Heaven Holds the Key
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December 24, 2016. Saturday
of the Fourth Week of Advent
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Father Barry O’Toole, LC
Luke 1: 67-79
Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy
Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he
has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty
Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he
promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all
who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his
holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us
free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and
righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called
the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his
way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their
sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break
upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Introductory Prayer: I believe in Your loving presence with me, Lord, and I tremble
as I consider the immense love You have for me. I do not deserve Your grace,
and yet I cannot live without it. You have called me to rise above my sin and
misery and to live in Your love as one of Your children. I truly want to show
You my love.
Petition: Lord, help me to seek You and find You through silence.
1. Silence for Reflection: Zechariah had been in silence (a silence
imposed by God) for over nine months. Perhaps at the beginning, he had felt
frustrated at not being able to communicate normally with others. As time
goes on, that frustration turns into resignation and reluctant acceptance.
Through perseverance and prayer, suddenly he begins to love the trial God had
imposed on him, embracing it wholeheartedly and willingly. When we see
someone who is suffering, be it in a hospital, a nursing home or even on the
street or at work, we need to bring them this message of hope. Suffering has
a meaning, a redemptive value, if we unite our sufferings to those of Christ.
2. Silence for Union with Our Lord: We see that Zechariah’s 9-month “retreat”
has provided him the opportunity for a closer contact with God. Through
prayer he has been brought to a deeper and experiential knowledge of
God, which has converted him into an apostle in his desire to share this
experience with others. As his wife’s period of waiting results in her giving
birth to a prophet, so Zechariah’s “incubation” period also turns him into a
prophet: He foretells that salvation for his people is near at hand. We will
have words of wisdom and encouragement for others when we have discovered how
to be alone with God in the secret depths of our hearts. Silence is a vehicle
for achieving this intimacy.
3. Silence for Praise: At some moment during his tribulation,
Zechariah would recall the angel’s words, “you will be speechless and unable
to talk until the day these things take place” (Luke 1:20). Hope would invade
his heart. The day is coming when he would be able to speak again! He has
nine months to prepare his speech. The first words he utters as his tongue is
loosened are not a curse against God for having made him suffer, but a hymn
of praise for his mercy on a sinful humanity. He has experienced this mercy
in his own flesh. We are meant to communicate truth through speech, and the
greatest truth is what God has done for each of us and wishes to do for every
single person. When our speech is a result of what we have first meditated on
profoundly, our words will bear fruit. Does my speech normally edify others?
Do my words ordinarily come from the good I have experienced in God’s
company? Am I aware of how much we can build up others through good
conversations?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, Your birth comes tonight. I want to have a proper place
prepared for You. Please help me to make it warm and comfortable for You.
Make up for what is lacking in my poor efforts to please You. O King of
Glory, may my every thought, word and deed of this day be a fitting homage
for Your coming.
Resolution: Today, I will strive to edify others though
my words.
Excerpts
from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
182 I learned that certain people
have a special gift for vexing others. They try you as best they can. The
poor soul that falls into their hands can do nothing right; her best efforts
are maliciously criticized.
+Christmas Eve. Today I was closely united with the Mother of God. I relived her interior sentiments. In the evening, before the ceremony of the breaking of the wafer, I went into the chapel to break the wafer, in spirit, with my loved ones, and I asked the Mother of God for graces for them. My spirit was totally steeped in God. During the Midnight Mass ["Pasterka" or Shepherds' Mass], I saw the Child Jesus in the Host, and my spirit was immersed in Him. Although He was a tiny Child, His majesty penetrated my soul. I was permeated to the depths of my being by this mystery, this great abasement on the part of God, this inconceivable emptying of Himself. These sentiments remained vividly alive in my soul all through the festive season. Oh, we shall never comprehend this great self-abasement on the part of God; the more I think of it, [unfinished thought].
186 +Today Jesus said to me, I
desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for
souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call
upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say
this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I
will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer:
187 "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."
192 Once, I took upon myself a
terrible temptation which one of our students in the house at Warsaw was
going through. It was the temptation of suicide. For seven days I suffered;
and after the seven days Jesus granted her the grace which was being asked,
and then my suffering also ceased. It was a great suffering. I often take
upon myself the torments of our students. Jesus permits me to do this, and so
do my confessors.
193 My heart is a permanent
dwelling place for Jesus. No one but Jesus has access to it. It is from Jesus
that I derive strength to fight difficulties and oppositions. I want to be
transformed into Jesus in order to be able to give myself completely to
souls. Without Jesus I would not get near to souls, because I know what I am
of myself. I absorb God into myself in order to give Him to souls.
194 +March 27. I desire to struggle, toil and empty myself for our work of saving immortal souls. It does not matter if these efforts should shorten my life; it is no longer mine, but belongs to the Community. I want to be useful to the whole Church by being faithful to my Community. 195 O Jesus, today my soul is as though darkened by suffering. Not a single ray of light. The storm is raging, and Jesus is asleep. O my Master, I will not wake You; I will not interrupt Your sweet sleep. I believe that You fortify me without my knowing it. Throughout the long hours I adore You, O living Bread, amidst the great drought in my soul. O Jesus, pure Love, I do not need consolations; I am nourished by Your will, O Mighty One! Your will is the goal of my existence. It seems to me that the whole world serves me and depends on me. You, O Lord, understand my soul with all its aspirations. Jesus, when I myself cannot sing You the hymn of love, I admire the singing of the Seraphim, they who are so dearly loved by You. I desire to drown myself in You as they do. Nothing will stem such love, for no might has power over it. It is like lightning that illuminates the darkness, but does not remain in it. O my Master, shape my soul according to Your will and Your eternal designs!
197 O Church of God, you are the
best mother, you alone can rear a soul and cause it to grow. Oh, how great is
my love and respect for the Church, that best of all mothers!
198 On one occasion the Lord said
to me, My daughter, your confidence and love restrain My justice, and I
cannot inflict punishment because you hinder Me from doing so. Oh, how
great is the power of a soul filled with confidence!
199 When I think of my perpetual
vows and Who it is that wants to be joined with me, for hours I become
absorbed in the thought of Him. How can this be; You are God and I-I am Your
creature. You, the Immortal King and I, a beggar and misery itself! But now
all is clear to me; Your grace and Your love, O Lord, will fill the gulf
between You, Jesus, and me.
200 O Jesus, how deeply it hurts
the soul when it is always trying to be sincere and they accuse it of
hypocrisy and behave with mistrust toward it. O Jesus, You also suffered like
this to make satisfaction to Your Father.
Christmas Eve, 1935.
574 From early morning, my spirit was immersed in God. His presence pervaded my whole being. In the evening, before supper, I went to the chapel for a minute to share the wafer, at the feet of Jesus, with those who are far away and whom Jesus loves greatly and to whom I owe so much. Just as I was spiritually sharing the wafer with a certain person [probably Father Sopocko], I heard these words within me: His heart is for Me a heaven on earth. When I was leaving the chapel, in an instant, God's omnipotence enveloped me. I understood how greatly God loves us. Oh, if people could at least partly comprehend and understand this!
1437+ Christmas Eve [1937]. After
Holy Communion, the Mother of God gave me to experience the anxious concern
she had in Her heart because of the Son of God. But this anxiety was
permeated with such fragrance of abandonment to the will of God that I should
call it ' rather a delight than an anxiety. I understood how my ' soul ought
to accept the will of God in all things. It is a pity I cannot write this the
way I experienced it. My soul was plunged in deep recollection all day long.
Nothing could tear me away from this recollection, neither duties, nor the
business I had with lay people.
(Diary of Sister
Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-182, 186-187, 192-195, 197-200)
(Diary of Sister
Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-574)
(Diary of Sister
Faustina Kowalska Notebook-v-V-1437)
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Disyembre 24, 2016
Heaven Holds the Key-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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