Monday 1 of 4—Relying on the Mysterious Wisdom of : Adventures with the . Humility is central,

Julie Onderko Humility

Born 354 AD Thagaste North Africa Died 430 AD Hippo, Annaba, Algeria

“Humility is the foundation of all other virtues, hence in the soul in which this virtue does not exist, there cannot be any other virtue except in mere Pietro di Giovanni D’ Ambrogio, circa 1435 appearance.” Public Domain Mary , born 1905 died in 1938 at 33 years old

“the soul’s true greatness is in loving God and humbling oneself in His presence, completely forgetting oneself and believing oneself to be nothing because the Lord is great but He is only well pleased with the humble. He always opposes the proud.” Saint Teresa of Avila “Humility is walking in the truth.”

“There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge Public Domain Francois Gerard - St. Theresa 1827 of the world.” “Humility “The moral virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself. It is the virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness and leads people to an orderly love of themselves based on a true appreciation of their position with respect to God and their neighbors. Religious humility recognizes one’s total dependence on God; moral humility recognized one’s creaturely equality with others…”

The pocket Catholic Dictionary, , S.J. Do We Want our Prayers to be Efficacious?

“He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer.” CCC 2559

“Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications.” CCC2628

“A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Christ and with one another, that “we receive from him whatever we ask.”CCC2631 Pride or Humility??? Put it to the “Test” (according to the definition) Catherine of Siena

Her words to Our Lord, “I am nothing and you are everything.”

Public Domain, St Catherine of Siena Baldassare Francheschini, When a humble soul asks??? CCC 2631 & 1Jn 5:14-15 “I will not go alive from your feet until You give me my mother back!”

The Story of the Child Lorenza who was demon possessed

story of Niccoloc di Toldo

Giovanni Battista Public Domain The Expulsion of and Eve from Paradise – (Benjamin West) Public Domain

The Fall of Mankind has it’s roots in pride. Pride of Lucifer who would not serve God, and the pride of our first parents, Adam and Eve, who “wanted to be like ” Genesis 3:5 The Incarnation—Mary’s Yes

“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38).

Fiat-YES to God. Mary renounces herself—a humble response. Our Fiat has the Power to Crush to head of the serpent if we join it with Mother Mary’s. Mary is a model of Humility

The Annunciation by Bartolome Esteban Murillo 1655-1660Public Domain “39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth. 41And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would bee a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1: 39-45). 46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50And his is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55as he spoke to our fathers, to and to his posterity for ever.” 56And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home” (Luke 1:46-56). a human zygote God turns the devil’s tactics are against him.

“The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.” St. Vincent de Paul

Crucifixion, Velazquez Public Domain Litany of Humility

Cardinal (1865-1930) Cardinal Secretary of of the under Pius X

Our Responses are : Deliver me, Jesus & Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it Litany of Humility O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being loved at the expense of others, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being extolled ... From the desire of being honored ... From the desire of being praised ... From the desire of being preferred to others... From the desire of being consulted ... From the desire of being approved ... From the fear of being humiliated ... From the fear of being despised... From the fear of suffering rebukes ... From the fear of being calumniated ... From the fear of being forgotten ... From the fear of being ridiculed ... From the fear of being wronged ... From the fear of being suspected... That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ... That others may be chosen and I set aside ... That others may be praised and I unnoticed ... That others may be preferred to me in everything... That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should...

Tuesday 2 of 4—Relying on the Mysterious Wisdom of God: Adventures with the Saints. Testing the Little Way: Thérèse of Lisieux & Pranzini and the Mystic tailor

Julie Onderko Pray the Hail Mary Thérèse of Lisieux (born Thérèse Martin) The Little Flower 1873-1897 • Thérèse Martin was born in Alençon, France, on January 2, 1873. • Her mother died when she was four years old. • She received permission to enter the cloistered Carmelite of Lisieux at the age of fifteen. • Thérèse died of tuberculosis when she was only twenty-four years old. It was a short, obscure and uneventful life. • Before she died she said, I feel that my mission is going to begin, my mission to cause the Good Lord to be loved as I love Him…to give my little way to souls. I WANT TO SPEND MY HEAVEN DOING GOOD ON EARTH • “The greatest saint of modern times” is what said of Thérèse. • Canonized in 1925, and two years later, she was declared co-patron of the missions with . She was also declared co-patron of France with , one of her favorite saints. • Possibly most significant is her declaration as the thirty-third by Pope John Paul II in 1997. She was consumed with a desire to save the most hardened of sinners and spiritually “birth” them into God’s kingdom. To do this, she invoked Heavenly help, not considering the possibility of winning heaven for sinners as the “great saints” have modeled, like Teresa of Avila or . Rather she was intuitive with her childlike trust in Jesus, and believed that a divine strategy of love would open heaven’s gates: She writes,

“My patrons and my special favorites in Heaven are those who, so to speak, stole it [heaven], such as the Holy Innocents and the Good Thief. The great Saints won it by their works; I wish to be like the thieves and to win it by stratagem—a stratagem of love which will open its gates both to me and to poor sinners.”

By fourteen years old, the beginnings of her “Little Way” were being formulated. She tested her Little Way of Love in a most unusual way. 1887 in the Rue Montaigne, France

Thirteen-year-old Henri Pranzini Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin Born 1856 Alexandria Egypt St. Thérèse of Lisieux) Died 1887 Paris 1873-1897 Guilty! The year was 1887 and Henri Pranzini had been convicted of three murders: a high-end prostitute, her maid and the maid’s twelve- year-old daughter. Their throats slit— shocking news in all of France. Henri Pranzini was incarcerated in La Roquette prison where his death sentence would be carried out under the blade of the guillotine. Pranzini was a sophisticated fellow. Born in Egypt, he was an educated man and spoke eight different languages. He was well-travelled, with an assortment of unique life experiences including interpreting for both the Russian and British Armies. But when he arrived in Paris, rumors were that he was penniless. He became a professional blackmailer and was known to have a way with women, targeting the wealthy in order to learn their incriminating secrets for his financial gain. Therese read about it in the news paper and she wrote:

“Just then I heard much talk of a notorious criminal, Pranzini, who was sentenced to death for several shocking murders, and, as he was quite impenitent, everyone feared he would be eternally lost. How I longed to avert this irreparable calamity! In order to do so I employed all the spiritual means I could think of, and, knowing that my own efforts were unavailing, I offered for his pardon the infinite merits of Our Saviour and the treasures of Holy Church. Need I say that in the depths of my heart I felt certain my request would be granted? But, that I might gain courage to persevere in the quest for souls, I said in all simplicity: “My God, I am quite sure that Thou wilt pardon this unhappy Pranzini. I should still think so if he did not confess his sins or give any sign of sorrow, because I have such confidence in Thy unbounded Mercy; but this is my first sinner, and therefore I beg for just one sign of repentance to reassure me.” Therese’s strategy She puts the components of what would become her “Little Way” into practice

“My patrons and my special favorites in Heaven are those who, so to speak, stole it [heaven], such as the Holy Innocents and the Good Thief. The great Saints won it by their works; I wish to be like the thieves and to win it by stratagem—a stratagem of love which will open its gates both to me and to poor sinners.” Father Jean-Baptiste Faure served as the chaplain at La Roquette prison:

“When, after saying a last farewell, I took a step back, he cried out in a voice choked with anguish, in a cry full of repentance and : “Father, bring me the crucifix!” I quickly went to him and pressed the crucifix to his lips – he kissed it fervently. We exchanged a couple of words… He was pushed against the platform, a noise sounded, the blade fell… it was all over.”

Father Jean-Baptiste Faure, Memories of la Roquette: at the Foot of the Scaffold (Paris: M. Dreyfous et M. Dalsace, 1896), 142-144. Translated from French to English using google translate. Spiritual Motherhood The same principles apply to Spiritual Fatherhood

Solidly confirmed in her little way, fourteen-year-old Thérèse claimed Pranzini as her “first born.” She writes,

“The day after his execution I hastily opened the paper, La Croix, and what did I see?... Pranzini had mounted the scaffold without confessing or receiving absolution, and the executioners were already dragging him towards the fatal block, when all at once, apparently in answer to a sudden inspiration, he turned round, seized the crucifix which the was offering to him, and kissed Our Lord's Sacred Wounds three times. . . . the lips of "my first born" had been pressed to these Divine Wounds. What a wonderful answer! " God’s rescue mission for all humanity required one woman’s “yes,” Mary’s fiat, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Amazing as it sounds, all women, through the gift of her femininity, are invited to share the role of spiritual motherhood with Mother Mary. Our fiat to the Lord’s invitation, puts our unique nature at the service of Our Lord. We see in our bodies, which were created to bring forth life, the physical evidence for the reality of our own souls. We are designed to be receptive, life-giving, humble, tenacious and nurturing; the Mary is the archetype. Each woman, in her unique response to God in her feminine nature, has a particular position in God’s plan to save the world. Spiritual motherhood is not restricted by circumstances because it comes through a woman’s soul. Biological motherhood is not a requirement for spiritual motherhood. A woman can be single, married, or a religious sister. She can be very young or very old. It does not matter—all women are called to spiritual motherhood. Interesting Details Surrounding Pranzini and Therese

• Therese is 14, Pranzini is 31 • He is sophisticated, knows 8 languages, world traveled and very experience—Therese on the other hand is very sheltered and innocent. Not capable of much—not even doing her own hair! • The murders happen in March 1887, and the trial and news reports continue. All of France is captivated by the news • Pranzini will be her “test case” for her Little Way was formulating in her—this being a crucial step. • November 1887 Trip to Europe and Therese sees Pope Leo • Pranzini is executed in December 1887 • Therese’s first child is birthed. • News Years Day 1888 the Prioris of Lixieuz says she will be permitted to enter this year • Therese enters the Carmelite cloister at age 15 on April 9, 1888 Venerable of God, Jan Tyranowski

Modern example of a person having the faith to respond to God’s call to “go” into unknown territory and live without the fleeting “security” offered by this world for real security in Christ. Responded to the command to “go” by his parish priest He left his desired life behind to take care of his mother and & work as a tailor. He did make disciples of all nations through his humble response to God’s calling

He left all security behind to do God’s will, February 9th, 1901 — March 15th, 1947 clandestinely and with great personal risk. photo is public domain “He [Jan Tyranowski] disclosed to me [John Paul II] the riches of his inner life, of his mystical life…In his words, in his and in the example of a life given to God alone, he represented a new world that I did not yet know. I saw the beauty of a soul opened up by grace.” John Paul II Once we know our true identity as sons and daughters of God through Jesus, we then must embrace our destinies and join in His mission to save the world in whatever way He asks us to participate: • in a sick bed • in the workplace • in the public square • in obscurity • in fame • in official “ministry” • whatever and wherever He calls us.

You landed in this particular day and time by God’s design; it is part of His strategy, part of the plan. Your “yes,” your fiat to God’s unique will for your life has an impact on eternity. Evening Lecture Tuesday When the Wisdom of God Doesn’t Make sense Trust, humility and obedience—God has a plan!!! ,

Julie Onderko PrayPray the Glory Glory Be Be The Basilica of the National of the , Sts. Perpetua and Felicity Chapel • Roman wife and mother, Perpetua, who had converted to Christianity during the reign of emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 AD), a brutal period of persecution in the Church. • She and her four companions which included Felicity a young pregnant slave, were still catechumens, receiving Christian instruction in preparation for the sacrament of baptism. During the initial phase after the arrest, “while still with the persecutors” they were baptized. A few days later, they were sent to the dungeon. • Perpetua was educated and she kept a diary • We will read excerpts from her diary and I will comment. All excerpts are from St. Perpetua and Tertullian of Carthage, trans. R.E. Wallis, Martyrdom of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity and Other Writings (Phildelphia: Dalcassian Publishing Co., 2017). “I obtained for my infant to remain in the dungeon with me; immediately I grew strong and was relieved from distress and anxiety about my infant; and the dungeon became to me as it were a palace, so that I preferred being there to being elsewhere.” “And I asked, and this was what was shown me. I saw a golden ladder of marvelous height, reaching up even to heaven, and very narrow, so that persons could only ascend it one by one; and on the sides of the ladder was fixed every kind of iron weapon…And under the ladder itself was crouching a dragon of wonderful size, who lay in wait for those who ascended, and frightened them from the ascent. And Saturus went up first..and turned towards me, and said to me, ‘Perpetua, I am waiting for you; but be careful that the dragon does not bite you.’ And I said, ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall not hurt me.’ And from under the ladder itself, as if in fear of me, he slowly lifted up his head; and as I trod upon the first step, I trod upon his head. And I went up.” “Have pity my daughter, on my grey hairs. Have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called a father by you…I have preferred you to all your brothers, have regard to your mother…have regard to your son, who will not be able to live after you. Lay aside your courage, and do not bring us all to destruction.”

Perpetua described her father’s conduct as he tried to dissuade her from her inevitable end of death in a Roman amphitheater:

“These things said my father in his affection, kissing my hands, and throwing himself at my feet; and with tears he called me not Daughter, but Lady. And I grieved over the grey hairs of my father...When the day of the exhibition drew near, my father, worn with suffering, came in to me [his last visit], and began to tear out his beard…and to cast himself down on his face…and to utter words as might move all creation. I grieved…” One last time they are brought out of the dungeon into a public arena and given one last chance to renounce Christ. Perpetua’s father is there with her son in his arms trying to persuade her.

“The Procurator then delivers judgment on all of us, and condemns us to the wild beasts, and we went down cheerfully to the dungeon.” [From this point in time onward, Perpetua’s infant was no longer brought to her in prison] “And even as God willed it, the child no longer desired the breast, nor did my breast cause me uneasiness, lest I should be tormented by care for my babe”

They are sentences to death in the amphitheater.

Felicity has a fear that she will not deliver her child before the execution date. Pregnant women were not part of Roman public exhibitions and she was already eight months along. Her sentence would have to be carried out after giving birth. The companions prayed she would deliver before their execution day, “…lest she should shed her sacred and guiltless blood among some who had been wicked.”

She does give birth in time, “thus she brought forth a little girl, which a certain sister brought up as a daughter.” In another vision granted the day before the exhibition, the eternal perspective of her struggle was shown to Perpetua. The saints in Heaven called to her, “Perpetua, we are waiting for you; come!” Again, Perpetua was confirmed that her battle was indeed with the devil, and for a second time in her mystical vision, she “trod upon his head.”

What the devil designs for our undoing, actually is the means by which we defeat him. Ex the Cross, human suffering, etc. We turn the weapon against our enemy and we are victorious. What Satan contrives for our downfall, God uses for our victory. It has backfired on the him since the beginning in the Garden of Eden. In this way God humiliates Satan, turning Satan’s own work against him.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) draws attention to it in a sermon: “The dragon therefore was trodden down by the chaste foot and victorious tread of the blessed Perpetua, when that upward ladder was shown her whereby she should go to God; and the head of the ancient serpent, which to her that fell was a stumbling, was made a step unto her that rose.” Perpetua’s Diary is finished by another as the account of the martyrdom of her and her companions is recorded.“The day of their victory shone forth” The Christians were led from the prison to the amphitheater where each gave a final witness before the crowd. Remarkably, the account describes the Christians as joyful. Perpetua and Felicity “stripped and clothed with nets, were led forth. The populace shuddered as they saw one young woman of delicate frame, and another with breasts still dropping from recent childbirth.” The women were tossed about by a fierce cow, while the others were made sport of by various means for the spectators. When the crowd had had enough, they called for the sword. The valiant disciples “first kissed one another, that they might consummate their martyrdom with a kiss of . The rest indeed, immovable and in silence, received the sword-thrust” as did Perpetua. But it did not kill her, the executioner was visibly shaken. She therefore assisted him, “she herself placed the wavering right hand of the youthful gladiator to her throat.” The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer Jean-Leon Gerome 1883 public domain St. Joseph Irreplaceable in God’s Plan to save the world! Scriptural Typology

A biblical person, thing, action, or event that foreshadows persons, truths, events, with regard to the fulfillment of the Plan of Salvation.

Jesus Mary The Sacraments The Church The End Times Heaven

Everything to do with the Plan of Salvation— Including Joseph! Joseph from Genesis foreshadows Joseph, “the husband of Mary” Both have the same name Both had fathers named Both received important messages in dreams Both went to Egypt under duress Both are models of chastity Both had lineage of the great of Israel Both were guardians of the plan to save God’s people

Prophetic words to a people in great need from the Old Testament, “Go to Joseph” (Gen 41:55). “The Fatherhood of God, which is revealed partially in the Old Testament patriarchs, prophets, and kings, is now revealed in its greatest and most complete human expression in the person of .” Mark Miravalle, Meet Your Spiritual Saint Jospeh and the Christ Child Father, a Brief Introduction to St. Joseph Bartolome Esteban Murillo public domain …(Christ’s) redemptive plan, which is founded on the mystery of the Incarnation…in which Joseph of Nazareth "shared" like no other human being except Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word. He (Joseph) shared in it with her; he was involved in the same salvific event; he was the guardian of the same love, through the power of which the eternal Father "destined us to be his sons through Jesus Christ" (Eph 1:5).

John Paul II, Custodian of the Redeemer “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to The Dream of Saint Joseph by Anton Mengs 1728-1779, Free use Wikimedia Commons Egypt,” (Matt 2:13-14). …the Blessed looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his trust—this limitless family spread over the earth, over which, because he is the spouse of Mary and the Father of Jesus Christ he holds, as it were, a paternal authority. Pope Leo XIII

Holy Family with bird 1650 Bartolome Esteban Murillo public domain Because of our relationship with Jesus, Joseph is also our spiritual father. In fact, the Church formally entrusted us to his paternal care and protection by declaring Saint Joseph “Patron of the Universal Church.”

Joseph the Carpenter George de la Tour 1593-1652 public domain Guardian of the Mystery of God & Our Spiritual Father Saint Joseph I took for my advocate…the glorious St. Joseph and earnestly recommended myself to him. I saw clearly that as in this need so in other greater ones concerning honor and loss of soul, this father…came to my rescue in better ways than I knew how to ask for. I don’t recall…ever having petitioned him for anything that he failed to grant. It is an amazing thing the great many favors God has granted me through the mediation of this blessed saint, the dangers I was freed from both of St. Teresa of Avila body and soul… 1515 - 1582 public domain I only ask for the love of God those who do not believe me to try (“test”), and they will see through experience the great good that comes from recommending oneself to this glorious patriarch and being devoted to him. Teresa of Avila

Public domain Saint Joseph's Oratory

“Saint Joseph’s Little Dog” Saint André Bessette

It was as doorkeeper that Brother André’s holiness became apparent to those he welcomed to Notre Dame College in Montreal Wednesday 3 of 4—Relying on the Mysterious Wisdom of God: Adventures with the Saints. Trust and Surrender, Faustina

Julie Onderko The Mary Faustina Kowalska, born 1905 Poland died in 1938 at 33 years old It was almost twilight; there were only a few people in the cathedral. Paying no attention to what was happening around me, I fell prostrate before the and begged the Lord to be good enough to give me to understand what I should do next. Then I heard these words: “Go at once to ; you will enter a convent there” (10).

All numbers after quotes from Faustina in this presentation are from her Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul and denote the paragraph. Faustina was penniless, uneducated and without connections in Warsaw. She left home in secret and without her parents’ blessing. She walked away from all the earthly security she knew to respond to Jesus’ call. She writes,

“I rose from prayer, came home, and took care of things that needed to be settled. As best I could, I confided to my sister what took place within my soul. I told her to say good-bye to our parents, and thus, in my one dress, with no other belongings, I arrived in Warsaw. When I got off the train and saw that all were going their separate ways, I was overcome with fear. What am I to do? To whom should I turn, as I know no one? So I said to the Mother of God, “Mary, lead me, guide me.” Immediately I heard these words within me telling me to leave the town and to go to a certain nearby village where I would find a safe lodging for the night. I did so and found, in fact, that everything was just as the Mother of God told me” (9-11). St Faustina, early in her response to Jesus wrote this about her own soul, “it [her soul]must now look upon things differently from what it had up to now. It does not seek reassurance in a false peace, but makes ready for battle. It knows it comes from a warrior race. It is now much more aware of everything. It knows that it is of royal stock. It is concerned with all that is great and holy.” (120) From Divine Mercy in My Soul “When I became aware of God’s great plans for me, I was frightened at their greatness and felt myself quite incapable of fulfilling them, and I began to avoid interior conversations with Him... I did this out of humility, but I soon recognized it was not true humility, but rather a great temptation from the devil. When, on one occasion…I heard these words [from Jesus] spoken distinctly and forcefully within my soul, “You will prepare the world for My final coming.” These words moved me deeply, and…I understood them very well and had no doubt about them. Once, being tired out…and making constant excuses on the grounds that I was unable to carry out this task…I heard these words [from Jesus]…”You cannot do anything of yourself, but with Me you can do all things” (429).

Remember humility???? Faustina was almost fooled into a false sense of humility. “You are united to Me; fear nothing. But know, my child, that Satan hates you; he hates every soul, but he burns with a particular hatred for you, because you have snatched so many souls from his dominion” (412) Pope John XXIII Bishop Wojtyla Pope John Paul II 1920-2005 Elected Pope 1978 “Today is the happiest day of my life.”

Pope John Paul II 2000 "Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter’s See in , I consider this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church and the world. It could be said that precisely this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God."

“[I took the message] with me to the See of Peter and … in a sense [it] forms the image of this pontificate. John Paul II Died on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday 2005

Canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday 2014 “There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded (1684).

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world (474) “God’s mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything were lost, but it is not so. The Soul, illuminated by a ray of God’s powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls (at that stage) no longer react to external things.” Sister Faustina (1698) …I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the font of My mercy (1209).

“Through the chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will” (1731)

The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know My daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered. (1397) “…I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell…” My child, all your sins have not wounded My Heart as painfully as your present lack of trust does…(1486). “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in the Creator die in his heart” (CCC 397). The Incarnation, Mary’s Yes Our Response? Presumption or Trust

Presumption Trust

There is sin of presumption—and it masks itself as trust. Trust relies on God and has confidence in Him—it Because of a badly regulated reliance on God’s mercy and is a form of hope.Trust power, hopes for salvation without lends itself to gratitude, doing anything to deserve it or for trust = doing what the pardon of his sins without other asks, trust serves. repenting of them. From the Catholic Encyclopedia. Trust taps into the heart of Presumption takes someone for Jesus. He is captivated by granted, presumption uses others, the soul of complete presumption lends itself to selfishness. childlike trust. “If any one would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24)

Christ on the Way to Calvary by Titian 1490-1576, Jesus said to Sister Faustina, Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. (1777) Jesus, I trust in You! Wednesday 4 of 4—Relying on the Mysterious Wisdom of God: Adventures with the Saints. Blessed Bartolo Longo, Our Identity comes first, Jesus includes us in his work of salvation

Julie Onderko One evening he was consecrated “priest of spiritualism” in a strange, macabre ceremony, in the midst of black drapes, skulls of the dead and crossed shin bones. He advanced bare- footed, wearing a black cloak…He recited certain formulas…He was anointed with oil…he gave a magnificent proof of falling into a trance, responding to questions and invoking \ first Pythagoras, then Confucius, and then Caiaphas…Spiritualism had a new “priest,” with a body reduced to skin and bones, two possessed eyes, (and) frazzled nerves… Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) Public domain

Ann M. Brown. of the : Blessed Bartolo Longo. New Hope, New Hope Publications, 2004. Overwhelmed as I was in the ebullience of my youth, in the errors against the faith and against the True Church as sown in the celebrated University of …ensnared on the enticing hook of freedom of conscience and thought…feeling secure in the reverberations of certain professors’ names echoing as far as the universities of Paris and of Berlin…all in agreement in denying the person of God, the , the religious orders, the Pope, the sacraments and the rest of truth which is part of faith, I too grew to hate the monks, priest and the pope… Ann M. Brown. Apostle of the Rosary: Blessed Bartolo Longo. New Hope, New Hope Publications, 2004. He (Satan/the devil) undermines man’s moral equilibrium with his sophistry. He is the malign, clever seducer who knows how to make his way into us through the senses, the imagination and the libido, through utopian logic, or through disordered social contacts in the give and take of our activities, so that he can bring about in us deviations that are all the more harmful because they seem to conform to our physical or mental makeup, or to our profound, instinctive aspirations. Pope Paul VI • He was received as a lay member into the Dominican on the feast of the Holy Rosary, October 7, 1871 • A trip to Pompeii to do business for a friend—finds the area a mix of occult and Catholic practices with only 5% of the 2000 people attending in the horribly kept little church. He went for a walk to consider the situation. Spiritual Attack! Horrible despair. Contemplate suicide. His response after considering the promise he was taught by the Dominican priest, “I then prostrated myself and my eyes filled with tears. With the boldness of desperation I lifted my face and hands to the Heavenly Virgin and cried, “If it be true that you promised St. Dominic that whoever spreads the Rosary will be saved, I will be saved, because I shall not depart from this land of Pompeii without having spread your Rosary” • construction of the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii • In 1885 alone there were 940 cures recorded • the News paper • the good works for the poor Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii The rumors were plentiful when he decided to build a home for the sons of prisoners, educate them, and apprentice them in the shrine’s printing shop. These unfortunate boys were seen as hopeless causes destined to become criminals themselves. One news source wrote: The moralist cannot approve, the sociologist must protest…This new shelter in the Valley of Pompeii threatens to become a nest of delinquents. Of course they were wrong. After fifteen years Bartolo was able to report:

…Today one hundred prisoners’ sons are living in this home. One hundred and three have already been sent away as well-educated boys or have been taken in by honest and secure families. We have received good news concerning all of them. They are scattered about in workshops, in the clergy, in the army, in the royal navy, in military bands; and many of them have even crossed to the distant shores of America… Bartolo’s confidence was not misplaced. The first prisoner’s son to arrive in his orphanage became a priest and celebrated his first Mass at the altar of our Lady of Pompeii. When asked how he managed to do so well with these high-risk boys, Blessed Bartolo Longo replied, I gave them, and taught them to love, Jesus Christ. Bartolo carried numerous Crosses

The control of the money for the shrine was taken from him He was, for a time, mistrusted by the Pope He was married under duress His step sons mistreated him when he was widowed. News paper wrote terrible lies about him and arroused suspicion about his intentions and work Central to the Mysterious Wisdom of God, we find The Cross

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it Christ Crucified by Diego Velazquez, 17th Century Public Domain pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Cor 1:18-21). Cont… vs 22-25 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Cont. vs 26-31 26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 27but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; 31therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.” The Mysterious Wisdom of God includes us in His salvific work!— That is mysterious! Why would God include us in this way? Why are we to take up our Cross and Follow Him in His mission to save the world?

Identity, Being comes before doing—doing anything. First we need to understand who we are. We Receive our True Identity from Jesus:

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

Through Jesus we become a child of God, we are incorporated into the very life of the Trinity. We therefore are on the same Mission as Jesus is—to save the whole world. And we overcome our enemy, through the Cross of Christ—and we take up our own Crosses and there is power in our sufferings when united to Jesus:

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (Col 1:24). • Our identity comes from God • Do Not let the world tell us who we are and what we are here for. • The evil one, the devil, does not want you to know who you are. satan does not want you to embrace your irreplaceable position in God’s great plan for the salvation of the world! • The devil fears you!!!! He fears your “Yes” to God! Because Jesus gave you the power to become a child of God. According to St. Chrysostom, we are objects of terror to the devil when we receive Holy Communion “The Eucharist is a fire which inflames us, that, like lions breathing fire, we may retire from the altar, being made terrible to the devil.” • The devil is the accuser. Even with terrible mistakes and sins-done to us or that we have done, or a combination—God’s vision for us remains. St Faustina, early in her response to Jesus wrote this about her own soul, “it [her soul]must now look upon things differently from what it had up to now. It does not seek reassurance in a false peace, but makes ready for battle. It knows it comes from a warrior race. It is now much more aware of everything. It knows that it is of royal stock. It is concerned with all that is great and holy.” (120) From Divine Mercy in My Soul