Jesus' Name Is Mercy Pt. III

My main reason for writing so much on this subject is to hopefully bring the joyful message of Jesus' never ending forgiveness which is manifested so powerfully through his mercy. St. Faustina I believe writes the best on this subject since her whole was propagated on bringing this message to the whole world.

 In my previous two posts on the subject I wrote about Jesus' desire for all souls to be saved. I also wrote about the inevitable struggles that accompany a soul on the road to holiness.  In this post I will continue on these themes with additional quotes from the second part of St. Faustina's diary,

"If one does not know what is better, one must reflect, consider and seek advice, because one must not act with an uncertain conscience.  When uncertain, say to yourself: "Whatever I do will be good. I have the intention of doing good." The Lord God accepts what we consider good, and the Lord God also accepts and considers it as good. One should not worry if, after some time, one sees that these things are not good. God looks at the intention with which we began, and will reward us accordingly. This is a principle which we ought to follow." (800)

   This reflection best exemplifies the love that God has for us.  God honors our free choices even if they don't work out well in the end. What a marvelous love! God loves this way because he only has the ability to see our hearts completely since he created us.  Armed with this knowledge we shouldn't fear making decisions, or living life because as long as have his will in our hearts we can't go wrong.  It would be equivalent to a child that is learning to walk.  The parent might now that the child might not be ready to run yet, but the child still attempts to run and falls.  The good parent isn't angry at this mistake rather the parent praises the child for attempting to do the good thing of walking.  In this same way Jesus treats us. We might make mistakes, fall on our faces, but if our intention is to do good he will not be angry with us.  But the important thing is to realize that God does not want us to be impulsive either.  He wants us to seek advice from the wise, judge, reflect first then act.  God is a God of order not recklessness.

"Accomplish faithfully everything that Jesus asks of you, despite the difficulties. Know that although people may be angry with you , Jesus is not angry and never will be angry with you. Pay no attention to human opinion." (763)

   "Pay no attention to human opinion."  It is so much a part of human nature to crave the approval of others especially those nearest to us.  St. Faustina is telling us just the opposite; that the most important approval is Jesus'. Once we get Jesus' approval thorough spiritual insight then the opinions of others will matter less and less. We will become freed, detached from the weighty expectations of others.  Jesus will never be angry at us as long we are trying to fulfill his will since, unlike human love he loves unconditionally.

"And God has given me to understand that there is but one thing that is of infinite value in his eyes, and that is love of God; love, love and once again, love; and nothing can compare with a single act of pure love of God." (778)

  The most important and solemn duty for us is to love God.  This is the greatest commandment as Jesus said, "That one must love God with their whole mind, heart, and soul." This is the greatest commandment.  Nothing in life even comes close to this love.  We should all ask ourselves, "Do we love Jesus above everything in life?" Your answer will determine the level of love that you have in your heart.

"O my Jesus, I understand well that, just as illness is measured with a thermometer, and a high fever tells us of the seriousness of the illness, so also, in the spiritual life, suffering is the thermometer which measures the love of God in a soul." (774)

   Its an unavoidable thing that in this life there is suffering.  It doesn't matter whether you're an atheist or a believer, the two things that unite all humans is death and suffering.  The difference between the atheist and the believer is that in the believer there is hope; a hope born of the knowledge that this life is a pale version of the permanent joys of heaven.  But taken a step further the Christian, through Jesus' grace is able to even in this life to gain a foretaste of heaven.  To a true believer suffering unites a person to Christ.  To an unbeliever suffering is a giant inconvenience, to a Christian suffering is the opportunity to grow closer in love and through this pervasive love one will be better able to love others as well.

"Know that I am with you; I bring about the difficulties, and I overcome them; in one instant, I can change a hostile disposition to one which is favorable to this cause."  (788)

   Jesus speaks these words to St. Faustina to let her know that he is in control of the situation.  In the spiritual world the salvation of the world has always been attributed to the faith of the few. Jesus has always wrought his greatest miracles through the simplest of people. In the Old Testament it was the remnant, the great prophets and their believers that were able to save Israel from ruin.  Jesus is telling us that we should not worry about the things that we don't have control over.  We should focus instead on our faith, and everything else in time including the conversions of others will all happen at Jesus' perfect timing.


-Jesus I trust in you!