Day 69 – 2 hours       366 to go

Check out the opening paragraphs to the last couple of Divine Intimacy chapters:

Patience: is the virtue which makes us accept for love of God, generously and peacefully, everything that is displeasing to our nature, without allowing ourselves to be depressed by the sadness which easily comes over us when we meet with disagreeable things. – The Daily Cross: “He that taketh not up his cross, and follows Me is not worthy of Me” (Mt10: 38).  By these words, the Divine Master expressly declares that one of the indispensable conditions for being His disciple is to carry the cross. – Suffering and Abandonment: The secret of learning to suffer in a virtuous way consists chiefly in forgetting oneself and one’s sorrows and in abandoning oneself to God.  The soul that is absorbed in its own suffering and concentrates its whole attention on them becomes unable to bear them serenely and courageously. – There seems to be a consistent message in the path to holiness and salvation; IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!!!  GET OVER YOURSELF!!!!  STOP BEING SUCH A BABY & DEAL WITH IT and here’s the good part: THANK GOD FOR THE PAINS & HEARTACHES & SUFFERING & HUMILIATION!!!!   Think about it; what is the Passion of Jesus about?  He suffered physical and emotional pain at a level way past tolerance of most men.  He, who was the least worthy of suffering, became suffering.  He who could have stopped all of the beating, spitting, bleeding, and pain with the wave of His hand instead thanked His Father for the opportunity to be the sacrificial Lamb (check out 1Peter 2:21-24, last nights evening reading) - & to top it off, willed His Mother to share in His agony to give us all a gift of a heavenly Mother - & I have contributed to this pain and suffering by being a mortal sinner - & I have had the nerve to complain and worry - & I have had the gall to ask that it should be about ME – pretty pitiful!!!! 

I am sorry Lord & will try my best to never do these things again.

Speaking of repentance; I experienced an amazing witness to the sacrament of Reconciliation last evening after finding out on Wednesday that so many of my retreat community are not going to confession on a regular basis.  The two RCIA candidates from our parish went to confession for the first time last night and were thrilled to overflowing about the opportunity for casting off their burdens and receiving the grace to not sin again.  They couldn’t wait to receive God’s forgiveness!!!!  They were filled with anticipation and expectancy – I wish I could bottle that enthusiasm and sneak it into the water of some of my brothers and sisters in Christ – I have made it a point (for the last 4 years) to get to confession on a monthly basis – There is no excuse for me not to do this – there is no imaginable reason that I can’t take 15 minutes a month to sit with my confessor and ask for the grace not to sin again – 15 minutes a month is not a sacrifice when compared to what my brother Jesus did for me.  

My chaplet was for the people of Haiti & Chile and my rosary was for Jen & John on the occasion of their first Reconciliation (thanks Rick for all you have done in the RCIA program)

Peace