Fiat

Most of the time, I find it easier to make a fiat to God when things are going well.  But what about the times we are called to accept situations that involve struggle, temptation, and self-doubt?  This calls for an entrustment to Our Lady, who was misunderstood when she conceived Our Lord, or even He Who suffered on the cross for us- abandoned by all but a few.  Let us choose to be among the few, and stand with Him in His sorrows.  That we may give a constant fiat to the Holy Spirit, that He may work in our lives even in the midst of darkness.  Our Lady of Fidelity, pray for us!

"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give and consecrate to Thee, my actions and pains, my sufferings and my life, in order that my entire being may be devoted to honor, love and glorify Thy Sacred Heart.”  (Saint Margaret Mary)

The Prophet Jeremiah

As we near the end of the day, let us read the beginning of today’s 1^st Reading from the prophet Jerememiah:

“Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.  Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.”

How did I listen to God’s voice today?

Getting to Know God

Psalm 51 starts off with “Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offense.” We remind ourselves of the goodness of God, as well as sending a message to ourselves that God is merciful.  He is compassionate! 

While practicing the Fear of the Lord, I find myself being always fearful.  But that’s not how God wants us to see Him. 

6Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God,compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." (Exodus 36:6,7)

Though we must give God His reverence due, it is also important to keep a close relationship with Him through confidence and acts of love.

Grasping the key words in the mentioned psalm will help us better understand who God is: Mercy and compassion.  This is why we have confession!  This is why we can begin afresh every day!  As St. Francis de Sales says, “You make spiritual progress by beginning again and again.”

And God is nearer to us than we think!  It doesn’t take a text message, a phone call, or even skype!  We need only place ourselves in God’s Presence, and choose to bask in Him Love.  Jesus said to St. Faustina, “The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive.” (Divine Mercy Diary, 1578).­­­­

Today's Gospel (3/15/17)

                Today I simply wanted to share with you today’s gospel.  I really appreciated it during Mass this morning!

                As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

                Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.  He said to her, “What do you wish?”  She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”  Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.  Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”  They said to him, “We can.”  He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”  When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers.  But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.  But it shall not be so among you.  Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.  Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(Matthew 20:17-28)

            Again, let us “Come away by [ourselves] to a secluded place and rest a while." (Mark 6:31)  As we ponder these beautiful Sunday Readings, let us leave our world like Abraham and set off into a deserted place. 

            Encountering Our Lord in the Mystery of the Transfiguration is a comforting scene.  It is full of consolation to see Him in all His brilliance, which often takes faith to realize in our hardened and distracted hearts.  But that is what Lent is for!  We need only have this faith to treasure the Father’s Love for us.  We stand before His beloved Son, and He will also say “You are my beloved.”  That way, as our Second Reading for today states, we may: “Bear [our] share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. 

            I also want to shed light on the second part of today’s Letter to Timothy that “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 

            On that first note, I wanted to put emphasis that holiness is not about our merits.  It is always important to do the right thing and putting our effort in; but it is Christ’s merits which make us holy.  After all, are we not imperfect? 

            So let us spend the rest of this weekend basking in the Love of God and run the race!

            God Bless!

"Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this Sacrament of love… I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament." (Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary)