Seraphic Souls

[Diary 1556]

When I had gone to the chapel for a moment, the Lord gave me to know that, among His chosen ones, there are some who are especially chosen, and whom He calls to a higher form of holiness, to exceptional union with Him. These are seraphic souls, from whom God demands greater love than He does from others. Although all live in the same convent, yet He sometimes 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 desires Him more vehemently. In hell, it will suffer more profoundly than other souls, because it knows more fully whom it has lost. This indelible mark of God's exclusive love, in the [soul], will not be obliterated.

Source: DIARY, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.  Stockbridge, MA 01263.  All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

Note: If you like my post then consider buying the Book "Divine Mercy in my Soul" from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception website. The owner of this blog have no other intention but to spread and proclaim the "Divine Mercy".

The Birth of John the Baptist [June 24, 2012]

The Sunday Gospel [Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist - June 24, 2012]

Luke 1:57-66, 80 

57When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. 59When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, 60but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” 61But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” 62So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was
opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. 65Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.66All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

80The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Reflection

“Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward [Elizabeth], and they rejoiced with her.” ~ v. 58

“John” comes from the Hebrew Yehohanan or the shorter Yohanan, a name associated with the root “HNN” which means “to grace” or “to show favor.” John therefore means ”Yahweh has given grace.” It was not an uncommon name: it occurred in the Maccabean priestly family. The grandfather of Judas Maccabeus was called John and so was his elder brother (1 Mc 2:1). A Maccabee, John Hyrcanus, would later become both high priest and king.

In his diptych presentation of the birth and circumcision of John and Jesus, Luke allots no more than two verses to the birth of John and the joy that it occasions while he describes the circumcision at length. The case of Jesus is different: the story of his birth is presented in detail while his circumcision is mentioned in passing.

The relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth discover that the conception and birth of John are divinely willed not through the word of the angel but through the wonders that surround the naming of the child. What the angel predicted to Zechariah – that the child would be called John and that many would rejoice at his birth (Luke 1:13-14) – are fulfilled.

The people do not know of this prediction, but they sense a stirring of great things in the marvelous agreement between both parents on the name. Luke declares that the child will become strong in spirit, filled with the Spirit of God, and he will grow up in the desert where he will start his ministry. John, the son of a priest, will break with tradition: he will not grow up to be a priest serving God in the temple; he will become a prophet who will prepare the way of the Messiah.

Reflection Credits: Fr. Gil A. Alinsangan, SSP; Treasures New And Old

Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).

I do accept; you are in My Heart

[Diary 14]

When Mother Superior, the present Mother General Michael [6] came out to meet me, she told me, after a short conversation, to go to the Lord of the house and ask whether He would accept me. I understood at once that I was to ask this of the Lord Jesus. With great joy, I went to the chapel and asked Jesus: “Lord of this house, do You accept me? This is how one of these sisters told me to put the question to You.”

Immediately I heard this voice: I do accept; you are in My Heart. When I returned from the chapel, Mother Superior asked first of all, “Well, has the Lord accepted you?” I answered, “Yes.” “If the Lord has accepted, [she said] then I also will accept.”

Source: DIARY, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.  Stockbridge, MA 01263.  All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

Note: If you like my post then consider buying the Book "Divine Mercy in my Soul" from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception website. The owner of this blog have no other intention but to spread and proclaim the "Divine Mercy".

The Reign of God [June 17, 2012]

The Sunday Gospel [June 17, 2012]

Mark 4:26-34

26He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land 27and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” 33With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Reflection

“The seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.”

When you were a child, you may have been given a model for a present – perhaps a model airplane or boat. Can you remember looking at the picture on the box and getting excited to see that model in its finished state? However, you found that if you didn’t follow the directions and assemble the pieces in the right order, your model didn’t come out quite right.

This is a useful analogy for thinking about Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of God. It’s more exciting to think about the “finished product,” isn’t it? We look at people like Mother Teresa and John Paul II, and marvel. They were living models of the life Jesus portrayed in his parables – the full grain of wheat ripe and mature and ready for the harvest. Still, as inspiring as they are, we need to understand that they didn’t become beautiful models of the kingdom overnight. No one does.

Holiness happens one step at a time, not all at once – and we are not fully in charge of the process. It is God who molds, shapes, and glues all the pieces of our lives, making us into living examples of a life lived in his love and power. And even more amazing, it is God who supplies us with the desire and the ability to fulfill his purposes. Our part is simply to follow God’s directions, step by step, and not worry about the end result.

If you think the Lord is calling you in a certain direction, go there – even if you can’t see how it contributes to the final product. If you are trying your best and nothing’s working out, be patient. God is still at work, bringing his plan to completion. Let go of any stress, anxiety, and fear you might feel, and allow yourself to smile. For God, the Master Builder, is working everything together for your good!

Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).

By obedience you give great glory to Me and gain merit for yourself

[Diary 28]

Once Jesus told me, Go to Mother Superior [probably Mother Raphael 18] and ask her to let you wear a hair shirt for seven days, and once each night you are to get up and come to the chapel. I said yes, but I found a certain difficulty in actually going to the Superior. In the evening Jesus asked me, How long will you put it off? I made up my mind to tell Mother Superior the very next time I would see her.

The next day before noon I saw Mother Superior going to the refectory and, since the kitchen, refectory and Sister Aloysia's little room are all close to each other, I asked Mother Superior to come into Sister Aloysia's room and told her of the wish of the Lord Jesus. At that, Mother answered, "I will not permit you to wear any hair shirt. Absolutely not! If the Lord Jesus were to give you the strength of a colossus, I would then permit those mortifications."

I apologized for taking up Mother's time and left the room. At that very moment I saw Jesus
standing at the kitchen door, and I said to Him, "You commanded me to ask for these mortifications, but Mother Superior will not permit them." Jesus said, I was here during your conversation with the Superior and know everything. I don't demand mortification from you, but obedience. By obedience you give great glory to Me and gain merit for yourself.

Source: DIARY, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.  Stockbridge, MA 01263.  All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

Note: If you like my post then consider buying the Book "Divine Mercy in my Soul" from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception website. The owner of this blog have no other intention but to spread and proclaim the "Divine Mercy".

The Lord's Supper [Solemnity of Corpus Christi - June 10, 2012]

The Sunday Gospel [Solemnity of Corpus Christi - June 10, 2012]

Mark 14:12-15, 22-26

12On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. 14Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 15Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”

22While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” 23Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed* for many. 25Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Reflection

‘While they were eating, [Jesus] took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”’ ~ v. 22

There are four accounts of the institution of the Eucharist which can be grouped into two strands of traditions: the Markan and Matthean, and the Lucan and Pauline. Mark (14:22) and Matthew (26:26) give the words spoken over the bread as “This is my body” and over the chalice as “This is my blood of the covenant.” Luke (22:19) and Paul (1 Corinthians 11:24) both speak of the “covenant in my blood” and of the instruction to repeat the action: “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Before the words of institution, Jesus takes the bread and says the blessing. Mark uses the Greek word eulogia – to say the blessing. This is related to the Hebrew berakah, the great prayer of thanksgiving and blessing. The early Christians saw the words of consecration as part of their praying and thanksgiving with and in Jesus, through which the gift of God is given back to God in the body and blood of Jesus. Hence, they spoke of the whole rite as Eucharist, as eucharistia (the word used for “thanksgiving” in Luke and Paul.

Another action of Jesus is “breaking the bread.” This was the function of the head of the family in Israel; he is the provider. In some sense he represents God who gives human beings the earth’s bounty to support their lives. In a way, Jesus acts as the head of the family who welcomes into table fellowship “his own.” But in the Last Supper, Jesus does not just distribute God’s – and the earth’s – gifts. He gives of himself. This gesture of Jesus would then come to symbolize the whole of the Eucharist which in the New Testament was known as “the breaking of bread.”

“Breaking the bread” in a deeper sense signifies the breaking of Jesus’ body in suffering and death. Jesus says of the bread he takes, “This is my body.” The body here does not just refer to his body as opposed to his spirit; it refers to his own person, to himself, as the Messiah.

Jesus offers himself in the form of the bread which is broken, but the real meaning of that will find concretization on the following day, when he dies on the cross. There, Jesus will be literally broken. “This is my body” is an offering of his whole person in love. Hence, at the Last Supper, Jesus is transforming his violent death into a free act of self-giving for others. He fulfills his declaration as the Good Shepherd; “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own” (John 10:18). But Jesus can give his life because he knows that he is taking it up again.

Pope Benedict comments on his book Jesus of Nazareth (Part II): “the act of giving his life includes the Resurrection. Therefore, by way of anticipation, he can already distribute himself, because he is already offering his life – himself – in the process of receiving it himself. So it is that he can already institute the sacrament in which he becomes the grain of wheat that dies, the sacrament in which he distributed himself to men through the ages in the real multiplication of loves.”

Reflection Credits: Fr. Gil A. Alinsangan, SSP; On the Way of the Cross

Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).

O incomprehensible God, how great is Your mercy!

[Diary 651]

O incomprehensible God, how great is Your mercy! It surpasses the combined understanding of all men and angels. All the angels and all humans have emerged from the very depths of Your tender mercy. Mercy is the flower of love. God is love, and mercy is His deed. In love it is conceived; in mercy it is revealed. Everything I look at speaks to me of God's mercy. Even God's very justice speaks to me about His fathomless mercy, because justice flows from love.

Source: DIARY, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.  Stockbridge, MA 01263.  All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

Note: If you like my post then consider buying the Book "Divine Mercy in my Soul" from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception website. The owner of this blog have no other intention but to spread and proclaim the "Divine Mercy".

The Commissioning of the Disciples [June 3, 2012]

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity [June 3, 2012]

Matthew 28:16-20

16The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.17When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.18Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go, therefore,* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Reflection

When we examine the life of Jesus, we soon notice how intensely he was bound to his Father and to the Holy Spirit. Let us reflect on this idea for a short time, beginning with Jesus’ relationship with his Father.

All the gospel writers, but particularly John, show Jesus in constant communication with his Father. And because of his closeness to the Father, Jesus knows very clearly who his Father is and how he works. He tells the Jews, for example, “it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, my Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32). On another occasion, he assures the people, “Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me” (John 6:45). We are also aware, of course, how Jesus always seeks to do his Father’s will. In the garden of Gethsemane, he prays: “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done” (Matthew 26:42).

At this point, let us ask ourselves a simple question: Jesus we know, was God, but he was also man. Being a man, he would come to know the Father as any human would. How is it possible that as man he came to know the Father as well? The answer, I think, is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through his prayers Jesus opened his heart, so much so that the Holy Spirit found a way, as it were, to come to him and reveal to him the love of the Father and the Father’s will. Perhaps another way to put all this is to say that in dialogue, that is to say, in constant communication made possible through the Holy Spirit, Jesus came to know the Father. And in knowing the Father, he also came to know the Holy Spirit.

The key word is “dialogue.” Jesus was in continuous dialogue with the Father. In this way, he came to know not only the Father but also the Holy Spirit.

Our present Superior General, Fr. Anthony Pernia, has written some marvelous things about the importance of dialogue and the desperate need we have today of dialogue. Through dialogue we come to understand one another. It is the bridge that we build between ourselves and those who in some way or another, may be different.

God, as we know, exists as a Triune God. This tells us that the persons of the Trinity are always in dialogue. Through constant dialogue Jesus is able to discern what the Father wants him to do, just as he becomes aware of the Father’s deep love for him. And in the process, the Holy Spirit acts as a kind of intermediary, making the communication between Jesus and his Father easier to understand and carry out.

In our daily life, we find that it is easier to communicate with some people more than others. At the same time, we also discover that when we do approach someone who may be a little difficult to speak to, if we speak to them with good intentions, inevitably some good comes of it, whether it be clearer understanding of the other person’s position, a clarifying of our own, or a feeling of greater closeness to the other person. As previously mentioned, our model is the Trinity and the marvelous way each person in the Trinity communicates with the others.

Let us ask God to help us as we dialogue with one another. May we imitate the Trinity in their love for one another and in our realization that we are all children of the same heavenly Father.

Reflection Credits: Fr. John Seland, SVD; New Reflections on the Sunday Gospels

Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).