God’s Testimony
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March 15, 2018. Thursday
of the Fourth Week of Lent
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John 5:31-47
Jesus
said to the Jews: "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be
verified. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that
the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and
he testified to the truth. I do not accept testimony from a human being, but
I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and
for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony
greater than John´s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these
works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never
heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in
you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the
Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they
testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life. I do
not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of
God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if
another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when
you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from
the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one
who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you
had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"
Introductory
Prayer:
Jesus, the gift of
faith permits me to soar higher. I believe in You! I lend myself to this
intricate duty of faith, and with a hopeful trust, I leap toward Your
infinite love. I love You, Lord. I have come to spend this time with You just
because I want to be with You.
Petition:
Lord, help me to
live with purity of intention.
1.
Seeking Human Praise: Jesus said, “I do not accept human praise.” Why? His Father
deserves all the credit for anything that exists because, after all, he
created everything. Knowing and accepting this is indeed a quick path to
holiness. Jesus is God, but he leaves us a splendid example of how man should
search for God’s glory and not his own. When we look for our own “fan club,”
we are really stripping God of the glory that he alone deserves. When we seek
praise from men and work hard to be accepted by them, we are standing before
a guillotine that severs a head from its body. However, by purifying our
intentions and glorifying God alone through all our actions and thoughts,
eternal life is merited for us and for many souls.
2.
The Proper Motives for Our Deeds: Self-seeking doesn’t work. True, selfless
love does. There are some advantages to living a life that seeks only God’s
glory. The benefit achieved is order. We learn to maintain the proper
hierarchy in our values and to keep things in their place. When parents need
to punish a wayward child, their question is: “Are we punishing him because
he has done something wrong and needs to be taught a lesson?” Or do they
allow their anger to get the best of them, and the punishment then becomes a
release valve for their fury? Likewise, in our use of the material goods we
have at our disposal, do we use them out of pure love of God or only for our
comfort?
3.
True Peace of Heart: When children do something wrong, they usually act nervously
when their wrongdoing is uncovered. However, when they are mistakenly blamed,
they show a convincing innocence, and the accuser retracts in time to avoid
harm. The same could be said about purity of intention. If a soul labors only
for God’s glory, then a certain guarantee of fulfillment necessarily
accompanies his destiny. No matter how many obstacles and misunderstandings
might besiege him, the soul who follows God’s will enjoys peace.
Conversation
with Christ:
Lord Jesus, You
teach me in the Gospel to add a supernatural dimension to all my enterprises
and efforts. This mortal existence on earth is a mere drop in the ocean
compared to eternity that will quickly engulf me. Help me to do all for Your
greater glory.
Resolution:
In my conversations
today, I will not brag about myself. I will try to focus the
conversation on the interests of others.
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.
24
One day, just as I had awakened, when I was putting myself in the presence of
God, I was suddenly overwhelmed by despair. Complete darkness in the soul. I
fought as best I could till noon. In the afternoon, truly deadly fears began
to seize me; my physical strength began to leave me. I went quickly to my
cell, fell on my knees before the Crucifix and began to cry out for mercy.
But Jesus did not hear my cries. I felt my physical strength leave me
completely. I fell to the ground, despair flooding my whole soul. I suffered
terrible tortures in no way different from the torments of hell. I was in
this state for three quarters of an hour. I wanted to go and see the
Directress, but was too weak. I wanted to shout but I had no voice.
Fortunately, one of the sisters [another novice, Sister Placida Putyra] came
into my cell. Finding me in such a strange condition, she immediately told
the Directress about it. Mother came at once. As soon as she entered the cell
she said, "In the name of holy obedience [16]
get up from the ground." Immediately some force raised me up from the
ground and I stood up, close to the dear Mother Directress. With kindly words
she began to explain to me that this was a trial sent to me by God, saying,
"Have great confidence; God is always our Father, even when He sends us
trials."
I returned to my duties as if I had come out from the tomb, my senses saturated with what my soul had experienced. During the evening service, my soul began to agonize again in a terrible darkness. I felt that I was in the power of the Just God, and that I was the object of His indignation. During these terrible moments I said to God, "Jesus, who in the Gospel compare Yourself to a most tender mother," I trust in Your words because You are Truth and Life. In spite of everything, Jesus, I trust in You in the face of every interior sentiment which sets itself against hope. Do what You want with me; I will never leave You, because You are the source of my life." Only one who has lived through similar moments can understand how terrible is this torment of the soul.
76 O my Jesus, direct my mind,
take possession of my whole being, enclose me in the depths of Your heart,
and protect me against the assaults of the enemy. My only hope is in You.
Speak through my mouth when I, wretchedness itself, find myself with the
mighty and wise, so that they will know that this undertaking is Yours and
comes from You.
Darkness and Temptations
77 My mind became dimmed in a
strange way; no truth seemed clear to me. When people spoke to me about God,
my heart was like a rock. I could not draw from it a single sentiment of love
for Him. When I tried, by an act of the will, to remain close to Him, I
experienced great torments, and it seemed to me that I was only provoking God
to an even greater anger. It was absolutely impossible for me to meditate as
I had been accustomed to do in the past. I felt in my soul a great void, and
there was nothing with which I could fill it. I began to suffer from a great
hunger and yearning for God, but I saw my utter powerlessness. I tried to
read slowly, sentence by sentence, and to meditate in this way, but this also
was of no avail. I understood nothing of what I had read.
The abyss of my misery was constantly before my eyes. Every time I entered the chapel for some spiritual exercise, I experienced even worse torments and temptations. More than once, all through Holy Mass, I had to struggle against blasphemous thoughts which were forcing themselves to my lips. I felt an aversion for the Holy Sacraments, and it seemed to me that I was not profiting from them in any way. It was only out of obedience to my confessor that I frequented them, and this blind obedience was for me the only path I could follow and my very last hope of survival. The priest explained to me that these were trials sent by God and that, in the situation I was in, not only was I not offending God, but I was most pleasing to Him. "This is a sign," he told me, "that God loves you very much and that He has great confidence in you, since He is sending you such trials." But these words brought me no comfort; it seemed to me that they did not apply to me at all. One thing did surprise me: it often happened that, at the time when I was suffering greatly, these terrible torments would disappear suddenly just as I was approaching the confessional; but as soon as I had left the confessional, all these torments would again seize me with even greater ferocity. I would then fall on my face before the Blessed Sacrament repeating these words: "Even if You kill me, still will I trust in You!" [cf. Job 13:15] It seemed to me that I would die in these agonies. But the most terrible thought for me was the conviction that I had been rejected by God. Then other thoughts came to me: why strive to acquire virtues and do good works? why mortify and annihilate yourself? what good is it to take vows? to pray? to sacrifice and immolate yourself? why sacrifice myself all the time? what good is it - if I am already rejected by God? why all these efforts? And here, God alone knew what was going on in my heart.
97 Faith staggers under the
impact; the struggle is fierce. The soul tries hard to cling to God by an act
of will. With God's permission, Satan goes even further: hope and love are
put to the test. These temptations are terrible. God supports the soul in
secret, so to speak. The soul is not aware of this, but otherwise it would be
impossible to stand firm; and God knows very well how much He can allow to
befall a soul. The soul is tempted to unbelief in respect to revealed truths
and to insincerity toward the confessor. Satan says to it, "Look, no one
understands you; why speak about all this?" Words that terrify it sound
in its ears, and it seems to the soul that it is uttering these against God. It
sees what it does not want to see. It hears what it does not want to hear.
And, oh, it is a terrible thing at times like these not to have an
experienced confessor! The soul carries the whole burden alone. However, one
should make every effort to find, if it is at all possible, a well-informed
confessor, for the soul can collapse under the burden and come to the very
edge of the precipice. All these trials are heavy and difficult. God does not
send them to a soul which has not already been admitted to a deeper intimacy
with Him and which has not yet tasted the divine delights. Besides, in this
God has His own plans, which for us are impenetrable. God often prepares a
soul in this way for His future designs and great works. He wants to try it
as pure gold is tried. But this is not yet the end of the testing; there is
still the trial of trials, the complete abandonment of the soul by God.
God, One in the Holy Trinity.
283 I want to love You as no human
soul has ever loved You before; and although I am utterly miserable and
small, I have nevertheless cast the anchor of my trust deep down into the
abyss of Your mercy, O my God and Creator! In spite of my great misery I fear
nothing, but hope to sing You a hymn of glory for ever. Let no soul, even the
most miserable, fall prey to doubt; for, as long as one is alive, each one
can become a great saint, so great is the power of God's grace. It remains
only for us not to oppose God's action.
304 +O my Jesus, my only hope,
thank You for the book which You have opened before my soul's eyes. That book
is Your Passion which You underwent for love of me. It is from this book that
I have learned how to love God and souls. In this book there are found for us
inexhaustible treasures. O Jesus, how few souls understand You in Your
martyrdom of love! Oh, how great is the fire of purest love which burns in
Your Most Sacred Heart! Happy the soul that has come to understand the love
of the Heart of Jesus!
308 1934, Holy Thursday. Jesus
said to me, I desire that you make an offering of yourself for sinners and
especially far those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy.
God and Souls. An Act of Oblation.
309 Before heaven and earth,
before all the choirs of Angels, before the Most Holy Virgin Mary, before all
the Powers of heaven, I declare to the One Triune God that today, in union
with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I make a voluntary offering of myself
for the conversion of sinners, especially for those souls who have lost hope
in God's mercy. This offering consists in my accepting, with total subjection
to God's will, all the sufferings, fears and terrors with which sinners are
filled. In return, I give them all the consolations which my soul receives
from my communion with God. In a word, I offer everything for them: Holy
Masses, Holy Communions, penances, mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the
blows, blows of divine justice, because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in
this way I want to make amends to You for the souls that do not trust in Your
goodness. I hope against all hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my
God, my portion-my portion forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my
own strength, but on the strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ.
I will daily repeat this act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following
prayer which You yourself have taught me, Jesus:
"O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
S. M. Faustina of the Blessed
Sacrament
Holy Thursday, during Holy Mass, March 29, 1934.
310 I
am giving you a share in the redemption of mankind. You are solace in My
dying hour.
317 O my God, my only hope, I have
placed all my trust in You, and I know I shall not be disappointed.
319 August 9, 1934. Night adoration
on Thursdays.[79] I made my hour of adoration from eleven o'clock till
midnight. I offered it for the conversion of hardened sinners, especially for
those who have lost hope in God's mercy. I was reflecting on how much God had
suffered and on how great was the love He had shown for us, and on the fact
that we still do not believe that God loves us so much. O Jesus, who can
understand this? What suffering it is for our Savior! How can He convince us
of His love if even His death cannot convince us? I called upon the whole of
heaven to join me in making amends to the Lord for the ingratitude of certain
souls.
343 True love is measured by the thermometer of
suffering. Jesus, I thank You for the little daily crosses, for opposition to
my endeavors, for the hardships of communal life, for the misinterpretation
of my intentions, for humiliations at the hands of others, for the harsh way
in which we are treated, for false suspicions, for poor health and loss of
strength, for self-denial, for dying to myself, for lack of recognition in
everything, for the upsetting of all my plans.
Thank You, Jesus, for interior sufferings, for dryness of spirit, for terrors, fears and incertitudes, for the darkness and the deep interior night, for temptations and various ordeals, for torments too difficult to describe, especially for those which no one will understand, for the hour of death with its fierce struggle and all its bitterness. I thank You, Jesus, You who first drank the cup of bitterness before You gave it to me, in a much milder form. I put my lips to this cup of Your holy will. Let all be done according to Your good pleasure; let that which Your wisdom ordained before the ages be done to me. I want to drink the cup to its last drop, and not seek to know the reason why. In bitterness is my joy, in hopelessness is my trust. In You, O Lord, all is good, all is a gift of Your paternal Heart. I do not prefer consolations over bitterness or bitterness over consolations, but thank You, O Jesus, for everything! It is my delight to fix my gaze upon You, O incomprehensible God! My spirit abides in these mysterious dwelling places, and there I am at home. I know very well the dwelling place of my Spouse. I feel there is not a single drop of blood in me that does not burn with love for You. O Uncreated Beauty, whoever comes to know You once cannot love anything else. I can feel the bottomless abyss of my soul, and nothing will fill it but God himself. I feel that I am drowned in Him like a single grain of sand in a bottomless ocean.
356 O Blessed Host, in whom is
contained the testament of God's mercy for us, and especially for poor
sinners.
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities, flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners. O Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners. O Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and without. O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which inundate the earth. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will understand us. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life. O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors. O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the efforts of hell. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble and mortal sweat moistens my brow. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot. O Blessed Host I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by others. O Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy.
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.
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.
531
November 24, 1935. Sunday, first day. I went at once before the Blessed
Sacrament and offered myself with Jesus, present in the Most Holy Sacrament,
to the Everlasting Father. Then I heard these words in my soul: Your
purpose and that of your companions is to unite yourselves with Me as closely
as possible; through love You will reconcile earth with heaven, you will
soften the just anger of God, and you will plead for mercy for the world. I
place in your care two pearls very precious to My Heart: these are the souls
of priests and religious. You will pray particularly for them; their power will
come from your diminishment. You will join prayers, fasts, mortifications,
labors and all sufferings to My prayer, fasting, mortification, labors and
sufferings and then they will have power before My Father.
535
Obedience. I have come to do My Father's will. I obeyed My parents, I
obeyed My tormentors and now I obey the priests. I understand, O Jesus,
the spirit of obedience and in what it consists. It includes not only
external performance, but also the reason, the will and judgment. Obeying our
superiors, we obey God. It makes no difference whether it is an angel or a
man who, acting in God's stead, gives me orders; I must always obey. I am not
going to write much about the vows; they are clear and specific. I will
rather put down a few general thoughts about this congregation.
570 On
one occasion, I saw Jesus in a bright garment; this was in the greenhouse.
[He said to me,] Write what I say to you. My delight is to be united with
you. With great desire, I wait and long for the time when I shall take up My
residence sacramentally in your convent. My spirit will rest in that convent
and I will bless its neighborhood in a special way. Out of love for you all,
I will avert any punishments which are rightly meted out by My Father's
justice. My daughter, I have inclined My heart to your requests. Your
assignment and duty here on earth is to beg for mercy for the whole world. No
soul will be justified until it turns with confidence to My mercy, and this
is why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy. On that
day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable mercy. I am
making you the administrator of My mercy. Tell the confessor that the Image
is to be on view in the church and not within the enclosure in that convent.
By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so let every
soul have access to it.
571 O my Jesus, Eternal Truth, I fear nothing, neither hardships nor sufferings; I fear only one thing, and that is to offend You. My Jesus, I would rather not exist than make You sad. Jesus, You know that my love knows no one but You. My soul is absorbed in You. 572 Oh, how great should be the ardor of every soul who will live in that convent, since God desires to come and live with us! Let everyone remember that if we religious do not intercede before God, who will? Each of us should burn like a pure sacrifice before the majesty of God, but to be pleasing to God, each one should unite herself closely to Jesus. It is only with Him, in Him and through Him that we can be pleasing to God.
650 O my Jesus, my Master and
Director, strengthen and enlighten me in these difficult moments of my life.
I expect no help from people; all my hope is in You. I feel alone in the face
of Your demands, O Lord. Despite the fears and qualms of my nature, I am
fulfilling Your holy will and desire to fulfill it as faithfully as possible
throughout my life and in my death. Jesus, with You I can do all things. Do
with me as You please; only give me Your merciful Heart and that is enough
for me.
O Jesus my Lord, help me. Let what You have planned before all ages happen to me. I am ready at each beckoning of Your holy will. Enlighten my mind that I may know Your will. O God, You who pervade my soul, You know that I desire nothing but Your glory. O Divine Will, You are the delight of my heart, the food of my soul, the light of my intellect, the omnipotent strength of my will; for when I unite myself with Your will, O Lord, Your power works through me and takes the place of my feeble will. Each day, I seek to carry out God's wishes
681 + Amid the greatest torments,
I fix the gaze of my soul upon Jesus Crucified; I do not expect help from
people, but place my trust in God. In His unfathomable mercy lies all my
hope.
687 Once, as I was going down the
hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my soul: Say unceasingly the
chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great
mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their
last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were
to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite
mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to
grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.
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.
908 + O
Jesus, how sorry I feel for poor sinners. Jesus, grant them contrition and
repentance. Remember Your own sorrowful Passion. I know Your infinite mercy
and cannot bear it that a soul that has cost You so much should perish.
Jesus, give me the souls of sinners; let Your mercy rest upon them. Take
everything away from me, but give me souls. I want to become a sacrificial
host for sinners. Let the shell of my body conceal my offering, for Your Most
Sacred Heart is also hidden in a Host, and certainly You are a living
sacrifice.
Transform me into Yourself, O Jesus, that I may be a living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at each moment for poor sinners. The sacrifice of my spirit is hidden under the veil of the body; the human eye does not perceive it, and for that reason it is pure and pleasing to You. O my Creator and Father of great mercy, I trust in You, for You are Goodness Itself. Souls, do not be afraid of God, but trust in Him, for He is good, and His mercy is everlasting.
949 Let the doubting soul read
these considerations on Divine Mercy and become trusting. [171]
Divine Mercy, gushing forth from the bosom of the Father, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, incomprehensible mystery, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, fount gushing forth from the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomed by any intellect, human or angelic, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, from which wells forth all life and happiness, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, better than the heavens, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, source of miracles and wonders, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, encompassing the whole universe, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, descending to earth in the Person of the Incarnate Word, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, which flowed out from the open wound of the Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, enclosed in the Heart of Jesus for us, and especially for sinners, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomed in the institution of the Sacred Host, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the founding of Holy Church, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in our justification through Jesus Christ, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, accompanying us through our whole life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, embracing us especially at the hour of death, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, endowing us with immortal life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, accompanying us every moment of our life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, shielding us from the fire of hell, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the conversion of hardened sinners, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, astonishment for Angels, incomprehensible to Saints, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomed in all the mysteries of God, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, lifting us out of every misery, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, source of our happiness and joy, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in calling us forth from nothingness to existence, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, embracing all the works of His hands, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, crown of all of God's handiwork, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in which we are all immersed, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, sweet relief for anguished hearts, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, only hope of despairing souls, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, repose of hearts, peace amidst fear, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, delight and ecstasy of holy souls, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, inspiring hope against all hope, I trust in You.
950 + Eternal God, in whom mercy
is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us
and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair
nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your
holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
951 + O incomprehensible and
limitless Mercy Divine, To extol and adore You worthily, who can? Supreme
attribute of Almighty God, You are the sweet hope for sinful man.
Into one hymn yourselves unite, stars, earth and sea, and in one accord, thankfully and fervently sing of the incomprehensible Divine Mercy.
955
February 15, 1937. Today, I heard these words in my soul: Host pleasing to
My Father, know, My daughter, that the entire Holy Trinity finds Its special
delight in you, because you live exclusively by the will of God. No sacrifice
can compare with this.
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.
965 Jesus looked at me and said, Souls
perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of
salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy,
they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls
about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice,
is near.
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.
995 + Although it is not easy to live in constant agony, To be nailed to the cross of various pains, Still, I am inflamed with love by loving, And like a Seraph I love God, though I am but weakness. Oh, great is the soul that, midst suffering, Stands faithfully by God and does His will And remains uncomforted midst great rainbows and storms, For God's pure love sweetens her fate. It is no great thing to love God in prosperity And thank Him when all goes well, But rather to adore Him midst great adversities And love Him for His own sake and place one's hope in Him. When the soul is in the shadows of Gethsemane, All alone in the bitterness of pain, It ascends toward the heights of Jesus, And though ever drinking bitterness-it is not sad. When the soul does the will of the Most High God, Even amidst constant pain and torments, Having pressed its lips to the chalice proferred, It becomes mighty, and nothing will daunt it. Though tortured, it repeats: Your will be done, Patiently awaiting the moment of its transfiguration, For, though in deepest darkness, it hears the voice of Jesus: You are Mine, And this it will know fully when the veil falls.
998 Today, I took part in a
one-day retreat. When I was at the last conference, [177]
the priest was speaking of how much the world needs God's mercy, and that
this seems to be a special time when people have great need of prayer and
God's mercy. Then I heard a voice in my soul: These words are for you. Do
all you possibly can for this work of My mercy. I desire that My mercy be
worshiped, and I am giving mankind the last hope of salvation; that is,
recourse to My mercy. My Heart rejoices in this feast. After these words,
I understood that nothing can dispense me from the obligation which the Lord
demands from me.
1001 +
J.M.J.
Thank You, O Lord, my Master, That You have transformed me entirely into Yourself, And accompany me through life's toils and labors; I fear nothing when I have You in my heart.
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.
1041 An
ardent desire for this Feast [181] is
burning up my whole soul. In fervent prayer for the hastening of the Feast I
find some relief, and I have begun a novena for the intention of certain
priests that God may grant them light and inspiration to apply for the
promulgation of this Feast, and that the Spirit of God inspire the Holy
Father regarding the entire matter.
The novena consists of an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. I have implored God to hasten this Feast and have asked the Holy Spirit to inspire certain people regarding this whole matter. I am finishing this novena on Holy Thursday. 1042 + March 23, 1937. Today is the seventh day of the novena. I have received a great and inconceivable grace: the Most Merciful Jesus has promised that I will be present at the celebration of this solemn Feast.
1044
Suddenly, God's presence took hold of me, and at once I saw myself in Rome,
in the Holy Father's chapel and at the same time I was in our chapel. And the
celebration of the Holy Father and the entire Church was closely connected
with our chapel and, in a very special way, with our Congregation. And I took
part in the solemn celebration simultaneously here and in Rome, for the
celebration was so closely connected with Rome that, even as I write, I
cannot distinguish the two but I am writing it down as I saw it. I saw the
Lord Jesus in our chapel, exposed in the monstrance on the high altar. The
chapel was adorned as for a feast, and on that day anyone who wanted to come
was allowed in. [182] The
crowd was so enormous that the eye could not take it all in. Everyone was
participating in the celebrations with great joy, and many of them obtained
what they desired. The same celebration was held in Rome, in a beautiful
church, and the Holy Father, with all the clergy, was celebrating this Feast,
and then suddenly I saw Saint Peter, who stood between the altar and the Holy
Father. I could not hear what Saint Peter said but I saw that the Holy Father
understood his words....
1047
Then suddenly I saw on our altar the living Lord Jesus, just as He is
depicted in the image. Yet I felt that the sisters and all the people did not
see the Lord Jesus as I saw Him. Jesus looked with great kindness and joy at
the Holy Father, at certain priests, at the entire clergy, at the people and
at our Congregation.
1115
May 4. Today I went to see Mother General [Michael] for a moment and asked
her, "Dear Mother, have you had any inspiration regarding my leaving the
convent?" Mother General answered, "Until the present, Sister, I
have always restrained you, but now I leave you complete freedom to choose to
do as you wish; you can leave the Congregation or you can stay." So I
answered, "Very well." I thought of writing immediately to the Holy
Father to ask him to release me from my vows. [194] When
I had left Mother General, darkness once again descended upon my soul, as it
had in the past. It is strange that, each time I ask permission to leave the
Congregation, this darkness invades my soul, and I feel as though I have been
left completely on my own. While experiencing this torment of the spirit, I
decided to go immediately to Mother and tell her about my strange torment and
struggle. Mother answered, "That leaving of yours is a temptation."
After talking to her for a while I felt some relief, but the darkness
persisted. "This Divine Mercy is a beautiful thing, and it must be a
great work of the Lord, since Satan opposes it so much and wants to destroy
it." Such were the words of our beloved Mother General.
1116 No
one can understand or comprehend, nor can I myself describe, my torments. But
there can be no sufferings greater than this. The sufferings of the martyrs
are not greater because, at such times, death would be a relief for me. There
is nothing to which I can compare these sufferings, this endless agony of the
soul.
1118 My God! In these difficult
moments my spiritual director [Father Andrasz] is away, for he has gone to
Rome. Jesus, since You have taken him away from me, guide me Yourself,
because You alone know how much I can bear. I believe firmly that God cannot
give me more than I can bear. I trust in His mercy.
1123 Oh, how sweet it is to have
in the depth of one's soul that which the Church tells us we must believe.
When my soul is immersed in love, I solve the most intricate questions
clearly and quickly. Only love is able to cross over precipices and mountain
peaks. Love, once again, love.
1558 February 2, [1938]. Darkness
of the soul. Today is the Feast of the Mother of God, and in my soul it is so
dark. The Lord has hidden Himself, and I am alone, all alone. My mind has
become so dimmed that I see only phantasies about me. Not a single ray of
light penetrates my soul. I do not understand myself or those who speak to
me. Frightful temptations regarding the holy faith assail me. O my Jesus,
save me. I cannot say anything more. I cannot describe these things in
detail, for I fear lest someone be scandalized on reading this. I am
astounded that such torments could befall a soul. O hurricane, what are you
doing to the boat of my heart? This storm has lasted the whole day and night.
When Mother Superior [Irene] came in to see me and asked, "Would you like to take advantage of this occasion, Sister, since Father An. [Andrasz] is coming to hear confessions?" I answered, no. It seemed to me that Father would not understand me, nor would I be able to make a confession. I spent the whole night with Jesus in Gethsemane. From my breast there escaped one continuous moan. A natural dying will be much easier, because then one is in agony and will die; while here, one is in agony, but cannot die. O Jesus, I never thought such suffering could exist. Nothingness: that is the reality. O Jesus, save me! I believe in You with all my heart. So many times have I seen the radiance of Your face, and now, where are You, Lord?... I believe, I believe, and again I believe in You, Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in all the truths which Your holy Church gives me to believe... But the darkness does not recede, and my spirit plunges into even greater agony. And at that moment, such terrible torment overwhelmed me that now I am amazed at myself that I did not breathe my last, but this was for only a brief instant.
1568 O my Jesus, I believe in Your
words and no longer have any doubt about this because in the course of one
conversation with Mother Superior [Irene], she told me to write more about
Your mercy. That statement was very much in accord with Your request. O my
Jesus, I now understand that if You demand something from a soul, You also
inspire the superiors to allow us to fulfill Your demands, even though it
sometimes happens that we do not receive permission at once, and our patience
is often put to the test...
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-1-2, 24, 68, 76-77, 97, 283, 304)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-308-310, 317, 319, 343, 356)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-525-526, 531, 535, 570-572, 650)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-681, 687, 746, 908, 949, 950-951)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-955-956, 965, 994-995, 998)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1001, 1032, 1041-1042, 1044, 1047)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1115-1116, 1118, 1123)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1558, 1568)
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