Great Mercy at the Hour of Death

[Diary 687]

Once, as I was going down the hall to the kitchen, I heard these words in my soul: Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.

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 Cleansing of a Leper[February 12, 2012]

The Sunday Gospel [February 12, 2012]

Mark 1:40-45

40A leper came to him [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” 41Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” 42The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 43Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 44Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 45The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

Reflection

A leper came to Jesus [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” ~ v. 40

Today’s gospel is a lesson in optimism. Too often, we have a distorted view of God. Some people believe that God is the author of their misery or that God wants them to suffer and languish in poverty, sickness, and bad fate. They suspect that God oppresses them or that he does not care.

When we come to the Lord, we need to start with a positive mind set like the leper. We must declare that our God is a God of all good things. And his desire is only our good. The request of the leper is instructive: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” In his heart the leper knew that it was Jesus’ wish to heal and restore him. And he claimed that miracle in his heart before Jesus even healed him.

God wants only the best for you and me. God desires only that which is constructive and uplifting for our lives. But how do we explain the sickness, the pain, and the sufferings of this life? Where do all these come from? Certainly, not from the hands of the Lord. The original plan of God was for the good of his creation. The plan and the promise still hold. It has not changed.

If we analyze the evils around us, we will realize that most of them come from selfishness and neglect. God allows these things to happen because he respects human freedom. In some cases, bad things happen so that we can learn from our mistakes. Negative experiences can also make us return to the Lord and his plans.

Today the Lord wants to reassure us of his love and concern for us. When we pray, when we act, let us not start with doubts. Rather, let us begin with a strong belief in the promise of our Lord and his goodness. Miracles of healing and restoration will take place when we begin to see God as one who loves us sincerely.

Credits: Fr. Ramil R. Marcos, MA, STL; Proclaim! Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, excerpts, slightly adapted.

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

Complete Trust

[Diary 453]

On one occasion, the Lord said to me, Why are you fearful and why do you tremble when you are united to Me? I am displeased when a soul yields to vain terror. Who will dare to touch you when you are with Me? Most dear to Me is the soul that strongly believes in My goodness and has complete trust in Me. I heap My confidence upon it and give it all it asks.

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".

A Typical Day in the Life of Jesus [February 5, 2012]

The Sunday Gospel [February 5, 2012]

Mark 1:29-39

29On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 30Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. 31He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

32When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. 33The whole town was gathered at the door. 34He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

35Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. 36Simon and those who were with him pursued him 37and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” 39So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

Reflection

“Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” ~ v. 35

Jesus certainly had a full day. With his first four chosen disciples in tow, he went into the synagogue and not only taught but cast out an unclean sprit. He next slipped away and healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Then, as soon as sunset marked the end of the Sabbath, a horde of people crowded around the doorstep begging Jesus to heal and deliver them. He extended himself to the whole crowd, touching each person with the power of God. Surely this exhausting ministry lasted beyond a normal bedtime.

We could certainly understand if Jesus burrowed under the covers the next morning. Instead, Mark tells us that Jesus rose in the wee hours and headed out to a deserted spot to spend time with his Father. Instead of assuming he knew what God wanted and how to accomplish it, he stopped and listened for God’s guidance. Out of that profound communion emerged clarity about his next step: It was time to preach to other villages.

That’s the way it was with the Lord: never a dull moment! Jesus was constantly on the move. Even his prayer was dynamic. He didn’t get up early just to enjoy a good sunrise and recite a few prayers. No, he was asking, seeking, and knocking. He was determined to discover his Father’s plan, and he was ready to make any adjustments he needed in order to stick to that plan.

Make no mistake. Jesus was active, not just busy. Like a runner crouched at the starting block, his prayer was one of active waiting, not passive wandering. That’s what God wants for us as well. There’s a kingdom to be built. There are people to evangelize and ministries to advance. The hungry need feeding, the wounded need comfort, and the confused need direction. What part does God want you to play? Seek him in prayer and you’ll find out.

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

At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory...

[Diary 811]    

When I entered my solitude, I heard these words: At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God's anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son.

Oh, if only everyone realized how great the Lord's mercy is and how much we all need that mercy, especially at that crucial hour!

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".

Jesus Taught with Authority

The Sunday Gospel [January 29, 2012]

Mark 1:21-28

21Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Reflection

What emerges from this narrative of exorcism is a man whose power amazes everybody but who remains a “stranger” because nobody can quite explain where his authority comes from. Examining the Gospel of Mark, biblical scholars have realized that the evangelist pictures the crowd and even Jesus’ disciples as often “not understanding” Jesus. Jesus does not fully reveal his identity (as the Messiah) because they are not prepared to accept the kind of Messiah that he is: indeed, one with authority to teach and work miracles, but one who has to undergo humiliation, suffering and death. The people are waiting instead for a glorious political leader.

Jesus’ presence continues to disturb, for he challenges us to a new way of thinking. He is a “revolutionary,” not quite in the mold we make of him. When justice seems to be served by vengeance (“a tooth for a tooth), he teaches that greater justice is to conquer one’s enemy with goodness. When he can destroy his tormentors on Calvary, he chooses to hang on the cross.

Jesus’ “new authority” summons us to a higher kind of morality and spirituality. By that authority we are called to become holy and struggle for perfection, at the same time to challenge the ways of the satisfied and the complacent.

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

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

Sins of distrust wound Me most painfully

[Diary 1076]   

Write this: Everything that exists is enclosed in the bowels of My mercy, more deeply than an infant in its mother's womb. How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins of distrust wound Me most painfully.

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".