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There are so many souls who are in need of our prayers and are in need of the Mercy of God.  These are those souls who are stuck firm in their sin.  We may pray for them but it seems to have little effect.  What more can we do?  Sometimes, the greatest intercession we can make is a heart filled with the most generous love.  We must strive diligently to have the most pure and relentless love for these souls.  God will see this love and will turn His gaze of love upon them as a result of the love He sees in our hearts (See Diary #383).

Who is that person in such need of the Mercy of God?  Is there a family member, a coworker, a neighbor or friend who appears to remain obstinate toward God and His Mercy?  Commit yourself to the most generous love you can offer that person and give it to God as your intercession.  Allow God to gaze upon this person through your love.

Lord, so often I fail to love as You desire me to love.  I am selfish and judgmental toward others.  Soften my heart and then place in my heart the most generous love I have ever felt.  Help me to turn that love to those in most need of Your Divine Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: The Return of the Prodigal Son, via Wikimedia Commons

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Many people carry very heavy burdens within their souls.  On the surface, they may radiate with joy and peace.  But within their souls, they may also have great pain.  These two experiences of our interior and exterior are not in contradiction when we follow Christ.  Often times Jesus allows us to feel a certain interior suffering while, at the same time, He brings forth the good fruit of exterior peace and joy through that suffering (See Diary #378).

Is this your experience?  Do you find that you can express yourself with great joy and peace in the presence of others even though your heart is filled with anguish and pain?  If so, rest assured that joy and suffering are not mutually exclusive.  Know that Jesus permits interior suffering at times so as to purify you and strengthen you.  Continue to surrender that suffering and take joy in the opportunity you have to live a life of joy amidst such hardship.

Lord, I thank You for the interior crosses I carry.  I know that You will give me the grace I need to continue down the path of acceptance and joy.  May the joy of Your presence in my life always shine forth as I carry each and every cross I have been given.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Prayer in the Garden By Sebastiano Ricci, via Wikimedia Commons

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Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do the Will of God always?  If you could simply make the choice to perfectly say “Yes” to God in all things and in every situation?  The truth is that you can.  The only thing hindering you from this absolute choice is your own stubborn will (See Diary #374).

It’s hard to admit that we are stubborn and full of self-will.  It’s hard to let go of our own will and to choose, instead, the Will of God in all things.  Hard though it may be, we must make this our firm resolve.  And when we fail, we must resolve again.  Never tire of trying again and again.  Your unfailing effort brings joy to the Heart of our Lord.

Lord, I do desire to embrace Your Divine Will in all things.  Help me to be free of my own selfish will and to choose only You in all things.  I abandon myself into Your hands.  When I fall, help me to get back up rather than to give into discouragement.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Imagine a large block of ice.  Now imagine that there is a precious coin in the middle of that block.  In order to obtain that coin, the block must melt away.  So it can be with our hearts.  Some hearts have become so hardened over time that there seems little chance of melting them away so as to bring forth the true value and dignity of that person.  But Jesus is a radiant Sun whose rays shine forth with great intensity.  Within His continual presence, even the hardest hearts will melt away (See Diary #370).

Do you know someone whom you have “written off” because of their continual hardness of heart?  Do you know someone who appears to be unwilling to change, year after year?  Do not lose hope.  Know that if you continually act as a prism through which the grace and Mercy of God shines, even the hardest heart can be touched.

Lord, I pray, today, for those who are most hardened in their sins.  You know the hearts of all and You know the minds of all.  Please lead me to those in most need of Your Divine Mercy and use me as a channel of Your glorious and warming grace.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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One of the greatest gifts we can give to our Divine Lord is our willfulness.  We often want what we want, when we want it.  Our will can become stubborn and obstinate and this can easily dominate our whole being.  As a result of this sinful tendency toward willfulness, one thing that delights our Lord greatly, and produces an abundance of grace in our lives, is an interior obedience to that which we do not want to do.  This interior obedience, even to the smallest of things, mortifies our will so that we are made free to more completely obey the glorious Will of God (See Diary #365).

What do you want with a passion?  More specifically, what do you cling to in an obstinate way with your own will?  There are many things we want that could easily be given up as a sacrifice for God.  It may not be that the thing we desire is evil; rather, it’s that letting go of our interior desires and preferences change us and dispose us to be more receptive to all that God wishes to bestow upon us.

Lord, help me to make my one desire that of perfect obedience to You in all things.  May I cling to Your Will for my life in both great and small things.  May I find in this submission of my will the great joy that comes from a heart fully submissive and obedient to You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Saint Thecla Praying for the Plague-Stricken, via picryl.com

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It is impossible for us to love and adore Christ deeply enough as He is present in the Most Holy Eucharist.  When we are before Him, present in the Most Holy Eucharist, we should see the Almighty God present in veiled form.  He is: Mercy, Eternal Life, The Eternal God, The Savior of Sinners, The Living Water, The Fire of Pure Love, The Medicine for All Our Ills, All Sentiments of Love, The Hope of All, The Lifter of Burdens…and He is worthy of all our trust (See Diary #356).

What do you see when you gaze upon the Sacred Host?  With your eyes you see bread, but with your soul you should see God.  You should see God in all His glory and power and you should adore Him with all your might.  Think about how you relate to our Lord as He is present in the Holy Eucharist.  Pray that God will flood your mind with a true knowledge of Him and inspire your heart with a burning love.

Lord, help me to know and love You as You are present in the Most Holy Eucharist.  Help me to understand the gift of Your Mercy made present through this Holy Gift.  May I learn to adore You every time I am  before Your presence in this Sacred Host.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament, via Needpix.com

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Praying “always” may seem like an impossible task.  Is it really possible to do so?  Does God even expect this of us?  It most certainly is and He most certainly does.  No, we will not be called to spend all day, every day, at church in prayer.  Not even those called to the cloistered monastic life do as such.  But praying always is a must.  It simply means that we have developed such a habit of closeness to God that our hearts are always with Him.  We are always attentive to His presence and are always in communion with His grace.  If we form this interior love for God, we will be praying always (See Diary #346).

Think about your day.  What occupies your mind and heart most of the time?  Do you spend excessive time daydreaming about things that have nothing to do with our Lord and the plan He has for you?  Work at establishing a habit of prayer.  Pray deeply and wholeheartedly at various moments of the day giving prayer your full attention.  And then, throughout the day, try to let those moments of prayer sustain you and remain with you, carrying you on throughout all that you do.

Lord, help me to know how to pray.  Instill within me a deep habit of prayer.  Help me to regularly take moments, each day, when all I do is focus on You, seeking You out.  And help me to bring those moments into everything I do so that my mind and heart may always be in communion with You.  My Lord, I love You, help me to love You more.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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There are many things in life we can become attached to.  Sometimes we can even become attached to things that are good.  Most often, what we become attached to is our own stubborn will.  We want what we want when we want it.  One key to authentic holiness is to strive to be detached from everything but God and His holy Will.  This requires much “letting go” in our lives and much surrender (See Diary #338).

What is it that you are attached to?  What comes to mind first?  What is it that you would not want to let go of?  Even attachment to good things in life is a way of trusting more in creatures than in God.  And, in fact, the only way to authentically love another, be it God, family, friends, or anyone else, is to detach from your selfish attachments so that the love of God can flood you and love others through you with His pure and perfect love.

Lord, help me to let go of all that is not of You.  Help me, especially, to see my sin and to surrender it over to You.  Help me to detach even from family in a holy way so that I am free to love them with Your Heart.  May You, my Lord, be my one goal and love, and in this love may I discover how to love everyone with Your Heart.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: The Parable of the Rich Fool by Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons

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Imagine a dictator of a country who has absolute power and is also a very angry, malicious and vengeful man.  This is not someone you would want to upset.  Now imagine the opposite.  Imagine one who has absolute power and is also blessed with a heart of pure Mercy.  This is our God.  And in addition to our God having these qualities, He passes them on to His Mother.  She is Queen and exercises her queenship with great authority.  But it’s an authority that is expressed in perfect Mercy.  We should always trust in the power of God as it is made manifest through the mediation of our Mother of Mercy (See Diary #330).

Reflect upon that for which you are in need of Mercy.  It could be sin, or it could be a heavy cross that seems too much to carry.  It could be the need to forgive and to exercise charity toward a person who has wounded you.  Whatever it is, turn to our Blessed Mother, the Mother of Mercy, and entrust your need to her glorious heart.  With the authority entrusted to her by God, an abundance of grace will be given to you in your need.

Dearest Mother, Mother Most-Powerful, you have been entrusted with the grace of Heaven.  As Queen, your Divine Son has given to you the glorious privilege of dispensing His Mercy.  I beg of you, dear Mother, to bestow that grace in abundance so that we, your children, may know the Mercy and goodness of God.  Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

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If you have prayed the “Hail Mary” prayer, then you have prayed for your last hour in this world: “Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”  Death is frightening to many people, and the hour of our death is not usually something we want to think about.  But the “hour of our death” is a moment we should all look forward to with the utmost joy and anticipation.  And we will look forward to it only if we are at peace with God, within our soul.  If we have regularly confessed our sins and sought the presence of God throughout life, then our last hour will be one of great comfort and joy, even if it is mixed with suffering and pain (See Diary #321). 

Think about that hour.  If God were to give you the grace to prepare for that hour many months in advance, how would you prepare?  What would you do differently so as to be ready for your final passing?  Whatever comes to mind is most likely that which you should do today.  Do not wait until the time is near to prepare your heart for your passing from death to new life.  See that “hour” as an hour of the greatest grace.  Pray for it, anticipate it and be watchful for the abundance of Mercy God wishes to bestow upon you, one day, at the glorious conclusion of your earthly life.

Lord, help me to be rid of all fear of death.  Help me to continually remember that this world is but a preparation for the next.  Help me to keep my eyes on that moment and to always anticipate the abundance of Mercy You will bestow.  Mother Mary, pray for me.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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Featured image above: Jesus Mary, via https://www.needpix.com/