Day 254: Divinization

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

Our calling in life can be described as a call to divinization.  What does this mean?  It means that God came to Earth and took on our human nature so as to draw us into His very life.  We are, in a sense, called to become God.  This idea of “divinization” was common among the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Athanasius, Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine.  It’s not that we are to become God in the sense that our nature becomes divine, this would be a heresy.  Rather, we are called to become God in the sense that we are to share in His divine life, becoming one with Him in perfect unity.  It would be as if God were an Ocean and we were a drop of water plunged into that Ocean.  Though the specific particles of the drop of water representing us remain that one drop, it is absorbed by the waters of the Ocean representing God.  Our union with Him must become so complete that God lives in us as we live in God (See Diary #1289).

Reflect upon your calling to become divinized.  This concept goes to the heart of our Christian vocation in that it expresses the powerful unity we are called to have with our merciful God.  He wants you to share in His life and to become one with Him in every way.  Though this may be hard to comprehend, you must accept it as your calling in faith.  Reflect upon this concept today and tell our Lord that you give yourself to Him so as to become one with Him and to share in His very life.

Lord, please come to me and divinize me in accord with Your perfect Will and abundant Mercy.  I thank You for calling me to such a glorious and high calling in life and I accept this invitation from You.  My life is Yours, dear Lord, transform me, consume me and do with me as You will.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Day 253: The Response of Total Gratitude

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

What should our response be to God?  Often times we become self-consumed in our relationship with God.  We focus in on our troubles and needs.  These must be given over to God and let go of.  When we do this we will discover that we begin to see the glory and goodness of God at work in our lives and we will begin to be filled with the utmost gratitude toward God.  Gratitude must consume us and fill our minds and prayers.  We must allow gratitude to take over our passions and feelings and every part of our being.  This is what we will do for eternity.  Heaven will be one eternal act of thanksgiving to God for His goodness and Mercy.  When we can turn our eyes away from ourselves and focus in on God, this gift of gratitude will begin to direct our lives (See Diary #1285-1286).

Are you grateful?  You will be grateful only if you allow yourself to see the countless gifts that God lavishes upon you every day.  It’s easy to allow self-absorption to cloud our vision of these countless blessings from God.  But if you can turn your eyes toward Heaven and see the truth, you will be amazed at God’s infinite goodness.  Do not let yourself miss out on this glorious discovery of all that God does for you day and night.  Do not close your eyes to the abundance of His Mercy.  Reflect, today, upon whether or not you allow yourself to see His merciful love lavished upon you and upon others.  Fix your gaze upon this Mercy and allow this realization to foster within you a profoundly grateful heart.

My Lord, I thank You for all that You have done in my life and I thank You for all that You will continue to do in me.  Help me to become increasingly aware of Your merciful love and the countless blessings You bestow upon me and upon all Your children.  As I see Your handiwork all around, fill my heart with sincere gratitude.  Jesus, I trust in You.

"Tamis ng Kahapon"

"Don't Let Me Fall!"

Day 252: The Apostolate of Mercy and Acceptance

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

Some people are deeply troubled in life and cannot seem to sort out their difficulties.  They are “needy” in the sense that they are constantly seeking something to offer them consolation.  They may believe that riches or other forms of earthly consolations are what they want but what they do not realize is that the Lord is the answer to all their needs.  These wandering souls must become the focus of our mercy.  One way we offer the Mercy of God to them is through our gentle presence, offering an accepting heart and listening ear.  When those with heavy burdens in life discover that we care for them and wish to listen to them, they will often seize the opportunity to open up their hearts to us, revealing their wounds and troubles.  It is not so much our responsibility to do the healing or to solve their problems.  Our responsibility is most often to simply let them know we care and understand.  This act of love and acceptance is an act of extraordinary Mercy flowing from the Heart of Jesus through us (See Diary #1282).

When you encounter others who are troubled and heavily burdened in life, how do you treat them?  Do you treat them with judgment and disgust?  Or do you listen to them, seek to understand them, and offer an accepting and compassionate heart?  Reflect upon this question and think about those whom God has placed in your life who need to know God’s love and acceptance through you.  Do not neglect this act for you are called to be an apostle of the Mercy of God.

Lord, I offer myself to You as an apostle of Your merciful Heart.  Give me a true compassion and acceptance for those souls in most need of Your Divine Mercy.  Help me to listen to them, seek to understand them and be there for them as a representative of Your Sacred Heart.  I give myself to You, dear Lord.  Use me as You will.  Jesus, I trust in You.

"Kabalyerong Noypi"

Siya si Aneth. isang napakagandang bata na nakilala ko sa isang parokya na aking tinigilan ng mahigit tatlong buwan isang taon lang ang nakakalipas. Napakamasayahing bata ni Aneth at napakagaling kumanta, mana sa kanyang ama na soloista sa simbahan. 

Subalit sa ngiting ito ay may natatagong kakaibang kwento. Isang malungkot na realidad na dinaranas marahil ng maraming musmos sa panahon ngayon. sa kwento ng kanyang ama, nakipaghiwalay ang kanyang ina at sumama sa ibang lalaki. Ngunit kahit ganoon ang nangyari ay minabuti pa rin ng kanyang ama na bigyan ng pagkakataon na makita at makapiling ng kanyang ina si Aneth kung naisin nito.Nag-uusap silang mag-ina, nagkakamustahan. subalit hindi na katulad ng dati. Medyo malaki na ang agwat nila dahil sa murang edad pa lamang ay alam na ni Aneth ang pakiramdam ng maiwan at ang ibig sabihin ng hindi "Buong Pamilya."

Nang minsang nakikipag-usap ako sa mga katekista tungkol sa mga pangyayari tuwing kasalan ay narinig kami ng batang si Aneth at sinaway kami na huwag daw naming pag-usapan iyon. nang tanungin namin siya kung bakit ay sinabi na lamang niya na ayaw niyang mag-asawa. Dala ng pagkagulat ay wala na kaming nasabi kundi ang katahimikan na lamang ang siyang aming naging tugon.

Masakit na karanasan at mapait na katotohanan. Sa pagkakamali ng magulang ay bakit ang mga bata ang nagdurusa? Bakit kaya sa paghahangad nating mga tao lalo na tayong mga nakakatanda na magkaroon ng mas masayang pamilya kahit na maisakripisyo ang pamilya ay ang mga anak ang sumasalo ng ating mga pagkakamali? Ilan kayang pangarap ang napawi ng pagkakataon at ilan na kayang ngiti ang natakpan dahil sa pagiging makasarili natin?

???

...

Day 251: The Inner Dwelling of Your Heart

(A Reflection on Divine Mercy)

The Lord desires to come to you and make His dwelling within your heart.  But when He comes to you, what does He find?  What is the condition of your heart?  Some hearts are like a fragrant rose garden.  There is light, beauty, magnificence and radiance.  It’s a place of peaceful repose and a place made holy by the presence of our Lord.  Other hearts are like a dark prison cell, cold, isolated and dreary.  These are the souls who are trapped in a cycle of sin and have failed, over and over, to allow the Lord to enter in.  But He does choose to enter your heart, no matter the condition.  Be it a fragrant field of roses or the darkness and isolation of a prison, the Lord wants to enter (See Diary #1280).

Ponder the inner chamber of your heart.  What does this dwelling place look like?  Be honest and reveal this hidden place to our Lord.  If your heart is more like a dreary dungeon, cold, dark and isolated, then know that you, more than any other, are invited to receive the Mercy of God.  He desires to come to you and open the door to that prison in which you feel trapped and isolated.  He does not shy away from you in this darkness and will enter in.  But when He enters, He does so to break you free.  He desires to transform your soul into a place of sweet delight.  This takes work, surrender, honesty, humility and trust.  But God can do all things and can transform the most wretched soul into a garden of beauty and love.  His Mercy produces the soil, the Sun, the seed, the water and everything needed to recreate the inner chamber of your soul.  Ponder this fact and begin your transformation today.

Precious Lord, I give to You the inner chamber of my soul.  Come and rest within me, transforming my heart into Your holy dwelling place.  I give to You, dear Lord, all that I am and all that I have.  Recreate me and make me new.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Day 250: Praying Face Down to the Ground

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

When you pray, how do you go to our Lord?  It’s certainly good to offer Him your entire day in loving devotion and to speak to Him throughout the day as to your closest friend.  But there are other times when our prayer must be intense and should be expressed with intensity.  One way to do this is to literally fall down prostrate before our Lord.  In the silence of your room or in an empty church, look for an opportunity to pray in such a way.  The “intensity” must be one of complete submission to our Lord.  It must be prolonged and self-emptying.  To pray in such a way is a beautiful act of love and is a way of worshipping God as He deserves.  Though we could never offer perfect worship of Him, our attempts at doing so as completely as possible pleases Him and enables Him to draw us close to His Heart which is filled with an abundance of Mercy (See Diary #1279).

Have you ever prayed in a position of prostration before our Lord?  If you have, keep doing it.  Look for an opportunity to do so every day.  If you have not, then this is a good time to start.  Do not worry about what you are to say and do not worry if it feels uncomfortable at first.  Just get down on your knees, bow down to the ground, and express your love for our Lord.  Stay there and try to make an act of total surrender.  The Lord will receive your act of worship and draw you closer to His Sacred Heart of Mercy.

Lord, I do fall down prostrate before You and offer You my entire life as a selfless gift for Your glory.  I give all to You, dear Lord, and I pray that I will hold nothing back.  You are my God and my all.  I love you and surrender my life to You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Day 249: The Fruit of Suffering

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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 Jesus.  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.

"Petisyon"

Day 248: Unlimited Resources

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.

Day 247: The Blessing of Those with Needs

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.

Day 246: Upon Receiving Holy Communion

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.

Day 245: Severity Postponed

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.

World Youth Day 2016 Schedule

World Youth Day 2016 is an international Catholic event which focused on faith and youth that will be celebrated from July 25-31, 2016 in Krakow, Poland. this was the third WYD in Central Europe.

Pope Francis announced at the end of the closing Mass of the previous World Youth Day in Rio de Janiero that Krakow, Poland will be the venue for the World Youth Day 2016. This will be the second time Poland hosting this grace-filled celebration. The first was the World Youth Day 1991 in Czestochowa.

In the Message of His Holiness for the Thirty-First World Youth Day in 2016 during the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in August 15, 2015 he asked us to allow ourselves be inspired with the theme of the next World Youth DAy 2016: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."(Mt.5:7)

Akin to this was the tentative schedule of the said event which will be shown below:

Another is the Schedule of His Holiness Pope Francis posted in the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office on June 9, 2016:

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

14:00                    Departure from Rome Fiumicino International Airport for Kraków        

16:00                    Arrival at “St John Paul II” International Airport in Balice-Kraków       

Welcome ceremony in the Military Area of the International Airport of Balice-Kraków         

17:00                    Meeting with the Authorities, the Civil Society and Diplomatic

Corps in the courtyard of Wawel

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

17:40          Courtesy visit to the President of the Republic in the Hall of Birds

of Wawel Palace   

18:30                    Meeting with the Polish Bishops in the Cathedral of Kraków

[Arabic,English,French,German,Italian,Polish,Portuguese, Spanish]       

Thursday, 28 July 2016

07:40                    Transfer to Balice-Kraków Airport       

                    Stopover at the Convent of the Sisters of the Presentation       

08:30                    Transfer by helicopter to Częstochowa        

09:45                    Arrival at the Monastery of Jasna Gora and Prayer at the Chapel of the

Black Madonna     

10:30                    Holy Mass on the occasion of the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism

of Poland, in the area near the Shrine of Częstochowa

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

12:45                    Transfer by helicopter to Balice-Kraków Airport      

17:30                    Welcoming ceremony by the young people at Jordan Park in

Kraków's Błonia

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

Friday, 29 July 2016

08:45                    Transfer by helicopter to Oswięcim    

09:30                    Visit to Auschwitz       

10:30                    Visit to Birkenau Concetration Camp     

11:30                    Transfer by helicopter to Balice-Kraków Airport      

16:30                    Visit to the Children's University Hospital (UCH) in Prokocim,

Kraków

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

18:00                    Way of the Cross with the young people at Jordan Park in

Kraków's Błonia

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

Saturday, 30 July 2016

08:30                    Visit to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kraków   

09:00                    Passing through the Door of Divine Mercy      

09:15                    Rite of Reconciliation to some young people at the Divine Mercy

Shrine        

10:30                    Holy Mass with Priests, Men and Women Religious, Consecrated

Persons and Polish Seminarians gathered in St John Paul II Shrine in Kraków

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

12:45                    Lunch with some young people in the archiepiscopal residence    

19:00                    Arrival at Campus Misericordiae and passing through the Holy Door

with some young people     

19:30                    Prayer Vigil with the young people in Campus Misericordiae

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

Sunday, 31 July 2016

10:00                    Holy Mass on the occasion of the World Youth Day in Campus  

Misericordiae

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

                    Angelus

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

17:00                    Meeting with the Volunteers of WYD and with the Organizing

Committee and Benefactors in the Tauron Arena in Kraków

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]       

18:15                    Farewell ceremony at Balice-Kraków        

18:30                    Departure by plane for Rome   

20:25                    Arrival at Ciampino Airport in Rome    

_____________________

time zones

Rome: +2h UTC

Krakow: +2h UTC

We all pray for the success and the incoming World youth Day and for all who will be participating in the event. God Bless us all!

Day 244: Working Until the End of the World

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

f 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.

Nais ko lang balikan ang pangatlo sa aking mga naiguhit at isa sa mga paborito ko. ito ay imahe ni Sta. Teresita ng Batang si Hesus. ito ay ginamitan ko lamang ng 2b na lapis kaya hindi pa masyadong pulido ang guhit. subalit ganon na lamang ang aking kasiyahan sa tuwing bibisitahin ko ang guhit na ito sa aking sketch pad dahil parati nitong pinapaalala sa akin na kahit ang kalyo at mabigat na kamay na ito ay makalilikha rin pala ng isang simpleng Obra.

Day 243: Jesus’ Special Gift to Those He Loves

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.

"Dapit-Hapon"

Day 242: True Beauty Uniquely Shining Through

(A Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy)

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.