Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

Reflection 43: Patience in Hardship What is of greater value to God?  To be successful in all that you set out to do, or to endure every hardship of life in patience and peace?  Many may struggle with this question and want to choose both.  Certainly it is easy to see that if we set out to accomplish the Will of God and all that He wants of us, this will be of great value for the Kingdom of God. ...

Reflection 42: Unjust Treatment Offered as Atonement There are many times in life when we are treated unjustly.  As a result, our first instinct is to fight back, defend ourselves and see to it that justice is done.  But is that what Jesus did?  No, He remained silent and accepted all injustice as a sacrifice for the atonement for our sins.  He was the Just One who took upon Himself all injustice....

Reflection 41: Feelings Versus Faith At times, the truth can seem to be of little consolation to us.  That may seem strange to say.  But if we are honest, there are times when we suffer interiorly despite the fact that we know what we are feeling is not true.  For example, we may KNOW that God is with us and loves us, but we may not feel that or experience that at one time or another.  We may KNOW...

Read Online Reflection 40: Entering the Heart of Our Lord A speck of dust or a grain of sand are somewhat insignificant in most circumstances.  No one notices one speck or one grain in the yard or even on the floor of a home.  But if either were to enter the eye, this grain or speck becomes immediately noticeable.  Why?  Because of the sensitivity of the eye.  So it is with the Heart of our Lord. ...

Read Online Reflection 39: Loss of Spiritual Consolation It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that, because we follow Jesus, we should be continually consoled and comforted in all we do.  Is that true? Yes and no. In one sense, our consolation will be continual if we always fulfill the Will of God and know we are fulfilling it. However, there are times when God removes all spiritual consola...

Read Online Reflection 38: Our Daily Duty Some may feel as though their lives are dull and monotonous.  It’s the same thing day in and day out. Sometimes we seek some new excitement and experience.  But if we allow grace to accompany us, every day, throughout the simple, repetitive and monotonous aspects of life, we will discover that life is always new.  Every experience is a new moment and a new...

Read Online Reflection 37: Humility, Simplicity and Sincerity There are three words to ponder today: humility, simplicity and sincerity.  Humble souls see and know God because they do not turn to themselves in their need.  They recognize that God is everything and, without Him, they are nothing.  Simple souls do not get caught up in the complications of life.  They are able to cut through the coun...

Read Online At times we experience life as difficult. Our spiritual life may appear to be dry or overwhelming. Our sins may seem to be too much to overcome. And our relationship with God may appear to be too difficult to foster. But these experiences are all graces that invite us to seek God and His Mercy all the more. One grace we receive, as we need it, is the friendship and guidance God gives u...

Read Online Reflection 35: Perceiving the Passion of the Lord Do you understand the Passion of our Lord? Do you perceive His sufferings in your soul? This may, at first, seem undesirable. But perceiving the sufferings and Passion of our Lord is a great grace. As we perceive His suffering we must then encounter it and embrace it as our own. We must live His sufferings. In doing so, we begin to disc...

Read Online Reflection 34: Satisfaction Only in God So often in life we can fall into the trap of believing that we are satisfied by worldly and passing things.  We can even be fooled into thinking that our sins satisfy us.  And, in a strange way, they do offer a temporary satisfaction of sorts. But this “satisfaction” is shallow and deceptive.  When we come to the profound realization that nothin...

Read Online Reflection 33: The Mercy of Purification 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...

Read Online Reflection 32: The Mercy of Forgiveness 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...

Read Online Reflection 31: The Unfathomable Nature of God 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 g...

Read Online Reflection 30: Obedience to God 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 b...

Read Online 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...

Read Online 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...

Read Online 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,...

Read Online Reflection 26: Uniting Your Interior Cross With Christ 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...

Read Online 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...

Read Online The greatest suffering we can endure is a spiritual longing for God.  Those in Purgatory suffer greatly because they long for God and do not yet fully possess Him.  We must enter into the same purification here and now.  We must let ourselves long for God.  We must see Him and realize we do not yet fully possess Him and that He does not yet fully possess us because of our sin.  This wi...

Read Online Reflection 23: When God Seems Silent At times, when we seek to know our merciful Lord all the more, He will appear to be silent.  Perhaps sin has gotten in the way or perhaps you have allowed your own idea of God to cloud His true voice and His true presence.  At other times, Jesus hides His presence and remains hidden for a reason.  He does so as a way of drawing us deeper.  Do not wo...

Read Online Reflection 22: Abundant Mercy Stretching Your Soul Encountering Jesus in your soul will have the effect of leading you to long for more.  Do you long for more of Jesus?  Do you long for His Mercy?  The desire for Him, the desire for more, stretches us and enables us to receive more of His Mercy every day.  Let the desire for our Lord grow in abundance within you (See Diary #18). Spend...

Read Online Reflection 21: You Are Loved.  Believe it. Being accepted by Christ and living within His merciful Heart will lead you to discover how much He loves you.  He does love you more than you can imagine.  Let yourself begin to discover that love.  Savor it, believe it, understand it and seek it all the more (See Diary #16). Spend time today pondering one simple fact.  You are loved.  You ar...

Read Online Reflection 20: Give Your Life to Jesus Every Day Once Jesus has accepted you and taken possession of your soul, do not worry about what is next.  Do not expect life to change dramatically right away, but do not be surprised if it does.  All that matters is that you daily renew the gift of yourself to His merciful Heart and that you allow Him to daily renew His acceptance of you in His...

Read Online Reflection 19: The Lord Accepts You in His Mercy If you have truly sought out our Divine Lord, then ask Him if He will accept you into His Heart and into His holy Will.  Ask Him and listen to Him.  If you have surrendered all and offered yourself to Him, He will respond to you telling you that He accepts you.  Once you are given to Jesus and accepted by Him, your life will change.  Per...