"Come to Me and enter into My heart." 1 ~Jesus
Some thoughts worth sharing, in honor of our beloved St. Nicholas on his feast day. +
From My Daily Bread, by Anthony Paone, S.J. (emphasis added):
"My Child, do you wish to know the secret of My saints? Would you like to understand how they could suffer so many things in peace, and even with joy? They meditated often on My trials and sufferings. By burying themselves in My life, they drew strength for many trials. They placed their hearts within Mine and were filled with a love which could bear all things for my sake.
"Come to Me and enter into My heart. You will find strength and comfort in your daily trials and sufferings. You will no longer mind being slighted and neglected by people. You will face evil tongues and bad will with a calm and peaceful soul.
"All this will you do because you know Me and understand My life. I, too, was despised by men in My earthly life. In My hour of greatest need, while My enemies mocked and insulted Me, I was abandoned by My friends. For love of you I consented to be despised and to suffer an untold agony. Will you, then, dare to complain when you have to bear similar things? I had enemies who said many evil things against Me. Can you, then, grieve because you do not enjoy the friendship and good will of everyone? How can you be a true follower of Mine, if you will not carry My cross? Those who wish to reign with Me, must suffer and fight with Me." 1
From Divine Intimacy, by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.:"If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him" (Jn 14,23). This is the great mystery of the divine indwelling, which assures us, in Jesus' own words, that the one, triune God is not far away from a soul who loves Him, but rather lives in it and makes His abode in it." 2
"Catholic doctrine teaches that God is necessarily present in all His creatures. In fact, in order to exist, they need not only to be created by Him, but also to be kept in existence by Him. God conserves them by operating in them, that is, by continually communicating existence to them. Since He operates by His substance, He is present wherever He operates, and therefore, in all His creatures. Thus God is everywhere, even in the souls of unbelievers and sinners. 2
"However, in the case of a soul filled with sanctifying grace and charity, there is a special presence of God, which was promised by Jesus, and which is called indwelling. 2
"The divine Persons are said to be indwelling in as much as They are present to intellectual creatures in a way that lies beyond human comprehension, and are known and loved by them in a purely supernatural manner alone, within the deepest sanctuary of the soul (Enc. Mystici Corporis). In other words, the three divine Persons are present in the soul that is in the state of grace, so that it may know Them by faith, and love Them by charity, and that They may even make Themselves known to the soul by the intimate illumination of the gifts of the Holy Spirit." 2"The three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are present in a soul in the state of grace to invite it to live in Their society, in intimate friendship with Them. Jesus states this clearly and authoritatively: 'Abide in Me and I in you' (Jn. 15,4)...
"...God is within you as your Father and as the sweet Guest of your soul, to invite you to live, not only by Him, but with Him and in Him. " 2This Advent, recognize, accept, return, and share the immeasurable, unfathomable, and eternal love God has for you. Grow in sanctity. Meet Him in the deepest sanctuary of your soul. Be willing to suffer and to fight with Him for precious, eternal souls.
God is so in love with you!
God is at work in you!Sources:
1. Anthony J. Paone, S.J., My Daily Bread (Brooklyn, New York, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 1954), pp. 258-259.
2. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., Divine Intimacy (Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1996), p. 29-30.
