33 days to merciful love retreat companion pdf

The Eternal Father Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. So, I told Fr. Youre nothing." 157 See endnote 3 15S In his encyclical letter on Divine Mercy, Dives in Misericordia, Pope John Paul II spoke about the importance of making a plea to God for mercy in our time. What a sweet joy it is to think that God is Just, i.e., that He takes into account our weakness, that He is perfectly aware of our fragile nature. 276-277. 21 Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, November 21, 1964, 58. Washington, DC 20002 U.S.A. wwTv.icspublications.org From With Empty Hands by Conrad de Meestcr, O.C.D. Chris Alar, MIC, and Mark Moran for reasons that will become clear in the introduction. The Church has to do this, when there is someone not only wait for them, but go out and find them! God promised Abram, who was now Abraham, that through that son, Isaac, he would establish an everlasting covenant with him and his descendants, blessing them with his saving presence and protection (see Gen 17:1-21). web pages 213 While Im using the word family here in the traditional sense, other groups of people who live together (without being in the state of sin) could also make this offering. Through our suffering, lovingly united with Christs, we can obtain for people the grace to accept lais gift of salvation. Why care about mercy if we dont feel were in need of it? Seraphim, that the concrete expression of that trust is praise and thanksgiving. The Letter to the Hebrews expresses it best: By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only-begotten son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your descendants be named. He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead (Heb 11:17-19). May they show us that in the light of Gods Merciful Love, the darkness of sin (repented sin) is not so dark after all. Once were humbled, God lifts us up. So, when we keep trying and keep trusting, God purifies [us] every moment in His love and He lets no sin remain. Okay, so that covers two of our three things for living the Little Way that we learned on Day 11: Keep trying and keep trusting. All he could do was small miracles, like maybe healing somebodys ingrown toenail. Think of it: The One who doesnt need us decided to make himself need us! She kept trusting throughout the darkness. Alright, well, now its time for a personal story. She just wants us to believe in God and trust in his mercy. Endnotes 197 The words that St. Faustina heard interiorly were the prayers of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which is prayed as follows: 1. 141 APPENDIX ONE: Living the Offering. 153 APPENDIX TWO: Family Offering and Divine Mercy Image Enthronement 169 Endnotes 177 Resource Pages .. 203 In Gratitude First off, Id like to thank Fr. I mean, even if we have plenty of accomplishments and beautiful selfies, there will still be that self-accusing ache that creeps in and says, Youve not attained a destiny of greatness. While Week Three of the retreat will go into much more detail about St. Thereses Offering, here Ill just summarize its three most basic points. 2, p. 999. And if we exist simply to glorify God, then it seems that little souls enable God to manifest his glory even moreso than other souls. Now, lest we think that Therese is alone in boldly speaking about not fearing God and being so familiar with him, we read the following from St. Faustina: Even if I were to hear the most terrifying tilings about Gods justice, I would not fear Him at all, because I have come to know Him well (Diary, 589). One of the best examples of a personal consecration to Introduction 19 Divine Mercy is actually a form of Marian consecration, a form thats taught by St. Maximilian Kolbe. Theres a time here on earth when we can love God perfectly with his own divine love: Its when we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We must strive to show mercy. In other words, like most of us, she not only knew herself to be weak and imperfect (more on that in the next point), but she knew what it was like to live in an age of secularism and doubt. Well remember Elizabeths words: Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled. And I hope that the power contained within [that blessing] will become something penetrating for us. Its diat simple. May we not be afraid to pray, Lire, here I am, O Lord. May we not give in to the lie that says were ugly to the Lord. (More on this later.) Sometimes we may be tempted to avoid going to Jesus because of our weaknesses, sinfulness, and attachments. I see that it is enough to realize ones nothingness, and to give oneself wholly, like a child, into the arms of God (cited in Gaucher, p. 167). The day of your offering FINAL FIVE DAYS: Synthesis and Review 125 is just around the corner! Oh, how great is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. Ah, the Lord is so good to me it is quite impossible for me to fear him (Ibid., p. 250). (Unless otherwise indicated, as in this case, all emphasis in citations is original.) 66 Pope Francis, homily at the parish of St. Anna in the Vatican, Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 17,2013. biv to Make the Invitation (Ottering). DAY 5 Mary's Trial of Faith Just as Abrahams pilgrimage of faith met its ultimate test when he was called to sacrifice Isaac, so Marys pilgrimage of faidi met a similar test. So, what may seem to us like a hopeless case for instance, a person stuck in die cycle of addiction or someone with an insufferable temperament may in fact be a hidden saint, particularly loved by God because of their humility and unseen efforts. I choose air that You will!49 Later, Therese would express her bold desires for holiness in an even more audacious way, saying that she wanted to love God even more than Teresa ofAvila, the great Carmelite Doctor of the Church!50 However, she also realized her weakness and littleness. I suggest that the answer comes from what we learned on Day 6 of this retreat. Specifically, it becomes a plea for mercy.158 As we hold up Christs perfect sacrifice of love to the Father, we cry out for mercy for ourselves and for the whole world. In fact, it becomes an act of perfect love, because perfect love, like perfect contrition, is concerned with the Lords Heart. Nothing has ever hit me so strongly. [S jhe is to be pitied she is like an old clock that has to be re wound every quarter of an hour. For instance, while its true that we should always follow our conscience, sometimes thats all people ever hear about it. For instance, in preparation for her First Holy Com munion at age 10, she made and recorded 1,949 small sacrifices and 2,773 short prayers!37 (Thankfully, Jesus himself later taught her, as she put it, not to count up my acts.38) Much worse, though, was her painful bout with scruples, which often goes along with Jansenist thinking. 154 Cited in Ahern, p. 52. Remember how he spoke with God about Sodom and Gomorrah? And therefore although the angels feed on Christ spiritually, yet it does not belong to them to eat this sacrament spiritually. (Thus, she says in the text of the Offering that she wants God himself to be her Sanctity and wants God to look upon her only in the Face of Jesus and in His Heart burning with Love.") by Michael E. Gaitley Paperback . When you get your hands on 33 Days To Merciful Love Pdf and go through it, you quickly realise you have a great book with deep knowledge about 33 Days To Merciful Love . O Jesus, it is not even necessary to say: When dra wing me, draw the souls whom I love! This simple statement: Draw me suffices; I understand, Lord, that when a soul allows herself to be captivated by the odor ofyour ointments, she cannot run alone, all the souls whom she loves follow in her train; this is done without constraint, without effort, it is a natural consequence of her attraction for You. 221 See endnote 191. I mean, were all sinners (see Rom 3:23, 1 Jn 1:8-10), and we all desperately need Gods mercy. And thats okay because St. Therese is the master, the Doctor of the Church on these matters. 171 Saint John of the Cross, The Living Flame of Love, commentary on stanza 1, line 6 (cited in Gaucher, p. 221). "207 He goes on to call dris reality a fragment of lifes deep logic.208 But if Jesus doesnt need us, then how can there be a true and loving friendship between him and us? Seraphim said that to live trust means to praise and thank God for everything? 158 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE As we learned in point one, the eternal God, in his divinity, doesnt need us. See Therese solves the mystery as to why the great saints see them selves as great sinners. These words moved me deeply, and although I pretended not to hear them, I understood them very well and had no doubt about them (429). He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows he was despised, and we esteemed him not: as one destroyed (cf. Really tell them, Mother, that if I had committed all possible crimes, I would always have the same confidence. Ignatius with the teachings of Saints Thercse of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalska, and Louis de Montfort. The P first friend is Fr. Before we get to that, heres something that may be even more shocking: As St. Therese was dying, because she believed what she taught, because she believed that she would be a great saint, she herself collected the clippings of her nails and invited her sister Pauline (Mother Agnes) to take them, presumably to 58 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE be used as relics!67 Also, she encouraged the other sisters to keep the rose petals that had touched her crucifix, saying, They will help you perform favors later on; dont lose one of them.68 What? My first recommendation is to read books about mercy from people who have chosen the path of mercy, who have done the work of mercy, and who saw through the lens of mercy. for all die graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. So whats the catch when it comes to making an offering to Merciful Love? Were saying, Behold, Lord, here I am without your mercy, Ill collapse and die. Of course, when we present ourselves to the Lord like that, he rushes to us with his mercy, and we take a deep breath in. (See Appendix One.) Specifically, its to con sole Jesus by making a spiritual communion with the intention of receiving the mercy' that other people reject. 76 Niels Christian Hvidt, Christian Prophecy: The Post-Biblical Tradition (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. vii. Why all the enthusiasm? And while Therese begins her Offering to Merciful Love by expressing her desire to become a saint, she wants to become one specifically to console the Heart ofJesus, who longs to make us holy through his Mercifiil Love. We find that part of Thereses teaching in her response to one of her novices, Sr. Marie of the Trinity, who was concerned about her chances of avoiding purgatory. Simply put, the Little Way is a choice. I desire that these souls distin guish themselves by boundless trust in My mercy. 348.) Let me explain. And then, in the next para graph, she also throws in the merits of the saints, angels, and the Blessed Mother.119 (Why not?) Eve disobeys God and leads Adam along the same path. I shared in the introduction that when I first learned about the Little Way, it filled me with hope that maybe even someone like me could become a saint. So we help Jesus by letting him help us! Edit Details. 97-100. Perhaps it makes us say, But what about all those poor people who arent getting the graces that Im taking? Well, first of all, keep in mind that the 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE 84 graces well be receiving have already been rejected. Were too focused on the beloved who suffers. 33 Days to Merciful Love Retreat Companion is a six-week retreat and falls within Stage Three* of the Hearts Afire Program. 5 Emphasis added. With her prayers, shes preparing your heart to accept the gift of the Offering to Merciful Love. DAY 14 No More 'Thieves of Hope' Yesterday, we learned that St. Therese of Lisieux is a prophet. 2 See The Kolbe Reader: The Writings ofSt. Lens of Mercy. After all, I figured that only the quickest and easiest path could help someone like me to become a saint. 154 33 DAYS TO MERCIFUL LOVE Now, on this topic of God not needing us, Id say that Exodus 3:14 puts it best. Handmade at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy with top-quality wood, canvas, and inks. Otherwise, we cannot hope for mercy (see Mt 5:7, 18:21-35).112 The second potential objection to making the Offering to Merciful Love has to do with those who have begun to feel that theyre in a bit too deep with this Offering stuff. In this way you will console My Heart.169 The Catch Alright, but if we offer ourselves to Merciful Love, whats the catch? For instance, after hearing some of the other nuns talking about how theyd probably end up in purgatory, Therese responded, Oh! While I already shared how it happened in the book Consoling the Heart ofJesus, I think its worth repeating this week as we ponder the question, What is trust? and on this day, specifically, as we reflect on Marys Song of Faith. First, 1 learned the connection between praise and trust during a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, when I was a seminarian. Well, let me begin to answer that by first telling you an amazing secret: According to St. John Paul II, theres a kind of key which unlocks for us the innermost reality of Mary.12 Imagine that. But even with such a solid scriptural foundation, we cant simply decide for ourselves that its a time of mercy. Such a decision would need to come from God, and someone with authority would have to announce it. Thank God that she discovered a way of spiritual victimhood that not only allows even little souls to be generous but also sets them on fire with love. Make the Sign of the Cross 2. While our prayer program ofdaily pondering the text has helped us digest some of the information, we can still go deeper. Its no less a revolution than the Gospel message that the greatest are the least (see Lk 9:48). In times of darkness, when youre tempted to think that God and heaven do not exist remember that smile. An appropriate prayer for such an enthronement, which could be prayed after making the Offering and in front of the Image of Divine Mercy, is as follows: LEADER: Jesus, you said to St. Faustina: I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. What if he wanted to give us a special gift of holiness in our day? In other words, by taking on a human heart, God, in Christ, made himselfvulnerable. And Faustina even refers to the soul that receives this grace as the sinner. Certainly God can give this final grace even to someone who turns to Him from a state of mortal sin how great is the power of Gods mercy! As far as I can tell, it is only Sr. Genevieve who expands on this (in the aforementioned citations), which puts little souls at ease. Okay, but what does that mean? Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, told us in the days of His mortal life: What soever you ask the Lather in my name he will give it to you!" Journey with St. Therese of Lisieux and discover 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Consecration to Divine Mercy, the stirring sequel to the Fr. However, at this point, perhaps some of us are experiencing at least something of St. Faustina Kowalskas own sentiments: It seems to me as though Jesus could not be happy without me, nor could I, without Him. The soul, illumined by a ray of Gods powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power Endnotes 193 of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. 55 In Stock. But Sr. Marie of St. Joseph did not despair. I can think of no better way to begin to see through the lens of mercy titan by spending time each day gazing upon dtis image of Jesus. 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