I loved his honesty. Dear Lord , help me to be honest with myself. But maybe not too much too quickly oo I might end up keeling over. Lord tell me the truth about myself. But give me a break. Be gentle. There is a story about the Cure of Ars I recall. One day he was sitting in Church and asked God to show him his full sinfulness . After just a few seconds he screamed out to God to stop as he couldn't bear it anymore. He said if it went on any longer he would have died. Now St John Vianney was one of the holiest people who ever lived. So how would it hit us? Not well. Not well at all. I was talking to a friend last week who spoke about his father dying, very painfully of cancer. His father had his eyes closed for about two days and the nurses said he wouldn't wake up before death. However the guy was sitting by the bedside and asked the dad to open his eyes. He appalled to see the agony and deep pain in his fathers eyes. The gentleman was clearly undergoing a lot of his purgatory right before death. He got confirmation of this after his dad's death when he saw his father in a kind of huge hospital being attended to by loads of figures in white. If there are two things about the spiritual life that never fail to overwhelm me they are these. Firstly the astonishing love and mercy of the Good God. Secondly my own endless facility to deceive myself about just how far down in the gutter I am. St. Faustina's Praises of God's Mercy The love of God is the flower - Mercy the fruit. Let the doubting soul read these considerations on Divine Mercy and become trusting: Divine Mercy, gushing forth from the bosom of the Father, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, greatest attribute of God, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, incomprehensible mystery, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, fount gushing forth from the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity I trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomable by any intellect human or angelic, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, from which wells forth all life and happiness, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, better than the heavens, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, source of miracles and wonders, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, encompassing the whole universe, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, descending to earth in the Person of the Incarnate Word, I trust in You. Divine Mercy which flowed out from the open wound of the Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Divine Mercy enclosed in the Heart of Jesus for us and especially for sinners, I trust in You. Divine Mercy unfathomed in the institution of the Sacred Heart, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the founding of the Holy Church, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the sacrament of Holy Baptism, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in our justification through Jesus Christ, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, accompanying us through our whole life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, embracing us especially at the hour of death, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, endowing us with immortal life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, accompanying us every moment of our life, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, shielding us from the fire of hell, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in the conversion of hardened sinners, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, astonishment for angels, incomprehensible to saints, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, unfathomed in all the mysteries of God, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, lifting us out of every misery, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, source of our happiness and joy, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in calling us forth from nothingness to existence, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, embracing all the works of His hands, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, crown of all God’s handy work, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, in which we are all immersed, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, sweet relief for anguished hearts, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, only hope of despairing souls, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, repose of hearts, peace amidst fear, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, delight and ecstasy of holy souls, I trust in You. Divine Mercy, inspiring hope against all hope, I trust in You. 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.
The priest in this video speaks to Mark Mallett's recent post http://www.markmallett.com/blog/my-young-priests-be-not-afraid/ "AFTER Mass today, the words came strongly to me: My young priests, do not be afraid! I have put you in place, like seeds scattered among fertile soil. Do not be afraid to preach My Name! Do not be afraid to speak the truth in love. Do not be afraid if My Word, through you, causes a sifting of your flock… As I shared these thoughts over coffee with a courageous African priest this morning, he nodded his head. “Yes, we priests often want to please everyone rather than preach the truth… we have let the lay faithful down.”
