49 Angle Road, Walkerville
P.O. Box 378, Walkerville, 1876
Tel: 073 462 4937
walkerville.divinemercy@catholicjhb.org.za
29 May 2016
Corpus Christi Sunday (Luke 9:11b-17)
In today’s Gospel we can see the Apostles’ lack of trust, as they want Jesus to dismiss the hungry crowds to go and find themselves food and lodging. It seems the Apostles don’t want to part with the five loaves and two fish they have—perhaps then they will be among the ones who have no food—unless, of course, they go off and buy some food, which is actually their solution to the problem. Instead of sending them shopping, however, Jesus tells them to have the crowd sit down. And He feeds all of them, with twelve wicker baskets of leftovers to spare.
One time when St. Faustina was faced with what seemed to be an impossible situation, the Lord Jesus asked her: “Why are you afraid? Do you think that I will not have enough omnipotence to support you?” (Diary 1527).
Don’t we all sometimes panic, thinking that even God couldn’t get us out of this one? Yet He is always close by, wanting to minister to us in our most hopeless situations, and waiting to see if we will think of asking Him for help. Let us remember Him and let us never forget that He is indeed the God of the impossible.
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, help even me in the most difficult situations always to remember that You can do all things. You are full of mercy and love, and You always know what’s best for me. I put all my trust in You. Amen.
22 May 2016
Holy Trinity Sunday (John 16:12-15)
Jesus wants to share what He has with us, everything He has, freely and generously. Yet He Himself doesn’t decide what or how much to give of what He has received. Rather, with complete trust He allows the Father to “take from what is His and declare it to us,” as the Father so desires.
St. Faustina wrote: “The Holy Trinity grants me Its life abundantly, by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Three Divine Persons live in me. When God loves, He loves with all His Being, with all the power of His Being. If God has loved me in this way, how should I respond—I, His spouse?” (Diary 392). Indeed, we all need to ask: How should I respond to God’s love?
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, You show me by example how I should respond to Your love: Not by hoarding Your graces for myself, but by detaching myself from them and allowing the Father to make use of them for my neighbour, in whatever way He deems fit. I praise and thank You for every grace and blessing, and I ask You for the gift of a generous heart, ready to part with anything You have given me, temporal or spiritual, of which my neighbour is in need. You know what is best for me. I trust in You. Amen.
15 May 2016
Pentecost Sunday (John 14:15-16, 23b-26)
Today we celebrate the Holy Spirit, the greatest gift Jesus has given to His Church and to each one of us for help on our journey to heaven. “The Comforter” consoles us, assuring us that we can receive forgiveness in spite of our sinfulness. It is the Holy Spirit Who enlightens us to help us recognize our sins, and Who gives us the courage to confess them in the Sacrament of Penance. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives priests the power to forgive our sins in Confession.
Jesus taught St. Faustina how to approach the Sacrament of Penance, telling her: “My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light” (Diary 1725).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, how precious it is to me that You know and love me. Give me the grace to work at getting to know You better. Help me grow to love You ever more deeply. You want me for eternity with You in heaven. Help me to become here on earth the person You created me to be. Amen.
8 May 2016
The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord (Luke 24:46-53)
Next Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Let us pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit in these words of St. Faustina:
“O Divine Spirit, Spirit of truth and of light,Dwell ever in my soul by Your divine grace.May Your breath dissipate the darkness,And in this light may good deeds be multiplied.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of love and of mercyWho pour the balm of trust into my heart,Your grace confirms my soul in good,Giving it the invincible power of constancy.
O Divine Spirit, Spirit of peace and of joy,You invigorate my thirsting heartAnd pour into it the living fountain of God’s love,Making it intrepid for battle.
O Divine Spirit, my soul’s most welcome guest,For My part, I want to remain faithful to You;Both in days of joy and in the agony of sufferingI want always, O Spirit of God, to live in Your presence.
O Divine Spirit, who pervade my whole being
And give me to know Your Divine Threefold Life,
Initiating me into Your Divine Essence,
Thus united to You, I will live a life without end. Amen” (Diary 1411).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, I praise and thank You for calling men from among us to lay down their lives in Your service as priests. Bless every one of Your priests, and strengthen them to generously fulfil Your holy will. Amen.
1 May 2016
The Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 20:19-31)
Today Jesus gives us the gift of His peace. He wants us to receive it, but somehow we are too anxious and scared to believe that there are no strings attached to this generous offer. What prevents us from embracing this precious gift is our attachment to sin and our lack of trust.
Jesus told St. Faustina: “Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy” (Diary 1541).
During the homily at his Inauguration Mass, Pope Benedict XVI asked, “Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us?” Then he encouraged us, saying: “And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you: (...) Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and He gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return.”
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, sinner that I am, I know that I have first access to Your mercy. Tear me away from sin and give me the grace to open wide my heart to Your blessings and Your peace. I trust in You. Amen.