Bp524 - Believe

"Радоуисѧ,Невѣсто Неневѣстнаꙗ"

Icon of the Virgin Mary “Tenderness” (19th-20th century)

Our Lady of Fatima, intercede for us who have recourse to you. +

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

—Psalm 90:12

Life is a temporary assignment.

Like the psalmist we need to ask the Lord to help us number our days—so we will realize we have been given only limited time here on this earth. What really matters is how we use the days He gives us.

And that raises some important questions: How will we use the remaining days of this year? Will we use them in the way the Lord wants us to? Will we use them to serve Him and to serve the people God places on our path? Are we willing to use our gifts and talents, our resources and our time to build His kingdom in whatever place He puts us?

Prayer

Father in Heaven, help us to understand that You have given us another year to serve you. Make us faithful in our calling. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”

— Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, n. 699

‭Psalms 73:21-26

When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Before His gaze all falsehood melts away.....

His gaze, the touch of His heart heals us .....through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”... it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of His love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God.”

– Pope Benedict XVI