Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Reflection 249: The Fruit of Suffering

Only after someone has suffered greatly do they begin to understand the good fruits that can come forth from such suffering.  In and of itself, suffering is the result of our fallen human condition.  But because Jesus entered our human condition, embracing all suffering and redeeming it, suffering now has great power when freely embraced by us and united to the sufferings of Christ.  One good fruit that can come from suffering is spiritual knowledge.  When suffering is embraced in Christ and offered to Him as a sacrifice in union with His own Sacrifice, we will find that our suffering clarifies life, puts it in perspective and may even give us the spiritual gift of insight into the souls of others we encounter.  This gift of knowledge of other souls will enable us to see their needs and offer the Mercy of God to them in the particular way they need it.  Do not be afraid to allow your sufferings to transform you and bestow this gift of knowledge upon you along with the many other gifts God wishes to bestow (See Diary #1277).

Reflect upon how you deal with your own sufferings.  Whether it is a small discomfort you feel or an intense interior pain, everything we experience in life can be redeemed and transformed so as to transform us.  If you believe this then try to consciously embrace every discomfort and every suffering you endure as a sacrifice to God.  Offer it to Him and then allow the purifying effects of this free embrace to produce an abundance of good fruit in your life. 

Lord, so often I run from my suffering and deny the redeeming effects that the free embrace of my sufferings can have upon me.  Give me courage to say “Yes” to the crosses I am given and to be open to the spiritual fruits that they can produce in my life.  I give all to You, dear Lord.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

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Reflection 248: Unlimited Resources

Imagine if you found a source of unlimited natural resources by creating a machine that transforms only a small amount of oxygen into an unlimited amount of energy.  All you had to do is turn on the machine you created and the energy is generated endlessly.  That would be quite an invention.  But something like this does exist on a spiritual level.  The “oxygen” it runs on is our misery and sin.  And the “generator” is the Heart of Jesus.  The “energy” it produces is God’s endless Mercy.  If we could only understand this then our world would be flooded with this supernatural resource to an infinite degree.  We must realize that God transforms our misery in life when we offer it to Him.  In fact, this is His burning desire.  His Heart longs to transform your misery into His Mercy so that your own life will be filled to abundance and so that, through you, the world will be filled to abundance.  Give to God your misery and sin and let Him endlessly transform it (See Diary #1273).

What do you think about your own misery and sin?  Do you hide it, cover it up, ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist?  Do you go through life presenting the illusion of a sin-free and misery-free life?  Some do this and others go to the opposite extreme, wallowing in self-pity and manifesting their misery for all to see as if their misery were a badge of honor.  Neither approach is helpful.  The only helpful approach is to surrender your sin and all misery to the Heart of Jesus.  You can do this.  You simply need to make the choice to do so.  Do it today.  Begin to make this act of total surrender and you will discover the miraculous power in the Heart of Jesus to transform everything into Mercy. 

Oh Heart of Jesus, I run to You with my misery and pain and I surrender my sin to You, dear Lord.  Please transform it into Your Mercy, enabling this gift to become a source of endless grace.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: Christ in the House of the Pharisee Simon, by Dieric Bouts

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Reflection 247: The Blessing of Those with Needs

If someone in your family were seriously ill, or in prison, or in some form of grave need, would that be a burden to you or a blessing?  Think about it.  Do those with special needs make your life more difficult?  If this question were answered on a purely practical level the answer may be, “Yes.”  But if it is answered on a more spiritual level, the answer is that those who “burden” us with their particular needs offer us an opportunity for great holiness.  This is the case because those with special needs call forth from us a response of charity, compassion and the service of Mercy.  If we see them as a burden, we are missing an extraordinary opportunity for grace.  God often allows others to suffer and impose a holy burden upon us so as to allow us to manifest His Mercy.  Seek out these special souls and offer them the love, care and Mercy present in the Heart of Jesus (See Diary #1268).

Who has God placed in your life?  More specifically, who is it that carries a special suffering, illness, weakness or difficulty that requires extra care from you?  It could be a sick child, a depressed spouse, an elderly parent, a manifest sinner or a friend in need.  Whoever it is that comes to mind, try to see them and their needs as a graced invitation from our Lord to manifest His love and Mercy.  They are a far greater blessing to you than you will ever realize.  Allow their needs to evoke the compassion and care in the Heart of Christ through you.

Lord, please give me a heart like unto Yours.  Give me Your perfect Heart of Mercy and compassion so that I may manifest Your perfect love for others.  Help me to see all people as a gift and to recognize their infinite dignity.  And as I seek to love them, I thank You for the blessings I receive in this selfless act.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: St. Peter Healing the Sick, by Jacob Toorenvliet

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Reflection 246: Upon Receiving Holy Communion

What do you do after receiving Holy Communion?  Do you go back to your pew in a distracted way, with your mind wandering, paying attention to others around you, and failing to encounter our Lord on an authentic spiritual level?  Or do you allow that moment to be a moment of true prayer and communion with God?  If the truth is the former, just be honest with yourself and with God and use this realization for an opportunity to reexamine your approach to this most sacred Gift!  The moment after Holy Communion is a treasured moment in which each soul is invited to be consumed by Him who was just consumed.  In other words, the act of receiving Holy Communion is not just the physical act we do, it must also become something God does to us.  We must choose to not only consume our Lord, we must also allow Him to consume us with His Mercy.  There is no better time to do this than the moments after receiving this priceless Gift.  This is accomplished by making your life an oblation to God.  An “oblation” is an offering, and the reception of Holy Communion must become a moment in which we completely offer ourselves to our Divine Lord (See Diary #1264).

Reflect upon the last time you received Holy Communion.  What was that experience like?  Did you have a complete focus on what you were doing?  Did you offer yourself to our Lord as an oblation of love?  Did you place yourself into the hands of our Lord in a sacrificial way?  Did you allow our Lord to consume you with His merciful love?  Ponder these questions and commit yourself to this depth of offering.  If you do, Holy Communion will become the greatest act of Mercy in your life.

My Lord and my God, I give myself to You with total abandon and surrender.  My life is Yours, dear Lord.  I give myself to You without reserve as an oblation of love.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: G.dallorto, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

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Reflection 245: Severity Postponed

It’s important to know that Jesus has every right to bring forth His justice here and now.  He has every right to be severe with us on account of our sins and to bring eternal judgment upon us.  This truth is often forgotten on account of His Mercy.  But we should never forget this fact.  It’s important to remember this because unless we understand the absolute right that God has to execute swift and irrevocable judgment on the world, we will never understand that His restraint is an act of immeasurable Mercy.  The Mother of God is especially entrusted with the responsibility of praying for His Mercy and pleading on our behalf that her Son’s wrath be withheld.  God gave to her this responsibility of intercession for us and He listens to those prayers.  He also calls each one of us to pray for Mercy in the world and, though our prayers are not as powerful as the Mother of God, they can be if we place them in her Immaculate Heart.  Giving our Blessed Mother our prayers magnifies their power and transforms them into an instrument of unfathomable grace, holding back the hand of the Justice of God (See Diary #1261).

Do you understand the right that God has to bring sudden and severe judgment upon you?  That may not be pleasant to think about but it’s important to understand.  Ponder this fact today.  Believe it and know that He withholds His judgment on account of His Mercy.  Seek the prayers of our Blessed Mother, this day, and offer her your own prayers.  Through your prayers, offered through her intercession, God’s justice is withheld and His Mercy will be bestowed in our time.

Dearest Mother, I offer you, this day, all my prayers, works and sacrifices so that you may in turn offer them to Your Son.  Please pray for me and for all your children that the justice of Your Son will be withheld as His Mercy is poured forth.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: Toby Hudson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Reflection 244: Working Until the End of the World

If you labor, day and night, spreading the works of God, this is good.  Good fruit will come from your commitment to serve the Will of God and to spread His Divine Mercy.  But we should also realize that God is able to use us to spread His Mercy until the end of the world.  How?  Only God knows.  But He does desire to use you for this purpose.  Some, like Saint Faustina, were used to set in motion devotion to Divine Mercy and that devotion will continue until Jesus returns.  Others, and perhaps most of us, are called to contribute to the perpetual work of Mercy in various other ways.  For example, one act of charity will bring about a good in another’s life that could change them in such a way that it will set in motion an eternal work of Mercy.  Or consider your prayer for those entrusted with special responsibility such as praying for the Pope, bishops or priests.  Or consider the fact that your holiness achieved here and now will be magnified in Heaven and will enable you to intercede for the Church for all time.  Be diligent now in your work of spreading the Mercy of God but also be aware that this work must continue on into eternity.  Focus on this as your goal and God will use your present labors in unimaginable ways throughout time (See Diary #1256).

When you think about the work that God has entrusted to you, do you see it as something that can have eternal consequences?  Do you see yourself as a “link in a chain” by which God desires to strengthen the Church throughout time?  Be open to this goal and allow the Lord to use you in ways you could never dream up yourself.

Lord, my life is Yours.  I give myself to You for the purpose of spreading Your Mercy now and for eternity.  Use me as You will, dear Lord.  I offer myself as a willing instrument of Your Mercy in our world.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

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Reflection 243: Jesus’ Special Gift to Those He Loves

How would you treat someone you love?  Typically, with family or very close friends we desire that which is best for them and that which makes them happy.  God desires the same for each one of us, but we may be surprised at what God sees as the source of our happiness and what He deems to be best for us.  Furthermore, though God’s love is perfect for every soul, it’s also accurate to say that God’s love deepens for those who draw close to Him.  It’s not that His love changes, it’s that His love is received and encountered on a deeper level.  When this happens, God is able to manifest His love in a profound way.  And when God’s love is received by a soul on the deepest level, it’s often a love that calls that soul into suffering.  If that surprises you just think about the Father’s perfect love for Jesus.  The Father, in His perfect love for the Son, called Him to the Cross.  But in that Cross, Jesus’ human soul was able to manifest the love of the Father in the most profound way.  This is a mystery hard to understand, so if it’s difficult to immediately grasp do not worry.  Just know that God often allows great spiritual suffering in the lives of those who have been drawn into a deep intimacy with Him (See Diary #1253).

Reflect upon the perfect love of the Father calling His Son to the Cross.  Sit with that and seek to penetrate its meaning.  If you can understand how the love of the Father could call the Son to this sacrifice, then you will begin to understand God’s perfect love for you as He calls you to a life of sacrifice.  Do not think that God’s love will make your life “easy.”  His love will make your life glorious, but most likely through suffering.

Father, the mystery of the sufferings of Jesus, Your Son, is beyond my comprehension.  Help me to understand Your mysterious Will more fully and to see that suffering in this life is often a sign of Your love.  Keep my eyes on the Cross in all things, dear Lord.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: The Blessed Trinity, by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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Reflection 242: True Beauty Uniquely Shining Through

It’s been said that “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder.  In other words, some say that the definition of beauty depends upon the subjective preference of one person or another.  Though there may be some truth to this on a more superficial level, on a deeper level true beauty comes from God and is objective in every way.  It’s not dependent upon our personal preference; rather, it depends upon God.  The more something or someone resembles God and His Mercy, the more beautiful it is.  This is important to know in regard to our souls.  We all want to be perceived as “beautiful” by others.  But we must also understand that this is only possible through a life of holiness.  And what’s amazing is that the beauty of each person is unique.  In Heaven, we will not all be the same; rather, the uniqueness of each person will shine forth the radiance of God in a special way, unique only to that person.  Seek to allow the beauty and splendor of God to shine forth through your life so that you will be an instrument of His glory (See Diary #1251).

Do you desire to be beautiful?  Perhaps this is a question more easily answered by women than men, since it is a word more common to women.  But reflect upon the question.  As you do, try to look at beauty from a different perspective.  On the deepest level, it’s not a natural physical attractiveness. True beauty is a sharing in the glory of God and allowing that glory to shine through your soul as light shines through a prism.  Seek to let God shine through you so that the beauty of God will bless others with His Mercy in a unique and profound way.

Lord, You are the glory and splendor of my soul.  Your beauty is awe-inspiring and radiant in every way.  Come live in me and shine through me so that others will see Your transforming beauty in my life.  I offer myself to You, dear Lord, as an instrument of Your glory.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: Ecstasy of Saint Peter of Alcántara, by Francesco Fontebasso

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Reflection 241: Remedying Your Particular Sins

How do you overcome your sins?  Every sin is different and requires specific prayer and sacrifice so as to detach from them.  Three common sins are: those of the flesh, those of anger and those of pride.  Each one of these sins can be overcome but may require special attention.  If you struggle with sins of the flesh, try to fast.  Give up that which is delightful to you on a physical level by fasting from various kinds of food or drink.  For sins of anger, try to do some good deed or speak some kind word to the person with whom you are angry.  Pray for them and speak the words of Jesus on the Cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  And for sins of pride, try to bow down prostrate before our Lord in prayerful humility, emptying yourself before Him.  Seek to offer these specific remedies for the sins you struggle with and the Mercy of God will be poured down in abundance (See Diary #1248).

What are the specific sins you struggle with?  Make sure that you regularly do a thorough examination of conscience, focusing on each one of the Ten Commandments in detail or on the seven capital sins.  Once you have identified the main sins you struggle with, especially those that are habitual, seek a holy remedy for them.  Penance for sins is like medicine.  You need the right medication for each illness.  Be open to the ways that God reveals to you these “medicines” for your soul and take them without hesitation.  Each penance you do will open up the door of Mercy in a new and profound way in your life.

Lord, I know that I am sick on account of my many sins.  I am weak and in need of healing.  Help me to see my sins and to face them with Your Mercy.  Give me the means of overcoming them so that I may draw closer to You.  I love You Lord, free me from all that keeps me from You.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image: Moses descends from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, by Ferdinand Bol

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Reflection 240: Sweetness or Bitterness in Life?

Which do you prefer for your life?  Daily sensory experiences of sweetness or bitterness?  In other words, do you desire to take delight in the many aspects of your daily life or do you desire that the daily duty you fulfill leaves you with a certain bitterness within your senses?  For most people the answer is simple.  “Sweetness” is much better.  But is it?  Interestingly, the experience of sweetness or bitterness in life is not a good guide toward a life of holiness.  At times, even sin can taste “sweet” to us while acts of holiness can be “bitter” at first. Understanding this will allow us to move deeper into our embrace of the Will of God.  Our goal must be to seek His Will purely for the sake of His Will.  We must have no preference regarding the delight or suffering that comes as a result of embracing His Will.  If God’s Will requires great sacrifice, leaving us with a sensory experience of suffering, then so be it.  If His Will draws us to an exchange of love that leaves us with a sweet delight, then so be it.  Though it is hard to arrive at a level of total detachment, we must strive for it.  His Will and His Will alone must be our focus.  In His Will alone do we discover His abundance of Mercy (See Diary #1245).

Reflect upon the difference between God’s Will and the delight or distaste you feel from embracing it.  When His Will calls you to sacrifice, you will find it to be a sort of “bitter” experience.  Bitter in the sense that it may challenge your senses.  Do not worry about this.  Seek His Will in all things and the joy in your heart will ultimately overshadow all other immediate experiences you have.  His Will opens the door to His abundant Mercy.

Lord, I seek Your most holy Will about all things.  Help me to choose Your Will no matter how difficult or how delightful it may be.  Purify me, dear Lord, and give me a single focus in life so that my embrace of all You call me to do will bring forth Your perfect Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.  

Image:  The Death of St. Peter Martyr, by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo

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