Journeying With The Saints

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 374-377.

As I read through today's writings, I realized that for someone who is far from God, her reflections would cause disgust. Who is this woman that wants to deny her own will, her own judgment, her own tongue? It is a sure fact, though, that our judgment and will is clouded if left to ourselves. That is why it is so important to gather confessors, spiritual directors, good scholars, and honest friends around us that can help us see where we may be in err.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 367-373.

Congrats on following along for 3 months!

Christ reveals today in Sister's writings how much He desires to pour out more love, more mercy, more goodness on souls, but they just don't trust Him enough or come to Him enough. God wants to rain down mercy, grace, and love on us and it is sad that too many souls don't accept this. God's love, mercy, and grace do not run out; we cannot tap out God's goodness.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 362-366.

Sister Faustina gets called out for being self-willful. What she wants to do seem so small to some of the disobedience that we see out in the world today. However, Christ tells her that we have to be obedient in small things. This will help us to be obedient in bigger things. Too often, people think that they should be obedient only to themselves. They set themselves up as the supreme authority in their lives. They think they know better than Christ and His Church.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 358-361.

Sister Faustina writes about a special practice that her convent does at the beginning of each new year. They pick out a patron saint to carry with them through the year. I LOVE this idea. What a great practice to add into our faith lives. Think how great it would be if each year we select a patron saint for that year and work to know them better and get closer to them.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 356-358.

Our readings today are different than any other day. We will be praying a litany to the Blessed Host. I would invite you to think of any intentions you have before starting this prayer. This is a beautiful, short litany for poor sinners and it will be a great way to start or end our day.

This week we are reading the 13th number from "Way to Inner Peace." We are moving out the section titled: Goodness. We are now moving into the section titled: Happiness. Our topic for this week covers joy and sadness. As I read through this week's reading, I felt it was describing a very dark time in my life when I was very sad. I didn't know how to climb out of that sadness because I had chosen to leave God at the backdoor. It is impossible to have joy without the ultimate source of Goodness--God.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 351-355.

We hear today about living a life of faith. We must live our faith life in even small things. It is very common for Christians to compartmentalize our faith life: We live our faith on Sundays for an hour, the rest of the time we fully live our secular life. Often we do this because we've been told to hide our faith from those that it would offend. We cannot do this. We don't need to be obnoxious, but we must let our faith permeate every aspect of our lives.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 346-350.

Sister Faustina asks Christ for a share in His suffering that He endured with the Crown of Thorns. She wakes up and she can feel a thorn piercing the left side of her head. This reading reminded me of when I saw the thorn tree on the Mount of Olives. The thorns on these type of trees are what were used for Christ's crown.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 342-345.

Sister Faustina thanks God today for the many sufferings in her life. Her list is actually incredible and would baffle so many in the world today. "She's thanking God for being humiliated, treated rudely, and having spiritual dryness?" Too often we don't understand how suffering shows true love. But...just think about how Christ on the Cross makes you feel, or thinking of fallen service members, or emergency workers that have given their lives to serve others. Their love moves us to tears because in their suffering, we understand what they gave up for us.

Today's readings are from Notebook 1, numbers 336-341.

Sister Faustina's confessor encourages her see if she has any attachments to things or any other creatures. This is a great practice for all of us. We ALL have attachments to things and we must be careful not to let our attachments turn into idols. We have to look deeper than just attachments to material items. Do we have attachments to comfort, pleasure, or...even safety?