Spiritual Journey

Reflection 73: Growing in Our Desire for Jesus

Carl Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The more we come to know Jesus, the more we desire Him. And the more we desire Him, the more we come to know Him. This is a beautiful cyclical experience of knowing and desiring, desiring and knowing (See Diary #273).

Do you desire to know your precious Lord? Do you long for Him in a burning way? Reflect upon this desire in your soul and if it is lacking, know that it’s because you need to come to know Him more. Reflect, also, upon the ways in which you do sense a real knowledge of Jesus. What does that knowledge of Him do to you? Allow it to move from your head to your heart, and from your heart to all your affections. Allow Him to work on you, to draw you and to envelop you in His Mercy.

Lord, help me to come to know You. Help me to comprehend You in Your perfection and Mercy. And as I do come to know You, flood my soul with a longing and desire for more of You. May this desire increase my love of You and help me to know You all the more. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Nine Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 72: An Incomprehensible Mystery

At the Throne of Grace by Lawrence OP, license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

When God enters your soul, He acts in such a way that you will never fully comprehend His workings. His grace and Mercy are such that they remain a mystery deeper than the oceans and more vast than the upper limits of the Universe. Understanding the incomprehensible nature of God’s grace is, in fact, the first step to wisdom. It’s the first step to realizing the omnipotence of God and His infinite Mercy (See Diary #266).

Will you ever comprehend the grace of God? Will you ever fully grasp all that He has done for you? Certainly not. But if you can become all the more aware of the fact that you cannot comprehend God and His love, then you are on the road to wisdom. Reflect upon the incomprehensible workings of grace today. Face the great mystery of God’s infinite Mercy. Let yourself become aware of this mystery so that you will begin to know that you do not know. And in that realization, you will be one step closer to understanding the Mercy of God.

Lord, Your ways are so far above my ways and Your wisdom is so far above what my mind can ever fathom. Help me, this day, to see the mystery of Your incomprehensible nature. And in seeing this mystery, help me to begin to understand Your Mercy all the more. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Eight Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 71: Our Littleness and Nothingness

Andrey Mironov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It is a grace from God to see ourselves as we are. And what will we see if we see ourselves this way? We will see our misery and nothingness. At first, this may not be all that desirable. It may even seem contrary to the dignity we have in Christ. But that’s the key. Our dignity is “in Christ.” Without Him, we are nothing. We are misery and nothingness by ourselves (See Diary #256).

Today, do not be offended or afraid to acknowledge your “nothingness.” If it does not sit well with you at first, beg God for grace to see yourself as you are without Him. You will quickly see that without our divine Savior, you are truly miserable in every way. This is the starting point to a deep gratitude in that it allows you to more fully realize all that God has done for you. And when you see this, you will rejoice in the fact that He has come to meet you in this nothingness and has lifted you high to the dignity of His precious child.

Lord, may I see my misery and wretchedness this day. May I come to understand that without You I am nothing. And in that realization, help me to become eternally grateful for the precious gift of becoming Your dear child in grace. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Seven Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 70: Identifying with the Suffering Christ

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured Image: Francesco Bassano the Younger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Which image of Christ are you more comfortable with? Which image do you more easily identify with? The image of Christ glorified as King of all? Or the image of the beaten and suffering Christ? In the end, we will fix our eyes on the Lord in glory and majesty and this will be our delight for eternity. However, while we are pilgrims in this earthly life, the suffering Christ should dominate our mind and our affection. Why? Because it reveals the closeness of Jesus to us in our own weakness and pain. Seeing His wounds disposes us to reveal our own wounds with confidence. And seeing our own brokenness in truth and clarity helps us love our Lord more deeply. He entered into suffering through His Cross. He wants to personally enter your suffering as you gaze upon His wounds (See Diary #252).

Look at the wounds of Jesus this day. Try to call His suffering to mind throughout the day. His suffering becomes a bridge to us. A bridge that allows us to enter His divine Heart which loved to the last drop of blood.

Lord, I gaze upon You this day. I gaze upon every wound and ever scourge that You bore. Help me to draw close to You in Your pain and help me to allow You to transform my own sufferings into an instrument of divine union. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Six Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 69: Struggles Tempt Us to Doubt

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We all encounter struggles in life. The question is: “What do you do with them?” Too often, when struggles come our way we are tempted to doubt the presence of God and to doubt His merciful help. In fact, the opposite is true. God is the answer to every struggle. He alone is the source of all we need in life. He is the One who can bring peace and serenity to our soul in the midst of any and every challenge or crisis we may face (See Diary #247).

How do you deal with struggles, especially ones that turn into crises? How do you deal with daily stress and anxiety, problems and challenges, worries and failings? How do you deal with your own sins and even the sins of others? These, and many other aspects of our lives, can tempt us to turn from total trust in God and lead us to fall into doubt. Reflect upon how well you handle daily struggles and adversity. Do you remain confident each and every day that our Merciful Lord is there for you as the source of peace and serenity in the midst of a turbulent ocean? Make an act of trust in Him this day and watch as He brings calm to any storm.

Lord, You and You alone can bring peace to my soul. When I am tempted by the difficulties of this day, help me to turn to You in perfect trust placing all my cares on You. Help me to never turn from you in my despair but to know with certainty that You are always there and are the One to whom I must turn. I trust You, my Lord, I trust You. Jesus, I do trust in You.

Day Five Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 68: Rejoicing in the Goodness of Others

Image by Robert Cheaib on Pixabay

When others do well, how do you react? Most likely when a child does well it brings delight to your soul. But what about others? A sure sign of a merciful heart is the ability to sincerely find joy in the good that others do. Too often jealousy and envy get in the way of this form of Mercy. But when we delight in the goodness of another and rejoice when God is at work in someone’s life, this is a sign that we have a merciful heart (See Diary #241).

Think about the person that you may find it difficult to offer praise and honor. Who is it that is difficult to compliment and encourage? Why is it this way? We often point out their sin as the reason but the true reason is our own sin. It may be anger, envy, jealousy or pride. But the bottom line is that we must foster a spirit of joy in the good works of others. Reflect upon at least one person you find it difficult to love in this way and pray for that person today. Ask our Lord to give you a merciful heart so that you can rejoice as He works through others.

Lord, help me to see Your presence in others. Help me to let go of all pride, jealousy and envy and to love with Your merciful Heart. I thank You for working in many ways through the lives of others. Help me to see You at work even in the greatest of sinners. And as I discover Your presence, please fill me with a joy that expresses itself with authentic gratitude. Jesus, I trust in You.

Meditation for the First Sunday in Lent:
40 Days in the Desert

Reflection 67: Hidden Roses of Love

Francesc Ribalta, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured Image by Sr. M. Jutta from Pixabay

Some acts of love are meant to be shared only between lovers. Acts of the utmost intimacy and self-giving are precious gifts of love shared in the secrecy of a relationship of love. This is also the case with our love of God. We should regularly look for ways to express our most profound love of God in ways that are known only to Him. In return, God will lavish merciful graces upon us, interiorly, known to us alone. These mutual exchanges of love are powerfully transforming to a soul and the source of the greatest delight (See Diary #239).

Reflect, today, upon the intimacy of your relationship with our merciful God. Do you take great delight in showering Him with Your love? Do you do so, regularly, in the secrecy of your heart. And do you open yourself to the countless ways that God bestows these graces of love upon you?

Lord, may my interior acts of love for You be as a rose I place before Your Divine Heart. May I delight in offering You my love and may I rejoice, always, in the secret and profound ways that You lavish Your love upon me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Four Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 66: Justice Through Mercy

Quinten Metsys, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Some people, day in and day out, experience the harshness and cruelty of another. This is quite painful. As a result, there can be a strong desire for justice so that the person causing pain be held accountable. But the real question is this: What is the Lord calling me to do? How shall I react? Shall I be an instrument of God’s wrath and justice? Or shall I be an instrument of Mercy? The answer is both. The key is understanding that God’s justice, in this life, is implemented through His Mercy and through the Mercy we show to those who offend us. For now, accepting the darts of another in virtue is the way to God’s justice. We grow in patience and strength of character as we live in this virtuous way. In the end, at the end of time, God will right every wrong and all will come to light. But, for now, our mission is to bring the justice of God by offering His unlimited and continual Mercy (See Diary #236).

Reflect upon any hurt you may have received from another. Reflect upon any words or actions that have stung you to the heart. Try to accept them in silence and surrender. Try to unite them to the sufferings of Christ and know that this act of humility and patience on your part will bring forth God’s justice in His time and in His way.

Lord, help me to forgive. Help me to offer Mercy in the face of every wrong I encounter. May the Mercy You place in my heart be the source of Your own divine justice. I entrust to You all that I cannot comprehend in this life and know that, in the end, You will make all things new in Your light. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Three Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross

Reflection 65: Jesus My Master

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Are you comfortable calling Jesus your Master? Some may prefer to call Him “friend” or “shepherd.” And these titles are true. But what about Master? Ideally, we will all come to give ourselves to our Lord as the Master of our lives. We must not only become servants, we must become slaves. Slaves of Christ. If that doesn’t sit well then ponder simply what sort of Master our Lord would be. He would be a Master who directs us with perfect commands of love. Since He is a God of perfect love, we should have no fear abandoning ourselves into His hands in this holy and submissive way (See Diary #228).

Reflect, today, upon the joy of being totally given over to Christ and being completely under His direction. Ponder every word you say and every action you do being lived in obedience to His perfect plan. We should not only be completely free from any fear of such a Master, we should run to Him and seek to live in perfect obedience.

Lord, You are the Master of my life. I submit my life to You in a holy slavery of love. In this holy slavery, I thank You for setting me free to live and love as You desire. I thank You for commanding me in accord with Your most perfect Will. Jesus, I trust in You.

Day Two Meditations:
40 Days in the Desert & 40 Days at the Cross