To Keep or To Abolish…
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March 7, 2018. Memorial
of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs
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Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his
disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the
prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a
letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore,
whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to
do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and
teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of
heaven."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I journey
through Lent I have a great desire to be close to You. I know that I am Your
creature and that I owe You all glory and homage. I want to glorify You by
following Your teaching. I need You to help me see clearly the truth of Your
teaching and to love You in return. Here I am Lord, hungry for You alone. I
know that You will not turn me away empty-handed.
Petition: Lord, teach me what
it means to fulfill the law.
1. The Spirit
Fulfills the Mere Letter: We can speak of fulfilling the law in two ways: by doing
everything that is asked or by completing that which is missing. Jesus
completes the law of the Old Testament with the new law of love – to love one
another as he has loved us. Jesus fulfills the law not by simply fulfilling
each of the many precepts, but by showing where all of the precepts have
their end: in loving God above all things. When we obey the law of love we
are fulfilling all of the laws – we are bringing them to their natural end.
2. The
All-Encompassing New Law: The law of love reaches to the ends of the earth. There is no
created being in the universe that is outside the law of love that Jesus has
come to teach us. There is no being, not even the smallest, that escapes the
demand of this law. When Jesus uses the metaphor, “the smallest letter or the
smallest part of a letter,” he is showing us the completeness of this law.
Love and its demands reach to the farthest ends of the universe, to the
smallest created being, and to the end of time. Am I convinced in my heart
and in my actions that the law of love asks me to love all people – not just
my family, friends and those who rub me the right way?
3. Seeking
Perfection: The
commandments of the old law as exemplified in the Ten Commandments (e.g. Thou
shall not kill; Thou shall not commit adultery; etc.) are grave
transgressions but easy to define, referring as they do to external actions.
Christ’s commandments (e.g. to not show anger; to not lust in the
heart; to forgive our enemies; etc.) have more subtle expressions, and
because of this often times they are more difficult to obey. Living these
commandments with the proper motivation and a considerate, dedicated attitude
is what makes a person great. Having love as the motivation of all of our
actions not only helps us make it to heaven, but also will win us a greater
share in God’s happiness and glory there.
Conversation with
Christ: Thank You, Lord, for
this time of prayer. Do not let me be content simply to do the minimum that
my faith asks of me. Do not let me be content simply with avoiding grave sin.
Help me to live the fullness of the law of charity. I want this Lent to be a
time of growth in love.
Resolution: When I am obeying the laws of the Church I will stop to reflect how they fit into the greater law of love.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
6 I am to write [3]
down the encounters of my soul with You, O God, at the moments of Your
special visitations. I am to write about You, O Incomprehensible in mercy
towards my poor soul. Your holy will is the life of my soul. I have received
this order through him who is for me Your representative here on earth, who
interprets Your holy Will to me. Jesus, You see how difficult it is for me to
write, how unable I am to put down clearly what I experience in my soul. O God,
can a pen write down that for which many a time there are no words? But You
give the order to write, O God; that is enough for me.
25 During the night, the Mother of
God visited me, holding the Infant Jesus in Her arms. My soul was filled with
joy, and I said, "Mary, my Mother, do You know how terribly I
suffer?" And the Mother of God answered me, I know how much you
suffer, but do not be afraid. I share with you your suffering, and I shall
always do so. She smiled warmly and disappeared. At once, strength and a
great courage sprang up anew in my soul; but that lasted only one day. It
seemed as though hell had conspired against me. A terrible hatred began to
break out in my soul, a hatred for all that is holy and divine. It seemed to
me that these spiritual torments would be my lot for the rest of my life. I
turned to the Blessed Sacrament and said to Jesus, "Jesus, my Spouse, do
You not see that my soul is dying because of its longing for You? How can You
hide Yourself from a heart that loves You so sincerely? Forgive me, Jesus;
may Your holy will be done in me. I will suffer silently like a dove, without
complaining. I will not allow my heart even one single cry of sorrowful
complaint."
53 For the present you are coming
to me for confession, but understand, Sister, that you must have a permanent
confessor; that is to say, a spiritual director."
I was very upset by this. I thought that I would get myself free from everything, and it turned out quite the opposite-an explicit command to follow the requests of Jesus. And now, still another torment, as I had no permanent confessor. Even if I went to the same confessor for a certain period of time, I could not open my soul to him in respect to these graces, and this caused me ineffable pain. So I asked Jesus to give these graces to someone else, because I did not know how to make use of them and was only wasting them. "Jesus, have mercy on me; do not entrust such great things to me, as You see that I am a bit of dust and completely inept." But the goodness of Jesus is infinite; He had promised me visible help here on earth, and a little while later I received it in Vilnius, in the person of Father Sopocko. I had already known him before coming to Vilnius, thanks to an interior vision. One day I saw him in our chapel between the altar and the confessional and suddenly heard a voice in my soul say, This is the visible help for you on earth. He will help you carry out My will on earth.
56 O my God, I understand well
that You demand this spiritual childhood[32]
of me, because You are constantly asking it of me through Your
representatives.
At the beginning of my religious life, suffering and adversities frightened and disheartened me. So I prayed continuously, asking Jesus to strengthen me and to grant me the power of His Holy Spirit that I might carry out His holy will in all things, because from the beginning I have been aware of my weakness. I know very well what I am of myself, because for this purpose Jesus has opened the eyes of my soul; I am an abyss of misery, and hence I understand that whatever good there is in my soul consists solely of His holy grace. The knowledge of my own misery allows me, at the same time, to know the immensity of Your mercy. In my own interior life, I am looking with one eye at the abyss of my misery and baseness, and with the other, at the abyss of Your mercy, O God.
O Divine Sun, in Your rays the
soul sees the tiniest specks of dust which displease You.
72 O Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call upon You and I beg Your mercy for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and unfathomable mercy, I plead with You for poor sinners. O Most Sacred Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable graces upon the entire human race, I beg of You light for poor sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Your own bitter Passion and do not permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Your most precious Blood. O Jesus, when I consider the great price of Your Blood, I rejoice at its immensity, for one drop alone would have been enough for the salvation of all sinners. Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equalled. Therefore, let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord, and place its hope in His mercy. God will not deny His mercy to anyone. Heaven and earth may change, but God's mercy will never be exhausted. Oh, what immense joy burns in my heart when I contemplate Your incomprehensible goodness, O Jesus! I desire to bring all sinners to Your feet that they may glorify Your mercy throughout endless ages. 73 O my Jesus, despite the deep night that is all around me and the dark clouds which hide the horizon, I know that the sun never goes out. O Lord, though I cannot comprehend You and do not understand Your ways, I nonetheless trust in Your mercy. If it is Your will, Lord, that I live always in such darkness, may You be blessed. I ask You only one thing, Jesus: do not allow me to offend You in any way. O my Jesus, You alone know the longings and the sufferings of my heart. I am glad I can suffer for You, however little. When I feel that the suffering is more than I can bear, I take refuge in the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and I speak to Him with profound silence.
497 O
Eternal Truth, Word Incarnate, who most faithfully fulfilled Your Father's
will, today I am becoming a martyr of Your inspirations, since I cannot carry
them out because I have no will of my own, though interiorly I see Your will
clearly. I submit in everything to the will of my superiors and my confessor.
I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your
representative. O my Jesus, it cannot be helped, but I give priority to the
voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me.
576 O Holy Trinity, Eternal God,
my spirit is drowned in Your beauty. The ages are as nothing in Your sight.
You are always the same. Oh, how great is Your majesty. Jesus, why do You
conceal Your majesty, why have You left Your heavenly throne and dwelt among
us? The Lord answered me, My daughter, love has brought Me here, and love
keeps Me here. My daughter, if you knew what great merit and reward is earned
by one act of pure love for Me, you would die of joy. I am saying this that
you may constantly unite yourself with Me through love, for this is the goal
of the life of your soul. This act is an act of the will. Know that a pure
soul is humble. When you lower and empty yourself before My majesty, I then
pursue you with My graces and make use of My omnipotence to exalt you
580 On a certain occasion, the
Lord said to me, I am more deeply wounded by the small imperfections of
chosen souls than by the sins of those living in the world. It made me
very sad that chosen souls make Jesus suffer, and Jesus told me, These
little imperfections are not all. I will reveal to you a secret of My Heart:
what I suffer from chosen souls. Ingratitude in return for so many graces is
My Heart's constant food, on the part of [such] a chosen soul. Their love is
lukewarm, and My Heart cannot bear it; these souls force Me to reject them.
Others distrust My goodness and have no desire to experience that sweet
intimacy in their own hearts, but go in search of Me, off in the distance,
and do not find Me. This distrust of My goodness hurts Me very much. If My
death has not convinced you of My love, what will? Often a soul wounds Me
mortally, and then no one can comfort Me. They use My graces to offend Me.
There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love.
They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The
loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot
help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or
love Me. You, who are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My
goodness, and thus you will comfort My Heart.
678 The essence of the virtues is the will of God. He who does the will
of God faithfully, practices all the virtues. In all the events and
circumstances of my life, I adore and bless the holy will of God. The holy
will of God is the object of my love. In the most secret depths of my soul, I
live according to His will. I act exteriorly according to what I recognize
inwardly as the will of God. Sweeter to me are the torments, sufferings,
persecutions and all manner of adversities by divine will than popularity,
praise and esteem by my own will.
724 On
the eve of the retreat, I started to pray that the Lord Jesus might give me
just a little health so that I could take part in the retreat, because I was
feeling so ill that I thought perhaps it might be my last. However, as soon
as I had started praying I felt a strange dissatisfaction. I interrupted the
prayer of supplication and began to thank the Lord for everything He sends
me, submitting myself completely to His holy will. Then I felt profound peace
of soul. + Faithful submission to the will of God, always and everywhere, in
all events and circumstances of life, gives great glory to God. Such
submission to the will of God carries more weight with Him than long fasts,
mortifications and the most severe penances. Oh, how great is the reward for
one act of loving submission to the will of God! As I write, my soul is
enraptured at the thought of how much God loves it and of the peace that my
soul already enjoys, here on earth.
954 Today
after Holy Communion, the Lord told me, My daughter, My delight is to
unite myself with you. It is when you submit yourself to My will that you
give Me the greatest glory and draw down upon yourself a sea of blessings. I
would not take such special delight in you if you were not living by my will.
O my sweet Guest, I am prepared for all sacrifices for Your sake, but You
know that I am weakness itself. Nevertheless, with You I can do all things. O
my Jesus, I beseech You, be with me at each instant.
1074 When I went for adoration, I
heard these words: My beloved daughter, write down these words, that today
My Heart has rested in this convent [the Cracow house]. Tell the world
about My mercy and My love.
The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them! My daughter, do whatever is within your power to spread devotion to My mercy. I will make up for what you lack. Tell aching mankind to snuggle close to My merciful Heart, and I will fill it -with peace. Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.
1075 Souls who spread the honor
of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her
infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the
Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend
itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed
itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it.
1076 Write this: Everything
that exists is enclosed in the bowels of My mercy, more deeply than an infant
in its mother's womb. How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins
of distrust wound Me most painfully.
1180 June
[July] 15, 1937. Once, I learned that I was to be transferred to another
house. My knowledge of this was purely interior. At the same time, I heard a
voice in my soul: Do not be afraid, My daughter; it is My will that you
should remain here. Human plans will be thwarted, since they must conform to
My will.
1181 When I was close to the Lord,
He said to me, Why are you afraid to begin the work which I have commanded
you to carry out? I answered, "Why do You leave me on my own at such
times, Jesus, and why do I not feel Your presence?" My daughter, even
though you do not perceive Me in the most secret depths of your heart, you
still cannot say that I am not there. I only remove from you the awareness of
My presence, and that should not be an obstacle to the carrying out of My
will. I do this to achieve My unfathomable ends, which you will know of later
on.
My daughter, know without doubt, and once and for all, that only mortal sin drives Me out of a soul, and nothing else. 1182 + Today the Lord said to me, My daughter, My pleasure and delight, nothing will stop Me from granting you graces. Your misery does not hinder My mercy. My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls-no one have I excluded! 1183 O Jesus, I want to live in the present moment, to live as if this were the last day of my life. I want to use every moment scrupulously for the greater glory of God, to use every circumstance for the benefit of my soul. I want to look upon everything, from the point of view that nothing happens without the will of God.
1184 On an earlier occasion.
In the evening, I saw the Lord Jesus upon the cross. From His hands, feet and side, the Most Sacred Blood was flowing. After some time, Jesus said to me, All this is for the salvation of souls. Consider well, My daughter, what you are doing for their salvation. I answered, "Jesus, when I look at Your suffering, I see that I am doing next to nothing for the salvation of souls." And the Lord said to me, Know, My daughter, that your silent day-to-day martyrdom in complete submission to My will ushers many souls into heaven. And when it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate My wounds, and you will rise above human scorn and judgment. Meditation on My Passion will help you rise above all things. I understood many things I had been unable to comprehend before.
1199 [July] 29. I am to leave for
Rabka today. I went into the chapel and asked the Lord Jesus for a safe
journey. But within my soul there was silence and darkness. I felt I was all
alone and had no one [to turn to]. I asked Jesus to be with me. Then I felt a
tiny ray of light in my soul as a sign that Jesus was with me but, after this
grace, the darkness and shadows in my soul increased. Then I said, "Your
will be done, for everything is possible to You." When I was on the
train and gazed through the window at the beautiful countryside and the
mountains, the torments of my soul grew even greater. As the sisters welcomed
me and began to surround me with their warmth, my sufferings redoubled.
1200 I would have like to hide and rest for a while in solitude, in a word, to be alone. At such moments, no creature is capable of giving me comfort, and even if I had wanted to say something about myself, I would have experienced new anguish. Therefore, I have kept silent at such moments and submitted myself, in silence, to the will of God-and that has given me relief. I demand nothing from creatures and communicate with them only in so far as is necessary. I will not take them into my confidence unless this is for the greater glory of God. My communing is with the angels [cf. Mt. 18:10; Ex. 23:20].
1202 I could not even go to Holy
Mass or receive Holy Communion today but, amidst the sufferings of body and
soul, I kept on repeating, "May the Lord's will be done. I know that
Your bounty is without limit." Then 1 heard an angel who sang out my
whole life history and everything it comprised. I was surprised, but also
strengthened.
1204 A retreat of suffering. O
Jesus, in these days of suffering, I am not capable of any kind of prayer.
The oppression of my body and soul has increased. O my Jesus, You do see that
Your child is on the decline. I am not forcing myself further, but simply
submitting my will to the will of Jesus. O Jesus, You are always Jesus to me.
1205 When I went to confession, I did not even know how to confess. However, the priest [probably Father Casimir Ratkiewicz [205]] recognized the condition of my soul at once and said to me, "Despite everything, you are on the way to salvation; you are on the right path, but God may leave your soul in this darkness and obscurity until death, and the former light may never return. But in all things abandon yourself to the will of God."
1207 August 10. Today I am
returning to Cracow, in the company of one of the sisters. My soul is
shrouded in suffering. I am continually uniting myself to Him by an act of
the will. He is my power and strength.
1208 May You be blessed, O God, for everything You send me. Nothing under the sun happens without Your will. I cannot penetrate Your secrets with regard to myself, but I press my lips to the chalice You offer me.
1237 O Jesus, what darkness is
enveloping me and what nothingness is penetrating me. But, my Jesus, do not
leave me alone; grant me the grace of faithfulness. Although I cannot
penetrate the mystery of God's visitation, it is in my power to say: Your
will be done.
1239 O living Host, O hidden
Jesus. You see the condition of my soul. Of myself, I am unable to utter Your
Holy Name. I cannot bring forth from my heart the fire of love but, kneeling
at Your feet, I cast upon the Tabernacle the gaze of my soul, a gaze of
faithfulness. As for You, You are ever the same, while within my soul a
change takes place. I trust that the time will come when You will unveil Your
countenance, and Your child will again see Your sweet face. I am astonished,
Jesus, that You can hide yourself from me for so long and that You can
restrain the enormous love You have for me. In the dwelling of my heart, I am
listening and waiting for Your coming, O only Treasure of my heart!
1241 + 0 my Jesus, when someone is
unkind and unpleasant toward us, it is difficult enough to bear this kind of
suffering. But this is very little in comparison to a suffering which I
cannot bear; namely, that which I experience when someone exhibits kindness
towards me and then lays snares at my feet at every step I take. What great
will power is necessary to love such a soul for God's sake. Many a time one
has to be heroic in loving such a soul as God demands. If contact with that
person were infrequent, it would be easier to endure, but when one lives in
close contact with the person and experiences this at each step, this demands
a very great effort.
1243 "These times of dryness
and stark awareness of one's wretchedness, which God has permitted, allow the
soul to know how little it can do by itself. They will teach you how much you
should appreciate God's graces. Secondly, faithfulness in all exercises and
duties, faithfulness in everything, just as in times of joy. Thirdly, as
regards the matters in question, be absolutely obedient to the Archbishop
[Jalbrzykowski] although, from time to time, the matter can be brought to his
attention, but peacefully. Sometimes, a little bitter truth is
necessary."
At the end of the conversation, I asked the priest to allow me to commune with Jesus as I had done formerly. He answered, "I cannot give orders to the Lord Jesus, but if He himself draws you to himself you may follow the attraction. However, always remember to show Him great reverence, for the Lord is great indeed. If you are truly seeking God's will in all this and desire to fulfill it, you can be at peace; the Lord will not allow any sort of error. As to the mortifications and sufferings, you will give me an account next time of how you carry them out. Place yourself in the hands of the Most Holy Mother."
1244 August 15, 1937. During
meditation, God's presence pervaded me keenly, and I was aware of the Virgin
Mary's joy at the moment of Her Assumption. Towards the end of the ceremony
carried out in honor of the Mother of God, I saw the Virgin Mary, and She
said to me, Oh, how very pleased I am with the homage of your love! And at
that moment She covered all the sisters of our Congregation with Her mantle.
With Her right hand, She clasped Mother General Michael to herself, and with
Her left hand She did so to me, while all the sisters were at Her feet,
covered with Her mantle. Then the Mother of God said, Everyone who
perseveres zealously till death in My Congregation will be spared the fire of
purgatory, and I desire that each one distinguish herself by the following
virtues: humility and meekness; chastity and love of God and neighbor;
compassion and mercy. After these words, the whole Congregation
disappeared from my sight, and I remained alone with the Most Holy Mother who
instructed me about the will of God and how to apply it to my life,
submitting completely to His most holy decrees. It is impossible for one to
please God without obeying His holy will. My daughter, I strongly
recommend that you faithfully fulfill all God's wishes, for that is most
pleasing in His holy eyes. I very much desire that you distinguish yourself
in this faithfulness in accomplishing God's will. Put the will of God before
all sacrifices and holocausts. While the heavenly Mother was talking to
me, a deep understanding of this will of God was entering my soul.
1255 "As concerns yourself,
Sister, it is good that you are remaining in a state of holy indifference in
everything that pertains to the will of God, and that you are better
maintaining a state of equilibrium. Please do your best to keep this
equanimity. Now, as regards all these matters, you are to depend exclusively
on Father Andrasz; I am in complete agreement with him. Do nothing on your
own, Sister, but in all matters take counsel from your spiritual director. I
beg you to keep your levelheadedness and as great a calm as possible.One more
thing-I am having printed the chaplet which is to be on the back of the
image, as well as the invocations that resemble a litany; these too will be
placed on the back. Another large image has also been printed, and with it a
few pages which contain the Novena to The Divine Mercy. [208]
Pray, Sister, that this be approved."
1256 [August] 30. Reverend Father Sopocko left this morning. When I was steeped in a prayer of thanksgiving for the great grace that I had received from God; namely, that of seeing Father, I became united in a special way with the Lord who said to me, He is a priest after My own Heart; his efforts are pleasing to Me. You see, My daughter, that My will must be done and that which I had promised you, I shall do. Through him I spread comfort to suffering and careworn souls. Through him it pleased Me to proclaim the worship of My mercy. And through this work of mercy more souls will come close to Me than otherwise would have, even if he had kept giving absolution day and night for the rest of his life, because by so doing, he would have labored only for as long as he lived; whereas, thanks to this work of mercy, he will be laboring till the end of the world.
1262 September 3. First Friday of
the month. During Holy Mass, I became united with God. Jesus gave me to know
that even the smallest thing does not happen on earth without His will. After
having seen this, my soul entered into an unusual repose; I found myself
completely at peace as to the work in its full extent. God can deal with me
as He pleases, and I will bless Him for everything.
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.... 1266 August 5, [1937]. [209] The Lord let me know how much our dear Mother Superior [Irene] is defending me against... not only by prayer but also by deed. Thank You, Jesus, for this grace. It will not go unrequited in my heart; when I am with Jesus, I do not forget about her. 1267 September 6, 1937. Today, I begin a new assignment. I go from the garden to the desert of the gate. [210] I went in to talk to the Lord for a while. I asked Him for a blessing and for graces to faithfully carry out the duties entrusted to me. I heard these words: My daughter, I am always with you. I have given you the opportunity to practice deeds of mercy which you will perform according to obedience. You will give Me much pleasure if, each evening, you will speak to Me especially about this task. I felt that Jesus had given me a new grace in relation to my new duties; but, despite this, I have locked myself deeper in His Heart.
1268 Today I felt more ill, but
Jesus has given me many more opportunities on this day to practice virtue. It
so happened that I was busier than usual, and the sister in charge of the
kitchen made it clear to me how irritated she was that I had come late for
dinner, although it was quite impossible for me to have come sooner. At any
rate, I felt so unwell that I had to ask Mother Superior to allow me to lie
down. I went to ask Sister N. to take my place, and again I got a scolding:
"What is this, Sister, you're so exhausted that you're going back to bed
again! Confound you with all this lying in bed!" I put up with all that,
but that wasn't the end. I still had to ask the sister who was in charge of
the sick to bring me my meal. When I told her this, she burst out of the
chapel into the corridor after me to give me a piece of her mind: "Why
on earth are you going to bed, Sister, etc...... I asked her not to bother
bringing me anything. I am writing all this very briefly because it is not my
intention to write about such things, and I am doing so merely to dissuade
souls from treating others in this way, for this is displeasing to the Lord.
In a suffering soul we should see Jesus Crucified, and not a loafer or burden
on the community. A soul who suffers with submission to the will of God draws
down more blessings on the whole convent than all the working sisters. Poor
indeed is a convent where there are no sick sisters. God often grants many
and great graces out of regard for the souls who are suffering, and He
withholds many punishments solely because of the suffering souls.
1701 I asked the Lord today that
He might deign to teach me about the interior life, because of myself I can
neither understand nor conceive anything perfectly. The Lord answered me,
I was your Teacher, I am and I will be; strive to make your heart like unto
My humble and gentle Heart. Never claim your rights. Bear with great calm and
patience everything that befalls you. Do not defend yourself when you are put
to shame, though innocent. Let others triumph. Do not stop being good when
you notice that your goodness is being abused. I Myself will speak up for you
when it is necessary. Be grateful for the smallest of My graces, because your
gratitude compels Me to grant you new graces...
1702 Towards the end of the Way of
the Cross which I was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the
souls of religious and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls. I
will allow convents and churches to be destroyed. I answered,
"Jesus, but there are so many souls praising You in convents." The
Lord answered, That praise wounds My Heart, because love has been banished
from convents. Souls without love and without devotion, souls full of egoism
and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full of deceit and
hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep them alive: My
Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off
them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them, because they are neither
good or bad. I called convents into being to sanctify the world through them.
It is from them that a powerful flame of love and sacrifice should burst
forth. And if they do not repent and become enkindled by their first love, I
will deliver them over to the fate of this world...
How can they sit on the promised throne of judgment to judge the world, when their guilt is greater than the guilt of the world? There is neither penance nor atonement. O heart, which received Me in the morning and at noon are all ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart specially chosen by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain? The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through...
1703 When I tried to intercede for
them, I could find nothing with which to excuse them and, being at the time
unable to think of anything in their defense, my heart was seized with pain,
and I wept bitterly. Then the Lord looked at me kindly and comforted me with
these words: Do not cry. There are still a great number of souls who love
Me very much, but My Heart desires to be loved by all and, because My love is
great, that is why I warn and chastise them.
1743 + God's Infinite Goodness in
Creating Mankind.
God, who in Your mercy have deigned to call man from nothingness into being, generously have You bestowed upon him nature and grace. But that seemed too little for Your infinite goodness. In Your mercy, O Lord, You have given us everlasting life. You admit us to Your everlasting happiness and grant us to share in Your interior life. And You do this solely out of Your mercy. You bestow on us the gift of Your grace, only because You are good and full of love. You had no need of us at all to be happy, but You, O Lord, want to share Your own happiness with us. But man did not stand the test. You could have punished him, like the angels, with eternal rejection, but here Your mercy appeared, and the very depths of Your being were moved with great compassion, and You promised to restore our salvation. It is an incomprehensible abyss of Your compassion that You did not punish us as we deserved. May Your mercy be glorified, O Lord; we will praise it for endless ages. And the angels were amazed at the greatness of the mercy which You have shown for mankind...
+ God's Infinite Goodness in
Redeeming Man.
1747 God, You could have saved
thousands of worlds with one word; a single sigh from Jesus would have
satisfied Your justice. But You Yourself, Jesus, purely out of love for us,
underwent such a terrible Passion. Your Father's justice would have been
propitiated with a single sigh from You, and all Your self-abasement is
solely the work of Your mercy and Your inconceivable love. On leaving the
earth, O Lord, You wanted to stay with us, and so You left us Yourself in the
Sacrament of the Altar, and You opened wide Your mercy to us. There is no
misery that could exhaust You; You have called us all to this fountain of
love, to this spring of God's compassion. Here is the tabernacle of Your
mercy, here is the remedy for all our ills. To You, O living spring of mercy,
all souls are drawn; some like deer, thirsting for Your love, others to wash
the wound of their sins, and still others, exhausted by life, to draw
strength. At the moment of Your death on the Cross, You bestowed upon us
eternal life; allowing Your most holy side to be opened, You opened an
inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, giving us Your dearest possession, the
Blood and Water from Your Heart. Such is the omnipotence of Your mercy. From
it all grace flows to us.
1754 Consider, My daughter, Who
it is to whom your heart is so closely united by the vows. Before I made the
world, I loved you with the love your heart is experiencing today and,
throughout the centuries, My love will never change.
1758 My daughter, consider the
life of God which is found in the Church for the salvation and the
sanctification of your soul. Consider the use that you make of these
treasures of grace, of these efforts of My love.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-6, 25, 53-56, 72-73, 497)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-576, 580, 678, 954)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1074-1076, 1180,-1184, 1199-1200)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1202, 1204-1205, 1207-1208)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1237, 1239, 1241, 1243-1244)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1255-1256, 1262, 1264-1268)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-VI-1701-1703, 1743, 1747, 1754, 1758)
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