Eucharistic Reflection - He Is Everything To Me

(Image Source: cathopic.com)

I find myself so weak that were it not for Holy Communion, I would fall continually.  One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion.  From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort. I fear life on days when I do not receive Holy Communion.  I fear my own self. Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. From the tabernacle I draw strength, power, courage and light.  Here, I seek consolation in time of anguish.  I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart. 

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Monday Musings-Guest Post-Father Darr Schonebon on Divine Mercy

     This is probably the longest guest post I have ever published. It is, however, not only worthwhile to read, but essential that you do so, if you wish to save your soul and the souls of those you know and love.

      This is a post you will want to copy, keep, ponder, re-read, and share, especially with those you know and love who have separated themselves from our merciful God or profess not to believe in Him or eternal punishment.

  

Divine Mercy Sunday

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER 

April 19, 2020

The Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.  God through Jesus his Son calls all weak, wounded, sinful human beings — and thus that means everyone — to surrender themselves to his Divine Mercy and thereby receive the unmerited gift of his Divine Life.  His merciful heart goes out in particular to souls who dwell in the darkness of grave sin, souls who live without hope, wandering aimlessly through life. 

Yes, the infinite mercy of the heart of the Father pours forth upon the earth through the pierced, lanced heart of his crucified and risen Son (cf. Jn 19:34-37).  Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska — the seer who, at the insistence of Jesus, first promoted the celebration of the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday — had a vision of Jesus on February 22, 1931.  In her spiritual diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul (DM), she describes that vision as follows: 

In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment.  One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast.  From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale.  In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy.  After a while, Jesus said to me, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You.  I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world. (DM, 47) 

Eventually the (now famous) image was painted, sometime after which, at the bidding of her confessor-spiritual director, she asked Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image.  During prayer she heard these words within her: 

The two rays denote Blood and Water.  The pale ray stands for the Water which makes righteous souls.  The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls . . . 

These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when my agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. 

These rays shield souls from the wrath of my Father.  Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.  I desire that the first Sunday of Easter be the Feast of Mercy. (DM, 299) 

Jesus would later confirm that it was from his wounded, lanced heart, more than from any of the other wounds inflicted upon him during his passion, that his mercy and grace flow.  He told Saint Faustina: 

From all my wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy.  From this fountain spring all graces for souls.  The flames of compassion burn Me.  I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls.  Speak to the whole world about My mercy. (DM, 1190) 

Jesus went on to explain the critical importance of the Feast (Divine Mercy Sunday), in light of the “Fount of Life” imagery of the Divine Mercy painting: 

Ask of my faithful servant [Father Sopocko] that, on this day, he tell the whole world of My great mercy; that whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment. 

Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. 

Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust!  Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness.  Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness. 

My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy. 

Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God.  All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy. (DM, 300, 301) 

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - May 10, 2018

(Photo©Michael Seagriff)

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time.

Jeffrey Kuhner

"Tens of millions of unborn babies have been slaughtered; illegitimacy rates have soared; divorce has skyrocketed; pornography is rampant; drug use has exploded; sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS have killed millions; birth control is a way of life; sex outside of wedlock has become the norm; countless children have been permanently damaged - their innocence lost forever - because of the proliferation of broken homes; and sodomy and homosexuality are celebrated openly. America has become the new Babylon."

(From Washington Times)

Monday Musings - Stop and Ponder How He Feels

Eucharistic Reflection - Do Not Seek God In Some Far-Off Place

"Today, I have come to understand many of God's mysteries. I have come to know that Holy Communion remains in me until the next Holy Communion. 

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

A vivid and clearly felt presence of God continues in my soul. The awareness of this plunges me into deep recollection, without the slightest effort on my part. My heart is a living tabernacle in which the living Host is reserved. I have never sought God in some far-off place, but within myself. It is in the depths of my own being that I commune with my God."

(From Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska)

Justice Follows Mercy-Let Us Not Squander This Time of Mercy

Monday Musings - A Greater Degree of Love

(Photo©Michael Seagriff)

There are times we do not ask God what He wants of us for fear that He will suggest something we are unwilling to do. On other occasions, we hear God's promptings very clearly but choose to ignore them.  

The next time we are tempted to do either of these things, we would be wise to recall this warning: :

"…sometimes He [God] demands of a particular soul a greater degree of love. Such a soul understands this call, because God makes this known to it interiorly, but the soul may either follow this call or not. It depends on the soul itself whether it is faithful to these touches of the Holy Spirit, or whether it resists them. I have learned that there is a place in purgatory where souls will pay their debt to God for such transgressions; this kind of torment is the most difficult of all. The soul which is specially marked by God will be distinguished everywhere, whether in heaven or in purgatory or in hell. In heaven, it will be distinguished from other souls by greater glory and radiance and deeper knowledge of God. In purgatory, by greater pain, because it knows God more profoundly and desire Him more vehemently. In hell, it will suffer more profoundly than other souls, because it knows more fully whom it has lost."

 

(From Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1556)

From God's Lips To Your Heart

The words of the well-known and beloved hymn, Come Let Us Adore Him will reverberate throughout our Churches this Joyful Season, as well they should. But it is an exhortation that should not be limited to Christmas. It is an invitation and obligation to do so daily. 

The hard and difficult Truth, one that is not always welcomed but must be shared no matter the pain and discomfort it may cause, is poignantly captured by these words of our loving but abandoned and ignored Lord:

How will you respond?