Guido Reni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

Imagine if you could see your soul as God sees it.  What would you see?  How might God see your soul?  Certainly He sees His precious child and looks at you with the greatest of love.  But He also sees your sin, even the slightest sin.  These sins, even the smallest imperfection, must be purged from within by His burning love.  The Mercy of God becomes deeply “painful” in a spiritual way as it purifies.  But this purification is necessary and is freeing.  Purification must take place either now or through Purgatory.  Choose the purification of God’s merciful love now and you will not regret it (See Diary #36).

Reflect, today, upon God’s love coming to you to purify your soul of every sin, even the smallest imperfection you may have.  See this as an act of abundant Mercy.  Be ready to feel the sweet pain of being purified and do not run from this.  Your purification fills the Heart of our Lord with immense joy!

Lord, help me to see my soul as You see it.  Help me to let Your merciful gaze cleanse me of every sin.  In Your compassion, dear Lord, replace the sin in my life with Your Mercy.  And help me to never run from You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

February 2: Presentation of the Lord—Feast

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

The Strike of the Lance by James Tissot, via Brooklyn Museum

Video

Throughout life you will be hurt by the sins of others.  This is inevitable.  The real question to ponder is what you do with this hurt.  Will you hold onto it and brew over it?  Or will you forgive?  But forgiveness is not enough.  You must let the Divine Mercy so enter your soul that you not only forgive, but also allow this Mercy to fill your heart with compassion.  You must let God’s Mercy inspire you to love deeply.  You must come to pray for those who have hurt you and, in doing so, dispense the grace of God to them.  You are a dispenser of God’s Mercy when you allow forgiveness to flow from your heart to the hearts of those who have hurt you (See Diary #31).

Humbly ponder your calling to be a dispenser of the compassion of the Heart of Jesus to those who have sinned against you.  This is a high calling and requires deep surrender and love.  But it is the only way to freedom and is the only way God’s Mercy will fill your own soul.

Lord, I choose, this day, to forgive all who have wronged me.  Help that act of Mercy to flood my mind, heart, passions, feelings and every part of my soul.  May I be a dispenser of Your perfect and unlimited love for all.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Scripture Meditations for Ordinary Time

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

Attributed to Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

We cannot come to know God in His essence.  He is beyond us and is unfathomable.  But we can get to know God by seeing His actions in our lives and in the world.  Look at His attributes.  Look at His works.  Look at what He has done in your life and in the lives of others.  He is Omnipotent, All-Knowing, All-Loving and bestows all that is good in superabundance (See Diary #30).

Reflect, today, upon the unfathomable nature and essence of God.  Knowing that we can never fully comprehend the perfection of God is the first step in coming to know Him more intimately.  Humble yourself, this day, before the great mystery of our God and let His untouchable nature touch you in your heart.

Lord, You and Your ways are beyond me.  Yet in the mystery of Your divine presence I come to know You.  Help me Lord, as I ponder Your divine essence, to be drawn into a deeper love of You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

January 31: Saint John Bosco, Priest—Memorial

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise,1791, by Benjamin West, public domain, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Video

One key to holiness is obedience.  Adam and Eve fell from grace by disobedience and we are restored to grace by obedience.  Obedience can be hard and requires a deep interior decision.  Look for opportunities to be obedient to Jesus, especially when you do not feel like doing so.  Those are moments of great grace and conversion (See Diary #28).

Work at being humble today.  Only through humility will we see the pride that leads to disobedience.  Pride leads to an obstinate persistence in our sin and a refusal to be open to God’s abundant Mercy.  Reflect upon your humble admission of sin and your willingness to repent of that sin so that you can imitate our Lord and His Blessed Mother in their act of perfect obedience to the Will of the Father in all things.

Lord, help me to humble myself before Your Divine Mercy.  In that humility, help me to see not only my sin, but also the grace and Mercy You bestow so as to enter into the glorious life of grace You call me to live.  May I obey Your perfect commands of love and so be filled with Your Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Scripture Meditations for Ordinary Time

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

Hendrick Bloemaert, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

Just at the right time, if we are wholeheartedly seeking God every day, we will find that we receive a moment of consolation.  It may be an unexpected peace or joy, we may feel enlightened and encouraged, or we may just sense the presence of God in our lives.  Whatever the case may be, remember the moments of consolation you receive.  They will not accompany us every day, but they are given at certain moments to remind us God is with us.  Remember those moments, especially when you struggle (See Diary #27).

Reflect, today, upon the last moment you experienced some grace or consolation from God.  What was He telling you through that experience?  Ponder it, sit with it, be grateful for it and remember it.  Let God speak to you through those experiences and never forget what He says.

Lord, I thank You for loving me with a perfect love.  I thank You for coming to me in the moments I need You the most.  Help me to always savor those moments and to remember them when life is difficult.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Scripture Meditations for Ordinary Time

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

Image via Needpix.com

Video

At times we are tempted to complain.  When tempted to question God and His perfect love and perfect plan, know that this temptation is nothing more than that…a temptation.  In the midst of that temptation to doubt and question God’s love, renew your trust and abandon your self-pity.  In this act you will find strength (See Diary #25).

What is it you have complained about the most this week?  What most tempts you to be angry or annoyed?  Has this temptation led to feelings of self-pity?  Has it weakened your trust in God’s perfect love?  Reflect upon this temptation and see it as a means of growing in love and virtue.  Often times our greatest struggle is a disguise for our greatest means of holiness.

Lord, I am sorry for the times I complain, get angry and doubt Your perfect love.  I am sorry for any feelings of self-pity I have allowed myself to fall into.  Help me, today, to let go of these feelings and to turn these temptations into moments of deeper trust and surrender.  Jesus, I trust in You.

January 28: Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor—Memorial

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Scripture Meditations for Ordinary Time

Saints/Feasts for Today

Frans Schwartz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

At times God imposes trials upon us.  This is done out of love to strengthen us and to deepen our love of Him.  Look at what it is that you experience as a trial.  Ask God if this is from Him and what good He wants to bring from that trial.  Trials always have the potential of making us stronger.  If you are experiencing a certain interior trial in life, know that it is in this moment, more than any other, that God wants you to renew your trust in Him.  Do it even if you do not feel like doing so.  Trials are the greatest opportunity for our faith, hope and love to grow (See Diary #24).

What is your greatest trial right now?  Identify whatever that may be and know that Jesus understands.  Reflect upon Him coming to You in this moment, embracing this trial with you and in you.  His strength is perfect and He will lead you through all things.  In the process, He will fill you with a greater faith, hope and love.

Lord, I know that my trials in life are a grace.  They may not seem to be at the moment I endure them but they are.  Help me especially with (state your current intention).  I surrender this situation to You and thank You for Your perfect love and strength.  Jesus, I trust in You.

January 27: Saint Angela Merici, Virgin—Optional Memorial

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

Image by Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

Video

As you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things.  Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God.  God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real.  This leads some to despair.  If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in.  Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).

Continue to look deep within your heart this day.  What do you see?  If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God.  It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son.  By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead.  Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.

Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me.  Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry.  And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did.  In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world.  Jesus, I trust in You.

January 26: Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
 Not celebrated as a liturgical memorial this year since it falls on Sunday

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today

Nicolas Mignard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Video

As you grow deeper in your relationship with God you will have many moments of struggle as well as many moments of consolation.  Do not be afraid of moments of dryness and interior suffering.  They are necessary and part of God’s method of holiness for you.  In those moments, raise your eyes to Jesus.  See Him in His glory and beg for His Mercy (See Diary #22-23).

Honestly look at your soul this day.  Ponder all that you experience interiorly.  Ponder, especially, all that only you are aware of.  Do you find pain and suffering within?  If it is a result of your own sin then rejoice that you see this.  If it is the result of God purifying you, then rejoice that He loves you enough to let you go through this spiritual dryness.  Look to Heaven and give thanks for all that you experience interiorly, for that which is in your soul is the presence of God leading you to Himself.  

Lord, at times I feel dry and dead inside.  At times I wonder where You are and if You are with me.  Help me to have hope and trust in those moments and to see them as a pathway to a deeper faith in You.  Help me to turn to You in these moments so that Your gates of Mercy may be opened ever more widely.  Jesus, I trust in You.

January 25: The Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle—Feast

More Divine Mercy Reflections

Daily Gospel Reflections

Saints/Feasts for Today