LENTEN RETREAT
Day 20
SOME might find this the most intimidating and discouraging Scripture in the Bible.
Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48)
Why would Jesus say such a thing to mere mortals like you and me who grapple daily with doing God’s will? Because to be holy as God is holy is when you and I will be happiest.
Imagine if the earth were to go off tilt by only a single degree. Scientists say it would throw our weather and seasons into chaos, and certain portions of the earth would remain in darkness longer than others. So too, when you and I commit even the smallest sin, it throws our equilibrium into imbalance and our hearts into more darkness than light. Remember, we were never created for sin, never created for tears, never created for death. The call to holiness is the call to simply become who you were meant to be, created in God’s image. And through Jesus, it is now possible for the Lord to restore the joy we once knew in the Garden of Eden.
St. Faustina was very alive to how the smallest sin was a dent in her happiness and a little wound in her relationship with the Lord. One day, after committing the same error again, she came to the chapel.
Falling at the feet of Jesus, with love and a great deal of pain, I apologized to the Lord, all the more ashamed because of the fact that in my conversation with Him after Holy Communion this very morning I had promised to be faithful to Him. Then I heard these words: If it hadn’t been for this small imperfection, you wouldn’t have come to Me. Know that as often as you come to Me, humbling yourself and asking My forgiveness, I pour out a superabundance of graces on your soul, and your imperfection vanishes before My eyes, and I see only your love and your humility. You lose nothing but gain much… —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 1293
This is a beautiful exchange that again demonstrates how the Lord turns our humility into grace, and how “love covers a multitude of sins,” as St. Peter said. [1]cf. 1 Pet 4:8 But he also wrote:
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:14-16)
We are living in an era of great compromise where everyone now is a victim, right? We are no longer sinners, just victims of genetics, victims of hormones, victims of our environment, our circumstances and so forth. While these things can play a part in reducing our culpability in sin, when we use them as an excuse, they also have the effect of white-washing our responsibility to repent and to become the man or woman God made us to be—that He died on the Cross to make possible. This victim mentality is turning many, at best, into lukewarm souls. But St. Faustina wrote:
The disobedient soul exposes itself to great misfortunes; it will make no progress toward perfection, nor will it succeed in the spiritual life. God lavishes His graces most generously upon the soul, but it must be an obedient soul. —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 113
In fact, brothers and sisters, it is the negligence of the small things that eventually blinds us to the bigger, thus casting our hearts into more darkness than light, more restlessness than peace, more dis-satisfaction than joy. Moreover, our sins obscure the light of Jesus from shining through us. Yes, becoming holy isn’t just about me—it’s about being a light to a broken world.
One day, Faustina wrote how much the Lord desired the perfection of souls:
Chosen souls are, in My hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and with which I illumine it. As stars illumine the night, so chosen souls illumine the earth. And the more perfect a soul is, the stronger and the more far-reaching is the light shed by it. It can be hidden and unknown, even to those closest to it, and yet its holiness is reflected in souls even to the most distant extremities of the world. —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 1601
You, my brothers and sisters, are the chosen souls at this time in the world. I have no doubt about this. If you feel small and incapable, then all the more reason that you have been chosen (see Hope is Dawning). We are the little army of The New Gideon. [2]see The New Gideon and The Testing This Lenten Retreat is about equipping you to begin growing in perfection so that you can carry the Flame of Love, who is Jesus, into the growing darkness of our times.
You know what to do now when you stumble and fall, and that is turn to Christ’s mercy with total trust, especially through the Sacrament of Penance. But in the last half of this Lenten Retreat, we will focus more on how to keep from falling into sin, by His grace. And this is His desire too, for Jesus already prayed to the Father….
…that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one… (John 17:22-23)
SUMMARY AND SCRIPTURE
You will be your happiest when you are holiest—and the world will see Jesus in you.
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)
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The Tree by Denise Mallett has been stunning reviewers. I am more than excited to share my daughter’s first novel. I laughed, I cried, and the imagery, characters, and powerful story-telling continue to linger in my soul. An instant classic!
The Tree is an extremely well-written and engaging novel. Mallett has penned a truly epic human and theological tale of adventure, love, intrigue, and the search for ultimate truth and meaning. If this book is ever made into a movie—and it should be—the world need only surrender to the truth of the everlasting message.
—Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, author & speaker
Calling Denise Mallett an incredibly gifted author is an understatement! The Tree is captivating and beautifully written. I keep on asking myself, “How can somebody write something like this?” Speechless.
—Ken Yasinski, Catholic speaker, author & founder of FacetoFace Ministries
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Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. 1 Pet 4:8 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | see The New Gideon and The Testing |