A
Journey of Faith and Love
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December 21, 2018. Friday of the Third Week
of Advent
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Father
Matthew Kaderabek, LC
Luke 1:39-45
During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill
country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the infant
leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in
a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my
Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached
my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, help me to
settle my mind and my heart. I know that You are present in this prayer. I
want to turn aside all distractions. Increase my faith in Your action in my
life. You are leading me to Yourself. Help me to place myself more fully in Your
hands. Increase my faith so that I will do anything and suffer anything for You.
Use me as an instrument of Your grace in the lives of those I meet today.
Petition: Lord,
help me to follow Mary’s example of faith and love and bring You to others
this Christmas.
1. Mary, Our Advent Model: Mary is truly the model of how we should be living Advent in
preparing for Christ’s arrival. God the Father prepared her from the first
moment of her conception to be the worthy mother of his Son. Like a faithful
daughter of Israel, she had prayed throughout her youth for the coming of the
Messiah. When she was a young lady, she discovered that she was part of God’s
answer to that prayer, but in a way that would have far exceeded any Hebrew
maiden’s prayers: not only would the Messiah be her son, but her son would
also be God. Her “fiat”, her wholehearted “yes!” to the Archangel Gabriel,
launched the proximate preparation for the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Let us
enter into Mary’s response of faith, which is a guide for us along our own
pilgrimage of faith. Let us listen to the beat of Mary’s contemplative heart,
so that our Christmas may be as fruitful as that first Christmas.
2. Someone Who Loves Takes Notice of the Details: No sooner had the Archangel left Mary in
Nazareth after announcing her important role in God’s incredible plan of
salvation than Mary herself made plans to depart. She went with haste to help
her elderly kinswoman Elizabeth who was pregnant for the first time. Gabriel
had not instructed Mary to go to Elizabeth’s aid, nor did he suggest it.
Mary’s great love was sufficient to cause her to spring into action and
embark upon the long sixty-mile journey to Elizabeth’s hometown outside
Jerusalem. In undertaking this challenging and potentially
dangerous journey, Mary showed — as she did at the wedding feast in Cana —
that someone who loves takes notice of the details. She showed that
someone who loves does whatever possible to lend a helping hand, even at the
cost of considerable sacrifice. We can imagine that this was Mary’s attitude
from her earliest childhood.
3. Be A Missionary — Bring Christ! By going to Elizabeth’s aid, Mary — carrying
the tiny Jesus in her womb — became the first missionary, the first bearer of
the Good News that would change all of human history. Mary was able to bring
incredible joy to both Elizabeth and John the Baptist in her womb precisely
because she was bringing Christ. And Mary was able to burst out with her
beautiful Magnificat for the very same reason. To bring joy to others this
Christmas, we really have to bring them Christ. He is the greatest gift we
could ever bring to someone we love — all the material goods in the world
fall flat in comparison. Without sharing Jesus, we are not giving our loved
ones anything that is truly lasting. Bring Christ and you bring everything.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, it is clear that Your mother wants me to learn
from her example. She inspires me to bring You to others this Christmas
season. I know plenty of people who desperately need You in their lives, who
need Your forgiveness, who hunger for Your love and presence, perhaps without
even knowing it. I know that my loving relationship with You is never meant
to be kept to myself; it is a gift meant to be shared. Your mother’s example
shows me the way to live Advent well and explicitly challenges me to be a
missionary by bringing You to the world.
Resolution: I will share my faith this Christmas season with a friend or
relative in need.
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."
116 My Jesus, You know what my soul goes through at the
recollection of these sufferings. I have often marveled that the angels and
saints hold their peace at the sight of a soul suffering like that. Yet they
have special love for us at such moments. My soul has often cried out after
God, as a little child who cries as loudly as he can when his mother covers
her face and he cannot recognize her. O my Jesus, honor and glory to You for
these trials of love! Great and incomprehensible is your mercy. All that You
intended for my soul, O Lord, is steeped in Your mercy.
161 Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart,
You are my strength, O sturdy
anchor!
You are the weak heart's shield
and protection.
Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable;
At once both Virgin and Mother,
You are beautiful as the sun,
without blemish,
And your soul is beyond all
comparison.
Your beauty has delighted the eye
of the Thrice-Holy One.
He descended from heaven, leaving
His eternal throne,
And took Body and Blood of your
heart
And for nine months lay hidden in
a Virgin's Heart.
O Mother, Virgin, purest of all
lilies,
Your heart was Jesus' first
tabernacle on earth.
Only because no humility was
deeper than yours
Were you raised above the choirs of Angels and above all
Saints.
220
O my eternal Lord and Creator, how am I going to thank You for this great
favor; namely, that You have deigned to choose miserable me to be Your
betrothed and that You are to unite me to yourself in an eternal bond? O
dearest Treasure of my heart, I offer You all the adoration and thanksgiving
of the Saints and of all the choirs of Angels, and I unite myself in a
special way with Your Mother. O Mary, my Mother, I humbly beg of You, cover
my soul with Your virginal cloak at this very important moment of my life, so
that thus I may become dearer to Your Son and may worthily praise Your Son's
mercy before the whole world and throughout all eternity.
260 I had permission to visit Czestochowa while on my
journey. I saw the Mother of God [image] for the first time, when I went to
attend the unveiling of the image at five in the morning. I prayed without
interruption until eleven, and it seemed to me that I had just come. The
superior of the house there [Mother Serafin[75]]
sent a sister for me, to tell me to come to breakfast and said she was
worried that I would miss my train. The Mother of God told me many things. I
entrusted my perpetual vows to Her. I felt that I was her child and that She
was my Mother. She did not refuse any of my requests.
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!"
316 Once, the Mother of God came to visit me. She was sad.
Her eyes were cast down. She made it clear that She wanted to say something,
and yet, on the other hand, it was as if She did not want to speak to me
about it. When I understood this, I began to beg the Mother of God to tell me
and to look at me. Just then Mary looked at me with a warm smile and said,
You are going to experience certain sufferings because of an illness and the
doctors; you will also suffer much because of the image, but do not be afraid
of anything. The next day I fell ill and suffered a great deal, just as
the Mother of God had told me. But my soul was ready for the sufferings.
Suffering is a constant companion of my life.
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.
564 On the feast day of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, during Holy Mass, I heard the
rustling of garments and saw the most holy Mother of God in a most beautiful
radiance. Her white garment was girdled with a blue sash. She said to me, You
give Me great joy when you adore the Holy Trinity for the graces and
privileges which were accorded Me. And She immediately disappeared.
620 Mary is my Instructress, who is ever teaching me how
to live for God. My spirit brightens up in Your gentleness and Your humility,
O Mary.
635 March 25. In the morning, during meditation, God's
presence enveloped me in a special way, as I saw the immeasurable greatness
of God and, at the same time, His condescension to His creatures. Then I saw
the Mother of God, who said to me, Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul
that follows faithfully the inspirations of His grace! I gave the Savior to
the world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy
and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a
merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day!
Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble
before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time
for [granting] mercy. If you keep silent now, you will be answering for a
great number of souls on that terrible day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the
end. I sympathize with you.
Immaculate Conception of the
Mother of God.
805 From early morning, I felt the
nearness of the Blessed Mother. During Holy Mass, I saw Her, so lovely and so
beautiful that I have no words to express even a small part of this beauty.
She was all [in] white, with a blue sash around Her waist. Her cloak was also
blue, and there was a crown on Her head. Marvelous light streamed forth from
Her whole figure. I am the Queen of heaven and earth, but
especially the Mother of your [Congregation]. She pressed me to Her heart
and said, I feel constant compassion for you. I felt the force of Her
Immaculate Heart which was communicated to my soul. Now I understand why I
have been preparing for this feast for two months and have been looking forward
to it with such yearning. From today onwards, I am going to strive for the
greatest purity of soul, that the rays of God's grace may be reflected in all
their brilliance. I long to be a crystal in order to find favor in His eyes.
843 December 24, [1936]. During
Holy Mass today, I was united in a particular way with God and His Immaculate
Mother. The humility and love of the Immaculate Virgin penetrated my soul.
The more I imitate the Mother of God, the more deeply I get to know God. Oh,
what infinite longing envelops my soul! Jesus, how can You still leave me in
this exile? I am dying of longing for You. Every touch of my soul by You
wounds me immensely. Love and suffering go together; yet I would not exchange
this pain caused by You for any treasure, because it is the pain of
incomprehensible delights, and these wounds of the soul are inflicted by a
loving hand.
874 Mary, Immaculate Virgin, take
me under Your special protection and guard the purity of my soul, heart and
body. You are the model and star of my life.
1097 Since that time, I have been
living under the virginal ', cloak of the Mother of God. She has been
guarding me and instructing me. I am quite at peace, close to Her Immaculate
Heart. Because I am so weak and inexperienced, I nestle like a little child
close to Her heart.
+ J. M. J.
1232 O sweet Mother of God,
I model my life on You;
You are for me the bright dawn;
In You I lose myself, enraptured.
O Mother, Immaculate Virgin,
In You the divine ray is
reflected,
Midst storms, 'tis You who teach
me to love the Lord,
O my shield and defense from the
foe.
Cracow, August 10, 1937.
1410 Today [December 7, 1937] is
the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. During
the midday meal, in an instant, God gave me to know the greatness of my
destiny; that is, His closeness, which for all eternity will not be taken
away from me, and He did this in such a vivid and clear fashion that I
remained wrapped up in His living presence for a long time, humbling myself
before His greatness. + J.M.J.
1412 + It is with great zeal that
I have prepared for the celebration of the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception of the
Mother of God. I have made an extra effort to keep
recollected in spirit and have
meditated on that unique privilege of Our Lady. And thus my heart was
completely drowned in Her, thanking God for having accorded this great
privilege to Mary.
1413 I prepared not only by means
of the novena said in common by the whole community, but I also made a
personal effort to salute Her a thousand times each day, saying a thousand
"Hail Mary's" for nine days in Her praise.
+ This is now the third time I
have said such a novena to the Mother of God; that is, a novena made up of a
thousand Aves each day. Thus the novena consists in nine thousand
salutations. Although I have done this now three times in my life, and two of
these while in the course of my duties, I have never failed in carrying out
my tasks with the greatest exactitude. I have always said the novena outside
the time of my exercises; that is to say, I have not said the Aves during
Holy Mass or Benediction. Once, I made the novena while lying ill in the
hospital. Where there's a will, there's a way. Apart from recreation, I have
only prayed and worked. I have not said a single unnecessary word during
these days. Although I must admit that such a matter requires a good deal of
attention and effort, nothing is too much when it comes to honoring the
Immaculate Virgin.
1414 The Feast of the Immaculate
Conception. Before Holy Communion I saw the Blessed Mother inconceivably
beautiful. Smiling at me She said to me, My daughter, at God's command I
am to be, in a special and exclusive way your Mother; but I desire that
you, too, in a special way, be My child.
1415 I desire, My dearly
beloved daughter, that you practice the three virtues that are dearest to
Me-and most pleasing to God. The first is humility, humility, and once again
humility; the second virtue, purity; the third virtue, love of God. As My
daughter, you must especially radiate with these virtues. When the
conversation ended, She pressed me to Her Heart and disappeared. When
I regained the use of my senses, my heart became so wonderfully attracted
to these virtues; and I practice them faithfully. They are as though engraved
in my heart.
1742
Be praised, merciful God, One God in the Holy Trinity,
Unfathomable, infinite, incomprehensible, immersing themselves in You, their minds cannot comprehend You, So they repeat without end their eternal: Holy. Be glorified, O merciful Creator of ours, O Lord, Omnipotent, but full of compassion, inconceivable. To love You is the mission of our existence, Singing our eternal hymn: Holy... Be blessed, merciful God, Eternal Love. You are above the heavens, the saphires, the firmaments. The host of pure spirits sings You praises, With its eternal hymn: Thrice Holy. And, gazing upon You, face to face, O God, I see that You could have called other creatures before them. Therefore they humble themselves before You in great humility, For well they see that this grace comes solely from Your mercy. One of the most beautiful spirits would not recognize Your mercy, And, blinded by his pride, he drew others after him. Angel of great beauty, he became Satan And was cast down in one moment from heaven's heights into hell. Then the faithful spirits cried, "Glory to God's mercy!" And they stood firm in spite of the fiery test. Glory to Jesus, the Christ abased, Glory to His Mother, the humble and pure Virgin. After this battle, the pure spirits plunged into the ocean of Divinity; Contemplating and praising the depths of His mercy, They drown in His mercy and manifold light, Possessing in knowledge the Trinity of Persons, the Oneness of Godhead.
+The
Infinite Goodness of God in Sending Us His Only-Begotten Son.
1745 God, You did not destroy man after his fall, but in Your mercy You forgave him, You forgave in a divine way; that is, not only have You absolved him from guilt, but You have bestowed upon him every grace. Mercy has moved You to deign to descend among us and lift us up from our misery. God will descend to earth; the Immortal Lord of lords will abase Himself. But where will You descend, Lord; will it be to the temple of Solomon? Or will You have a new tabernacle built for Yourself? Where do You intend to come down? O Lord, what kind of tabernacle shall we prepare for You, since the whole earth is Your footstool? You have indeed prepared a tabernacle for Yourself: the Blessed Virgin. Her Immaculate Womb is Your dwelling place, and the inconceivable miracle of Your mercy takes place, O Lord. The Word becomes flesh; God dwells among us, the Word of God, Mercy Incarnate. By Your descent, You have lifted us up to Your divinity. Such is the excess of Your love, the abyss of Your mercy. Heaven is amazed at the superabundance of Your love. No one fears to approach You now. You are the God of mercy. You have compassion on misery. You are our God, and we are Your people. You are our Father, and we are Your children by grace. Praise be to Your mercy, that You have deigned to descend among us.
1746
Be adored, O God of mercy,
Because You have deigned to descend from heaven to earth. Most humbly we adore You For Your having vouchsafed to exalt all mankind. Unfathomable and incomprehensible in Your mercy, For love of us You take on flesh From the Immaculate Virgin, ever untouched by sin, Because You have willed it so from all ages. The Blessed Virgin, that Snow-White Lily, Is first to praise the omnipotence of Your mercy. Her pure heart opens with love for the coming of the Word; She believes the words of God's messenger and is confirmed in trust. Heaven is astounded that God has become man, That there is on earth a heart worthy of God Himself. Why is it that You do not unite Yourself with a Seraph, but with a sinner, O Lord? Oh, because, despite the purity of the virginal womb, this is a mystery of Your mercy. O mystery of God's mercy, O God of compassion, That You have deigned to leave the heavenly throne And to stoop down to our misery, to human weakness, For it is not the angels, but man who needs mercy. To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, We unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, For then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, Because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us.
+
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.
1748
Be adored, O God, in the work of Your mercy,
Be blessed by all faithful hearts On whom Your gaze rests, In whom dwells Your immortal life. O my Jesus, have mercy, sorrowful was Your life on this earth, And in terrible torment Your work came to an end, Hanging stretched out on the wood of the Cross, And all this for the love of our souls. In Your inconceivable love, You allowed Your most holy side to be opened, And streams of Blood and Water gushed forth from Your Heart. Here is the living fountain of Your mercy, Here souls receive consolation and refreshment. In the Blessed Sacrament, You left us Your mercy; Your love deigned to arrange it so, That, going through life, suffering and toil, I might never doubt of Your goodness and mercy. For even if the whole world's miseries weighed on my soul, We must not doubt for even a moment, But have trust in the power of God's mercy, Because, with graciousness, God receives a contrite soul. O unspeakable mercy of our Lord, Source of compassion and all sweetness, Trust, trust, O soul, though you are stained by sin, For when you approach God, you will not taste bitterness. Because He is a living fire of great love, When we approach Him with sincerity, Our miseries, sins and evil deeds vanish; He will settle our debts when we surrender ourselves to Him.
(Diary of Sister Faustina
Kowalska Notebook-I-6, 25, 116, 161, 220, 260, 309, 316, 497)
(Diary of Sister Faustina
Kowalska Notebook-II-564, 620, 635, 805, 843, 874)
(Diary of Sister Faustina
Kowalska Notebook-III-1097)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1232, 1244)
(Diary of Sister Faustina
Kowalska Notebook-V-1410, 1412-1414)
(Diary of Sister Faustina
Kowalska Notebook-VI-1742, 1745-1748)
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Disyembre 21, 2018
A Journey of Faith and Love-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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