A Kingdom for the
Violent?
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December 13, 2018. Memorial
St. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr
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Father Walter Schu, LC
Matthew
11:11-15
Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to
you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the
Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the
days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law
prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is
Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in Your presence here with
me as I humbly kneel before You to do You homage and praise You. I long for
the reward You have promised to those who love You with undivided hearts. My
heart is not at peace until it rests in You.
Petition: Lord, help me to long for and strive for the inexpressible joy
of heaven.
1. None Greater Than John: In a phrase tinged with admiration, Christ
pays St. John the Baptist the highest of compliments: “Among those born of
women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.” And Christ reveals
why: He is the last of the prophets, the one who brings the age of the law and
the prophets to a close. But he is even more. He is Elijah, the one sent
before the promised Messiah to prepare the way for him. Then comes an
unexpected reversal: “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
he.” Do not Christ’s words awaken in our hearts an ardent longing for heaven?
What else could matter in life but to arrive there, where the least of us
will be greater than the greatest one on this earth?
2. Longing for Heaven: How much do we really desire to reach our
final goal? Does our attitude sometimes reflect St. Augustine’s during the
process of his conversion, before he received the final, definitive grace of
entrusting his life entirely to God? Do we not have to confess that we often
say to God, “Lord, please bring me to heaven—but not yet!”? St. Cyprian
reflects on this phenomenon in one of his homilies: “How unreasonable it is
to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls
us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and
are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely
consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect
to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will!”
3. The Kingdom of Heaven Suffers Violence: A true longing for heaven is necessary,
because it is not easy to arrive there. Christ assures us, “The kingdom of
heaven suffers violence.” What does Our Lord mean by this enigmatic
affirmation? Surely he does not intend to contradict his own new commandment
of love? The “violence” Christ speaks of must be done exclusively to
ourselves. In order to ascend the heights of holiness we need to follow in
the footsteps of St. John the Baptist, dying to our earthly tendencies. Am I
prepared to renounce what often seems most intimately a part of me? Can I beg
the Lord for humility? “That others may be more loved than I. That others may
be called to occupy posts and I may be forgotten. That others may be
preferred to me in everything. Lord Jesus, make this my prayer” (from Litany
of Humility, traditional prayer).
Conversation with Christ: Lord, You are showing me that heaven is not
for the weak and the soft, but for those who are strong in dying to
themselves and living for You and for souls. Help me to grow in fortitude in
order to win heaven.
Resolution: Today, when I experience something painful
or difficult, I will offer up the unpleasantness to God, knowing it is
nothing in comparison to the reward of heaven that awaits me.
Excerpts from the
DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
48 I promise that the soul that will venerate this
image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here
on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own
glory.
49 When I told this to my confessor,[29]
I received this for a reply: "That refers to your soul." He told
me, "Certainly, paint God's image in your soul." When I came out of
the confessional, I again heard words such as these: My image already is
in your soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image,
which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday
after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.
50 +I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of
Mine towards souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me.
The flames of mercy are burning Me - clamoring to be spent; I want to pour
them out upon these souls.
Jesus complained to me in these words, Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even My death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these [gifts].
301 Proclaim that mercy is the
greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy.
341 November 5, 1934. One morning,
when it was my duty to open the gate to let out our people who deliver baked
goods, I entered the little chapel to visit Jesus for a minute and to renew
the intentions of the day. Today, Jesus, I offer You all my sufferings,
mortifications and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father, so that he
may approve the Feast of Mercy. But, Jesus, I have one more word to say to
You: I am very surprised that You bid me to talk about this Feast of Mercy,
for they tell me that there is already such a feast[81]
and so why should I talk about it? And Jesus said to me, And who knows
anything about this feast? No one! Even those who should be proclaiming My
mercy and teaching people about it often do not know about it themselves.
That is why I want the image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after
Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know
about it. Make a novena for the Holy Father's intention. It should consist of
thirty-three acts; that is, repetition that many times of the short
prayer-which I have taught you-to The Divine Mercy.
375 Particular interior practice;
that is, the examination of conscience. Self-denial, denial of my own will.
I. The denial of my reason. Subjecting it to the reason of those who represent God to me here on earth. II. The denial of my will. Doing the will of God, which is revealed in the will of those who represent God to me and which is contained in the rule of our order. III. The denial of my judgment. Accepting immediately and without reflection, analysis or reasoning all orders given by those who represent God to me. IV. The denial of my tongue. I will not give it the least bit of freedom; but in one case only I will give it complete freedom; that is, in proclaiming the glory of God. Whenever I receive Holy Communion, I will ask Jesus to fortify and cleanse my tongue that I may not injure my neighbor with it. That is why I have the greatest respect for the rule which speaks about silence.
378 Once as I was talking with my
spiritual director, I had an interior vision-quicker than lightning-of his
soul in great suffering, in such agony that God touches very few souls with
such fire. The suffering arises from this work. There will come a time when
this work, which God is demanding so very much, will be as though utterly
undone. And then God will act with great power, which will give evidence of
its authenticity. It will be a new splendor for the Church, although it has
been dormant in it from long ago. That God is infinitely merciful, no one can
deny. He desires everyone to know this before He comes again as Judge. He
wants souls to come to know Him first as King of Mercy. When this triumph
comes, we shall already have entered the new life in which there is no
suffering. But before this, your soul [of the spiritual director] will be
surfeited with bitterness at the sight of the destruction of your efforts.
However, this will only appear to be so, because what God has once decided
upon, He does not change. But although this destruction will be such only in
outward appearance, the suffering will be real. When will this happen? I do
not know. How long will it last? I do not know.[89]
But God has promised a great grace especially to you and to all those... who
will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of
death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of soul are as dark as night,
when the sinner turns to My mercy he gives Me the greatest praise and is the
glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before
it and flees to the very bottom of hell.
379 During one of the adorations,
Jesus promised me that: With souls that have recourse to My mercy and with
those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will deal
according to My infinite mercy at the hour of their death.
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart 1 Remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds.
491 When I entered the chapel, once again the majesty of
God overwhelmed me. I felt that I was immersed in God, totally immersed in
Him and penetrated by Him, being aware of how much the heavenly Father loves
us. Oh, what great happiness fills my heart from knowing God and the divine
life! It is my desire to share this happiness with all people. I cannot keep
this happiness locked in my own heart alone, for His flames burn me and cause
my bosom and my entrails to burst asunder. I desire to go throughout the
whole world and speak to souls about the great mercy of God. Priests, help me
in this; use the strongest words [at your disposal] to proclaim His mercy,
for every word falls short of how merciful He really is.
962 + I often see a certain person
dear to God. The Lord has great love for him, not only because he is striving
to spread the veneration of God's mercy, but also because of the love he has
for the Lord God, although he does not always feel this love in his own heart
and is almost always in Gethsemane. However, this person is always pleasing
to God, and his great patience will overcome all difficulties.
1046 Then suddenly, I saw how the
two rays, as painted in the image, issued from the Host and spread over the
whole world. This lasted only a moment, but it seemed as though it had lasted
all day, and our chapel was overcrowded all day long, and the whole day
abounded in joy.
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.
1083 + That beautiful soul who is
spreading this work of divine mercy throughout the world is, by his deep
humility, very pleasing to God.
1652 Adore, my soul, the mercy of
the Lord,
O my heart, rejoice wholly in Him, Because for this you have been chosen by Him, To spread the glory of His mercy. His goodness no one has fathomed, no one can measure, His compassion is untold. Every soul that approaches Him experiences this. He will shield her and clasp her to His merciful bosom. Happy the soul that has trusted in Your goodness And has abandoned herself completely to Your mercy. Her soul is filled with the peace of love. You defend her everywhere as Your own child. O soul, whoever you may be in this world, Even if your sins were as black as night, Do not fear God, weak child that you are, For great is the power of God's mercy.
1680 Low Sunday. Today, I again
offered myself to the Lord as a holocaust for sinners. My Jesus, if the end
of my life is already approaching, I beg You most humbly, accept my death in
union with You as a holocaust which I offer You today, while I still have
full possession of my faculties and a fully conscious will, and this for a
threefold purpose:
Firstly: that the work of Your mercy may spread throughout the whole world and that the Feast of The Divine Mercy may be solemnly promulgated and celebrated. Secondly: that sinners, especially dying sinners, may have recourse to Your mercy and experience the unspeakable effects of this mercy. Thirdly: that all the work of Your mercy may be realized according to Your wishes, and for a certain person who is in charge of this work... Accept, most merciful Jesus, this, my inadequate sacrifice, which I offer to You today before heaven and earth. May Your Most Sacred Heart, so full of mercy, complete what is lacking in my offering, and offer it to Your Father for the conversion of sinners. I thirst after souls, O Christ.
1692 I adore You, Lord and
Creator, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of
Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You
have spread so much beauty over the earth, and it tells me about Your beauty,
even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You,
Incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed
Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You, and my soul
recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good; and my heart is completely immersed
in prayer of adoration.
My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here Your light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature. Here, without searching for words, our hearts understand each other. Here, no one is able to interrupt our conversation. What I talk to You about, Jesus, is our secret, which creatures shall not know and Angels dare not ask about. These are secret acts of forgiveness, known only to Jesus and me; this is the mystery of His mercy, which embraces each soul separately. For this incomprehensible goodness of Yours, I adore You, O Lord and Creator, with all my heart and all my soul. And, although my worship is so little and poor, I am at peace because I know that You know it is sincere, however inadequate...
1749 + God's Infinite Goodness in
Adorning the Whole World with Beauty
in Order to Make Man's Stay on Earth Pleasant. O God, how generously Your mercy is spread everywhere, and You have done all this for man. Oh, how much You must love him, since Your love is so active on his behalf. O my Creator and Lord, I see on all sides the trace of Your hand and the seal of Your mercy, which embraces all created things. O my most compassionate Creator, I want to give You worship on behalf of all creatures and all inanimate creation; I call on the whole universe to glorify Your mercy. Oh, how great is Your goodness, O God!
1796 Today, 254
I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the sky, in the midst of a great
brilliance. The rays were issuing from the Wound [in His side] and spreading
out over the entire world.
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-48-50, 301, 341, 375, 378-379, 491)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-II-962)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1046, 1074-1075, 1083)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1652, 1680, 1692, 1749, 1796)
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