What does Christ look like? How does He treat His Sheep? What does His Heart contain that would concern us? What would it be like to see the face of God, to get a glimpse into His character, and come to know Him?
I was reading a very encouraging message that Jesus gave to a Benedictine priest some years ago now, and the following thoughts came to mind:
The Lord always speaks to encourage us, never to put us down.
The Lord’s words always open up a path for healing, never to harm us.
The Lord’s love always seeks to enlighten us, never to fill us with darkness.
The Lord’s power always seeks to save us, never to judge or condemn us.
The Lord’s joy heals every sorrow, his light disperses all darkness, his life always shines for us, especially if we seek His face and do not push Him out of our lives.
You can read Christ’s words here below.
Jesus speaks to His beloved priest: (In Sinu Jesu)
“Trust Me when, for one reason or another, you take your distance from Me and no longer come to seek My Face in the Sacrament of My love, nor abide close to My Eucharistic Heart. If you do not come to Me, I will go out in search of you and bring you back to Myself, so that where I am, you also may be….”
“I do not judge you harshly, any more than the shepherd judges harshly the sheep that, in its stupidity, separated itself from the flock and lost its way….”
“Life is not linear; it is made up of twists and turns, of detours and setbacks, of obstacles and of trials. It is the man who perseveres in coming to Me through all these things who comforts My wounded Heart by offering a worthy and costly love.”
“There is a kind of guilt that keeps souls far from Me—such guilt is the effect of a wounded pride, of a deep disappointment in one’s flawed self.
“Never succumb to the guilt that whispers: ‘Stay away. It is no use. There is nothing left here for you. You are incapable of the vocation you thought you heard. Accept your failure to live it and admit that you were deceived.’
“This is not My voice. It is rather the voice of the accuser who borrows all the voices of your past, still alive in your memory, and makes use of them to assault you with a barrage of lies that are calculated to bring you down and cause you to despair.
“My voice is always one of comfort and of love, producing peace in the soul—even when My words are cutting, even when they pierce the heart like the surgeon’s scalpel. Trust, then, in My words to you, and close the ear of your imagination and heart to all else.
“I am He who comforts you, not the one who would assault you, accuse you, condemn you, and cast you out. I am the one who welcomes you with joy. I am the father delighted to see the face of his son and to hear his voice. I am the bridegroom who longs for the sweet company of his beloved bride.
“I am the friend who takes delight in the conversation of the friend whom he has chosen and to whom he has bound himself by a lasting pledge of friendship. Come to Me, then, without fear, for with Me you always find a divine welcome, a loving embrace, consoling conversation, and the courage to continue in the way of life that I have traced out for you.”
Excerpt From: In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart — the Journal of a Priest at Prayer
A Benedictine Monk.
Message of 28th November 2014
Jesus Risen 