Holy Communion

This morning I am reading Saint Faustina’s Diary, page 494 (1395), and I here is what the Lord shared with Saint Faustina about Holy Communion:

“I desire to unite Myself with human souls; My great delight is to unite Myself with souls. Know, My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat me as a dead object. “

One cannot help but feel convicted of the times they receive Holy Communion in a distracted state of mind. Just yesterday I was talking with a fellow parishioner after mass about this, and we both shared our struggles in trying to get into a right state of mind and heart to reverently receive Holy Communion. We both shared that we sit up front in church to minimize the distractions of the other parishioners and how people are such a big distraction. If I sat in the back of the church, I would spend the whole mass looking at people. People captivate my attention and my weak spirit struggles with shutting out the world and focusing on the spirit of God. In addition, I need to close my eyes after receiving Holy Communion, because again, I will be distracted by the people coming up to the front of the church and receiving Holy Communion. It seems, no matter how hard I try to focus on the beauty of the mass and the great gift that we receive (body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus), I am still battling with my flesh and the world. I find I do better at week day masses when it’s much quieter and less people to be distracted by.

I like to get to church early, when I am in a more focused state and have some time for personal prayer. Once the first hymn is sung, it is a struggle. Thank goodness we have the cloistered religious to pray for this world. I am sure that the isolation from the world and frequent moments of prayer throughout the day is the best way to be in a position to receive all of the graces that God wants to give the soul.

I know that beating yourself up about this problem is not the answer. Even the religious (people who belong to faith communities: priests, nuns, monks, etc.), have issues similar to mine and they advise us to just keep pulling yourself back when you recognize that you are getting sidetracked.

Anyone who is reading this and is not a Roman Catholic, may have no idea what I am talking about. Jesus wants ALL people to come to Him and receive this gift of His divinity. Holy Communion is a mystery to all of us, because it is supernatural. So much about being a Catholic relies on our faith and belief in the Word of God (the Bible). Holy Communion is central to being a Catholic. If you read Saint Faustina’s diary, you will begin to understand the relationship of Jesus, Holy Communion and souls (that would us, souls).

God Bless

Paula

Dairy, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, original Polish Diary copyright 1981 Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy

Saint Faustina's Poetry

In the Catholic world, we are in the year of Mercy. God’s mercy is evident through the bible, however, in the 1930’s sister Faustina, under the counsel of the Lord, Jesus, wrote the Divine Mercy Chaplet. At that time, Sister Faustina (now Saint Faustina Kowalska) was a young Polish woman with very little formal education. You would never know that from reading her diary, Divine Mercy of My Soul, which is packed with incredible wisdom, discernment and poetry. All things are possible when God is the directing your life.

About 12+ years ago I was introduced to Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, at a presentation at my church. I felt blessed with this new knowledge of God’s mercy and the way God has reached out to the world through Saint Faustina. I purchased the diary and read about half of the diary. For whatever reason that I don’t remember, I put the book back on my bookshelf. Fast forward to 2016, the Year of Mercy. On several recent occasions, I have found myself focusing on this book which is on my bookshelf in the living room and wondering why I never finished reading the diary. Last week I looked at the book, got up, took it off the shelf and picked up where I left off 12+ years ago. I have been immersed in this reading since and feel that the Holy Spirit has been nudging me in this direction for some time now. It was during my morning prayer time, when apparently I was open minded enough to the let the Holy Spirit in and responded to God’s will. Following God’s will is a gift, as always and reading this diary is a glimpse of the mercy that God has for us, if we only listen and believe.

Below is one of the many poems that are in this diary. I especially enjoyed this poem and could relate to the feeling of being an exile in this world.

J.M.J.

With longing I gaze into the starlit sky.

Into the sapphire of fathomless firmaments.

There the pure heart leaps out into find You, O God,

And yearns to be free of the bonds of the flesh.

With great longing, I gaze upon you, my homeland,

When will this, my exile, come to an end?

O Jesus, such is the call of Your bride.
Who suffers agony in her thirst for You.

With longing, I gaze at the footprints of the saints.

Who crossed this wilderness on their way to the fatherland.

They left me the example of their virtue and their counsels.

And they say to me, “Patience, Sister, soon the fetters will break.”

But my longing soul hears not these words.

Ardently it yearns for its Lord and its God,

And it understands not human language,

Because it is enamored of Him alone.

My longing soul, wounded with love,

Forces its way through all created things

And unites itself with infinite eternity,

With the Lord whom my heart has espoused.

Allow my longing soul, O God,

To be drowned in Your Divine Three-fold Essence.
Fulfill my desires, for which I humbly bet You,

With a heart brimming with love’s fires. 

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary, Divine Mercy of My Soul, pages 468-469

God Bless

Paula