Build Your Life on the Rock That Is Christ
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November 17, 2016. Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in
Ordinary Time
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Luke
19:41-44
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the
city and wept over it, saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for
peace-- but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you
and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your
children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within
you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, many times I have overlooked Your love in the
circumstances of my life. I know You are always present, even if I don’t feel
Your love. This time of prayer is an opportunity to show You my love, and I
truly desire to bring You consolation as You so often bring consolation to
me.
Petition: Heavenly Father, help me to stand firm amidst the vicissitudes
of life.
1. “As for Me and My Household, We Will
Serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
The beauty of this life is that it offers us so many options. We have all been given the grace of free will, and we can choose to do many things. We can choose where we would like to work, where we want to vacation, who our friends are, what we are going to do this very moment. But the most important choice we make in life is to decide whether to love and serve God or to deny him. God’s greatest, natural gift to us is free will, and with it we direct our own destiny. What a truly beautiful soul who chooses to spend his life serving God! Clearly opting for God and his ways gives direction to a person’s life and provides clarity in moments of darkness and trial.
2. The Time to Prepare for a Storm Is Now: The worst time to clean out the gutters is
in the middle of a thunder storm. And that roof would have worked a lot
better had it been fixed before a week of rain. The concept of being prepared
is so hard for us human beings. Christ told his disciples, “Watch and pray,
that you may not undergo the test” (Matthew 26:41). He was saying, “Be
prepared. You never know when temptations or tough times are going to
strike.”
3. Holding the Fort: The spiritual life is a lot like a castle. A
castle has its strong points and it's not-so-strong points. It has a moat,
high stone walls and turrets, but it also has a gate made only of wood. Each
of us has one or two things that can be likened to that wooden gate. We all
have our weaknesses, but do we know what those weaknesses are? One of the
keys to being able to resist sin is self-knowledge. If we know ourselves, we
can avoid putting ourselves in compromising situations. We can use our strong
points to fight the enemy and fortify those areas that are the weakest. In the
end, the strongest weapon we have both to resist and to fight is our
dependence on the Lord – our prayer and fidelity to his will!
Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I don’t want to base my life just on feelings and on
what makes me happy. I want to live for You, to take a risk for You.
Resolution: I will start a constant prayer life by
praying the Rosary every day this week.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina
Kowalska
+ 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.
188 During the last days of the
carnival, when I was making a Holy Hour, I saw how the Lord Jesus suffered as
He was being scourged. Oh, such an inconceivable agony! How terribly Jesus
suffered during the scourging! O poor sinners, on the day of judgment how
will you face the Jesus whom you are now torturing so cruelly? His blood
flowed to the ground, and in some places His flesh started to fall off. I saw
a few bare bones on His back. The meek Jesus moaned softly and sighed.
206 The next day, after
Communion, I heard the voice saying, My daughter, look into the abyss of
My mercy and give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine. Do it in this way:
Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My
mercy. I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls, My daughter. On the
day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and
bring fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall heal and strengthen
them.
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.
292 +When a soul loves God
sincerely, it ought not fear anything in the spiritual life. Let it subject
itself to the action of grace, and let it not impose any restraints on itself
in communing with the Lord.
294 +Once the Lord said to me,
Act like a beggar who does not back away when he gets more alms [than he
asked for], but offers thanks the more fervently. You too should not back
away and say that you are not worthy of receiving greater graces when I give
them to you. I know you are unworthy, but rejoice all the more and take as
many treasures from My Heart as you can carry, for then you will please Me
more. And I will tell you one more thing: Take these graces not only for
yourself, but also for others; that is, encourage the souls with whom you
come in contact to trust in My infinite mercy. Oh, how I love those souls who
have complete confidence in Me. I will do everything for them.
975 Today I heard these words: Pray
for souls that they be not afraid to approach the tribunal of My mercy. Do
not grow weary of praying for sinners. You know what a burden their souls are
to My Heart. Relieve My deathly sorrow; dispense My mercy.
1146 [Let] the greatest
sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to
trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards
tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such
souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the
greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary,
I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come
as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to
pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice...
1182 + Today the Lord said to
me, My daughter, My pleasure and delight, nothing will stop Me from
granting you graces. Your misery does not hinder My mercy. My daughter, write
that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy;
[urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I
want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide
by the lance for all souls-no one have I excluded!
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.
1293 It so happened that I fell
again into a certain error, in spite of a sincere resolution not to do
so-even though the lapse was a minor imperfection and rather involuntary-and
at this I felt such acute pain in my soul that I interrupted my work and went
to the chapel for a while. Falling at the feet of Jesus, with love and a
great deal of pain, I apologized to the Lord, all the more ashamed because of
the fact that in my conversation with Him after Holy Communion this very
morning I had promised to be faithful to Him. Then I heard these words: If
it hadn't been for this small imperfection, you wouldn't have come to Me.
Know that as often as you come to Me, humbling yourself and asking My
forgiveness, I pour out a superabundance of graces on your soul, and your
imperfection vanishes before My eyes, and I see only your love and your
humility. You lose nothing but gain much...
1317 I understand Your words,
Lord, and the magnitude of the mercy that ought to shine in my soul. Jesus:
I know, My daughter, that you understand it and that you do everything within
your power. But write this for the many souls who are often worried because
they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy.
Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is
much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does
not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day
of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for
themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment
with their mercy.
1396 Today I heard a voice in
my soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great
numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of
My great mercy.
1397 The Lord said to me, The
loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when
you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the
conversion of sinners. Know, My daughter, that this prayer is always heard
and answered.
1448 Write, speak of My
mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal
of Mercy [the Sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest
miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself
of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry
out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My
representative and to reveal to him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine
Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that
from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and
everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of
Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do
not take advantage of the miracle of God's mercy! You will call out in vain,
but it will be too late.
1520
Today the Lord said to me, I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of
mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy
with great trust. Sinners will attain justification, and the just will be
confirmed in good. Whoever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with
My divine peace at the hour of death.
1521 The Lord said to me, My daughter, do not tire of proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which burns with a flame of pity for sinners. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priest who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak.
1691 Oh, how greatly I desire the
glory of Your mercy-for me, bitterness and suffering! When I see the glory of
Your mercy, I am immeasurably happy. Let all disgrace, humiliation and
abasement come down upon me, as long as the glory and praise of Your mercy
resounds everywhere-that's all that matters.
The Creator and The Creature. 1692 I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth, and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, Incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You, and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good; and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration. My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here Your light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature. Here, without searching for words, our hearts understand each other. Here, no one is able to interrupt our conversation. What I talk to You about, Jesus, is our secret, which creatures shall not know and Angels dare not ask about. These are secret acts of forgiveness, known only to Jesus and me; this is the mystery of His mercy, which embraces each soul separately. For this incomprehensible goodness of Yours, I adore You, O Lord and Creator, with all my heart and all my soul. And, although my worship is so little and poor, I am at peace because I know that You know it is sincere, however inadequate...
1695 Then I heard the words, I
am glad you behaved like My true daughter. Be always merciful as I am
merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies, so
that My mercy may be fully reflected in your heart.
1696 O Christ, although much effort is required, all things can be done with Your grace. 1697 I was feeling fairly well today, and I was glad that I would be able to make the Holy Hour. But when I began to make the Holy Hour, my physical sufferings intensified, so that I was not able to pray. When the Holy Hour was over, my sufferings came to an end, and I complained to the Lord that I had wanted so much to steep myself in His sorrowful Passion, but that my sufferings had not allowed me to do so. Then Jesus said to me, My daughter, know that if I allow you to feel and have a more profound knowledge of My sufferings, that is a grace from Me. But when your mind is dimmed and your sufferings are great, it is then that you take an active part in My Passion, and I am conforming you more fully to Myself. It is your task to submit yourself to My will at such times, more than at others...
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.
1730 I fly to Your mercy,
Compassionate God, who alone are good. Although my misery is great, and my
offenses are many, I trust in Your mercy, because You are the God of mercy;
and, from time immemorial, it has never been heard of, nor do heaven or earth
remember, that a soul trusting in Your mercy has been disappointed.
O God of compassion, You alone can justify me, and You will never reject me when I, contrite, approach Your Merciful Heart, where no one has ever been refused, even if he were the greatest sinner.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-98, 188, 206, 291-292, 294)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-975)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1146, 1182)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1275, 1293, 1317)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1396-1394, 1448, 1520-1521)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1691-1692, 1695-1697, 1702, 1715) (Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1730) |
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