Mary TV Daily Reflection 10/5/2011

October 5, 2011

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(Saint Faustina Kowalska)

 

Dear Family of Mary!

 

"Dear children! Also today my motherly heart calls you to prayer, to your personal relationship with God the Father, to the joy of prayer in Him. God the Father is not far away from you and He is not unknown to you. He revealed Himself to you through my Son and gave you Life that is my Son. Therefore, my children, do not give in to temptations that want to separate you from God the Father. Pray! Do not attempt to have families and societies without Him. Pray! Pray that your hearts may be flooded with the goodness which comes only from my Son, Who is sincere goodness. Only hearts filled with goodness can comprehend and accept God the Father. I will continue to lead you. In a special way I implore you not to judge your shepherds. My children, are you forgetting that God the Father called them? Pray! Thank you."  (September 2, 2011, Mirjana)

 

Our Lady tells us in this message not to give in to temptations that want to separate us from God the Father. Don't we live in an age that is designed to pull us away from God the Father? On every level, it seems that society is trying to deny the Father's very existence and convince us to live without Him.

 

Denis mentioned to me that one of the most successful tactics that separate us from God is worry. If we dwell in a state of worry, it is hard to pray, hard to focus of God and His presence. Worry becomes our preoccupation. And there is an abundance of things to worry about these days.

 

I have been reading a book by Fr. Jean C. J. d'Elbée, I Believe in Love, which is a personal retreat based on the teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux. Fr. d'Elbée's insights are very similar to those of Fr. Jacques Philippe, and I find them very helpful. In the following excerpt, Fr. d'Elbée discusses worry and how it can draw us away from God or draw us to Him, depending on our own response:

 

When someone asked little Therese to summarize her little childlike way, she answered, "It is to be disturbed by nothing." I confess that these words say a great deal!

 

Naturally this means not to be voluntarily disturbed, not consciously or deliberately disturbed, because nature always worries. We worry about everything: the threat of war, political corruption, social relations, family difficulties, children to raise, health, the next day's bread, the future of our loved ones, etc. I, who preach confidence at such length, spend my time worrying. How can we not ask at every turn, "What is going to happen? How will this turn out?" The main thing is not to consent consciously to anxiety or a troubled mind.

 

The moment you realize you are worrying, make very quickly an act of confidence: "No, Jesus, You are there: nothing - nothing - happens, not a hair falls from our heads, without Your permission. I have no right to worry." Perhaps He is sleeping in the boat, but He is there. He is always there. He is all-powerful; nothing escapes His vigilance. He watches over each one of us "as over the apple of His eye." He is all love, all tenderness. It is really an offense against Him when we worry voluntarily about anything. That is what causes Him pain. That is what wounds His Heart more than anything else.

 

Such gentle words return constantly to His lips, in an endless refrain which should rejoice our ears and expand our hearts: Nolite timere: "Do not be afraid. It is I - Jesus." (Mt. 14:27)

 

I emphasize this concept of "worrying with the full consent of the will," for it is very important in the spiritual life to make a distinction between our nature and our will, united to the will of Jesus. Homo duplex: my nature says, "No"; my will says, "Yes." My nature trembles; with all my will, I smile through my tears. My nature is troubled and afraid; my heart recalls the divine testament: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you." (John 14:27) My nature revolts; I force myself to say, "All is well, Jesus; do not change anything." It is a fight which we must take up again and again without ceasing, for our fallen nature always rears up its head. St. Francis de Sales says it dies a quarter of an hour after we do! This is the drama of our life. But the beautiful thing is that Jesus sees our will united to His by a fundamental choice - that profound, habitual disposition of having only one will with Him. All those movements of our nature, if we do not consent to them, do not exist for Him. There is no sin without consent...

 

Here is a good resolution to take from this retreat: "I promise You, Jesus, to worry about nothing consciously, voluntarily, deliberately. As soon as I notice myself worrying, I shall listen to Your gentle voice saying to me, 'Let me do it. Am I not here with you, in you?' and I shall say unconditionally 'O Jesus, I thank you for everything.' For You always expect that of me." (Father Jean C.J. d'Elbée. I Believe in Love. Sophia Institute Press. 1969. P.93-98)

 

 

Children can worry very much, because so much seems to be out of their control. They know how little they are. But children in the presence of their parents can let go of worry, because they know that their parents will take care of everything. It is the same for us with God our Father, and Jesus, the Son who makes Him known. We can drop all our fears and worries because God the Father is with us, and He is in control...of everything!

 

Thank you, Mother Mary, for drawing us into the arms of our Father in heaven. Thank you also for being our Mother!

 

In Jesus and Mary,

Cathy Nolan

 

PS. Father Jean C.J. d'Elbée's book, I believe in Love, is available through Sophia Institute Press - 1-800-888-9344 or at www.sophiainstitute.com.

 

 

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