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‘For Zion’s sake, I shall not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not remain quiet, until her righteousness shines forth like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.’ (IS. 62: 1) Such intimacy prepares us for the Cross. As Lent becomes Holy Week 2013, might we wait longer with Him on Good Friday, and so rejoice more fully with Him on Easter Sunday? Lent is a time of reduction. We pare down the extras in our life; we turn down the noise of a thousand voices in order

Merciful Discipline 6: Humbled, We Shine ‘When You disciplined us, we could barely whisper a prayer.’ (IS 26:16) ‘Christ’s abiding presence in the midst of our suffering is gradually transforming our darkness into light.’ Pope Benedict The sexual abuse crisis in the Church brings us to our knees. We do not kneel politely but painfully, a sprawl rather than a pose. On behalf of those felled by the weight of a priest’s perversion, we too stumble and fall. Behold the scandal we

— Perseverance and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 40 O great day, in which divine love will be confirmed in me. On that day, for the first time, I shall sing before heaven and earth the song of the Lord’s fathomless Mercy. This is my work and my mission, which the Lord has destined for me from the beginning of the world. (825) Come close to My wounds and draw from the Fountain of Life…Drink copiously from this Fountain of Life and you will not weary on y

— Merciful Trust 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 39 ‘Trusting in Your Mercy, I walk through life like a little child, Offering You each day this heart Burning with love for Your greater glory.’ (2) We entrust ourselves to the Mercy of God. ‘Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord and place its hope in His Mercy. (72) Jesus, full of joy in the Ho

— Merciful Eyes 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 38 To see the image of God in every sister—all love of neighbor must flow from this motive. (861) May I never boast except in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world…what counts is a new creation. Peace and Mercy to all who follow this rule. (Gal. 6: 14-16) Jesus, grant us merciful sight for the lost and deeply loved. Anchor our sight in the truth of

— Mercy for the Broken Church 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 37 Observing myself and those who are close to me, I have come to understand how great an influence I have on other souls, not by heroic deeds, but by small actions like the movement of a hand, a look, and many other things too numerous to mention, which effect and reflect in the souls of others. (1475) I find pleasure, not in large buildings and magnificent structures, but in a pure and humble heart

— Mercy for the Truthful Church 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 36 I will allow convents and churches to be destroyed…Souls without love and devotion, souls full of egoism and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls with just enough warmth to keep them alive. My Heart cannot bear this…I cannot stand them because they are neither good or bad…If they do not repent and become enkindled by their first love, I

— Mercy for the Worldly Church 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 35 O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church, give us holy priests. You Yourself, maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil’s traps and snares which are continually set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your Mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sa

— Mercy for the Church 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 34 What a joy it is to be a faithful child of the Church! O how much I love Holy Church and all those who live in it! I look upon them as living members of Christ, who is their Head. I burn with love with those You love; I suffer with those who suffer. I am consumed with sorrow with those who are cold and ungrateful. (511) Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to those through whom they

— Mercy for Minors 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 33 Truth wears a crown of thorns. (1103) Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you. (Pr. 23:10,11) We fight for the integrity of marriage in order to vie for the virtue of children. Father, we acknowledge You as the Defender of children against every kind of evil. Forgive our pursuit of false liberty;

— Mercy for Marriage 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 32 O Jesus, You do not give a reward for the successful performance of a work, but for the good will and the labor undertaken. Therefore, I am completely at peace, even if all my efforts and undertakings shall be thwarted or even come to naught. (952) Life is a continuous dying, and at the same time, it is the depth of inconceivable happiness and the strength of the soul; because of this, the soul is capable

— Urgency and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 31 I have eternity for punishing sinners, and so I am prolonging the time of Mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them who do not recognize this time of My visitation! (1160) A strange power has been pushing me into action, not giving me a moment’s peace. A strange ardor has been lit in my heart, urging me to action and I cannot stop it. (569) What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the Chur

— Boldness and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 30 If the Lord demands something of a soul, He gives it the means to carry it out; through grace, He makes it capable. At the Lord’s command, the soul can undertake things beyond its expectation if God’s power and strength, which makes the soul courageous and valiant, are manifest within it. (1090) Your assignment on earth is to beg Mercy for the whole world. (570) O Father, make Your Church glorious, rich in

Merciful Discipline 4: Hopeful, We Rebuild Trust We do not want you to grieve…as those who have no hope. (1Thes. 4:13) Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1Cor. 4:2) Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord…He will dwell in the parched places of the earth. (Jer. 17: 5, 6) One struggles to consider a more profound violation of trust than priestly abuse of chil

— Patience and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 29 The greatest power is hidden in patience. I see that patience always leads to victory, although not immediately; but that victory will become manifest after many years. (1514) I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word, I put my hope. (Ps. 130:5) I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for t

— Mercy for Beloved Enemies 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 28 Be always merciful, as I am merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies, so that My Mercy may be fully reflected in Your heart. (1695) Merciful surrender to Jesus in the face of beloved enemies accomplishes holy ends. ‘The greater the suffering, the purer the love. (57) At my first defense, no-one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them

— Meekness and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 27 ‘You shall conquer by meekness.’ (1597) Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt. 11: 28-30) Jesus gave me to know the depth of His meekness and humility and to understand that He clearly demanded the same of me

— Humility and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 26 God has surrounded me with His special Mercy precisely because I am the weakest of all people. (1099) Humility is nothing but the truth. (1502) Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant… (Phil. 2: 6,7) I put up with this Church in the hope that one

— Misery and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 25 ‘The more miserable my soul, the more I feel the ocean of God’s mercy engulfing me and giving me greater strength and power.’ (255) ‘Nothing disturbs the depth of my peace. With one eye I gaze on the abyss of misery, with the other, the abyss of Mercy.’ (1345) ‘For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ (2 Cor 12: 10) Jesus, we trust Your Mercy in our weakness. Lead us to the Cross once again. Grant us courage to

— Deep Wells of Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 24 He brought me into such close intimacy with Himself that my heart was espoused to His heart in a loving union; I could feel the faintest stir of His heart and He of mine. The fire of my created love was joined to the ardor of His eternal love. (1056) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls, all Your waves and breakers have w