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Janet · Aug 26, 2014

I also want to quote this from the Office of Readings on the feast day of St. Rose of Lima. Food for thought for us all. (Of course not many of us are at the spiritual level of St. Rose, but it is something to strive for! )

From the writings of Saint Rose of Lima, virgin (Ad medicum Castillo: edit. L. Getino, La Patrona de America, madrid 1928, pp. 54-55)

Let us know the love of Christ which surpasses all understanding

Our Lord and Saviour lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.”

When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: “Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from his own lips: We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions. We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul.”

That same force strongly urged me to proclaim the beauty of divine grace. It pressed me so that my breath came slow and forced me to sweat and pant. I felt as if my soul could no longer be kept in the prison of the body, but that it had burst its chains and was free and alone and was going very swiftly through the whole world saying:

“If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! Without doubt they would devote all their care and concern to winning for themselves pains and afflictions. All men throughout the world would seek trouble, infirmities and torments, instead of good fortune, in order to attain the unfathomable treasure of grace. This is the reward and the final gain of patience. No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men.”
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Janet · Aug 26, 2014

Of course there is nothing wrong with praying to be delivered, as Jesus himself did!

Greggo · Aug 26, 2014

Janet said: ↑

Greggo, I suffered a dark night some years ago. My earthly life was falling apart and then the Lord withdrew. The only prayer I could pray and that without feeling was: “I trusted, even when I said, 'I am sorely afflicted.'” (Psalm 116:10) The darkness eventually was lifted, and quite suddenly too, praise God. My earthly circumstances did not change, in fact they got worse, but God was giving me the grace to believe in his nearness again, and that made all the difference. Upon reflection, I realized that I had learned a valuable lesson in trust that could not have been learned any other way.

Trusting in God is not an easy lesson to learn since we can only learn it in darkness. It is one thing to trust him in time of consolation, but it is in the fire of desolation that our trust is put to the test and purified. It is in the furnace of affliction that our trust becomes truly credible. In our darkest hour, we are called to proclaim with the psalmist: Jesus, the very Prince of Peace, shows us what it means to live in total abandonment: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:42) He felt fully his distress, but he surrendered in complete trust to the will of his Father, even in his darkest moment.

Charlie tells us that what we are enduring now is preparing us for what will come to the whole world. Let this lesson in trust and abandonment to the will of God not be lost. It may be the thing you will be most thankful for in the days ahead. Keep praying the psalm I quoted above. And above all (as I tell so many) pray, "Jesus I trust in you." Pray it until you mean it!!!

May the merciful God lead us all into his holy and Divine Will.
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Thank-you Janet. In my heart, I know what you're saying is true...I will trust in Him, mostly because I can't see what he is doing, and because I trust that He works all things for the benefit of the believers. Still, ...though I tremble at the thought of the chastisements that are sure to come, I hope He comes soon.

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