Knowing the Father and the Son
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July 19, 2017. Wednesday of the
Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
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Matthew 11: 25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, 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 the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the
Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
Introductory Prayer: Almighty
and ever-living God, I seek new strength from the courage of Christ our
shepherd. I believe in You, I hope in You, and I seek to love You with all my
heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I want to be led one
day to join the saints in heaven, where Your Son Jesus Christ lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Petition: Jesus, help me to seek You with a
sincere heart.
1. Hidden from the Wise:
Wisdom, knowledge and understanding comprise three of the seven gifts of the
Holy Spirit. So in itself, being wise and learned is not the problem. Jesus
is here speaking of those whose pride and inflated ego make them wise and
learned in their own estimation and for their own purposes. The mysteries of
God are thus hidden from them precisely because they have focused their
hearts and minds on themselves as the supreme good: "The greater a being
is, the more it wants to determine its own life. It wants to be less and less
dependent and, thus, more and more itself a kind of god, needing no one else
at all. This is how the desire arises to become free of all need, what we
call pride" (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, God and the World, p. 125).
In the end, it is they who have closed the door on God since God will never
close the door on us.
2. Revealed to the Childlike: Later in this same Gospel, Jesus will reaffirm this basic
truth in another way: "Unless you change and become like little children
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Even
as adults we must never cease to be childlike, uncomplicated and duly
dependent. Children are not naturally complicated and deceitful. Hiding
behind masks and developing subterfuges is a tendency learned with time.
Little by little we begin to calculate, use excuses, ration out our
generosity, and stray from the simplicity and rectitude of the way God has
marked out. We must strive to be sincere with our Lord and sincere with
ourselves, seeking to please him above all things. Failure in our lives is
due to insincerity, that absence of the total nobility and utmost loyalty
needed to fulfill what Our Lord asks of us.
3. Christ, the Revelation of the Father: Knowledge of the Father is the ultimate good man can
possess because it corresponds to the deepest longing in the human heart for
happiness. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that happiness lies in knowing that we
possess the good we seek. We call the full knowledge of the good possessed
"heaven," which is our ultimate goal in life. To whom would Jesus
not wish to reveal the Father and open the way to heaven? Jesus´ actions –
his preaching, his sacrifices and his death on the cross – demonstrate how
much he wants to reveal the Father to everyone. However he also chooses to
need you and me to help him achieve this goal. Do I really desire that
everyone come to know the Father and to reach heaven? My actions will answer
that question for me.
Conversation with Christ: Dear
Lord, grant me the grace to possess the wisdom and knowledge that come from
union with You while at the same time always maintaining a childlike
disposition. Help me to depend on You as a loving child. Mother Most Pure,
make my heart only for Jesus.
Resolution: Today
I will reflectively read Philippians 2:5-11.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
60 I received permission at my
next confession and began the novena that very evening. Towards the end of
the litany I saw a great radiance and, in the midst of it, God the Father.
Between this radiance and the earth I saw Jesus, nailed to the Cross in such
a way that when God wanted to look at the earth, He had to look through the
wounds of Jesus. And I understood that it was for the sake of Jesus that God
blesses the earth.
367 +On one occasion, Jesus gave
me to know that when I pray for intentions which people are wont to entrust
to me, He is always ready to grant His graces, but souls do not always want
to accept them: My Heart overflows
with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they
could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for
them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount
overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy.
I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them.
You, at least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do
not want to accept. In this way you will console My Heart. Oh, how
indifferent are souls to so much goodness, to so many proofs of love! My
Heart drinks only of the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the
world. They have time for everything, but they have no time to come to Me for
graces.
So I turn to you, you-chosen souls, will you also fail to understand the love of My Heart? Here, too, My Heart finds disappointment; I do not find complete surrender to My love. So many reservations, so much distrust, so much caution. To comfort you, let Me tell you that there are souls living in the world who love Me dearly. I dwell In their hearts with delight. But they are few. In convents too, there are souls that fill My Heart with joy. They bear My features; therefore the Heavenly Father looks upon them with special pleasure. They will be a marvel to Angels and men. Their number is very small. They are a defense for the world before the justice of the Heavenly Father and a means of obtaining mercy for the world. The love and sacrifice of these souls sustain the world in existence. The infidelity of a soul specially chosen by Me wounds My Heart most painfully. Such infidelities are swords which pierce My Heart.
491 When I entered the chapel,
once again the majesty of God overwhelmed me. I felt that I was immersed in
God, totally immersed in Him and penetrated by Him, being aware of how much
the heavenly Father loves us. Oh, what great happiness fills my heart from
knowing God and the divine life! It is my desire to share this happiness with
all people. I cannot keep this happiness locked in my own heart alone, for His
flames burn me and cause my bosom and my entrails to burst asunder. I desire
to go throughout the whole world and speak to souls about the great mercy of
God. Priests, help me in this; use the strongest words [at your disposal] to
proclaim His mercy, for every word falls short of how merciful He really is.
+ J.M.J. Cracow, October 20, 1935.
Eight-day Retreat.
526 + The 14th. This Thursday,
when we were having nocturnal adoration, at first I could not pray; a sort of
dryness engulfed me. I could not meditate on Jesus' sorrowful Passion. So I
lay prostrate and offered the most sorrowful Passion of the Lord Jesus to the
heavenly Father in reparation for the sins of all the world. When I got to my
feet after this prayer and walked to my kneeler, I suddenly saw Jesus next to
it. The Lord Jesus appeared as He was during the scourging. In His hands He
was holding a white garment with which He clothed me and a cord with which He
girded me, and He covered me with a red cloak like the one He was clothed
with during His Passion and a veil of the same color, and He said to me, This is how you and your companions are
going to be clothed. My life from birth to death on the Cross will be the
rule for you. Fix your eyes upon Me and live according to what you see. I
desire that you penetrate into My spirit more deeply and understand that I am
meek and humble of heart.
603 January 29, 1936. In the
evening, when I was in my cell, I suddenly saw a great light and a dark gray
cross high up within the light. Suddenly, I found myself caught up close to
the cross. I gazed at it intently, but could not understand anything, and so
I prayed, asking what it could mean. At that moment I saw the Lord Jesus, and
the cross disappeared. The Lord Jesus was sitting in a great light, and His
legs, up to the knees, were drowned in the light so that I could not see
them. Jesus bent toward me, looked at me kindly and spoke to me about the
will of the Heavenly Father. He told me that the most perfect and holy soul
is the one that does the will of the Father, but there are not many such, and
that He looks with special love upon the soul who lives His will. And Jesus
told me that I was doing the will of God perfectly...and for this reason I am uniting Myself with you and communing with
you in a special and intimate way.
God embraces with His
incomprehensible love the soul who lives by His will. I understood how much
God loves us, how simple He is, though incomprehensible, and how easy it is
to commune with Him, despite His great majesty. With no one do I feel as free
and as much at ease as with Him. Even a mother and her truly loving child do
not understand each other so well as God and I do. When I was in that state
of communion with God, I saw two particular persons, and their sad interior
condition was revealed to me. They were in a sorrowful state, but I trust
that they, too, will glorify the mercy of God.
604 At the same time, I saw a
certain person [Father Sopocko] and, in part, the condition of his soul and
the ordeals God was sending him. His sufferings were of the mind and in a
form so acute that I pitied him and said to the Lord, "Why do you treat
him like that?" And the Lord answered, For the sake of his triple crown. And the Lord also gave me to
understand what unimaginable glory awaits the person who resembles the
suffering Jesus here on earth. That person will resemble Jesus in His glory.
The Heavenly Father will recognize and glorify our soul to the extent that He
sees in us a resemblance to His Son. I understood that this assimilation into
Jesus is granted to us while we are here on earth. I see pure and innocent
souls upon whom God has exercised His justice; these souls are the victims
who sustain the world and who fill up what is lacking in the Passion of
Jesus. They are not many in number. I rejoice greatly that God has allowed me
to know such souls.
605 O Holy Trinity, Eternal God, I
thank You for allowing me to know the greatness and the various degrees of
glory to which souls attain. Oh, what a great difference of depth in the knowledge
of God there is between one degree and another! Oh, if people could only know
this! O my God, if I were thereby able to attain one more degree, I would
gladly suffer all the torments of the martyrs put together. Truly, all those
torments seem as nothing to me compared with the glory that is awaiting us
for all eternity. O Lord, immerse my soul in the ocean of Your divinity and
grant me the grace of knowing You; for the better I know You, the more I
desire You, and the more my love for You grows. I feel in my soul an
unfathomable abyss which only God can fill. I lose myself in Him as a drop
does in the ocean. The Lord has inclined himself to my misery like a ray of
the sun upon a barren and rocky desert. And yet, under the influence of His
rays, my soul has become covered with verdure, flowers, and fruit, and has
become a beautiful garden for His repose.
606 My Jesus, despite Your graces, I see and feel all my misery. I begin my day with battle and end it with battle. As soon as I conquer one obstacle, ten more appear to take its place. But I am not worried, because I know that this is the time of struggle, not peace. When the burden of the battle becomes too much for me, I throw myself like a child into the arms of the heavenly Father and trust I will not perish. O my Jesus, how prone I am to evil, and this forces me to be constantly vigilant. But I do not lose heart. I trust God's grace, which abounds in the worst misery.
626 In the evening, during
Benediction, my soul was for some time in communion with God the Father. I
felt I was in His hand like a little child, and I heard these words in my
soul: Do not fear anything, My
daughter; all the adversaries will be shattered at My feet. At these
words, a deep peace and a great interior calm entered my soul.
668 + July 15. During Holy Mass, I
offered myself completely to the heavenly Father through the sweetest Heart
of Jesus; let Him do as He pleases with me. Of myself I am nothing, and in my
misery I have nothing of worth; so I abandon myself into the ocean of Your
mercy, O Lord.
669 July 16. I am learning how to
be good from Jesus, from Him who is goodness itself, so that I may be called
a daughter of the heavenly Father. This morning, when someone hurt my
feelings, I tried, in that suffering, to unite my will to the will of God,
and I praised God by my silence. In the afternoon, I went for a five-minute
adoration, when suddenly I saw the crucifix I have on my breast come alive.
Jesus said to me, My daughter,
suffering will be a sign to you that I am with you. My soul was greatly
moved by these words.
670 O Jesus, my Master and my
Director, it is only with You that I can converse. With no one else is it so
easy to talk as with You, O God.
956 + After these words, the
knowledge of God's will came to me; that is to say, I now see everything from
a higher point of view and accept all events and things, pleasant and
unpleasant, with love, as tokens of the heavenly Father's special affection.
994 Today, when I heard the hymn,
"Good night, Holy Head of My Jesus," on the radio, my spirit was
suddenly drowned in God, and divine love flooded my soul; I dwelt for a
moment with the heavenly Father.
1032 + During Holy Mass, I saw the
Lord Jesus nailed upon the cross amidst great torments. A soft moan issued
from His Heart. After some time, He said, I thirst. I thirst for the salvation of souls. Help Me, My daughter, to save
souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer them to the heavenly
Father for sinners.
1061 In the evening, over the
radio, I heard hymns; that is, psalms, sung by priests. [185] I burst into
tears, and all of the pain was renewed in my soul, and I wept sorrowfully,
unable to find appeasement in this pain. Then I heard a voice in my soul: Do not cry; I am not suffering any more.
And for the faithfulness with which you accompanied Me in My sufferings and
death, your own death will be a solemn one, and I will accompany you in that
last hour. Beloved pearl of My Heart, I see your love so pure, purer than
that of the angels, and all the more so because you keep fighting. For your
sake I bless the world. I see your efforts to please Me, and they delight My
Heart.
After these words, I wept no more,
but thanked the heavenly Father for having sent us His Son and for the work
of the Redemption of mankind.
1121 May 6, [1937]. The Ascension
of Our Lord.
Since early this morning, my soul
has been touched by God. After Holy Communion, I communed for a while with
the heavenly Father. My soul was drawn into the glowing center of love. I
understood that no exterior works could stand comparison with pure love of
God... I saw the joy of the Incarnate Word, and I was immersed in the Divine
Trinity. When I came to myself, longing filled my soul, and I yearned to be
united with God. Such tremendous love for the heavenly Father enveloped me
that I call this day an uninterrupted ecstasy of love. The whole universe
seemed to me like a tiny drop in comparison with God. There is no greater
happiness than when God gives me to know interiorly that every beat of my heart
is pleasing to Him, and when He shows me that He loves me in a special way.
This strong inner conviction, by which God assures me of His love for me and
of how much my soul pleases Him, brings deep peace to my soul. Throughout
this day I was unable to take any food; I felt gratified to the full with
love.
1177 Particular examen.
Continuation of the same: to unite
myself with the merciful Christ. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, I
will entreat the heavenly Father for the whole world. A point of the rule:
strict observance of silence.
I must probe the depth of my being
and thank God for everything, uniting myself with Jesus. With Him, in Him,
and through Him, I give glory to God.
1201 I feel so unwell here,
however, that I am obliged to stay in bed. I feel strange sharp pains all
through my chest; I cannot even move my hand. One night, I had to lie quite
motionless, as it seemed to me that if I budged, everything in my lungs would
tear. The night was endless. I united myself to Jesus Crucified, and I
implored the heavenly Father on behalf of sinners. It is said that maladies
of the lungs do not cause such sharp pains, but I suffer these sharp pains
constantly. My health has deteriorated so much here that I must remain in
bed, and Sister N. [probably Sister Helen [203]] says I will not improve,
because the climate of Rabka is not good for every sick person.
1264 Act of total abandonment to
the will of God, which is for me, love and mercy itself.
Act of Oblation Jesus-Host, whom I have this very moment received into my heart, through this union with You I offer myself to the heavenly Father as a sacrificial host, abandoning myself totally and completely to the most merciful and holy will of my God. From today onward, Your will, Lord, is my food. Take my whole being; dispose of me as You please. Whatever Your fatherly hand gives me, I will accept with submission, peace and joy. I fear nothing, no matter in what direction You lead me; helped by Your grace I will carry out everything You demand of me. I no longer fear any of Your inspirations nor do I probe anxiously to see where they will lead me. Lead me, O God, along whatever roads You please; I have placed all my trust in Your will which is, for me, love and mercy itself. Bid me to stay in this convent, I will stay; bid me to undertake the work, I will undertake it; leave me in uncertainty about the work until I die, be blessed; give me death when, humanly speaking, my life seems particularly necessary, be blessed. Should You take me in my youth, be blessed; should You let me live to a ripe old age, be blessed. Should You give me health and strength, be blessed; should You confine me to a bed of pain for my whole life, be blessed. Should you give only failures and disappointments in life, be blessed. Should You allow my purest intentions to be condemned, be blessed. Should You enlighten my mind, be blessed. Should You leave me in darkness and all kinds of torments, be blessed. From this moment on, I live in the deepest peace, because the Lord himself is carrying me in the hollow of His hand. He, Lord of unfathomable mercy, knows that I desire Him alone in all things, always and everywhere. 1265 Prayer. O Jesus, stretched out upon the cross, I implore You, give me the grace of doing faithfully the most holy will of Your Father, in all things, always and everywhere. And when this will of God will seem to me very harsh and difficult to fulfill, it is then I beg You, Jesus, may power and strength flow upon me from Your wounds, and may my lips keep repeating, "Your will be done, O Lord." O Savior of the world, Lover of man's salvation, who in such terrible torment and pain forget Yourself to think only of the salvation of souls, O most compassionate Jesus, grant me the grace to forget myself that I may live totally for souls, helping You in the work of salvation, according to the most holy will of Your Father....
1279 The Lord gave me knowledge of
the graces which He has been constantly lavishing on me. This light pierced
me through and through, and I came to understand the inconceivable favors
that God has been bestowing on me. I stayed in my cell for a long act of
thanksgiving, lying face down on the ground and shedding tears of gratitude.
I could not rise from the ground because, whenever I tried to do so, God's
light gave me new knowledge of His grace. It was only at the third attempt
that I was able to get up. As His child, I felt that everything the heavenly
Father possessed was equally mine. He himself lifted me from the ground up to
His Heart. I felt that everything that existed was exclusively mine, but I
had no desire for it all, because God alone is enough for me.
1304 With longing I gaze into the
starlit sky,
Into the sapphire of fathomless firmaments. There the pure heart leaps out to find You, O God, And yearns to be freed of the bonds of the flesh. With great longing, I gaze upon you, my homeland, When will this, my exile, come to an end? O Jesus, such is the call of Your bride Who suffers agony in her thirst for You. With longing, I gaze at the footprints of the saints Who crossed this wilderness on their way to the fatherland. They left me the example of their virtue and their counsels, And they say to me, "Patience, Sister, soon the fetters will break." But my longing soul hears not these words. Ardently it yearns for its Lord and its God, And it understands not human language, Because it is enamored of Him alone. My longing soul, wounded with love, Forces its way through all created things And unites itself with infinite eternity, With the Lord whom my heart has espoused. Allow my longing soul, O God, To be drowned in Your Divine Three-fold Essence. Fulfill my desires, for which I humbly beg You, With a heart brimming with love's fire.
1307 Eternal Love, Depth of Mercy,
O Triune Holiness, yet One God, whose bosom is full of love for all, as a
good Father You scorn no one. O Love of God, Living Fountain, pour Yourself
out upon us, Your unworthy creatures. May our misery not hold back the
torrents of Your love, for indeed, there is no limit to Your mercy.
1394 Monthly one-day retreat. In
the course of this retreat, the Lord has given me the light to know His will
more profoundly and to abandon myself completely to the holy will of God.
This light has confirmed me in profound peace, making me understand that I
should fear nothing except sin. Whatever God sends me, I accept with complete
submission to His holy will. Wherever He puts me, I will try faithfully to do
His holy will, as well as His wishes, to the extent of my power to do so,
even if the will of God were to be as hard and difficult for me as was the
will of the Heavenly Father for His Son, as He prayed in the Garden of
Olives. I have come to see that if the will of the Heavenly Father was
fulfilled in this way in His well-beloved Son, it will be fulfilled in us in
exactly the same way: by suffering, persecution, abuse, disgrace. It is
through all this that my soul becomes like unto Jesus. And the greater the
sufferings, the more I see that I am becoming like Jesus. This is the surest
way. If some other way were better, Jesus would have shown it to me.
Sufferings in no way take away my peace. On the other hand, although I enjoy
profound peace, that peace does not lessen my experience of suffering.
Although my face is often bowed to the ground, and my tears flow profusely,
at the same time my soul is filled with profound peace and happiness...
1439 + After I had gone into the
refectory, during the reading, my whole being found itself plunged in God.
Interiorly, I saw God looking at us with great pleasure. I remained alone
with the Heavenly Father. At that moment, I had a deeper knowledge of the
Three Divine Persons, whom we shall contemplate for all eternity and, after
millions of years, shall discover that we have just barely begun our
contemplation. Oh, how great is the mercy of God, who allows man to
participate in such a high degree in His divine happiness! At the same time,
what great pain pierces my heart [at the thought] that so many souls have
spurned this happiness.
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.
1516 My daughter, tell souls
that I am giving them My mercy as a defense. I Myself am fighting for them
and am bearing the just anger of My Father.
1541 My daughter, encourage
souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant
everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say
it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a
happy one.
Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy. Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness. Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior.
1543 Today toward evening, the
Lord said to me, Entrust yourself completely to Me at the hour of death,
and I will present you to My Father as My bride. And now I recommend that you
unite, in a special way, even your smallest deeds to My merits, and then My
Father will look upon them with love as if they were My own.
1544 Do not change your particular examen which I have given you through Father Andrasz; namely, that you unite yourself with Me continually. That is what I am clearly asking of you today. Be a child toward My representatives, because I borrow their lips to speak to you, so that you will have no doubts about anything.
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-60, 367, 491)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-526, 603-606, 626, 668-670, 994)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1032, 1061, 1121, 1177, 1201)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1264-1265, 1279, 1304, 1307)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1394, 1439, 1485, 1516, 1541)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1543-1544)
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Hulyo 19, 2017
Knowing the Father and the Son-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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