Ninth Friday
- Before Meditation
- Second Meditation
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Before meditation
A mysterious and tragic fact.
From the letter of Paul to the Romans: "None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself, because if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or die we are the Lord. That is, in fact, Jesus died and came back to life: to be the Lord of the living and the dead. All of us present to the court of God So each of us shall give account to God of himself".
Reflection.
Every day there are many who present themselves to the tribunal of God, and many are taken by a sudden death, is in the midst of their activities, both in their sport, both on their journey, when we least think about it.
The situation of the dying is the most delicate, for everyone, even those who have lived a lifetime in faith and love.
And for others?
If it is sad state of those who live far from God, must be scary being in that moment in sin.
We do not know what happens to the soul in those moments, however, we can suppose. Physical pain, worry, fear, remorse often spent a whole past without ever thinking of God, the weakness of the will and mind ... can put the dying in a painful and dangerous condition.
The forces of evil will try everything to prevent the triumph of mercy, the result of the blood of Jesus.
Though it is clear that the love of Jesus, while respecting personal freedom, will do everything through his mysterious ways to save the soul of those who knew and loved, and left those who knew and who had no way of knowing.
And if the soul, despite everything, still resists the grace and merciful love of God?
We know that many of those dying are cared for in all but soul. Great charity will then obtain, especially for those most in need of divine mercy and grace to an act of contrition, for a moment of sincere repentance, for a "yes" to Jesus, Lord, at the last minute. Great grace will be getting at that time, even the good and faithful souls, the grace of a true trust in divine mercy, a sense of security, forgiveness, peace, joy of certainty in the meeting with Jesus.
Prayer.
Then the Lord Jesus to please assist us in time of agony and help us in those moments that have an extreme importance for a happy eternity or eternal damnation! We pray with the certainty of being heard, because He, the Good Shepherd, He, the Redeemer, knows the value of a soul, wrote those famous plagues.
We say: "Hear O Lord".
- Because Jesus, as Head of humanity, present to the Father his constant mediation and his glorious wounds, just for those brothers dying. Let us pray: "Hear O Lord".
- Why did Jesus, who so loved men to give their lives for them, attracts all sinners to His Heart. Let us pray: "Hear O Lord".
- Why do all the dying repented of their sins, surrender to the merciful love. Let us pray: "Hear O Lord".
- Why are all these souls can experience the goodness, love, mercy of the Heart of Jesus pray: "Hear O Lord".
- Why does all the dying see the pierced Heart of Jesus and the ocean of mercy in it are accepted. Let us pray: "Hear O Lord".
Our Father.
"Great and merciful God who in Jesus' death have opened to men the way to eternal life, waking on our brothers in suffering the agony, because it united with the passion of your child, and sprinkled the blood of your Redeemer, can present with confidence before your face. For Jesus our Lord.
A word for us.
From the Gospel according to Luke: "Be ready with the safety belt at the hips and your lamps burning; yourselves like unto men that wait for their master to return from the wedding, open to him immediately when he comes and knocks."
(Lk 12, 35-36).
Reflection:
To conclude this brief reflection is ponder the writings of St. Margaret Mary (by the withdrawal of preparation for death - 1690). "We must, therefore, that I always keep good accounts in order to avoid being caught by surprise, is dying horrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God in life when one is withdrawn from the arms of a dying God. I have proposed make a retreat in the inner Heart of Jesus We all expect and hope for help of grace and mercy that I will be required. I trust in him all, because he is the sole support of my hope and I'm not being too good He never rejects when I turn. On the contrary, it seems that he enjoys to have found someone so poor and miserable as I am to fill my misery with his infinite abundance. I am unable to pay my dues, you well you see, my Master! Then, put me in prison, and I agree, as long as the prison of your heart.
And when I'll be there, keep me in it on a chain of your love until you have paid all you owe. And since I do not this will ever do, so I hope I did not get out of this prison".
Prayer.
O Father, that with the death of your son, you destroyed our death, and in this sacrament by a pledge of eternal life, through the power of your sacrifice as He give us to be obedient to your will until death; help us overcome the wiles of the enemy, because in a peaceful passage to eternal life, we may be greeted by you in the glory of your kingdom. We ask this through the merits of Jesus, you're Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Second Meditation
"Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of Mercy". Another of the promises of Jesus to those who, in this life have grown devotion to His Sacred Heart.
In a letter from Santa can be found these words: "Our Lord wants to preserve many souls from eternal damnation, and this divine Heart is as a defensive safe haven, and for all poor sinners".
Words that bring out all the effort of the infinite love of Jesus toward sinners. Ambrose, commenting on the genesis makes this observation: "Man Created God rested, he had created heaven but I do not read that he had rested had created the sun, moon, stars, animals, trees but I do not read that he had rested. I read instead that God created man; he rested, because there was finally someone who could forgive.
Heine, the poet satanic, in a tone of disdain said: "The job of God is to forgive." Believed to utter a blasphemy and did nothing but express a solemn and comforting truths about God, the matter is that kindness, whose work is mercy. "A truth that reveals the most intimate inclinations of the heart of God Church, speaking of God, does not say empty words but is a reality, a truth as God has deigned to reveal it.
Mercy is what most stands out, because it is the foundation of divine matters. It is noteworthy that we were at the time in which God loved appearing in the clouds between lightning and thunder and was holding his son with a rod iron!
What St. Paul says in this regard? "Blessed be God ... Father of mercies and God of all consolation." This word has certainly attributed to the Gospel that Jesus had revealed to him. We know how insistent Jesus spent the days and the resources of his earthly life to inculcate this great, great truth: "God is our Father," and the word "Father" is a mystery in which the creative power is revealed all suffused with love, kindness and mercy.
The name of God the Father, he always had, Isaiah tells us: "Lord our God, our Father, our Redeemer, a name that is eternity." With the name, has the heart and the effects of Father loves us, because it is love, loves his children good "I love those who love me" (Book of Prov.). And this is not surprising because we know that He loves, and love of predilection, the ungrateful, the wicked, the sinners.
If it were not those who believe the word evangelical? But Jesus said, and his word is true: The Lord loves us poor sinners; he loves us because we are sinners. But if God is infinite holiness, should not hate sin with all the strength of its essence? Yes, because God hates sin with all the strength of his divine essence and wants to destroy its roots, but must show mercy to the sinner, in fact, a punishment could harden his heart, and the eternal punishment of hell make his sin. Mercy inclines him naturally to ask forgiveness and by this act of sin, pain is radically destroyed.
This is a statement that arises from the logic of the Father's heart and leaves us astounded, "Your name ungrateful son did not sign in the black book, no, write it in the palm of my hand so it's always present to my eye, for it object of my pity".
The heart of a father has a logic all its own, different from the common to other men. These, in front of a fault, immediately think of applying a penalty to restore the balance of justice because they know no other way, every civil society, in fact, has its own penal code which is marked for every crime the punishment proportionate.
For the father is only one concern; renew the bonds of love that has torn the offense. This is possible only with the merciful love that leads to repentance and voluntary repair: the father follows the logic of the heart. This is the logic followed by the heavenly Father, we are sure because he told himself. And remember that God's heart is the heart of the Eternal Father, does not change his feelings, he remains such for all sinners, of all time.
If the Father's word is not enough to fill the heart of faith and trust in his unfailing love, we look at his works, they show better than any account of his father's goodness, his absolute, universal desire for mercy and salvation.
The giving us Jesus, her son, shows the immensity of love. Yet this is not everything, and his son made for it is not so simply, it has sent among us with a very precise mission: "sacrificed his life for the salvation of many".
Is it really true that our sins, rather than justice, lead to the excesses of his mercy. We look at the Crucified: this is the book, where we read how God, while hating the sin and yet infinitely punished with tremendous precision, is merciful to sinners, especially with them. If the Father has loved us to the most painful sacrifice of his son's death, as not believe that he takes heart in the vast treasures of mercy for us?
Think back to the mercy shown to St. Peter! This Gospel passage is completely unexplained by the common laws of human psychology is a mystery that God did that because it was more lively glow suffused his divine mercy. Peter's sin, we can indeed put in the category of those committed to open eyes! All the most elementary safety measures have been trampled by Peter: the calls and the predictions of Jesus, prayer, temptation, escape opportunities. The sin that came out was really egregious "began to curse and swear: I do not know the man." (Mark 14.71).
These words that Jesus could almost hear with your ear, they had to go into his heart as so many hammer blows. Yet only a few moments later, Peter is not running to throw himself at the feet of Jesus is the divine Master to take the initiative and turn attached to track down his enemies in the group of the apostle perjury.
The eyes of the apostle, already conscious of his guilt; meet with those of Jesus, and what you read? Perhaps a sentence? If it had been us, we would not have today in worship St. Peter, we would have two detestation in Judah, Jesus' gaze was a clear and solemn statement of forgiveness, why have flowed from the eyes of Peter's bitter tears of repentance and not despair.
The simple loss would have been a manifestation of mercy still small! Jesus as a general rule to allocate to great things, great holiness to the souls who have had more need of his pardon.
Thus we see Zacchaeus, the chief of thieves, all of a sudden become a great saint, tells the heroic use of its riches. Magdalene Chrysostom says: "The Samaritan woman became public scandal apostle" Paul, the persecutor of the most violent, the grace to become the most indefatigable and ardent apostle.
St. Peter had to his credit a promise: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church" would also be made after his shameful conduct? It might well doubt, but he made the mistake of forgetting that the gifts and callings of God are free gifts, that is not related to the moral condition of man, creature.
And Jesus, fell to his apostle, perjury and repentant, makes a gift of a most cordial intimacy: Before the fall, all the days of public life, you do not read that Jesus is held to be alone with Peter, let's see after the which fall to the sweet intimacy is allowed!
One of the first appearances of the Risen Jesus is reserved for him before any other apostle, on the streets of Lake Galilee, Jesus here is still on the sidelines calling the apostle a wonderfully intimate dialogue, "Peter do you love me more than all these? ".
From his sin, by his perjury, or even the word is mentioned, all this sad past, but close enough in time, is now so much and so far away from the heart, now do not talk about that love. Thus is accomplished the mystery of the merciful, along with the forgiveness, the preference, the confirmation of the call, and the powers and privileges singular!
Jesus knows how to overcome the moment of weakness in anticipation to what will come next, because he knows that under the weakness is a capacity to love without limits. Know, in fact, Peter's life after the descent of the Holy Spirit, I would say that the fragility is ordered to the magnificence, the wonder, in the hands of God, everything becomes sublime. Today we come with confidence to the purity of Peter and the worship due to the presence of God the great, wise and good in his works.
We renew the invitation
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