Why Not? - Shania Twain

Shania Twain, an international county star, freely admits her brokenness. I can't help but admire her for that. Her brokenness comes from: poverty, domestic violence, death of her parents and brother, workaholism, betrayal, divorce and insecurities. While Shania never mentions God in her healing process, her story is still one of hope. Anyone who has had the rug pulled out from under them will be able to relate to her story.

Her story is about learning how to deal with the struggles in life and overcoming fear.

I love her themes, "Why Not" and "From This Moment".  I think she is a great secular example of what kind of attitude is needed to best use the moments allotted to us.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I admire St. Faustina's understanding of "the moment".   St. Faustina tried to use every moment to better her relationship with God. I think that this is the highest use of each moment.

Even if you disagree, for good or for bad, each "moment" is an individual choice. What are you choosing? What will you choose? Remember, even not choosing, is a choice.

(Note there are somethings in these videos that I do not support such as immodesty (Shania's career years), the dissolubility of marriage, and some of the spiritual practices they participate in.)

PRIDE vs.HUMILITY - Day 3

(I know, I know! In "time" it's day four and I am a day late!!! Sorry.  Life just was such that I was unable to post.  It is a further reminder to me that "tomorrow is not promised" and I am not in control of anything. What God wants my day to be is not always what I envision the evening before...)
 

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In considering humility today, I considered obedience: a proud soul doesn't obey.

Here is a directive from Jesus to St. Faustina:

"My daughter, let three virtues adorn you in a particular way: humility, purity of intention and love. Do nothing beyond what I demand of you, and accept everything that My hand gives you. Strive for a life of recollection so that you can hear My voice, which is so soft that only recollected souls can hear it..." (#1779)

The Degrees of Obedience  -- According to St. Faustina

Prompt and and complete fulfillment -- the obedience of the will, when the will persuades the intellect to submit to the advice of a superior. To facilitate obedience, Saint Ignatius suggests, moreover, three means: always to see God in our superior, whoever he might be; to justify in itself the order or advice of the superior; to accept each order as an order from God, without examining it or reflecting upon it. General means: humility. Nothing is difficult for the humble.  (#93-94)

"[W]ithout examining it or reflecting upon it." Wow, that level of willing submission is very jarring. I believe that this can only be accomplished with grace. Jesus, have mercy on us!

The Message of Divine Mercy

If I was forced to chose only one favorite book of all time, I would have to chose "Divine Mercy in My Soul" by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska. Why? Simply because it is a powerful witness to what to do with suffering. Nobody wants it, but everybody encounters it. And for those who are hit hard with suffering, this book lays out a clear message of comfort -- that these heavy burdens are not in vain. Jesus says to St. Faustina: "You are not living for yourself but for souls, and other souls profit from your sufferings. Your prolonged suffering will give them the light and strength to accept my will." (#67)

One argument against God is that if He is so Good and so Powerful why does He allow bad things to happen? In particular, why does He allow His own children/followers to be in such agony?

We must remember that Jesus warned His disciples, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you," and "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Jn 15:18;  Mt 16:24)

Now God doesn't delight in our sufferings; rather, He permits them because it is the only way for us to deny ourselves. Suffering is purging. He can't live in us when we are filled with junk, disorders and attachments. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48)

While this book is the diary of this beautiful saint and a record of the many times that Jesus appears and speaks personally to her, Jesus does speak to us also. His messages to all souls are included below:


#20 "My mercy doesn't want this, but justice demands it." (Speaking of Purgatory)

#30 "Who God is in His Essence, no one will fathom, neither the mind of Angels nor of man. Get to know God by contemplating His attributes."

#48 "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory."

#50 "I desire that priests proclaim this great mercy of Mine towards the souls of sinners. Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy are burning Me -- clamoring to be spent; I want to pour them out upon these souls. Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite my inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even my death is not enough for them.  Woe to the soul that abuses these."

#83 "Write this: before I come as the Just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to the people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the opening where the hands and feet were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day."

# 85 "Write this down at once what you hear: I am the Lord in My Essence and immune to orders and needs. If I call creatures into being -- that is the abyss of My mercy."  

# 86 "I do not reward for good results but for the patience and hardship undergone for my sake."

# 88 "I am the King of Mercy. I desire that this image be displayed in public on the First Sunday after Easter. That Sunday is the Feast of Mercy. Through the Word Incarnate, I made known the bottomless depth of My mercy."

# 129 "Do not fear, I am with you."

# 145 "...any transgressions against the confessor touch Me Myself..."

# 149 "Consider My sufferings before Pilate." 

#165 "He who does not take advantage of small graces will not receive great ones." 

#177 "The flames of mercy are burning Me -- clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don't want to believe in my goodness."

#206 "I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls." 

#268 "The bride must resemble her Betrothed. ...See what love of human souls has done to Me? ... I often wait with great graces at the end of prayer."

#269 "Oh how I love those souls who have complete confidence in Me -- I will do everything for them."

#299 "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls... The two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when my agonized Heart was opened by the lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy. Ask of my faithful servant [Father Sopocko] that, on this day, he tell the whole world of my great mercy; that whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment. Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to my mercy. Oh how much I am hurt by a soul's distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness. My Heart rejoices in this title of Mercy. Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of my hand are crowned with mercy."  

# 313 "Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace."

# 320  "The prayer of the humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings."

# 324 "Pure love gives the soul strength at the very moment of dying. When I was dying on the cross, I was not thinking about Myself, but about poor sinners, and I prayed for them to my Father... There is but one price which souls are bought. "

When Time Touches Eternity

As you may have noticed, my subtitle for this blog is: "A blog focusing on living a virtuous life, NOT TOMORROW, but in THIS moment."

Currently, I am all about living in the present moment. I didn't always used to be this way.  When I was a teenager and also when I was in college, I mostly thought about the future. "What do I want? What is in store for me? How can I get there?" After college when life became more challenging, I mostly thought about the past. "I wish I can live in it again... or did I make the right choices?" 

Now I see that resting in both ways of thinking are futile. How true are St. Faustina's words!

Only the present moment is precious to me,

As the future can never enter my soul at all.

It is no longer in my power,

To change, correct or add to the past; 

For neither sages nor prophets could do that,

 And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire.

I desire to use you the best I can.

- Divine Mercy in My Soul, Notebook I #2

 
As much as I wish I could go into the past and either change my actions or live in it still, I am wasting my moments in the NOW on it. Since the past can't be changed no matter how hard I think on it, I am wasting time and causing anxiety in myself.

It is good to be prepared for the future, but it is futile to place my hope in it.  It is good to have dreams and goals, but as most successful people say, the dream comes true through the work of today. I think similar advice is true for the goal of Union with God.  C.S. Lewis illustrates this beautifully in his Screwtape Letters. (This book is a satire about tempting humans away from God.) Here is an excerpt from a letter from one demon to another:

CHAPTER 15:

"My dear Wormwood, 

        ...The humans live in a time but our Enemy destines them to eternity.  He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to the point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the Present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience which our Enemy has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would rather have them continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present --either meditating on their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure. 
      Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make them live in the Future. Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so the thought about the Future inflames hope and fear. Also, it is unknown to them, so it makes them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time - for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is lit up with eternal rays... Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust and ambition look ahead...
      To be sure, the Enemy wants men to think of the Future too - just as much as is necessary for now planning the acts of justice or charity which will probably be their duty tomorrow. The duty of planning the morrow's work is today's duty; though its material is borrowed from the future, the duty, like all duties, is in the Present...
      We want a whole race perpetually in the pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future ever real gift which is offered to them in the Present...

Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape" 

Also, remember that God's name is "I AM",  not "I was" or "I will be".