Diary Study Group: Reading Assignment 41

Assignment: Diary entries 1525 & 1558

“1525 One day, a certain sister came to me and asked me for prayers, telling me that she could no longer stand things as they were. “And so, please pray, Sister.” I answered that I would, and I began a novena to The Divine Mercy. I learned that God would give her the grace, but that she would once again be dissatisfied when she received it. However, I kept on praying as she had asked me to do. The next day, the same sister came looking for me, and when we again began to talk about the same thing, I told her, “You know, Sister, when we pray, we ought not force the Lord God to give us what we want, but we should rather submit to His holy will.” (118) But she thought that what she was asking for was indispensable. Towards the end of the novena, the sister came again and said, “O Sister, the Lord Jesus has given me the grace, but now I am of a different mind. Please pray so that things will somehow be different again.” I answered, “Yes, I will pray, but that God’s will be done in you, Sister, and not[…]”

Excerpt From: Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. “Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul.” Apple Books.

“1558 February 2, [1938]. Darkness of the soul. Today is the Feast of the Mother of God, and in my soul it is so dark. The Lord has hidden Himself, and I am alone, all alone. My mind has become so dimmed that I see only phantasms about me. Not a single ray of light penetrates my soul. I do not understand myself or those who speak to me. Frightful temptations (135) regarding the holy faith assail me. O my Jesus, save me. I cannot say anything more. I cannot describe these things in detail, for I fear lest someone be scandalized on reading this. I am astounded that such torments could befall a soul. O hurricane, what are you doing to the boat of my heart? This storm has lasted the whole day and night.

When Mother Superior [Irene] came in to see me and asked, “Would you like to take advantage of this occasion, Sister, since Father An. [Andrasz] is coming to hear confessions?” I answered, no. It seemed to me that Father would not understand me, nor would I be able to make a confession.

I spent the whole night with Jesus in Gethsemane. From my[…]”

Excerpt From: Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. “Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul.” Apple Books.

3 thoughts on “Diary Study Group: Reading Assignment 41”

  1. #1525-He knows what is best for us even though we feel we are right in what we need and what we pray for! Trust Him, because the answer does make sense after we ponder over it.

    #1558-I can’t help but wonder if what she was experiencing what a purely human condition that we all have known as a mild depression and she felt it was being abandoned by Jesus? Her connection to Him was so profound and developed we forget she had a human side. Just a thought!

  2. Peace,

    #1525
    Makes me wonder how many times my prayers were answered and I could not realize the Grace I needed was given to me. I pray for personal relations to change; to me, I see nothing getting better. What I do find is, through payer, an ability to listen and understand, and sometimes, I may even speak an inspired word. If I look back in my life, I see God’s guiding hand moving me along.

    #1558
    Faustina’s example of how to pray through apparent abandonment (from God) makes it easier for me to pray. St Faustina continued trust in God through this feeling of abandonment, gives me reassurance that God is always with me, even if I feel no spiritual awareness of Him. The essence of this reading is a little jewel I wish to keep with me for meditation.

  3. #1525
    How easy it is for us to seek our own will & not God’s. How many times do we get or hear of prayer requests of someones, “laundry list,” of things they deem most important? I include myself in this, & almost never give thought to what is it that God wants in this situation. The conversation she talks about could as easily be done in the same way today.

    # 1558
    Reminds me of St John of the Cross, “Dark night of the soul.” Many times if you read about various saints you will hear about the desert experience. Any consolations are totally taken away or simply not given. As they so often remind us, this is when God is the closest. It is as if we go from crawling to baby steps in a faith sense. During this time, if we only remain faithful to Him, our faith will grow.

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