sinful Soul. Jesus: Be not afraid of your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak words of pardon and lavish his graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound in My Heart. Soul: Lord, I hear your voice calling me to turn back from the path of sin, but I have neither the strength nor the courage to do so. Jesus: I am your strength, I will help you in the struggle. Soul: Lord, I recognize your holiness, and I fear You. Jesus: My child, do you fear the God of mercy? My holiness does not prevent Me from being merciful. Behold, for you I have established a throne of mercy on earth-the tabernacle-and from this throne I desire to enter into your heart. I am not surrounded by a retinue or guards. You can come to me at any moment, at any time; I want to speak to you and desire to grant you grace. Soul: Lord, I doubt that You will pardon my numerous sins; my misery fills me with fright. Jesus: My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with Me about your wretchedness. You will give me pleasure if you hand over to me all your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace. Soul: You have conquered, O Lord, my stony heart with Your goodness. In trust and humility I approach the tribunal of Your mercy, where You yourself absolve me by the hand of your representative. O Lord, I feel Your grace and Your peace filling my poor soul. I feel overwhelmed by Your mercy, O Lord. You forgive me, which is more than I dared to hope for or could imagine. Your goodness surpasses all my desires. And now, filled with gratitude for so many graces, I invite You to my heart. I wandered, like a prodigal child gone astray; but you did not cease to be my Father. Increase Your mercy toward me, for You see how weak I am. Jesus: Child, speak no more of your misery; it is already forgotten. Listen, My child, to what I desire to tell you. Come close to My wounds and draw from the Fountain of Life whatever your heart desires. Drink copiously from the Fountain of Life and you will not weary on your journey. Look at the splendors of My mercy and do not fear the enemies of your salvation. Glorify My mercy. Conversation of the Merciful God with a Despairing Soul. 1486 Jesus: O soul steeped in darkness, do not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy. -But the soul, deaf even to this appeal, wraps itself in darkness. Jesus calls out again: My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father. -In the soul arises this reply: "For me there is no mercy," and it falls into greater darkness, a despair which is a foretaste of hell and makes it unable to draw near to God. Jesus calls to the soul a third time, but the soul remains deaf and blind, hardened and despairing. Then the mercy of God begins to exert itself, and, without any co-operation from the soul, God grants it final grace. If this too is spurned, God will leave the soul in this self-chosen disposition for eternity. This grace emerges from the merciful Heart of Jesus and gives the soul a special light by means of which the soul begins to understand God's effort; but conversion depends on its own will. The soul knows that this, for her, is final grace and, should it show even a flicker of good will, the mercy of God will accomplish the rest. My omnipotent mercy is active here. Happy the soul that takes advantage of this grace. Jesus: What joy fills My Heart when you return to me. Because you are weak, I take you in My arms and carry you to the home of My Father. Soul (as if awaking, asks fearfully): Is it possible that there yet is mercy for me? Jesus: There is, My child. You have a special claim on My mercy. Let it act in your poor soul; let the rays of grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life. Soul: But fear fills me at the thought of my sins, and this terrible fear moves me to doubt Your goodness. Jesus: My child, all your sins have not wounded My Heart as painfully as your present lack of trust doesthat after so many efforts of My love and mercy, you should still doubt My goodness. Soul: O Lord, save me yourself, for I perish. Be my Savior. O Lord, I am unable to say anything more; my pitiful heart is torn asunder; but You, O Lord... Jesus does not let the soul finish but, raising it from the ground, from the depths of its misery, he leads it into the recesses of His Heart where all its sins disappear instantly, consumed by the flames of love. Jesus: Here, soul, are all the treasures of My Heart. Take everything you need from it. Soul: O Lord, I am inundated with Your grace. I sense that a new life has entered into me and, above all, I feel Your love in my heart. That is enough for me. O Lord, I will glorify the omnipotence of Your mercy for all eternity. Encouraged by Your goodness, I will confide to You all the sorrows of my heart. Jesus: Tell me all, My child, hide nothing from Me, because My loving Heart, the Heart of your Best Friend, is listening to you. Soul: O Lord, now I see all my ingratitude and Your goodness. You were pursuing me with Your grace, while I was frustrating Your benevolence. I see that I deserve the depths of hell for spurning Your graces. Jesus (interrupting): Do not be absorbed in your misery-you are still too weak to speak of it-but, rather, gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My sentiments. Strive for meekness and humility; be merciful to others, as I am to you; and, when you feel your strength failing, if you come to the fountain of mercy to fortify your soul, you will not grow weary on your journey. Soul: Now I understand Your mercy, which protects me, and like a brilliant star, leads me into the home of my Father, protecting me from the horrors of hell that I have deserved, not once, but a thousand times. O Lord, eternity will hardly suffice for me to give due praise to Your unfathomable mercy and Your compassion for me. + Conversation of the Merciful God with a Suffering Soul 1487 Jesus: Poor soul, I see that you suffer much and that you do not have even the strength to coverse with me. So I will speak to you. Even though your sufferings were very great, do not lose heart or give in to despondency. But tell Me, my child, who has dared to wound your heart? Tell me about everything, be sincere in dealing with Me, reveal all the wounds of your heart. I will heal them, and your suffering will become a source of your sanctification. Soul: Lord, my sufferings are so great and numerous and have lasted so long that I become discouraged. Jesus: My child, do not be discouraged. I know your boundless trust in Me; I know you are aware of My goodness and mercy. Let us talk in detail about everything that weighs so heavily upon your heart. Soul: There are so many different things that I do not know what to speak about first, nor how to express it. Jesus: Talk to Me simply, as a friend to a friend. Tell Me now, My child, what hinders you from advancing in holiness? Soul: Poor health detains me on the way to holiness. I cannot fulfill my duties. I am as useless as an extra wheel on a wagon. I cannot mortify myself or fast to any extent, as the saints did. Furthermore, nobody believes I am sick, so that mental pain is added to those of the body, and I am often humiliated. Jesus, how can anyone become holy in such circumstances? Jesus: True, My child, all that is painful. But there is no way to heaven except the way of the cross. I followed it first. You must learn that it is the shortest and surest way. Soul: Lord, there is another obstacle on the road to holiness. Because I am faithful to You, I am persecuted and suffer much. Jesus: It is because you are not of this world that the world hates you. First it persecuted Me. Persecution is a sign that you are following in My footsteps faithfully. Soul: My Lord, I am also discouraged because neither my superiors nor my confessor understand my interior trials. A darkness clouds my mind. How can I advance? All this discourages me from striving for the heights of sanctity. Jesus: Well, My child, this time you have told Me a good deal. I realize how painful it is not to be understood, and especially by those whom one loves and with whom one has been very open. But suffice it to know that I understand all your troubles and misery. I am pleased by the deep faith you have, despite everything, in My representatives. Learn from this that no one will understand a soul entirely-that is beyond human ability. Therefore, I have remained on earth to comfort your aching heart and to fortify your soul, so that you will not falter on the way. You say that a dense darkness is obscuring your mind. But why, at such times, do you not come to Me, the light who can in an instant pour into your soul more understanding about holiness than can be found in any books? No confessor is capable of teaching and enlightening a soul in this way. Know, too, that the darkness about which you complain I first endured in the Garden of Olives when My Soul was crushed in mortal anguish. I am giving you a share in those sufferings because of My special love for you and in view of the high degree of holiness I am intending for you in heaven. A suffering soul is closest to My Heart. Soul: One more thing, Lord. What should I do when I am ignored and rejected by people, especially by those on whom I had a right to count in times of greatest need? Jesus: My child, make the resolution never to rely on people. Entrust yourself completely to My will saying, "Not as I want, but according to Your will, O God, let it be done unto me." These words, spoken from the depths of one's heart, can raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In such a soul I delight. Such a soul gives Me glory. Such a soul fills heaven with the fragrance of her virtue. But understand that the strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need. Soul: Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness in remaining with us in this exile as the God of mercy and blessing us with the radiance of Your compassion and goodness. It is through the light of Your mercy that I have come to understand how much You love me. 1488 Conversation of the Merciful God with a Soul Striving after Perfection. Jesus: I am pleased with your efforts, O soul aspiring for perfection, but why do I see you so often sad and depressed? Tell Me, My child, what is the meaning of this sadness, and what is its cause? Soul: Lord, the reason for my sadness is that, in spite of my sincere resolutions, I fall again into the same faults. I make resolutions in the morning, but in the evening I see how much I have departed from them. Jesus: You see, My child, what you are of yourself. The cause of your falls is that you rely too much upon yourself and too little on Me. But let this not sadden you so much. You are dealing with the God of mercy, which your misery cannot exhaust. Remember, I did not allot only a certain number of pardons. Soul: Yes, I know all that, but great temptations assail me, and various doubts awaken within me and, moreover, everything irritates and discourages me. Jesus: My child, know that the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue. All temptations united together ought not disturb your interior peace, not even momentarily. Sensitiveness and discouragement are the fruits of self-love. You should not become discouraged, but strive to make My love reign in place of your self-love. Have confidence, My child. Do not lose heart in coming for pardon, for I am always ready to forgive you. As often as you beg for it, you glorify My mercy. Soul: I understand what is the better thing to do, what pleases You more, but I encounter great obstacles in acting on this understanding. Jesus: My child, life on earth is a struggle indeed; a great struggle for My kingdom. But fear not, because you are not alone. I am always supporting you, so lean on Me as you struggle, fearing nothing. Take the vessel of trust and draw from the fountain of life-for yourself, but also for other souls, especially such as are distrustful of My goodness. Soul: O Lord, I feel my heart being filled with Your love and the rays of Your mercy and love piercing my soul. I go, Lord, at Your command. I go to conquer souls. Sustained by Your grace, I am ready to follow You, Lord, not only to Tabor, but also to Calvary. I desire to lead souls to the fount of Your mercy so that the splendor of Your mercy may be reflected in all souls, and the home of our Father be filled to overflowing. And when the enemy begins to attack me, I shall take refuge behind the shield of Your mercy.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-I-1-2, 79-84, 248, 267)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-525, 588-593, 598-600, 666, 697-699)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-V-1485-1488)
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Setyembre 23, 2016
The Mistaken Messiah-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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