It’s another Wednesday,

for Saint Maria Faustina KoWalska (what else,)

with a brief reflection on the Divine Mercy of God!

Pope Francis has made Mercy a central theme of his papacy, speaking of it often in homilies and in his texts. His apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), uses the word 32 times. Symbolically in March of 2015 he called upon the entire global Roman Catholic church to take up his papacy’s central message of compassion and pardon, and announced that he would convoke a jubilee year to be called the Holy Year of Mercy!

This Jubille Year of Mercy, as proclaimed by Pope Francis, formally began on this year’s Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated Dec. 8. It will close on Nov. 20, 2016, the day celebrated that year as the feast of Christ the King.

Because of my devotion to the practice of the Divine Mercy and my deep admiration of  St. Faustina Kowalska’s life…I have been VERY excited since Papa first made this  proclamation!!

And now as we approach the 90 day mark of this Holy Year I have reflected upon the great graces I have already received within this Year of Mercy.

Do you ever do that?

Do you ever take a moment to reflect?

On love? On life? On all you have received?

And even on those thoughts filled with what should be? Could be? Will never be?

By the grace of God, I am grateful God has been guiding me toward a new path which no longer places expectations on life.  Allowing me to simply be grateful for all that is given, all that is taken away, all that is loved, and all that is lost.  The emotions which may coincide with any  one of these occurences does not matter, for even they do not alter my underlying peace.

And there in lies why I bow my head in thanks, to God,…for His Mercy.  His mercy, sinner though I am, to show me the path to Peace.

Does this mean I no longer feel pain? Or anger?  Or disappointment?

No way!!

BUT I am discovering what it truly means to place my Trust in Him, as He maintains my peaceful heart despite the feelings I may be experiencing.

And (in all this recent reflection I have been doing)

I am giving thanks,

at this almost 90 day mark in the Holy Year of Mercy,

for the very first lesson my Teacher gave me

which lead me to this path toward Peace.

SILENCE.

I have listed below some of my favorite lessons, taken from St. Faustina’s Diary, which gently helped to guide me along the way…

I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God (82).

Great are the faults committed by the tongue.  The soul will not attain sanctity if it does not keep watch over its tongue (92).

In order to hear the voice of God, one has to have silence in one’s soul and to keep silence; not a gloomy silence, but an interior silence; that is to say, recollection in God.  One can speak a great deal without breaking silence and, on the contrary, one can speak little and be constantly breaking silence. …God does not give Himself to a chattering soul which, like a drone in a beehive, buzzes around but gathers no honey.  A talkative soul is empty inside (118).

I spoke much with the Lord, without uttering a single word (137).

The soul that reflects receives much light.  A distracted soul runs the risk of a fall. …But for the Spirit of God to act in the soul, peace and recollection are needed (145).

Even when I am dealing with very important matters which require attention, I do not lose the presence of God in my soul, and I am closely united with Him.  With Him I go to work, with Him I go for recreation, with Him I suffer, with Him I rejoice; I live in Him and He in me.  I am never alone, because He is my constant companion (318).

If only souls would become recollected, God would speak to them at once, for dissipation drowns out the word of the Lord (452).

Silence is a sword in the spiritual struggle.  A talkative soul will never attain sanctity.  The sword of silence will cut off everything that would like to cling to the soul.  We are senstive to words and quickly want to answer back, without taking any regard as to whether it is God’s will that we shoud speak.  A silent soul is strong; no adversities will harm it if it perseveres in silence (477).

The Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous.  He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence.  If silence were strictly observed, there would not be any grumbling, bitterness, slandering, or gossip, and charity would not be done.  Silent lips are pure gold and bear witness to holiness within (552).

I will safeguard my interior and exterior silence so that Jesus can rest in my heart (504).

However….

Keeping silent when one outght to speak is an imperfection and sometimes even a sin (553).

God speaks to us all.  He constantly speaks to us through Sacred Scripture, liturgy, people, circumstances, events, and in many other ways, such as when he speaks to us more directly during times of quiet.  While it’s possible for him to speak to us at such times in audible words, that seems rare.  More often, he speaks with inaudible, interior words.  Such interior words are often delicate and can only be heard in the Silence of our minds and our hearts.

I pray sometime, during this Year of Mercy, you too

may

hear Him,

feel Him,

see Him,

in your Silence.

hugs n’ silent blessings that bring you peace!

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15