He sat off in the corner watching a crowd of people that had gathered around the teacher. Unable to speak, he sat alone; he was always alone. Unaccepted by others who often ridiculed him, rage became his only companion, you could say it latched onto him and wouldn’t let go. It possessed him.
The teacher, while addressing the crowd, glanced over and saw him sitting there alone and began to walk toward him. The man felt the rage within him began to stir. As the teacher moved closer, rage griped the man tightly and began to shake him violently, pushing him to the floor. Rage was well aware of who this teacher was and it was read to fight.
The teacher, with full authority, stretched out his hand toward the man, looked through him to the eyes of rage and said "Leave him"! Just at that moment mercy and compassion filled the man and there was no room for rage to reside. It left him.
The man immediately got up, kissed the teacher's hand with gratitude and said ,"thank you" , for all to hear. Amazed by what they had just witnessed, some in the crowd questioned the teacher's works, for mercy and compassion were unfamiliar to them.
Some continued to follow the teacher and they shared his works of mercy with those they met along the way. Others left the teacher, never to return.
"Dear Children! Open your heart to God’s mercy in this Lenten time. The heavenly Father desires to
deliver each of you from the slavery of sin. Therefore, little
children, make good use of this time and through meeting with God
in confession, leave sin and decide for holiness. Do this out of
love for Jesus, who redeemed you all with his blood, that you may
be happy and in peace. Do not forget, little children: your
freedom is your weakness, therefore follow my messages with
seriousness. Thank you for having responded to my call." BVM, Medjugorje, 2/25/2007
deliver each of you from the slavery of sin. Therefore, little
children, make good use of this time and through meeting with God
in confession, leave sin and decide for holiness. Do this out of
love for Jesus, who redeemed you all with his blood, that you may
be happy and in peace. Do not forget, little children: your
freedom is your weakness, therefore follow my messages with
seriousness. Thank you for having responded to my call." BVM, Medjugorje, 2/25/2007
Notes: Adapted from Luke 11: 14-23
13 comments:
This post made my day. k
Revelation
O incomprehensible God, my heart dissolves in joy that You have allowed me to penetrate the mysteries of Your mercy! Everything begins with Your mercy and ends with Your mercy.
Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1506
All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person's sins were as dark as night, God's mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary: that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God's merciful grace, and then God will do the rest. But poor is the soul who has shut the door on God's mercy, even at the last hour. It was just such souls who plunged Jesus into deadly sorrow in the Garden of Olives; indeed, it was from His Most Merciful Heart that divine mercy flowed out.
Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1507
My daughter, tell souls that I am giving them My mercy as a defense. I Myself am fighting for them and am bearing the just anger of My Father.
Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1516
Ed,
Wow, these writings of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska are so incredibly filled with hope for those who seek God's mercy!Thank you for sharing them here.
Thank you Kam.
Oh! I just came across this reading the other night during prayer. The power and authority of Jesus' words stuck with me. Those words...the very word of God in the Bible and the very WORD of God, His Son, have the power to heal and cast out evil. I pray for His Mercy when I feel enraged and I try to pick up His Words and start reading...thank you for a great post : )
A beautiful mixture of tenderness and strength. The tenderness of grace and mercy, the strength to confront rage. Let us pray for healing, of ourselves and others.
Andie
A powerful post, DG. And I particularly liked this message from Our Lady - it was a perfect fit with your post. Thank you!
Our Lady's words about weakness and freedom remind me of, "When I am weak, I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 7. It is so true that sin does forces us into slavery! Beautiful reflection and reminder from Our Lady.
Peace All Good Things To You,
JEK
Makes you think ... does it not?
God bless.
Thank you Jek, Mary,Andie and Victor. We must be God's mercy to all, even the most difficult. This is something I often struggle with.
God bless you all.
Thank you Daily Grace!
His Mercy is such a gift. Thank you for the gentle and beautiful reminder. Thank you for all of your thoughtful reflections. May He bless you!
Hello Daily Grace,
You have been tagged on my Blog here:
http://timeforreflections.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-i-love-jesus.html
Please visit the link. Thanx.
God bless.
I don't understand why people pray. I understand having hope, but just blindly asking an unknown and possibly non-existent being to fix all your problems seems a little ignorant to me. I think it's important for people to learn to be independent and save themselves. I don't know...I've pretty much lost all my faith since coming out as bisexual and being rejected by my church and family simply for opening my heart to love.
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