Rerun of Little Red Riding-Hood
June 28, 2017. Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in
Ordinary Time
Father Edward McIlmail, LC
Father Edward McIlmail, LC
Matthew
7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep´s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them."
Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep´s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, before I can produce anything lasting in my life, I need to be
united to You in prayer. Aware of my weakness and inclination to sin, I trust
all the more in Your forgiveness and mercy. I believe in Your presence in the
Eucharist. It gives me the assurances that You really are with Your Church
until the end of time.
Petition: Lord, help me to see more easily the goodness in
people around me.
1. Wolves in Sheepskins: Today we abound with information, but are short on
guidance. The media tell us that abortion is OK, that stem-cell research on
human embryos is compassionate, that same-sex marriage equals tolerance.
Wayward faithful ignore or insult papal teachings. "The time will come
when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires
and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to
the truth and will be diverted to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). How do I judge
what I hear day by day? How do I gauge what the media tell me? Do I absorb
everything I hear like a sponge? Or do I try to find out what the Church says
on issues? Am I aware of how much the media can steal my interior peace? That
it can leave me thinking in a very worldly way?
2. See The Fruits: Our Lord gives us a good criterion for gauging the work of other
people: We are to look at what they produce. The people we see daily on
television -- do their lives seem peaceful and happy? Are their families
stable? Often, the most stable among us are those who live low-key lives. God
often chooses to work outside of the spotlight. He works in those families that
quietly raise their children in the faith. What lasting fruits am I producing
for God? If married, have I been open to new life? If single, do I dedicate a
fair amount of time to serving others? Do I help my friends learn about Christ?
Do I help worthwhile charities?
3. Misjudging: The problem of judging can go the other direction. We might think that
someone isn´t a good person, or that he isn´t very talented. Yet we are
surprised, sometimes years later, to find that same person living in a
near-perfect marriage, raising a happy family, or producing a thriving work of
charity. Was our initial judgment faulty? If so, why? Do we recognize and
appreciate virtue in others? Or are we fixated on the externals: Their looks?
Their wealth? Their bubbly personality? What does that say about my
hierarchy of values?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I am surrounded by views of the world -- so
many opinions, so much information. I sometimes feel overwhelmed. Let me see in
Your vicar on earth, the Pope, the safe and sure path to follow in the midst of
confusion.
Resolution: I will compliment someone for the hidden, but lasting, work they are
doing for the Kingdom.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
163 JMJ The
Year 1937
General Exercises
+O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.
+I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, 0 Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings. Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
+You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy-if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer-if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
General Exercises
+O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.
+I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, 0 Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings. Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
+You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy-if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer-if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
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."
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.
253 +I must never judge anyone, but look at others with leniency and at
myself with severity. I must refer everything to God and, in my own eyes,
recognize myself for what I am: utter misery and nothingness. In suffering, I
must be patient and quiet, knowing that everything passes in time.
301 Proclaim
that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are
crowned with mercy.
633 I am greatly surprised at how one can be so jealous. When I see
someone else's good, I rejoice at it as if it were mine. The joy of others is
my joy, and the suffering of others is my suffering, for otherwise I would not
dare to commune with the Lord Jesus. The spirit of Jesus is always simple,
meek, sincere; all malice, envy, and unkindness disguised under a smile of good
will are clever little devils. A severe word flowing from sincere love does not
wound the heart.
720 O my
Jesus, You know how difficult community life is, how many misunderstandings and
misconceptions, despite at times the most sincere good will on both sides. But
that is Your mystery, O Lord. We shall know it in eternity; however, our
judgments should always be mild.
739 After
Holy Communion today, I spoke at length to the Lord Jesus about people who are
special to me. Then I heard these words: My daughter, don't be exerting
yourself so much with words. Those whom you love in a special way, I too love
in a special way, and for your sake, I shower My graces upon them. I am pleased
when you tell Me about them, but don't be doing so with such excessive effort.
746 I have
understood that at certain and most difficult moments I shall be alone,
deserted by everyone, and that I must face all the storms and fight with all
the strength of my soul, even with those from whom I expected to get help.
But I am not alone, because Jesus is with me, and with Him I fear nothing. I am well aware of everything, and I know what God is demanding of me. Suffering, contempt, ridicule, persecution and humiliation will be my constant lot. I know no other way. For sincere love-ingratitude; this is my path, marked out by the footprints of Jesus.
My Jesus, my strength and my only hope, in You alone is all my hope. My trust will not be frustrated.
But I am not alone, because Jesus is with me, and with Him I fear nothing. I am well aware of everything, and I know what God is demanding of me. Suffering, contempt, ridicule, persecution and humiliation will be my constant lot. I know no other way. For sincere love-ingratitude; this is my path, marked out by the footprints of Jesus.
My Jesus, my strength and my only hope, in You alone is all my hope. My trust will not be frustrated.
766 O my
Jesus, you know what efforts are needed to live sincerely and unaffectedly with
those from whom our nature flees, or with those who, deliberately or not, have
made us suffer. Humanly speaking, this is impossible. At such times more than
at others, I try to discover the Lord Jesus in such a person and for this same
Jesus, I do everything for such people. In such acts, love is pure, and such
practice of love gives the soul endurance and strength. I do not expect
anything from creatures, and therefore I am not disappointed. I know that a
creature is poor of itself, so what can one expect from it? God is everything
for me; I want to evaluate everything according to God's ways.
778 And God
has given me to understand that there is but one thing that is of infinite
value in His eyes, and that is love of God; love, love and once again, love;
and nothing can compare with a single act of pure love of God. Oh, with what
inconceivable favors God gifts a soul that loves Him sincerely! Oh, how happy
is the soul who already here on earth enjoys His special favors! And of such
are the little and humble souls.
779 The
sight of this great majesty of God, which I came to understand more profoundly
and which is worshiped by the heavenly spirits according to their degree of
grace and the hierarchies into which they are divided, did not cause my soul to
be stricken with terror or fear; no, no, not at all! My soul was filled with
peace and love, and the more I come to know the greatness of God, the more joyful
I become that He is as He is. And I rejoice immensely in His greatness and am
delighted that I am so little because, since I am little, He carries me in His
arms and holds me close to His Heart.
1364 Now I
can be wholly useful to the Church by my personal sanctity, which throbs with
life in the whole Church, for we all make up one organism in Jesus. That is why
I endeavor to make the soil of my heart bear good fruit. Although the human eye
may perhaps never see it, there will nevertheless come a day when it will
become apparent that many souls have been fed and will continue to be fed with
this fruit.
1411 O
Divine Spirit, Spirit of truth and of light,
Dwell ever in my soul by Your divine grace.
May Your breath dissipate the darkness,
And in this light may good deeds be multiplied.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of love and of mercy,
Who pour the balm of trust into my heart,
Your grace confirms my soul in good,
Giving it the invincible power of constancy.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of peace and of joy,
You invigorate my thirsting heart
And pour into it the living fountain of God's love,
Making it intrepid for battle.
O Divine Spirit, my soul's most welcome guest,
For my part, I want to remain faithful to You;
Both in days of joy and in the agony of suffering,
I want always, O Spirit of God, to live in Your presence.
O Divine Spirit, who pervade my whole being
And give me to know Your Divine Threefold Life,
Initiating me into Your Divine Essence,
Thus united to You, I will live a life without end.
Dwell ever in my soul by Your divine grace.
May Your breath dissipate the darkness,
And in this light may good deeds be multiplied.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of love and of mercy,
Who pour the balm of trust into my heart,
Your grace confirms my soul in good,
Giving it the invincible power of constancy.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of peace and of joy,
You invigorate my thirsting heart
And pour into it the living fountain of God's love,
Making it intrepid for battle.
O Divine Spirit, my soul's most welcome guest,
For my part, I want to remain faithful to You;
Both in days of joy and in the agony of suffering,
I want always, O Spirit of God, to live in Your presence.
O Divine Spirit, who pervade my whole being
And give me to know Your Divine Threefold Life,
Initiating me into Your Divine Essence,
Thus united to You, I will live a life without end.
1413 I
prepared not only by means of the novena said in common by the whole community,
but I also made a personal effort to salute Her a thousand times each day,
saying a thousand "Hail Marys" for nine days in Her praise.
+ This is now the third time I have said such a novena to the Mother of God; that is, a novena made up of a thousand Aves each day. Thus the novena consists in nine thousand salutations. Although I have done this now three times in my life, and two of these while in the course of my duties, I have never failed in carrying out my tasks with the greatest exactitude. I have always said the novena outside the time of my exercises; that is to say, I have not said the Aves during Holy Mass or Benediction. Once, I made the novena while lying ill in the hospital. Where there's a will, there's a way. Apart from recreation, I have only prayed and worked. I have not said a single unnecessary word during these days. Although I must admit that such a matter requires a good deal of attention and effort, nothing is too much when it comes to honoring the Immaculate Virgin.
+ This is now the third time I have said such a novena to the Mother of God; that is, a novena made up of a thousand Aves each day. Thus the novena consists in nine thousand salutations. Although I have done this now three times in my life, and two of these while in the course of my duties, I have never failed in carrying out my tasks with the greatest exactitude. I have always said the novena outside the time of my exercises; that is to say, I have not said the Aves during Holy Mass or Benediction. Once, I made the novena while lying ill in the hospital. Where there's a will, there's a way. Apart from recreation, I have only prayed and worked. I have not said a single unnecessary word during these days. Although I must admit that such a matter requires a good deal of attention and effort, nothing is too much when it comes to honoring the Immaculate Virgin.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-163, 186-187, 200, 253,
301)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-633, 720, 739, 746, 766,
778-779)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1364, 1411, 1413)
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