49 Angle Road, Walkerville
P.O. Box 378, Walkerville, 1876
Tel: 073 462 4937
walkerville.divinemercy@catholicjhb.org.za
25 August 2013
The Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 13:22-30)
Today’s Gospel reminds us that not everyone will get into heaven. But what is the narrow gate through which we should strive to enter? In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us He Himself is the gate and that whoever enters through Him will be safe. St. Faustina tells us more specifically: “Through His merciful Heart, as through an open gate, we pass through to heaven” (Diary 1570).
But Jesus also tells us that “some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last.” Everything really depends on trust. The righteous man who cannot see his sins will be worse off than the great sinner who knows what he is and cries out for God’s mercy. Jesus told St. Faustina: “(...T)he greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls—no one have I excluded!”(Diary 1182).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, reveal to me more and more how greatly I need Your mercy, so that I won’t be too bloated with pride to enter through the narrow gate into life eternal. I trust in You. Amen.
18 August 2013
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:39-56)
In today’s Gospel we hear Mary’s elderly cousin Elizabeth greeting the Blessed Mother in a way that most cousins don’t normally greet their younger relatives: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! (…) And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Elizabeth is praising Mary for believing and acting on the Angel Gabriel’s words that “all things are possible with God.” And Mary‘s response is to turn around and give God all the glory, bursting out with her beautiful hymn The Magnificat, to glorify the Lord with her whole heart and soul.
After working diligently to grow in her relationship with God, St. Faustina became like Mary in those two ways: she was able to put all her trust in God, and she began to live truly for His glory alone. She wrote these words from personal experience:
Happy the soul that has trusted in Your goodness
And has abandoned herself completely to Your mercy.
Her soul is filled with the peace of love.
You defend her everywhere as Your own child. (Diary 1652)
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, grant me that special grace to trust in Your goodness, and to abandon myself completely to Your mercy. May I, like Mary and St. Faustina, truly make You the centre of my life. Help me to doing everything for Your glory, so that I may live in peace as Your beloved child. Amen.
11 August 2013
The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 12:32-48)
This week Jesus is reminding us to be ready, “for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” How easy it is to make ourselves an excuse for not going to Sunday Mass, to put off our prayers until tomorrow when we’re “not so tired,” to delay our confession for a more convenient time, to find a reason to justify our sinful behaviours for one more day. But as often as we hear of someone dying in a tragic accident, we are reminded that death comes like a thief in the night. What a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the Divine Judge in a state of mortal sin!
Jesus wants us to take advantage of His mercy in order to get ourselves in and remain in a state of grace. He told St. Faustina: “Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice…” (Diary 1146).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, forgive my spiritual laziness. Help me to ever keep in mind that I profit nothing if I gain the world but lose my soul. May I always fight to remain in a state of grace, in order to be ready to stand firm before You, the just Judge, when I meet You face to face. Amen.
4 August 2013
The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 11:1-13)
Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel about storing up for ourselves earthly treasure. At the end of the day, no wealth or material goods can ever be an insurance policy to prevent us from meeting the Lord at the time He Himself has appointed. In the parable we see the vanity and futility of taking exaggerated charge of our tomorrows. We hear the Lord saying, “The things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Yes, what am I doing killing myself to have a “better” life for me and my family, when, at the end of the day, all that really matters is the condition of my soul? “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Life, rather, is to know, love and serve God, so as to be happy with Him forever in eternity.
Jesus explained to St. Faustina the relationship He wants to have with each one of us. He doesn’t want us running after riches. He wants to take care of all our needs, if we will only begin to put our trust in Him: “Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making Myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit”(Diary 548).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I know You love me, yet I still have to admit that it’s hard for me to believe You will take complete care of me if I only put my trust in You. It seems too easy, and even crazy. Give me great trust in You, and let me know Your generosity. Amen.