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January 4, 2012
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! Also today, in my arms I am carrying my Son Jesus to you, for Him to give you His peace. Pray, little children, and witness so that in every heart, not human but God's peace may prevail, which no one can destroy. It is that peace in the heart which God gives to those whom He loves. By your Baptism you are all, in a special way, called and loved, therefore witness and pray that you may be my extended hands to this world which yearns for God and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call." (December 25, 2011)
Our Lady often asks us to be her extended hands in the world. She calls us to reach out to her other children who do not yet know her. She asks us to be her hands! That means she needs us to act on her behalf.
This Christmas I received a wonderful book from a dear friend. She had inherited it from a friend, and felt moved to give it to me. It is titled: The Hidden Power of Kindness, written by Reverend Lawrence G. Lovasik. I have just begun reading it and I am already convinced that Father Lovasik is on to something.
I think that one of Our Lady's greatest attributes is kindness. She is so very kind. You can feel it in her messages from Medjugorje. It struck me that being kind would be one way to be her extended hands. By being kind, we can witness to God's love and to Our Lady's presence in the world. By kindness we can help others to convert and find peace.
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Let me quote from Father Lovasik's book:
Kindness is constantly winning stray souls back to God by opening hearts that seemed obstinately closed. "Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning; and these three last have never converted anyone, unless they were kind also."
We often begin our own repentance by acts of kindness, or through them. Probably the majority of repentances have begun in the reception of acts of kindness, which touched men by the sense of their being so undeserved...
Kindness drives gloom and darkness from souls and puts hope into fainting hearts. It sweetens sorrow and lessens pain. It discovers unsuspected beauties of human character and calls forth a response from all that is best in souls. Kindness purifies, glorifies, and ennobles all that it touches. It opens the floodgates of children's laughter and gathers the tears of repentant love. It lightens the burden of weariness.
Kindness stops the torrent of angry passion, takes the sting from failure, and kindles courageous ambition. It lifts the unfortunate, leads back the wayward, and walks in the steps of our Savior.
Kindness is too often left uncultivated because people do not sufficiently understand its value. Men may be charitable, merciful, and self-sacrificing, yet not kind. Kindness, as a grace, is not always sufficiently cultivated even among some devout people. Many devout people are unkind. There is sometimes a sort of spiritual selfishness in their devotion, which may interfere with kindness. This calls for much vigilance.
Kindness is the grand cause of God in the world. Where it is natural, it must be supernaturally planted. Your mission in life should be to reconquer for God's glory His unhappy world and give it back to Him. Devote yourself to the beautiful apostolate of kindness, so that you and others may enjoy the bliss of Divine Life.
Become a member of the Fraternity of Kindness. No enrollment is necessary. There are no officers, no meetings, and no dues. You must make up your mind that you want to belong to it and then begin immediately to keep the rules.
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The rules are simple - three little don'ts and three little dos.
Don'ts: 1. Don't think unkindly of anyone. 2. Don't speak unkindly to anyone. 3. Don't act unkindly toward anyone.
Dos: 1. Do speak kindly to someone at least once a day. 2. Do think kindly about someone at least once a day. 3. Do act kindly toward someone at least once a day.
For any unkindness committed: 1. Make a brief act of contrition, such as "My Jesus, Mercy!" 2. Offer an apology, if possible. 3. Say a little prayer - such as "Bless N., O Lord" - for the one to whom you have been unkind.
(Reverend Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Hidden Power of Kindness. Sophia Institute Press. 1962. P. 11-13)
I am told that a fervent Pro-choice activist was converted through an act of kindness on the part of a Pro-life witness at an abortion clinic who simply adjusted his scarf to keep out the cold as he escorted a woman into the clinic for an abortion. This kind act opened his heart to begin to see things from the Pro-life side, and he was changed. This is the power of kindness. If we can be the extended hands of Our Lady and of Jesus, through kindness, who knows how many souls will be rescued!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
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