Its difficult because the wound in each one of us, caused by original sin, makes us tend to doubt Gods goodness and love. My Heart drinks only of the ingratitude and forgetfulness of souls living in the world. The Good Samaritan, as it says later, is the one who showed mercy (v. 37). For now, lets just consider that if we want to live the Little Way, we must do three tilings: (1) Recognize the darkness: Recognize the darkness of our littleness and brokenness. Alright, so lets now express our efforts, our trying, by getting ready to consecrate ourselves to Merciful Love. I say that because you can 160 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE trust your doctor without loving him. And thats a big deal. | One of the great blessings of being a priest is that I get to live in the same house as die Blessed Sacrament. For instance, back on Day 4, we saw that Mary, the Mother of God, had to eat the daily bread of darkness. Sec die full quote, which refers to the Paschal mystery, but has to do with all that [Christ] did: His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happened once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. 198 Catechism, 467. To use Thereses own words, her teaching set me full sail upon the waves of confidence and love.1 18 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE With this book, I now want to share those amazing treas ures that gave me hope in the seminary and inspire me still. 'Nevertheless, her trust in God's mercy during that time, and God's faithfulness to her, became the confirmation of her Little Way. I do not fear anything, although the storm is raging, and frightful bolts strike all around me, and I then feel quite alone. So we help Jesus by letting him help us! (See Rom 5:5.) You have too much fear before the good God. I say that because, as we just learned, Mary leads us to Divine Mercy. And so, I firmly intend to fight discouragement, do litde things with great love, and be mercifid to my neighbor in deed, word, and prayer. I dont deserve to be here, but Ive learned this pleases you. My first recommendation is to read books about mercy from people who have chosen the path of mercy, who have done the work of mercy, and who saw through the lens of mercy. *3 So, the little bird with the heart of the eagle, the little bird who is well aware of her weaknesses, is also totally confident that God could not have given her the heart of an eagle without also providing her the means of realizing her desires. Dont worry if youre in the ecce moment for a long time. 162 Ibid., p. 211. But when it came to Thereses turn, the future saint suddenly exclaimed, I choose all! and proceeded to take the entire basket. Y26-33DAY book Y26-EB330AY The 'One Thing' Is Three Learn the key to the Churchs wisdom and the greatest mystery of the Catholic faith: the Most Holy Trinity. I do not examine with fear Your plans regarding me; my task is to accept everything from Your hand. Be a little more humble and realistic. But theres something else. No. Alright, so we simply remain litde and then wait for die Lord to stoop down, take us into his arms, and raise us to die heights, right? The saint herself describes it as follows: I was enjoying such a living faith, such a clear faith, that the thought of heaven made up all my happiness, and I was unable to believe there were really impious people who had no faith. It focuses on the twin and mutually complementary themes of love and luminosity- the core of Islamic mysticism. Now, Eves first mistake was that she listened to a liar the Father of Lies. Its to hope against hope in our daily lives, when all is darkness and were tempted to disbe lieve in Gods loving presence in our lives, tempted to doubt that all things work together for good to those wrho love God (Rom 8:28). Absolutely not. Today, Fr Gaitley, in "33 Days to Merciful Love", introduces Mary, the mother of faith. ISBN-13 : 9781596143456 95 Ibid., 1074. 115 Day 30: The Little Way. 117 Day 31: The Offering 120 Day 32: The Darkness 122 Day 33: Putting It All Together . 125 DAY OF CONSECRATION: The Happy Day .131 AFTER CONSECRATION: The Lens of Mercy . Will you accept the rejected mercy that burns his Heart? And he goes on to make God look jealous, selfish, and conniving: For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God . In short, Satan casts doubt on Gods goodness, making him look evil and untrustworthy. May the blood and water that flows forth from your Heart always be upon us! Yes, I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth.166 112 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE We know that God granted the desires of this greatest saint of modern times. So, will you let her help you? Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure and St. Claude de la Colombiere and translated by Paul Garvin (Rockford, Ill.: TAN Books and Publishers, 1984), we read the following, which also ties in with Thereses idea that well learn on Day 21, namely, that the Offering to Merciful Love causes one to become a martyr of love: [I ]t is the teaching of great masters of the spiritual life that a person who, at the point of death, makes an act of perfect conformity to the will of God [i.e., an expression of unshakable trust] will be delivered not only from Hell but also from Purgatory, even if he has committed all the sins in the world. Given these two statements of Sr. Genevieve (above and in the body text), I dare say that she may have a deeper and more nuanced grasp of Endnotes 185 the nature of the suffering that comes with the Offenng to Merciful Love than does her sister Pauline (Mother xAgnes of Jesus), who simply testified that, according to Therese, to give yourself to love was to give yourself up to suffering (By Those Who Knew Her, p. 47). Well, an exasperated St. Therese said to Sr. Febronie (and, perhaps, to us, too): My sister, ifyou look for the justice of God you will get it." To get to that point, a unifying statement to summarize die main points of what weve learned may be helpful. Consoling the Heart of Jesus Prayer Companion by Michael E. Gaitley, 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Divine Mercy Consecration, by Father Michael Gaitley, Murano Glass Bead Rosary Bracelet ZBLTMOSA, St. Michael Statue Cold-Cast Bronze Lightly Hand-Painted 10" SR-74997, 10" Cherry Holy Verse Cross, Our Father Prayer Pewter Plaque, 10" Cherry Holy Verse Cross, John 3:16 Pewter Plaque. 97-100. The Chaplet is a kind of extension of the prayer of the Mass. Therese is saying to us, Yes! Better yet, it brought her down low, deep down low into a hollow abyss that 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE 60 a superabundance of Divine Mercy could rush down into. Sr. Marie had asked St. Therese, If I fail even in the small things, may I still hope to get straight to heaven? Now, Therese knew the young nun's weaknesses very well, and yet she still responded with beautiful words for little souls: Yes! Great hope. To offer ourselves to Mercifiil Love is to let our hearts be more deeply moved by the suffering of others. After all, I figured that only the quickest and easiest path could help someone like me to become a saint. It means not settling for complacency or mediocrity or the attitude that says, Well, thats just who I am. In other words, it means striving to be faithful to examining our consciences every day. In the end, then, we can compete. 1,8 Ibid., pp. But I didnt feel that he was also speaking to my heart, asking me to write such a book. (1698). Relate Saint Therese doesnt always make a good first impression. In fact, her emphasis on trying includes fostering a sorrow for ones sins and making a firm resolution not to sin again. 202 Pope Pius XI does use the term console in his encyclical letter, Miserentissimus Redemptor, when he describes how we can make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Now if, because of our sins also which were as yet in the future, but were foreseen, the soul of Christ became sorrowful unto death, it cannot be doubted that then, too, already He derived somewhat of solace from our reparation, which was likewise foreseen, when there appeared to him an angel from heaven (Lk 22:13), in order that His Heart, oppressed with weariness and anguish, might find consolation. Not only that, but her Son is the most lovable child of all. But if they did see the reality of his love, their eyes would be opened to their sinfulness. Having explained the meaning of the three words ecce, fiat, and magnificat, now Im going to apply them to the three moments of our breathing: empty, in, and out. Having said that, I will also include some of the teach ings of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, another great saint of mercy whose mission was closely related to that of St. Therese? Emphasis added 58 Pope Pius XII stated that St. Therese rediscovers the Gospel on tire occasion of the consecration of the Basilica ofLisieux on July 11, 1954 (AAS46 [1954], pp. Well, when I saw that claim on the back of the book, I was sold. Oh! You breathe into him your praise and thanks, the love and mercy that his blood and water have given you. 216 Ibid. 1074. We need a prayer something we can frequently repeat, even every day, something that not only reminds us of die meaning of the Offering to Merciful Love but that also allows us to make it. In a sense, Mark is one of the most important people in my7 life because he introduced me to the book that completely changed it. Okay, so with that in mind, now reflect on the idea that Mary probably has more motherly love in her Immaculate Heart than all other mothers combined. RIEST FRIEND: A CONSECRATION TO DIVINE MERCY. I have never sought God in some far-off place, but within myself. Its the way the Lord knows how he can come and get little souls at the end of their lives. And as weve learned from St. Faustina, this image truly' is living and grace-filled.221 Moreover, when you display' it in your home in a place of honor where youll see it daily, it becomes a continual, concrete, physical reminder of die solemn invitation (offering) you and your family have made. So, I fol lowed de Montforts recommendation and consecrated myself totally to Jesus through Mary, and my life has never been the same. She says, Raise your litde foot to scale the stairway of holiness.62 Of course, we wont be successful, but Therese tiien adds, God requires you only to demonstrate 56 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE your good will. In other words, we just need to give it a try. Uploaded by DAY 24 Liturgical Darkness Yesterday, we learned the secret to overcoming our blindness to our own personal sins, the secret to being little: the fire of Gods love. Of course, its also possible to invite someone into our homes as an act of mercy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, commenting on die first sin of Adam and Eve, gets to the heart of it all: Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his free dom, disobeyed Gods command. Thats why even today, after all he has done for us, people still avoid Jesus. Seraphim, that the concrete expression of that trust is praise and thanksgiving. 139 Ibid. God is so good. The word conse cration means to set apart for God. And, again, the death Therese implicitly says in the flight of her soul to God as makes this point a bit more Diary: of love allows one to bypass purgatory as text of the Offering when she describes the being without any delay. Saint Faustina explicit in the following passage from her Gods mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Its a choice to be little. To do this, we need what St. John Paul II calls Marys wise capacity for remembering and embracing in a single gaze of faith. 96 Ibid., 1705. We believe her particularly when she tells us that even if she had been a bigger sinner than we are, even if she had committed all the sins that could be committed, I would go, my heart broken with sorrow, and throw myself into Jesus arms, for I know how much he loves the prodigal child who returns to him.173 Somehow, we relate to all that, or at least we want to. 131 See The Power of Confidence, p. 157. Home. These are die wild flowers whose simplicity attracts Him. After all, only the merciful will be shown mercy (see Mt 5:7, 18:2135). 47 Ibid., pp. Simply recall what Therese had told her novice, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, who had asked if even she could hope to get to heaven right away after dying. And all this, again, gets back to the heart of Sacred Scrip ture, which is saturated with mercy. Well learn the reasons for diat during Week One of this retreat which brings me to die structure of this book and how it works. It was through the practice of these nothings (Story ofa Soul, pp. In other words, we console Jesus by consoling one another, for we're all members of the Mystical Body of Christ (see 1 Cor 12:12-27). And best of all, shes a kind and gentie modier and who can be afraid of such a mother? Yet his Heart cant hold this returned love, for its been pierced, and now your lungs are empty. 110 Cited in ibid. Well look at what that is tomorrow. Okay, now get ready actually, you XJalready are ready. Of course, you should try not to miss a day of reading, but if you do, dont worry. But despite this, try to be faithful, so that He does not have to wait in vain for your love.172 Todays Prayer: Spend the day pondering the Offering to Merciful Love as it is summarized in these three words: Console, the Catch, and Purgatory. And so, through our prayers and deeds of mercy that are the fruit of our Offering, theyll get a second chance to receive Gods mercy'. 72 Regarding trust being the key to receiving Gods mercy', Jesus told St. Faustina: The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. We need only fear becoming one who sins but does not repent, one who tires of asking for forgiveness and ends up believing that he doesnt need to ask for it any more. Apart from falling into the evil habit of corruption, Therese would say that there is no reason to be afraid. 81-82.) It is this: As an age, with a river of heinous sin overflowing the banks of humanity, we have quite simply exhausted our reparative capacity to sate the demands of Divine Justice. It takes effort. Well, thank God, it doesnt end there. We dont have to be perfect to go to him. let us remain then very far from all that sparkles, let us love our littleness, let us love to feel nothing, then we shall be poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to look for us [and] He will transform us in flames of love. 34 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE DAY 4 Mary's Pilgrimage of Faith Yesterday, we learned that theres a key to Marys innermost reality, a key to understanding her faith the blessing of Elizabeth: Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled. 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