Mary TV Daily Reflection 11/11/2010

(crownofstars.blogspot.com)

November 11, 2010 Dear Family of Mary! "Dear children! With motherly perseverance and love I am bringing you the light of life to destroy the darkness of death in you. Do not reject me, my children. Stop and look within yourselves and see how sinful you are. Be aware of your sins and pray for forgiveness. My children, you do not desire to accept that you are weak and little, but you can be strong and great by doing God's will. Give me your cleansed hearts that I may illuminate them with the light of life, my Son. Thank you." (November 2, 2010) "But you can be strong and great by doing God's will."   At first these words from Our Lady made me uncomfortable.

Are we supposed to desire to be strong and great?  But then I realized that it is God's will that counts here, not us.  We are made strong and great only by doing God's will, which is always good.  God wants us to be strong, to be great in His eyes, which is totally different than in the world's eyes.  Great according to God can be very little according to the world!  Again I have recourse to St. Therese:

"'My thoughts are not your thoughts,' says the Lord (Isaiah 55:8).  Merit does not consist in doing or giving much, but in receiving, in loving much.  It is said that 'it is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35), and that is true; but when Jesus wants to make His own the blessedness of giving, it would not be gracious to refuse.  Let Him take and give what He chooses, perfection consists in doing His will; and the soul which gives itself totally to Him is called by Jesus 'His mother, His sister,' and His whole family (Matthew 12:50).  And more than that: 'If anyone love Me, he will keep My word (which means, he will do My will) and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our abode with him' (John 14:23). --- How easy it is to give pleasure to Jesus, to enrapture His heart!  All one has to do is love Him, not considering oneself, not examining one's faults too closely. --- My director, Jesus, does not teach me to count my acts, but to do everything for love, to refuse Him nothing, to be pleased when He gives me a chance to prove to Him that I love Him --- but all this in peace, in abandonment, Jesus does everything, I nothing." (Letter to Celine, July 6, 1893).

Isn't St. Therese amazing!  She has found the key to doing God's will.  It isn't in painstakingly counting out our actions and sizing up our behavior.  It is in loving Him in everything that we do, and allowing Him to love us!  For surely it is the will of God that we love Him and He us! That is His greatest and only desire.  And it is Love that will make us strong.  Love moves us to heroic acts!  We see this in mothers who spend countless sleepless nights tending their children.  Love alone could empower someone to stay up night after night.  Love makes us strong.  And Love makes us great as well, because it makes us very much like God.  When we love, we resemble Jesus, and how much greater can you get!!  

St. Therese's little way really works!  God's will for us is that we be loved by Him and love Him back.  Wow!  Now we can be comfortable with Our Lady's words.  We want to be whatever the Lord wants us to be.  If He wants to fill us with Himself, and make us happy, then that is what we want!  If He wants to give us the opportunity to show our love for Him, by going through some trial or difficulty and still loving Him, then that is what we want too!  It is all for love!

Thank you again, dear St. Therese, for sharing with us your "little" way!  We are little, like you, and we are weak like you!  But the Lord Jesus is not weak or little, and He loves us!  Thank you!

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan

PS.  Friday, November 12, 2010.  8:00 pm EST!  Don't forget that Mary TV will be streaming a beautiful musical event, Danielle Rose and Family, Live!  Just go to www.marytv.tv to join Danielle Rose and her family for some beautiful music!!  

 

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous