For instance, in preparation for her First Holy Com munion at age 10, she made and recorded 1,949 small sacrifices and 2,773 short prayers!37 (Thankfully, Jesus himself later taught her, as she put it, not to count up my acts.38) Much worse, though, was her painful bout with scruples, which often goes along with Jansenist thinking. Also, in a certain sense, even God needs her help. I found what I was looking for. He spoke about mortal sin, and he described a soul in the state of sin and how much God hated it. Now I know that even [some] souls that are chosen and well advanced in the religious life or the spiritual life do not have the courage to entrust themselves completely to God. "10' Alright, so does the Offering to Merciful Love make this life into purgatory? She just wants us to believe in God and trust in his mercy. 214 Sharing Gods mercy with others is a key to living the Family Offering to Mercifiil Love. Convinced that this was no ordinary dream, Therese reported it to the prioress, who documented it. Its to praise and thank God in all circumstances, because while we may not always understand his ways, we know and believe the love God has for us (1 Jn 4:16). Indeed, she was absolutely confident that God would allow her to bor row lais own divine love. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture, became part of the tradition of the Church. Pere de la Trinite, OCD, at www.fransciscan-sfb.org/ap/litftvrpu.htm (accessed January 10, 2012). Well, that didnt faze him. In other words, do they seem like towering mountains while youre just a small grain of sand? But I didnt know about the catch and all this talk about an increased longing for God and all that. - Additional DVD from Episode 2 of the acclaimed Catholic documentary, Divine Mercy in the second greatest story ever told based on the book, 33 Days And if theres one thing that Therese wants to say to us, its this: trust. how I would like to be able to make you understand what I feel! Relate Saint Therese doesnt always make a good first impression. And Faustina even refers to the soul that receives this grace as the sinner. Certainly God can give this final grace even to someone who turns to Him from a state of mortal sin how great is the power of Gods mercy! First, imagine that the heavens above are an infinite ocean. I do this because it may be hard to believe that Jesus actually needs us and that we truly can give relief to his Sacred and Merciful Heart. 51 Story ofa Soul, p. 198. Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite 135 136 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE treasures of His merits are mine. Work of Mercy. Now, Merciful Love is that particular kind of love that seeks out brokenness, suffering, sin, and weakness. 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Divine Mercy Consecration Paperback - Illustrated, Feb. 15 2016 . And he came to her and said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And thats a big deal. the Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dear Mother. 204 Catechism, 1085. I suggest that we can do so by living our lives with the one purpose of consoling Jesus through our attitude of trust, which means praising and thanking God in all things and in all circumstances. The flames of mercy are burning Me. Yes. Its really all about friendship. According to Fr. Finally, in Genesis 22, God put Abrahams faith to the ultimate test when he commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. In fact, she readily admitted, I am not an eagle. Nevertheless, she went on to explain, but I have an eagles EYES AND HEART. Then, she continued, [So,] in spite of WEEK TWO: The Little Way 51 my extreme littleness I still dare to gaze upon [the Lord], and my heart feels within it all the aspirations of an Eagle.*'' Such is the boldness that led Therese to discover the Little Way. 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Consecration to Divine Mercy 2016930904, 9781596143456. 1 aim to keep before my eyes my poverty, weakness, brokenness, and sin, trusting DAY OF CONSECRATION: 'The Happy Day' that my littleness and contrite heart will attract your Merciful Love. 97 This is perhaps why God would accept the prayer of people who offered themselves as victim souls to divine Justice its because Jesus did it first! Oh, how great is our Lord and God and how incomprehen sible His holiness! ?] Download Free PDF. If you still havent begun to savor its sweetness, ponder Thereses advice to her sister Celine, which brings us back to the Heart of the Good Shepherd: [D]o not fear, the poorer you are the more Jesus will love you. Let no soul, even the most miserable fall prey to doubt; for, as long as one is alive, each one can become a great saint, so great is the power of Gods grace. In the lives of the desert fathers, it is told how one of them con verted a public sinner whose evil deeds were the scandal of the whole country. God promised Abram, who was now Abraham, that through that son, Isaac, he would establish an everlasting covenant with him and his descendants, blessing them with his saving presence and protection (see Gen 17:1-21). How so? What we think of as negligence, Therese wrote, is very often heroism in the eyes of God. She warned Celine: On the last day, you will be astonished to see your sisters freed from all their im perfections, and they will appear as great saints. Although such little souls might pass unnoticed and have nothing to boast about, they are great in the eyes of God, for in their poverty they are full of hope ( With Empty Hands, p. 110). I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look upon me only in the Face of Jesus and in His heart burning with Love. And why not be joyful? So whether you want to deepen your . Notice how, having stated the goal (becoming a saint), Therese clearly realizes that she is helpless when it comes to attaining it. Will you offer yourself as a victim soul to his Merciful Love? Self publishing . Gaitley's 33 Days to Morning Glory. add to list add to registry. Using the same 33-day preparation format, 33 Days to Merciful Love journeys with one of the most beloved saints of modern times, St. Thrse of Lisieux, and concludes with a consecration to Divine Mercy. After all, Jesus said, The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy.215 Well, these words also apply to families, so one could say, The more sinful the family, the more right it has to Gods mercy. So, no matter how much a family struggles with sin, the members can still make the Family Offering to Merciful Love. But theres something else. In the same introduction to her auto biography from which we just read, St. Therese describes the way of mercy in relation to other paths: he Wtt oi T I understood, too, that Our Lords love is revealed as perfectly in the most simple soul who resists His grace in nothing as in the most excellent soul; in fact, since the nature of love is to humble oneself, if all souls resembled those of the holy Doctors who illumined the Church with the clarity of their teachings, it seems God would not descend so low when coming to their hearts. At least I dont think so, I replied. In times of darkness, when youre tempted to think that God and heaven do not exist remember that smile. Thats what makes us who we are. However, if you were to ask the writers of Sacred Scripture, theyd say theres somediing even more characteristic of humanity than reason, APPENDIX ONE: Living the Offering 155 namely, the heart.199 Indeed, theyd say that the heart gets to the very center of man and to whats most important about him. Now; at this point, many of us may be enthusiastically agreeing, Thats right! Why couldnt Jesus work many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth? 2, s.c. and ad. Also, regarding the idea of Gods amazing mercy for sinners being beyond the power of words to express, Jesus once said to St. Faustina, My daughter, do you think you have written enough about My mercy? Think of your breathing: in/out in/out in/out. Why? But Therese tells us to try. 62 Cited in With Empty Hands, pp. However, the idea of consoling Jesus (the Head of his body)194 sometimes causes difficulties for people. Has he not said: OFFER TO GOD THE SACRIFICES OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING! 148 Story of a Soul, pp. First, Thereses Offering to Merciful Love is based on her profound insight into the love of the Heart of Jesus. Mary's Gift of Mercy. Well, I have three recommendations. (Remember Sr. Marie of Jesus? In fact, their aim is to do little things withgreat love. Your great trust in Me forces Me to continuously grant you graces. Sister Marie Febronie, the 67-year-old subprioress at Thereses convent, had heard about the 19-year-old novice mistress teaching on purgatory. (198 pages.) Unsere Partner sammeln Daten und verwenden Cookies zur Personalisierung und Messung von Anzeigen. Why? Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!95 lam looking for souls who would like to receive My grace.96 So, do you want to console Jesus by receiving his grace? Still, in the midst of such darkness, she clung to the Lord with faith, hope, and love and encourages us to do the same. Its realizing, widiout despairing, that WEEK TWO: The Little Way 57 they may be with us till our dying day. To put it differently, Therese teaches us that when we clearly see the reality of Gods passionate love for us, it makes us realize we cant compete! (We covered it in the reading for Day 9.) DAY OF CONSECRATION: 'The Happy Day' 133 So, as you prepare to consecrate yourself to Merciful Love, if youre feeling happy, then good be happy! Think of it. o o O O O xo o O u O O O bro bro bro o o O o O o 0 O O O o o O o u o o o . Anyway, heres the point. Yes. Why care about mercy if we dont feel were in need of it? Before we go further into diose three moments of breathing, let me say something about three words from Scripture. I understand, however, that all souls cannot be die same, that it is necessary there be different types in order to honor each of Gods per fections in a particular way. Now what? Surely [we] know whether his father can love him as much as the other and treat him with the same indulgence (cited in ibid., pp. The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust. A less obvious one is Trinity Sunday, which is the anniversary of when St. Therese first received her inspiration to offer herself to Gods Merciful Love. Its because, again, weve arrived at the perfection of faith. And, again, shes not worried. If through weakness I sometimes fall, may Your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself. Lord, You know it, I have no other treasures than the souls it has pleased You to unite to mine; it is You who entrusted these treasures to me (Story ofa Soul, p. 254). She remembers the experience as folloyvs: What [the priest] told us was frightening. And so, her faith is like that of Abraham, as John Paul points out: Just as Abraham / hope believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations (Rom 4:18), so Mary, at the Annunciation, having professed her virginity (How shall this be, since I have no hus band?) believed that through the power of the Most High, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she would be come the Mother of Gods Son in accordance with die angels revelation: The child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God (Lk 1:35).15 So, if we want to understand the mystery of Mary, we should reflect on the fact that she believed Gods Word, even when it seemed impossible. Its as if Jesus were saying to us, Would you please have mercy on my Heart by letting me save you, love you, and make you happy? Heres the full citation from John Paul on mercy as a bilateral reality' (which, again, applies even to God having mercy on us in Christ): We must also continually purify' all our actions and all our intentions in which mercy is understood and practiced in a unilateral way, as a good done to others. And when people reject his mercy, when they reject his gift of salvation, it causes him pain. After all, maybe he could have gotten the number down to just three. Therese simply realized that by recognizing her littleness and helplessness more and more, she would, thereby, be more and more ready for the cascading love pouring forth from the pierced Heart of Jesus. DAY 8 None More Lowly 1 just said that perhaps no one among sinful humanity is more lowly and little than Therese of Lisieux. The book is a Do-It-Yourself Retreat for Divine Mercy Consecration perfect for the Jubilee Year of Mercy! Oonagh Stransky, (New York: Random House, 2016), Pope Francis explains why God might allow someone to fall into sin: At times I have surprised myself by thinking that a tew very rigid people would do well to slip a little, so that they could remember that they are sinners and thus meet Jesus. (This is probably why we dont see in our churches statues of the Sacred Brain of Jesus but, rather, statues of his Sacred Heart.) 4.9 out of 5 stars . 23 Introduction September 4 Our Lady of the Rosary October 7 September 13 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque October 16 September 19 St. John Paul II October 22 October 19 Presentation of Mary November 21 November 5 Immaculate Conception December 8 November 9 Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12 November 22 December 25 November 29 Christmas St. John the Apostle, Evangelist Mother of God December 23 Conversion of St. Paul January 25 December 31 Presentation of the Lord February 2 November 24 December 27 January 1 Of course, because the mystery of Divine Mercy touches all the mysteries of our faith and the life of every saint, you can certainly choose to consecrate yourself to Divine Mercy on any of the Churchs solemnities, feasts, or memorials that are mean ingful to you. This book has all the updated information about 33 Days To Morning Glory Pdf Download and you will be satisfied reading all about 33 Days To Morning Glory Pdf Download. So, whether you want to deepen your love of Divine Mercy or have a devotion to St. Therese, 33 Days to Merciful Love is the book for you. The Catechism says its die revelation in Jesus WEEK TWO: The Little Way 53 Christ of Gods mercy to sinners.06 Now, in Therese's day, which was during the terrible time of Jansenism, this truly would have seemed like a totally new and joyful revelation. Later, in his book The Name of God is Mercy, the Pope further elab orates on these comments on the plane: Yes, I believe that this is a time for mercy. As you might have guessed, the ocean I just described is the ocean of Gods Merciful Love. Its that moment at Mass when, through him, with him, and in him, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is offered up to the Father as a perfect sacrifice of love. 197 Ibid., 1120. Anyone can become a little soul at heart, just as even the materially rich can be poor in spirit. Divine Mercy in My Soul Paperback Y26-NBFD Compact edition Y26-DNBF Deluxe LeatherBound Edition Y26-DDBURG Audio Diary Mp3 Edition Y26-ADMP3 DivineMercyArt.com Top Quality Religious Art at Merciful Prices! That is what mercy is. Michael Gaitley, MIC, this 33 Days to Merciful Love Group Retreat goes even deeper than the book alone and explores new material on the heart of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Little Way, uncovering the power of trust in the face of personal darkness, inspiring participants to become great saints amid ordinary circumstances, and . divine Justice!88 So, whats going on here? Like the Saint of the Little Way, St. Faustina also received the grace of having Holy Communion remain within her: September 29, [1937]. Indeed, her Offering is well suited for the little souls who long to attain the heights of holiness but who are too little to climb the rough stairway of perfection, too little to take the path of fear and harsh justice. After all, the nature of love is to humble itself. And so, the Little Way is, in a certain sense, the best path for giving God the greatest glory. Why dont you just leave great holiness to the great souls? Basically, the longing of the soul for God becomes so intense that the thread of this life is broken. Its to trust that he will make us into great saints, even if we dont see it happening, even if we struggle with the same sins day after day, even if we have to wait for the grace of great holiness until the very end of our lives. Using the same 33-day preparation format, 33 Days to Merciful Love journeys with one of the most beloved saints of modern times, St. Therese of Lisieux, and concludes with a consecration to Divine Mercy. Seraphim said that to live trust means to praise and thank God for everything? She wanted to tell her Father immediately, and you would have pitied her to see her anxiety. Well, when I saw that claim on the back of the book, I was sold. Canada & Contiguous U.S. Ends December 30 at 11:59 PM PT; Menu; 0; Search Specifically, she taught us that, because of Divine Mercy, we can become great saints not in spite of our littleness but, rather, because of it! Seraphim Michalcnko, MIC, an expert on the message of Divine Mercy that comes to us through St. Faustina: I asked Fr. Because great saints clearly see this reality, theyre not blind to their sins. May the blood and water that flows forth from your Heart always be upon us! As we learned on Day 13, in many ways were living in a time of unprecedented dark ness and evil. 122 To learn how we can console Jesus, see the first section of Appendix One, How We Can Console Jesus. Also, on this topic, its interesting to note that St. Therese took the religious name Sr. Day of Consecration 'The Happy Day' JT)l HAPPY. After all, only the merciful will be shown mercy (see Mt 5:7, 18:2135). "8 The first paragraph, in which Therese describes the goal of her Offering, contains one of the best definitions of what it means to be a saint: (1)0 My God! Hes looking for families who want to receive his gifts of mercy, love, peace, and joy. So, what is it? Whenever we look at it, help us to remember your love and mercy, and fill our hearts with trust. Just make up die reading die next day. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the scepter of Your Cross. 98-99). I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Tour self. In other words, he waited until her foundation on Divine Mercy was rock solid. And so I succeeded. So whether you want to deepen your love of Divine Mercy or have a devotion to St. Thrse, 33 Days to Merciful Love is the book for you. 191 Regarding the graces associated with the Image of Divine Mercy, see the following words of Jesus to St. Faustina, recorded in her Diary. More specifically, what is Divine Mercy? why cant I tell all little souls how unspeakable is Your condescension? Why? Yet hes silently nursing at my breast? However, as we learned in point two, for the sake offriendship, in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God chose to need our love. She does not wait for the wounded to knock on her doors, she looks for them on the streets, she Endnotes 183 gathers them in, she embraces them, she takes care of them, she makes them feel loved. I smile through my own tears When I contemplate your sorrows Oh! Let me put it this way: the Good News isnt really news if we dont feel were in need of it. But when it came to Thereses turn, the future saint suddenly exclaimed, I choose all! and proceeded to take the entire basket. And what does our heavenly mother do when she wins such hearts? Please forgive us our sins. 164 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE 1 jTart's Words Applied to Breathing. Its to let him pour out that rejected love into our own sinful but contrite hearts. he T AFTER CONSECRATION: The Lens of Mercy 147 1. for all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. He also stated: Man finds nothing so intolerable as to be in a state of complete rest without occupation, without diversion (622). Yet his Heart cant hold this returned love, for its been pierced, and now your lungs are empty. Optional Closing Prayer Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Emphasis added. And I will make of you a great nation, and 1 will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (Gen 12:1-2). Now, Therese was deeply affected by Jansenism during her younger years. Well, I say that because Jesus is God, and again, our wound has to do with God. To close todays reflection, lets ponder Thereses descrip tion of the Little Way as a way of darkness-. It was about trusting amid the darkness of not seeing the goal, not desiring the goal, and not feeling the slightest bit of joy at the thought of the goal. Well, there is, indeed, a catch, but its not a scary one. Let me explain. After 33 days of preparation we are ready to make a consecration on the 34th day. After making her Offering to Merciful Love, St. Therese wasfilled with consolation. I know that this whole multitude of sins would be lost in the twinkling of an eye like a drop of water cast into a burning furnace. M. Verda Clare, CSC (Chicago: Fides Publishers Association, 1953), p. 25. Instead of becoming discour aged, I said to myself: God cannot inspire unrealizable desires. Three in a row! But how did she do it? Its a beautiful thing to be moved by the suffering of our neighbor. For instance, theyll say things like this: How can I console Jesus when hes happy in heaven? Clearly, our world needs saving. So, I know what Mark meant. Take away anyfears or anxieties I may have about making the Offering. Let me put it this way: Im a priest. Okay, so what do you need to do? Alright, so were weak, little, pitiful lovers. This is one of the main efforts under the keep trying category for living the Litde Way. 18 Ibid. For that, Im only giving you two options: Thereses actual text or the Prayer of Consecration to Merciful Love.178 (Of course, you can certainly pray both.) 124 Story ofa Soul, p. 181. Rather, its a self-offering to God (a setting of oneself apart for God) dtat anyone can make whether the person is a member of die clergy, consecrated religious, or laity and they do it for the specific purpose ofglorifying Gods mercy. Now, of course, it doesnt give us freedom to choose when it comes to something like the Ten Command ments. He knew that the Offering to Merciful Love is not well known. I would also encourage such a person to still do the Divine Mercy Image Enthronement, which Ill explain in the next section.
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