Your Shepherd Calls

"Precisely because He loves me, Jesus calls me by name:  He calls me when in prayer He opens to me new horizons of the spiritual life, or when He enables me to know my faults and weaknesses better;  He calls me when He reprimands me or purifies me by aridity, as well as when He consoles and encourages me by filling me with new fervor;  He calls me when He makes me feel the need of greater generosity, and when He asks for sacrifices or gives me joys, and still more, when He awakens in me a deeper love for Him.  Hearing His call, my attitude should be that of a loving sheep who recognizes the voice of its Shepherd and follows Him always."  -- from Divine Intimacy, #154.

Prayer

"It is significant that the Apostles acknowledge the importance of both prayer and works of charity, yet clearly give priority to prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel. In every age the saints have stressed the deep vital unity between contemplation and activity. Prayer, nourished by faith and enlightened by God’s word, enables us to see things in a new way and to respond to new situations with the wisdom and insight bestowed by the Holy Spirit. In our own daily lives and decisions, may we always draw fresh spiritual breath from the two lungs of prayer and the word of God; in this way, we will respond to every challenge and situation with wisdom, understanding and fidelity to God’s will." -- Pope Benedict XVI (Wednesday audience)

Divine Intimacy

"So where do we go from here?  How do we begin to seek the renewal of our hearts and the union God wills for us?  Let us begin by acknowledging that this is all grace.  Nothing is ultimately ours.  There can be no growth without God's willing and granting it.  Beg the Father of tenderness to make you evermore his child and to send you the fullness of his Spirit...

"First off, do not be afraid!  Where do you secretly fear God's closeness?...

To love at all is to be vulnerable  Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal...lock it up safe in the casket coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change.  It will not be broken;  it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." (C.S. Lewis - The Four Loves)

"Personal union always demands that we make space in our heart for another..."  taken from Union With God - Living the Christ Life, by Fr. David VIncent Meconi, SJ, pp. 43-44.

Resurrection Life

"The experience of the disciples invites us to reflect on Easter’s meaning for us. Let us allow ourselves to be encountered by the Risen Jesus! He, living and true, is always present among us; He walks with us in order to guide our lives and to open our eyes. Let us trust in the Risen One, who has the power to give life, and to give us rebirth as children of God, capable of believing and of loving. Faith in Him transforms our lives; it frees them from fear, gives them sure hope and enlivens them by what gives full meaning to life, God’s love."  - Pope Benedict XVI

Divine Mercy Sunday

"Unless you be converted..."   Each wave of grace purifies and cleanses our soul from sin and its roots, giving us rebirth to a new life in Christ, a pure, innocent life, which craves only "the pure spiritual milk" of the doctrine of Christ, His love, and His grace.  Today, however, the Church wishes to turn our desires in a very special way toward faith:  that faith which makes us cling to Jesus so as to be taught by Him, and nourished and guided toward eternal life... Let us draw near to Jesus with the simple, sincere faith of a little child, and He will give us the abundance of His grace as a pledge of eternal life.  --Divine Intimacy #147.

Prayer

"O Lord, I come to ask of You the true spirit of prayer."

"Prayer is essentially an intimate conversation with God in which the soul seeks His presence, so that it may speak with Him in a friendly and affectionate way. ..From its very nature, then, prayer is something intimate and interior...

"Whatever form it takes, true prayer is not complicated or constrained; it is the breath of the soul that loves its God, the habitual attitude of the heart which tends toward God...Prayer understood in this way is always possible, in all kinds of circumstances and in the midst of varying occupations;  furthermore, for a soul who really loves God, it would be as impossible for it to interrupt prayer as it would be for it to stop breathing."  --Divine Intimacy #146.


Divine Mercy Novena Day #9:  Today bring to Me souls who have become lukewarm, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. 

Divine Mercy Novena Day #8: Today bring to Me the souls who are detained in purgatory and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy.  Novena prayers here.

Living Water

"O Jesus, my soul thirsts for You, the source of living water; grant that I may draw near You and drink!"

"Mortification frees the soul from every obstacle which might retard the growth of grace, which might hinder the soul's love for God and its flight toward Him;  whereas prayer which consists essentially in intimate conversation with God feeds this love and quickens this flight. Mortification prepares a suitable place for a loving meeting with God; prayer effects this meeting, and by placing the soul in real contact with God, the source of living water, it quenches its thirst and reanimates it."  from Divine Intimacy #143.


Divine Mercy Novena Day #7:  Today bring to Me the souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy and immerse them in My mercy.  Novena prayers here.

Stay With Us

"God has made us for Himself, and we cannot live without Him;  we need Him, we hunger and thirst for Him; He is the only One who can satisfy our hearts...

"Spiritual hunger is a sign of a robust spirit...The soul which feels no hunger for God, no need to seek Him, and to find Him...is a dead soul, or at least one which has been weakened and rendered insensible by lukewarmness...

"Stay with us, Lord!  It is the cry of the soul who had found its God and never again wishes to be separated from Him.  Let us too, as the disciples at Emmaus, go in search of the Lord."  --from Divine Intimacy, #141.

Divine Mercy Novena Day #6

Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.


Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#6#ixzz1rgpoAtid

Praying with the Saints

"Lord Jesus, good and gentle Jesus, who deigned to die for our sins and to rise for our justification, I beg You, by Your glorious Resurrection, to bring me out of the sepulcher of my vices and sins, so that I may merit to have a real share in Your Resurrection. O most kind Lord, who ascended to Heaven in the triumph of Your glory and are seated at the right hand of the Father, You who are all-powerful, raise me up to You, so that I may run in the odor of Your ointments, run without slackening, while You call and guide me. My soul thirsts; draw me to the divine spring of eternal satiety; lift me out of the abyss toward this living spring, so that I may drink as much as I can of it, and live on it forever, O my God, my Life.  Taken from Divine Intimacy, page 407 (#140) (St Augustine)."

Divine Mercy Novena Day #5:  Today bring to Me the souls of those who have separated themselves from the Church. Novena prayers here.

Divine Mercy Novena Day #4: Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not yet know me. Novena prayers here.

The Resurrection of the Lord

"I am the Resurrection and the Life;  he that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live."  John 11:25. 

"The search for God is progressive, and must be maintained during our whole life.  We must always have a holy preoccupation about finding the Lord, a preoccupation which will make us industrious and diligent in seeking Him, and at the same time confident of the divine aid, since the Lord will certainly take care that we arrive where our own strength could never bring us, because He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. 

"Every year Easter marks a time of renewal in our spiritual life, in our search for God; every year, we re-ascend the path toward Him in novitiate vitae, in newness of life (Rm 6:4)."  (from Divine Intimacy, #140)

Divine Mercy Novena Day #3:  Today bring Me all devout and faithful souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.  Novena prayers here.

I think I finally get it. Jesus conquered sin and death -- won our salvation on the Cross on Good Friday. He rose so that we would know it! That explains why he appeared to those who already believed in Him, not to those who disbelieved, to try to convince them.

Victory of the Cross

"As soon as Jesus expired, 'the veil of the Temple was torn in two...the earth quaked, the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened; and many bodies...arose.' so that those who were present were seized with a great fear and said 'Indeed this was the Son of God.'  Jesus willed to die in complete ignominy...but scarcely had He drawn His last breath, when His divinity revealed itself in such a powerful manner...Christ's death began to show itself for what it really was, that is, not a defeat but a victory:  the greatest victory that the world would ever witness, the victory over sin, the victory over death, which was the consequence of sin, the victory, which restored to man the life of grace."  --Divine Intimacy, p. 412

Divine Mercy Novena Day #2:  Today bring to Me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy."  for novena, click here

Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said: "These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."
In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."


Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#ixzz1rDv49V00

SET YOUR EYES ON CHRIST

If you are suffering trials, or are sad, look upon Him on His way to the Garden. What sore distress He must have borne in His soul to describe His own suffering as He did and to complain of it! Or look upon Him bound to the Column, full of pain, His flesh all torn to pieces by His great love for you. How much He suffered, persecuted by some, spat upon by others, denied by His friends, and even deserted by them, with none to take His part, frozen with the cold and left so completely alone that you may well comfort each other! Or look upon Him bending under the weight of the Cross and not even allowed to take breath: He will look upon you with His lovely and compassionate eyes, full of tears, and in comforting your grief will forget His own because you are bearing Him company in order to comfort Him and turning your head to look upon Him.

"O Lord of the world, my true Spouse!" you may say to Him, if seeing Him in such a plight has filled your heart with such tenderness that you not only desire to look upon Him but love to speak to Him, not using forms of prayer, but words issuing from the compassion of your heart, which means so much to Him: " Art Thou so needy, my Lord and my Good, that Thou wilt accept poor copanionship like mine? Do I read in Thy face that Thou hast found comfort, even in me? How can it be possible, Lord, that the angels are leaving Thee alone and that Thy Father is not comforting Thee?

"If Thou, Lord, art willing to suffer all this for me, what am I suffering for Thee: What have I to complain of?  I am ashamed, Lord, when I see Thee in such a plight , and if in any way I can imitate Thee I will suffer all trials that come to me and count them as a great blessing.  Let us go both together, Lord: whither Thou goest, I must go; through whatsoever Thou passest, I must pass."
                                                     (from St Teresa's Way of Perfection, chapter 26:5-6)

Mary Understood

"There is only one anointing that is strong enough to meet death and that is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the love of God.  There is, then, something that is both exemplary and lasting in Mary's anointing of Jesus at Bethany.  It was above all a concern to keep Christ alive in this world and to oppose the powers that aimed to silence and kill him.  It was an act of faith and love.  Every such act can have the same effect."  (Pope Benedict XVI)  Magnificat, p. 49

"Mary understood, as Judas did not, that no money could ever repay the love that carried Jesus toward the cross.  She offered instead the intensely personal homage of her loving faith:  anointing him for death, she proclaimed him the Christ, meaning 'the Anointed One'.  She remains his faithful witness as her memory is kept today."  Magnificat, p.54

The Mystery of the Cross

"To plunge us into passive suffering is, therefore, one of His greatest works of mercy, a proof of His exceeding love.

"When God acts in a soul in this way, it is a sign that He wants to bring it to very high perfection...St. John of the Cross asks why there are so few souls who reach the plenitude of the spiritual life; and he answers: "It is not because God wants to reserve this state for a few privileged souls, but because He finds so few souls disposed to accept the hard task of purification.  Therefore, He stops purifying them, and they condemn themselves to mediocrity and advance no farther."  It is impossible to become united with God without these spiritual sufferings, without bearing this "burden" of God.  Suffering and interior desolation alone enlarge the powers of the soul and make it capable of embracing God Himself."  --from Divine Intimacy, p. 389-390.

Scripture for Sinners

I am impatient: Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it shall be opened to you (Lk 11:9).

I am harsh, unkind: Blessed are the merciful for they shall find mercy (Mt 5:7).

I am envious: Do not lay up treasures on earth where rust and moth consume and thieves break in to steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven...for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be (Mt 6:19-21).

I am self-seeking: Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls (Mt 11:28-29).

I am judgmental: Whoever receives one such little child for my sake, receives me (Lk 9:48).

 I am despondent, discouraged: Take heart for I have overcome the world (Jn 16:33).

I am impure: Behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears and opens to me I will come in and sup with him and he with me (Rev 3:20-21).

I am selfish: He who loves his life loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life ever-lasting. If anyone serves me, let him follow me (Jn 12:25-26).

I am slothful: He who abides in me, bears much fruit (Jn 15:5).

I am anxious: Let your heart not be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me (Jn 14:1).

I am proud: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For he who would save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will save it (Lk 9:23-25).
 by Fr. Bob Pelton, taken from Restoration, March 2012.