Tag Archives: Jesus

Divine Mercy

The Feast Of Mercy

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The Lord Jesus asked, through Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, that the first Sunday after Easter Sunday be celebrated as the feast of Divine Mercy. Many years later, Pope St John Paul II fulfilled our Lord’s request so that this Feast day is universally celebrated throughout the entire Church.

Jesus made a very special promise: whoever goes to Confession and Holy Communion on the Feast of Mercy will receive, not only the forgiveness of sins, but the forgiveness of all temporal punishment and all time in purgatory.

Here is our Lord’s promise:

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.

“On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.

“On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.

“Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. “

Diary of St Faustina, 699

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The Human Condition, The Mother Of God, The Spiritual Life

Find Yourself in the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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There is much talk nowadays about finding yourself, knowing yourself, finding your true “self”? But what is self-knowledge?

“Know Yourself” was carved on the Temple portal at Delphi in ancient Greece, centuries before the birth of Christ.

Since that time, philosophers and thinkers and enthusiasts have been fascinated by this simple yet profound phrase [imperative], and have attempted to unravel all the depths of meaning that are hidden within it.

What does it mean to “know yourself”?

How would you go about finding self-knowledge?

What is the “self”, in the first place?

Is it the “soul”? Is it your “identity”?

Is it the knowledge of your own strengths, powers, and capacities?

Or is there more to it?

The search for self-knowledge is a search for the fulness of wisdom.

For it seems that self-knowledge, once discovered, would bestow all manner of wisdom and understanding, so that the soul would no longer falter, stumble, or digress from its glorious destiny.

The prize of self-knowledge promises to impart the fulness of wisdom to the soul and to set the soul firmly and irrevocably upon the path of peace, joy, and fulfillment.

But again, how does one find self-knowledge? The most straightforward and perfect way to find yourself is to first find the Lord—because your true identity is hidden in God.

When God created you, it was God’s “idea” of you that formed the blueprint for your own human nature, your gifts and attributes, and your destiny.

But what is the easiest way to find the Lord?

St Louis de Montfort taught that the easiest and most effective way to find Jesus is to give yourself totally and completely to our holy Mother Mary, to enter (through consecration) into the Immaculate Heart of Mary because no one knows and loves Jesus as much as His own Mother.

In fact, says Saint Louis, the Lord dwells in Mary as in His own Paradise.

When the whole universe could not contain the Lord, Mary was found to be His perfect home. Jesus is hidden in the holy Bosom of Mary more truly and perfectly than anywhere else in the universe—even more than in Heaven itself.

Therefore, the easiest way to find the Lord is in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Now there are two indispensable ways which enable us to enter the Immaculate Heart of Mary: the positive way (what to do) and the negative way (what to avoid).

1. Positive way: 

Consecrate yourself to Mary. Set aside some time every day to contemplate her life.

Look to Mary, contemplate her life, virtues and deeds, relinquish your own thoughts and ways in order to contemplate her life more perfectly, let go of your own habits and reasonings in order to see her more clearly, and thus enter more fully and completely into her holy Bosom, her Immaculate Heart, for there you will find her Divine Son more easily and perfectly than in any other way, and, in finding Jesus, you will also find your true self.

The gift of Mary and the gift of the Holy Spirit are the greatest gifts which the Lord has given us. And the Holy Spirit loves to abide where His Immaculate Spouse Mary is honoured, loved and imitated. Mary is the easiest and most secure and most perfect way to find the Lord, as St Louis de Montfort proclaimed. 

2. Negative way:

Turn away from sin, let go of anger, hatred and resentment, else you have already strayed from your true self. If you return evil for evil, if you hate those who hate you then you have effectively distanced yourself from the holy Mother.

If you participate in another’s sin, if you return evil for evil then you have effectively strayed from your true self.

And if perchance you have strayed from your true self then you are no longer grounded in the knowledge of your truest needs, your deepest desires, your greatest good, and an authentic knowledge of your true identity. 

Therefore, return to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for she loves to lead and guide all souls to her divine Son, Jesus Christ, with the unfailing power of her intercession, through the perfect virtue of her divine Love, and in her one and only Immaculate Heart wherein she adores and loves her Son and Lord unto the ages of ages.

LG Sleiman

The Spiritual Life

Transformed By The Renewal of Your Mind

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St Paul who (before his conversion) was thrown off his horse by the glorious Light of the risen Christ, admonishes us: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

One possible shade of meaning, among others, would be: “So I have to change the way I think.” But how can I change the way I think? How do I even begin to think differently? And the answer is not so obvious.

In a better translation of the Bible, it reads thus:

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2; RSVCE)

To be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” is an expression that is far more rich; it holds a meaning that is far more broad and deep.

So how can you be “transformed by the renewal of your mind”, you might ask? We know that the first step is to turn away from sin.

Sin darkens the mind. Whether you know it or not. Whether you believe it or not.

As St Paul wrote: “For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

And again: “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.” (Romans 1:28)

And again: “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” (Ephesians 4:18)

Those who live in sin cannot see clearly. Their mind is darkened. That’s why Jesus taught us to follow Him: “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.” (John 12:35)

Aldous Huxley wrote: “The victim of mind manipulation does not know that he is a victim. To him, the walls of his prison are invisible, and he believes himself to be free.”

Just as the victim of mind manipulation “does not know that he is a victim”, so also he who lives in sin cannot see the darkness of his own mind.

But Jesus does not want us to be victims of sin and darkness. He calls to us from the deepest Love: “Come to me all who labour and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Having turned away from sin, the soul then needs to “draw near to God” (James 4:8); the soul must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

To be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” is not something that you can achieve on your own strength. It can only be accomplished when you turn to God in faith and love.

As soon as you turn back to God in faith and love, God begins to enlighten your mind and to warm your heart, and to draw you ever closer to Himself in the spirit of prayer and loving communion with Jesus.

And when this happens, the soul is increasingly transformed into God’s likeness—not because the soul deserves to be raised to such union with God, but by the glorious power of God’s merciful Love: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the [Holy] Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

And when this happens, the Lord increasingly imparts to us the same knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of His own mind: “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

Daily Prayer

Prayer of the Rosary

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Jesus said: “There is no problem or difficulty that cannot be solved or resolved by faithful persevering recourse to My Mother’s most holy Rosary. The Rosary is My Mother’s gift to the poor and to the simple, to the little ones who alone are capable of hearing the Gospel in all its purity and of responding to it with a generous heart.

“It is to such as these—the childlike and the weak, the poor and the trusting—that the Rosary is given. It is to such as these that the Rosary belongs.

“There are no sufferings that cannot be borne peacefully, so long as a soul is praying the Rosary. Through the Rosary, all the grace and power of My mysteries passes through My Mother’s Immaculate Heart into the hearts of the little ones who invoke her, repeating the angel’s “Ave” over and over again. There are illnesses that can be cured through the Rosary.

“There are clouds of darkness and confusion that only the Rosary can disperse, and this because it is My Mother’s favourite prayer, a prayer that originated in the heights of heaven and was carried to earth by My Archangel, a prayer echoed and amplified in the Church through the ages, a prayer loved by all My saints, a prayer of disarming power and of immense depth.

“There are those who find the Rosary difficult. The difficulty lies not in the Rosary but in the complexity of those who struggle to enter into its simplicity. Invite souls to the prayer of the Rosary; through it I will heal the sick of mind and body, through it I will give peace where there is conflict, through it I will make great saints out of great sinners, through it I will sanctify My priests, give joy to My consecrated ones, and raise up new vocations in abundance.

“Listen, then, to My Mother’s plea in so many places. Listen to her, take her plea to heart, pray her Rosary and, for you, as for her, My Father will do wondrous things.”

Words of Jesus to a Benedictine Monk in prayer.

From: “In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart — the Journal of a Priest at Prayer.” 2nd December 2014

Daily Prayer

30 Day Novena to St Joseph

Our Lady once revealed to Venerable Mary of Agreda that “Whatever my spouse asks of the Lord in Heaven is granted upon the earth.”

This 30 day Novena Prayer to Saint Joseph, prayed with confidence in honour of the 30 years he spent with Jesus and Mary, has been known to draw great graces and even miracles from heaven. To take part in this Novena, say the following prayer every day for 30 days, followed by one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

PRAYER

Revised and enlarged by LG Sleiman, 5th March 2023

Ever blessed and glorious Joseph, kind and loving father, and helpful friend of all in sorrow! 

You are the good father and protector of orphans, the defender of the defenceless, the patron of those in need and sorrow. 

Look kindly on my requests. My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness. 

To you, loving guardian of the Family of Nazareth, do I go for help and protection. 

Listen, then, I beg you, with fatherly concern, to my earnest prayers, and obtain for me the favors I ask of you. 

I ask it in virtue of the purity of heart and excellence of love with which you committed your life to the service of God. 

I ask it in virtue of the joy and beatitude that filled your heart when you were betrothed to the holy Virgin Mary.

I ask it by the infinite mercy of the eternal Son of God, which moved Him to descend from Heaven to earth and to be clothed in human nature because He delights to dwell among the children of men. 

I ask it by the joy that filled your heart when the angel revealed to you that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

I ask it in virtue of your holy matrimony, the joyful harmony of your lives, and the blessed union of your hearts.

I ask it by the weariness and suffering you endured when you found no shelter at the inn of Bethlehem for the Queen of Heaven and, being everywhere refused, you were forced to take shelter in an abandoned cave.

I ask it in virtue of your joy when you witnessed the peace that quietly descended upon a sleeping world when the Son of God was born of the holy Virgin Mary on a cold winter night in Bethlehem. 

I ask it in virtue of your joy in seeing the Divine Child visited by angels, shepherds, and wise men from the East. 

I ask it by the loveliness and power of the sacred Name of Jesus which you conferred on the adorable Infant. 

I ask it by the painful torture you felt at the prophecy of holy Simeon, which declared Jesus and Mary future victims of our sins and of their great love for us. 

I ask it through your sorrow and pain of soul when the angel declared to you that the life of the Child Jesus was sought by His enemies, so that you had to flee with Him and His Blessed Mother to Egypt. 

I ask it by all the suffering, weariness, and labors of that long and dangerous journey.

I ask it by all the care and solicitude with which you embarked upon your return journey home with Jesus and Mary, when you were instructed to come out of Egypt. 

I ask it by your peaceful life in Nazareth where you met with so many joys, ever new infusions of divine grace, and so many tokens of God’s loving kindness. 

I ask it by your great distress when the adorable Child was lost to you and His Mother for three days after your visit to Jerusalem. 

I ask it by your indescribable joy at finding Him in the Temple, and by the comfort you found at Nazareth, while living in the company of Jesus and Mary. 

I ask it by the indescribable humility Jesus manifested in His submission and obedience to you.

I ask it in virtue of the love and fidelity with which you continued to serve Jesus and Mary all the days of your life.

I ask it by the perfect love and obedience with which you accepted the Divine order to depart from this life, and from the company of Jesus and Mary.

I ask it in virtue of your sacred and holy and happy death, because you died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. 

I ask it by the joy which filled your soul, when the Redeemer of the world rose from the dead, took possession of His Kingdom, and led you therein with special honors. 

I ask it through Mary’s glorious Assumption, and through that endless happiness you share with her in the presence of God. 

O good father! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows, and joys, to hear me and obtain for me what I ask. (Here name your petitions or think of them.) Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers and all those who pray for me everything that is useful to them in the plan of God.

My dear patron and father, be with me and all who are dear to me in our last moments, that we may eternally sing the praises of JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH.

“A blameless life, St. Joseph, may we lead, by your kind patronage from danger freed.”

St Joseph, Pray for us.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. 

Divine Mercy

The Peace of Mankind

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St Faustina writes:

“On one occasion, I heard these words:

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.

“On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.

“On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.

“Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. “

Diary of St Faustina, 699

Daily Prayer

Prayer for a Loved One

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In the midst of my plight, I turn to you, O holy Mother of God, my Mother, begging you to turn the gaze of your merciful eyes upon me, surround me with your love and protection, and lead me to know and love your divine Son, Jesus Christ my Lord.

A loved one of mine was going through a difficult time in her life and, as I looked on, I sought to pray for her in the same measure as her difficulties were great.

My prayer was guided by what I had recently discovered about the intimate union of our Lady with the Sacred Heart of her divine Son, in the midst of His most difficult moments, through the revelations of Sister Maria of Agreda (a 16th century Franciscan nun in Spain).

Sister Maria writes that holy Mary, through a special grace, was given the privilege of “seeing” all that her divine Son suffered during His Sacred Passion, as well as perceiving the unceasing acts of love and prayer of His Sacred Heart.

Christ had long promised His Mother that “in return for the new human existence which she had given Him in her virginal womb [the Incarnation], He would, by His almighty power, give her a new existence of divine and eminent grace above all other creatures”, and this promise of Christ “was continually fulfilled [in the course of her earthly life].”

“To this favour was due also her deep science and enlightenment concerning all the operations of the sacred humanity of her Son, none of which ever escaped her knowledge and attention.”

But whatever Mary “perceived” in the interior of her Son’s Heart, she also ”imitated” with fidelity:

“Whatever she thus perceived she imitated; so that she was always anxious to study and penetrate [Christ’s interior acts] with deep understanding, to put them promptly into action, and to practice them courageously and zealously during all her life. In this neither sorrow could disturb her, nor anguish hinder her, nor persecution detain her, nor the bitterness of her suffering weaken her.”

As a consequence of her “deep science and enlightenment”, Mary “felt in her own virginal body all the torments of Christ our Lord, both interior and exterior.”

But within such a hidden mystery, “there was concealed therein another mystery. This was, that the desire of Christ to see His exalted love and [goodness] as exhibited in His Passion copied in all its magnitude in a mere creature, was fulfilled in her, and no one possessed a greater right to this favour than His own Mother.” (Mystical City of God, volume 3, Chapter XXII, 670)

Thus was Mary increasingly conformed to the likeness of her divine Son, both in His suffering and in His acts of mercy—even in the midst of His most difficult and painful torments.

Filled with these thoughts, I pondered, how much more can Mary’s vision penetrate the depths of our own experiences, trials, and struggles?

With each glance of her soul, Mary understood the depth of Christ’s suffering as well as the unfathomable love which moved Him to suffer. If her gaze can penetrate all the depth of the Son of God’s suffering, love, and interior movements, how much more can Mary penetrate all the depth of our own hearts?

Do we not pray in the Salve Regina, “…turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus”?

Just as Mother Mary was fully present to Christ in His suffering, she is also able to be present to me in the course of my earthly pilgrimage, and nothing is impervious to the turn of her merciful gaze.

By a special grace from God, the one who is “full of grace”, with one glance of her eyes, understands me better than I understand myself. And with that understanding, Mother Mary sees clearly all the depth of my struggles, the nature of my pain, and the desires of my heart.

I therefore resolved to make the following prayer for my loved one, and to entrust her, and all the dimensions of her quest, to the holy Mother of God:

I beseech you, holy Mother of God, my Mother Mary, to turn your loving gaze upon my loved one, surround her on every side with your unfailing protection; cover her in your holy mantle; press her to your holy bosom; and receive all the depth of her needs, struggles, and intentions in your Immaculate Heart—both those intentions that are spoken, and those that remain hidden—with the same love with which you never failed to watch over your divine Son, unto peace, joy, and eternal life.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

LG Sleiman

Theology and Philosophy

Theology

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What is theology?

Theology is the study of God’s relations with humankind, God’s intervention in human affairs, God’s Self-revelation, especially in the Incarnation, when the Son of God became man and entered human history as Jesus, the Christ.

God’s Self-revelation was complete when the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world, because the Son of God is “the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance.” (Hebrews 1:3)

Theology seeks an understanding of God’s revelation, or as St Anselm put it, theology is “faith seeking understanding”.

The revelation of Jesus Christ is summarised in the Apostles’ Creed, elaborated in the dogmas of the Church, and further expounded in the teachings of the Church Councils, the Fathers, Doctors, and Saints of the Church.

The word “dogma” does not mean “an obstinate insistence upon a certain point of view” (the modern day, pejorative sense of the word), but actually means a teaching that is both (1) revealed by God; and (2) defined by the Church as an integral part of God’s self-revelation.

Therefore, a “dogmatic teaching” is a teaching that is always and everywhere true, because it rests on the authority of the God who reveals Himself, and the authority of the Church which testifies to God’s self-revelation.

Some of the greatest theologians in the history of the Church include Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint John the Beloved, Saint Augustine, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint John Damascene, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and others.

LG Sleiman

Read more: What is the relationship of theology to philosophy?

The Spiritual Life

The Appetites Of Man

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1st June 2021
Feast of St Justin Martyr

The appetite for pleasure, money, and power: these are the fundamental appetites of human nature. Any and every temptation can only appeal to one or more of these three appetites.

These appetites can be man’s downfall, or else the path by which he overcomes temptation and merits victory in Christ.

For to master these appetites is to be the master of oneself, to be self-possessed, and to be in a greater capacity to surrender oneself to the will of God. But to be mastered by one’s appetites, by one or more of the appetites, is to become a slave to them, a slave to sin, and to be estranged from the grace and glory of God.

Saint John the Beloved warned against these appetites: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2: 15-17)

If one is mastered by one’s appetites (the lower desires), this becomes like a spiritual wound which festers and grows, perhaps becomes a sort of spiritual abscess, against which the soul will struggle as it seeks sound health, until it is set free by the mercy and grace of God.

“The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) The same can be said of an immoderate love of pleasure or power.

How many souls have fallen because they could not liberate themselves from an attachment to the love of money, power or pleasure?

Whether one is a Christian or not, religious or not, priest or nun, brother or sister, mother or father, son or daughter, one can only advance toward union with God by seeking the mercy of God, by doing the will of God, through the gift of God’s grace with which He empowers us to overcome sin, temptation, and to master ourselves, for the glory of God.

He who does not master himself cannot submit his will to God, and he who does not submit to the will of God cannot master himself. These two go hand in hand.

For “the world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Notice too that the devil’s three temptations of Christ in the wilderness correspond to the three appetites (Matthew 4:1-11): for pleasure, power, and riches.

Isn’t it interesting that history seems to have given us clear examples of all three appetites leading to the downfall or perhaps the temporary downfall of some poor soul?

One mystic wrote that Judas betrayed our Lord because Judas was, from the very beginning, only interested in success and attached to the love of money—he controlled the common “purse” (collective money) for the apostles and he ultimately betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver.

Saint Paul (before his conversion) was attached to power: he wanted to round up all Christians and put them away or put them to death.

Pope Alexander VI fell from grace because of his attachment to pleasure, power, and money: he had several mistresses and fathered several children, while securing his power through alliances with various political powers.

No one is immune from such trials, and we ought to be sober, watchful and vigilant, as the Lord encouraged us to be. (Luke 21:36)

Through our Lord Jesus Christ we can overcome all things and know the victory of Christ, the joy of living in Christ, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Mercy and Justice

Justice or Mercy?

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If God is infinitely merciful then why do we often fear His justice? The fact is that we are always confronted, consciously or unconsciously, with the choice between trust and fear, between faith and doubt. We are never exempt from responding to God’s invitations, we are never deprived of God’s help and grace, and we are never so liberated as when we believe in the Truth.

Yesterday, as I was conversing with a friend regarding this or that course of action in a particular situation, she told me quite sincerely that she would be very careful not to offend God in her choice. That was great, I thought, but something in her voice hinted that she had more fear than trust, that God’s justice loomed larger in her mind than God’s mercy. I wasn’t really sure. In any case, I felt, this is not so much an isolated incident and (perhaps) quite common. In any case, isn’t God’s mercy greater than His justice?

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