49 Angle Road, Walkerville
P.O. Box 378, Walkerville, 1876
Tel: 073 462 4937
walkerville.divinemercy@catholicjhb.org.za
1 January 2017
The Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God (Luke 2:16-21)
In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear of Mary’s response to the beautiful events of Jesus’ birth, the way she “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Here is the very Mother of God, yet instead of telling all of Judea that the Messiah has been born to her, she keeps silent, reflecting lovingly in her heart upon all that has happened, and wondering how God will choose to make these things known in His own time.
Let us strive to have a heart like Mary’s, a heart that loves God above all else and that loves our neighbour as ourselves. We can learn from St. Faustina how to open our hearts to our neighbour. She wrote in her Diary: “My heart is always open to the sufferings of others; and I will not close my heart to the sufferings of others, even though because of this I have been scornfully nicknamed ‘dump’; that is, [because] everyone dumps his pain into my heart. [To this] I answered that everyone has a place in my heart and I, in return, have a place in the Heart of Jesus. Taunts regarding the law of love will not narrow my heart. My soul is always sensitive on this point, and Jesus alone is the motive for my love of neighbour” (Diary 871).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, transform my heart to be like those of Your most holy Mother and St. Faustina. Teach me to forget myself completely. May You Yourself be the sole motive of all the love I show my neighbour. I trust in You. Amen.
8 January 2017
The Epiphany of the Lord (Matthew 2:1-12)
The Gospel for the Feast of the Epiphany introduces us to Wise Men from the East who arrive in Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews. After inquiring from Herod where the King is to be found, they proceed on to Bethlehem, where, on finding the child, they fall down and worship Him, offering Him precious gifts.
These pagan astrologers put us to shame. Simply because they see a particular star, they travel over hill and vale to come worship Emmanuel, God-With-Us, and to offer Him luxurious gifts. And here we have that same God-Man present in every tabernacle on earth, not far at all from our homes, and we make few efforts to visit Him or to bring gifts.
St. Faustina wrote these words to Jesus: “Oh, who will comprehend Your love and Your unfathomable mercy toward us! O Prisoner of Love, I lock up my poor heart in this tabernacle, that it may adore You without cease night and day. (…) O my Jesus, I will console You for all the ingratitude, the blasphemies, the coldness, the hatred of the wicked, the sacrileges” (Diary 80).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, help me like St. Faustina to make more efforts to visit You, locked up all alone in the tabernacle of my parish church. Thank You for coming so close to us, for becoming our daily Bread. Don’t allow me to leave You alone and abandoned, but instead let me be Your constant companion. Amen.
15 January 2017
The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (John 1:29-34)
Today’s Gospel begins with John the Baptist pointing out Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Imagine a meek and gentle lamb, and think for a second exactly how it might achieve this taking away of the sins of the world! Yet we know what happens with Jesus, how He goes through life doing only good, healing people, casting out demons, restoring the lost dignity of sinners--and for all this he ends up being nailed to the Cross. But the Cross is exactly where, as the spotless Lamb, He lays down His life as victim for the sins of the world. Who would have thought that this soft-spoken carpenter from Nazareth was going to save the world?
What an awesome mystery that Jesus, God Himself, comes to us as a humble lamb to save us from our sins! St. Faustina wrote: “O Lamb of God, I do not know what to admire in You first: Your gentleness, Your hidden life, the emptying of Yourself for the sake of man, or the constant miracle of Your mercy, which transforms souls and raises them up to eternal life. (…) Though the omnipotence of Your mercy is at work in the justification of the sinner, yet Your action is gentle and hidden” (Diary 1584).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, who am I but a wretched sinner, that You should allow Yourself to be crucified to wash away my sins with Your Blood? Help me to show my gratitude for Your infinite love by imitating Your gentleness and humility in all of my dealings with my neighbour. Amen.
22 January 2017
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 4:12-23)
In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear that the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled in Jesus Christ: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” Today’s psalm states something similar: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
Jesus indeed is the Light of the World, showing the way to the Father for anyone desiring to find Him. Jesus’ life shines forth as an example for us who, in fear and trembling, strive daily to work out our salvation. Looking to Jesus as our guide and model, we can never go astray. As a matter of fact, He wants us to help lead others out of the darkness of unbelief into the Light of His presence!
In order to be a docile instrument of Merciful Jesus, we need to be open to His Holy Spirit and allow His Light to penetrate our hearts, which can sometimes become hardened by the various trials and afflictions we suffer in this valley of tears. May we turn to the Lord in prayer with these words from St. Faustina’s Diary (830):
Prayer: O Light Eternal, who come to this earth, enlighten my mind and strengthen my will that I may not give up in times of great affliction, may Your light dissipate all the shadows of doubt. May Your omnipotence act through me. I trust in You, O uncreated Light! Amen.
29 January 2017
The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 5:1-12a)
This Sunday we hear once again Jesus’ beautiful Sermon on the Mount, where he turns all of our expectations upside down. Those considered blessed are not the rich and the powerful, as we might think, (after all, isn’t wealth supposed to be a sign of God’s blessing?) but blessed instead are the poor in spirit--those who place their complete trust in the Lord and in His love, thoroughly convinced that He always has their best interest in the first place. If we truly lived only this one beatitude, all the rest would follow. We would be meek, pure of heart, merciful, peacemakers. The Lord would be our guide, we would be His obedient children, and the kingdom of heaven would be ours.
But as true children of God, persecution would also be ours! Remember the words of Jesus, “The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). As Christians, we need to get used to the fact that we are not above the Lord. St Paul reminds us that, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12). So on the day we are persecuted, we must not become sad or discouraged, but rejoice, because our reward will be great in heaven.
St. Faustina resolved not to let persecution upset her or cause her to offend God in any way. She wrote: “I often see snares laid for me by souls who should not do so. I do not defend myself, but entrust myself all the more to God, who sees within me. And I see how these souls become entangled in their own snares. O God, how just and good You are!” (Diary 1727). Let us use St. Faustina’s strategy in times of persecution and let the Lord defend us.
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I want to put all my trust in You, but I’m scared. What if I end up not liking the way things go? What if I can’t hold out under the persecution? Have mercy on me and give me the grace I need to surrender completely to Your loving, fatherly care. May I never doubt that You will be there for me to carry me through. Amen.