49 Angle Road, Walkerville
P.O. Box 378, Walkerville, 1876
Tel: 073 462 4937
walkerville.divinemercy@catholicjhb.org.za
30 November 2014
The First Sunday of Advent (Mark 13:33-37)
Today the Lord Jesus is reminding us to stay awake and be always ready for Him, for He will come unexpectedly. We cannot know when He will come for us; many people will die today, completely unaware that they will already have to make an account of their lives before the Divine Judge. Knowing that the day will come “like a thief,” we should always try our best to remain in a state of grace.
We can learn from St. Faustina, who recorded the following conversation with the Lord Jesus in her Diary : “My daughter, stand ready, for I will come unexpectedly. Jesus, You do not want to tell me the hour I am looking forward to with such longing? My daughter, it is for your own good. You will learn it, but not now; keep watch. O Jesus, do with me as You please. (…) So come as You like and when You like. Father of infinite mercy, I, Your child, wait longingly for Your coming. O Jesus, You said in the Holy Gospel, ‘Out of your mouth do I judge you.’ Well, Jesus, I am always speaking of Your inconceivable mercy, so I trust that You will judge me according to Your unfathomable mercy” (Diary 854).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, help me to follow the example of St. Faustina, who constantly told people about Your Mercy and had complete trust in You. Lord Jesus, I need You! Amen.
23 November 2014
The Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Matthew 25:31-46)
This Sunday’s Gospel is a warning for the idle about how things will go at the Last Judgement. There is no merit for talking about the good works we want to do, or in planning out deeds of mercy to do when we get around to it. Only the concrete actions we have completed will hold water on the Last Day, when the Lord separates out His sheep from the goats.
We can learn from the example of St. Faustina, who although herself seriously ill, did not hesitate to leave her hospital bed to help a neighbouring patient. She recounted in her Diary: “Suddenly I heard the bell in the next room, and I went in and rendered a service to a seriously sick person. When I returned to my room, I suddenly saw the Lord Jesus, who said, My daughter, you gave Me greater pleasure by rendering Me that service than if you had prayed for a long time. I answered, "But it was not to You, Jesus, but to that patient that I rendered this service." And the Lord answered me, Yes, My daughter, but whatever you do for your neighbour, you do for Me” (Diary 1029).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, so often I am slow to respond to Your invitations to show mercy to my neighbour. Teach me to put my faith into action, so that You will recognize me as one of Your own on the Last Day. Amen.
16 November 2014
The Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 25:14-30)
From today’s Parable of the Talents, Jesus wants to help us understand that no two people have received identical gifts from the Lord, and yet, whatever talents a person has received should be developed and used build up the Kingdom of God. All of this happens through the grace of God. Our prayer time is actually the space God uses to develop our talents, but He needs our cooperation. We need to make efforts ourselves, not just ask the Lord for help.
Often we make resolutions we think we can fulfil, decisions to develop our gifts and to grow in virtue, but we end up discouraged when we see no results. The problem is that we are doing things on our own strength. St. Faustina experienced this herself, and wrote in her Diary: “When one day I resolved to practice a certain virtue, I lapsed into the vice opposed to that virtue ten times more frequently than on other days. In the evening, I was reflecting on why, today, I had lapsed so extraordinarily, and I heard the words: You were counting too much on yourself and too little on Me. And I understood the cause of my lapses” (Diary 1087).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, thank You for all the gifts and graces You have given me. Help me to cooperate with your grace in using all of my talents for Your glory and to fulfil Your will for me. I trust in You. Amen.
9 November 2014
The Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 25:1-13)
This week’s Gospel is about being ready when the Bridegroom (the Lord Jesus) comes. The foolish maidens in the parable were unprepared when the Bridegroom appeared, and as a result completely missed out on the wedding feast. If we look at Holy Mass as the wedding feast of the Lamb, we need to ask ourselves how we prepare for the Bridegroom’s coming.
St. Faustina prepared herself every day for Holy Communion. Once she wrote: “Today, I am preparing myself for Your coming as bride does for the coming of her bridegroom. He is great Lord, this Bridegroom of mine. The heaven cannot contain Him. The Seraphim who stand closest to Him cover their faces and repeat unceasingly: Holy, Holy, Holy. This great Lord is my Bridegroom. It is to Him that the Choirs sing. It is before Him that the Thrones bow down. By His splendour the sun is eclipsed. And yet this great Lord is my Bridegroom. My heart, desist from this profound meditation on how others adore Him, for you no longer have time for that, as He is coming and is already at your door” (Diary 1805).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, how often I attend Holy Mass without reflecting on whether I am truly ready to receive You. Help me to prepare for every meeting with You so that when I finally meet You on the Last Day You will recognize me as Your own. Amen.
2 November 2014
The Solemnity of All Saints (Matthew 5:1-12)
On this Sunday’s solemnity of All Saints, the Church gives us the Sermon on the Mount as food for reflection. Jesus tells us among other things, that those who show mercy are blessed, because they shall receive mercy.
We know that God’s mercy is infinite, and that He pours it out abundantly upon all those who seek it. But in the Beatitudes He promises another means for receiving mercy, namely the showing of mercy to those in need. This will guarantee our receiving mercy in our time of need. In speaking with St. Faustina, Jesus stressed, though, that our deeds of mercy should be motivated out of love for Him, and not from the desire to obtain something from Him:
“I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it” (Diary 742).
Prayer: Merciful Lord Jesus, You don’t merely recommend, but you indeed demand me to perform deeds of mercy toward my neighbours. Forgive me for trying to justify the ways I’ve ignored those in need. Pour Your love into my heart, and allow my love for You to prompt me every day of my life to carry out works of mercy towards the people You place in my path. Amen.