Tribulation Times
(Luke 10:1-2) And after these things, the Lord appointed also other seventy-two. And he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come. And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he send labourers into his harvest. ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: Young adults and ‘secrets of the heart’
(Luke 10:1-2) And after these things, the Lord appointed also other seventy-two. And he sent them two and two before his face into every city and place whither he himself was to come. And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he send labourers into his harvest. ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: Young adults and ‘secrets of the heart’
VIA BHLA2: How To Get More Out Of Every Day! by the late Father Kilian McGowan, C.P. It was reported that in the mid-twenties our Blessed Lord appeared to Sister Mary of the Dolors and asked for the "Penance of Daily Duty." In recent decades, Mother Church has canonized several saints who were outstanding for their perfect and loving fulfillment of what the saintly Pius XII called "that terrible everyday duty." Just what, therefore, does this "everyday duty" include? Everything! The commandments of God and the Church. The obligations of your profession or vocation. The virtues needed at home, at work, and play. It applies to everyone of every walk of life. It goes even further calling for faithful correspondence to every inspiration of grace-for saintliness is but the crowning point of a long succession of graces. It embraces also the various opportunities for good that present themselves from day to day. Also to that special form of an apostolate conformable to your vocation in life. Is this really enough to make a saint? It certainly is. For holiness consists in a fervent and active charity manifested in the faithful performance of all these duties. As our Lord said: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my commandments" and "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." (John 14: 23-21) The next question follows naturally...If holiness consists in the union of my will with the will of God, just how is this will of God made known to me from day to day? It is made known to you every day of your life in your everyday duty. This is your daily manifestation of the will of God. It includes, by the way, ALL the penance anyone needs! Another means of discovering the will of God for us is an internal source. It is the Holy Spirit. This Unseen Guest is ever active and constantly aids us with His lights, inspiration and guidance. When you find it difficult, as it were, to hear the voice of the Sanctifier, you should resort to ordinary prudence. Prayer and good counsel, plus the ever-readiness to do the will of God, usually bring the solution of our doubts and uncertainties. The guidance of the Holy Spirit is, in fact, an essential part of God's ordinary action on the soul. You may be sure that God will give you the necessary inspirations to walk in the ways of God. Of course, if we are foolish to habitually reject His advice and advances there's no telling when He will cut them off. There can be no greater tragedy than to be rejected by the Sanctifying Spirit! A final indicator of the will of God is the course of ordinary events. Excluding one's personal sins, it is true to say that whatever has happened to us in the past is part of God's Providential plan. Your origin, your upbringing, your education-or lack of it-your talents and present circumstances-there is nothing here that cannot be used for God's glory and your sanctification. This hardly means that we shouldn't try to improve our lot, but rather that we should unreservedly accept whatever God wills for us here and now. To accept our present situation and ourself just as they are can be a great act of faith and confidence in God's Providence. It can also be the beginning of great spiritual progress. What is a practical resolution to be drawn from these principles? It is that a most helpful spiritual practice is to stand daily in the presence of God and with a sincere and generous heart to pray: "Lord, what will Thou have me to do?" There is no better way to win the constant assistance of God than by asking Him what you can do for Him. Try it and you will soon find out! Does it sound too easy? Maybe so-for a few weeks or months! But to keep striving for such perfection when you're sick as well as when you're healthy-when you're humbled as when you're riding high-in time of failure as well as success-or when just everything seems to be going wrong. That's another thing. That takes heroic holiness! Human nature could never do all this by itself. It takes more than ordinary grace and calls for a high degree of charity. It pre-supposes a radical purification of our inner being. It means that sanctifying grace is making you God-like in your soul, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are making you God-like in your operations. Faithfulness to the penance of daily duty calls for the courage of a martyr-for the wisdom of a confessor-for the utter devotedness of a true friend of God. Ordinarily, it takes a lifetime to reach such perfection; but it's the perfect preparation for eternity. Some saints like St. Gabriel and St. Therese of Liseaux reached the peak of holiness in six or seven years. Most of us climb much more slowly. But there isn't really anyone who can't make the grade. Here are a few hints that may help along the way: 1-Make a good start by resolving to perform your daily duties perfectly.
2-Take each day as it comes from the hand of God. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has yet to come.
3-During each day, act as though this is the only one you have.
4-Try to put as much faith and love as possible into those ordinary daily duties.
5-You'll note that it does get easier. Things that seemed impossible last year, come more easily this year.
6-No matter how badly things go, never give up. God IS with you! ABOUT FR. KILIAN: Thinking about my life by Father Kilian McGowan, C.P.
Thoughts and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Love of One's Neighbor, Charity, Humility
23. Humble yourself whenever opportunity offers with true humility of heart. This is all, I think, that the Heart of our Lord asks of you.Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com
This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.
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