I don't think we can comprehend the love and the gratitude in the Heart of Jesus when we keep Him company in His suffering. In the eternal Now of God we reach back to His Passion and that sweet gift is very very real to Him. I had a similar experience. Not as dramatic as your experience but I have never forgotten it. It was many years ago and we lived in an old house that was very very cold and this one January night it was so cold the blankets weren't enough. I was freezing. And I remember telling Jesus that I would keep Him company in that cold dungeon they put Him in before they dragged Him before Pilate. I said "I will stay with You Jesus. We can be cold together." All of a sudden warmth flooded through my whole body. Warm from head to foot. I said " but I wanted to be cold with You." I fell asleep and had the most powerful spiritual experience of my life.i saw the altar where we had daily Mass in the winter (a small side room) and brass crucifix that was always on the altar began to glow and grow larger. Suddenly I was filled with such joy--ecstasy really--that I couldn't contain it. It leaped up like a hidden spring gushing out of me. I kept saying "how can I thank you?" And powerfully surging out of me were the words "Introibo ad altare Dei" My answer to "how can I thank You?" To go to the altar of God. Holy Mass!
So true Padraig!.... Besides your most helpful insights into why mysterious events like mine happen...I got yet another helpful point of view from a priest and his homily. Last week at daily mass.... the priest spoke about why God seemingly doesnt answer our prayers. I'm paraphrasing Fr.V words here and probably not doing it very well... but here goes anyhow. He recalled the story of Paul and Silas being beaten... scourged and then thrown in prison. He said that it appeared that God had abandoned these two apostles of his by letting all this misery overtake them. They did indeed endure much suffering. BUT..that night while they were praying and singing Gods praises... a massive earthquake happened there and the doors to all the cells were flung open and the chains fell off of not only two apostles but all the prisoners. Meanwhile the prison guard was about to kill himself because he thought he would be held responsible for letting the prisoners escape.But Paul stopped him from doing so. Apparently NONE Of the prisoners had fled??!! Long story short... Not only did God allow these men to suffer but by waiting until a miraculous event had taken place because of their fidelity... So much MORE was gained. The prison guard (and all the guards family... plus all the prisoners) converted to Christianity!!!! The priest summed it up by pointing out the obvious..... "Its best to WAIT on God" (That would be a DUH!) I know I really fractured this story and there is more to it that you will have to read for yourself...but it did (mostly) put to rest my lingering/nagging uncertainty about what happened to me 5 years ago.
That's EXACTLY what he wanted ...your acceptance. That's the hard part!!! I'm having difficultly getting there!.
So much to learn around here! So many great stories and experiences. I wish I had more to share around here. My biggest struggle has been my mental illness, but I have started learning to accept it for what it is. It's not just something I have to go through to make me stronger, but it's also a teaching instrument for others. I can reach out to others who are suffering, but I can also help bring understanding to others who don't know what it's like. I have an email friend of long standing. He once said that God has healed me, so he couldn't understand why I was still struggling and still on my medication. Well, he is also on medication for other health reasons, so I asked him why he still took his. Since then, he has become more understanding. I remember one time I was struggling with some doubts, not uncommon for someone with Major Depression. And he just didn't get it. And I asked him if he remembered a specific scene from Shrek. In there, Shrek and Donkey have to cross a bridge over a "boiling lake of lava" to get to where Fiona was to rescue her. Well, Donkey didn't want to go because the bridge looked rickety. So, Shrek tells him to look ahead, and don't look down. Donkey is doing fine until they are half way across and a board breaks under him. So Donkey calls out "Shrek! I'm looking down!" I told David (this friend) that this is what it feels like. Some days I'm going along fine, then something happens and I'm "looking down"!! A good part of me knows I'll make it across, but there are times when things overwhelm me.
I had a EUREKA moment concerning PF and AED on my way home from mass today. Since it is Pentecost Sunday.... the unfolding of my beloved Latin mass was particularly beautiful this day and as I was driving home and basking in the warm glow of the mass I had just attended when it dawned on me ( actually... more like a slap up side the head) that what I had said to PF and AED was totally wrong! I said that I thought that the reason that they both experienced a healing from Jesus was that they had ultimately accepted the cross that He had allowed/given them to carry! But... it was made very clear to me that this was NOT so. They were healed because they LOVED Jesus enough to reach out to him in the midst of their own suffering to touch him personally to try to ease HIS pain! How could I have missed such an obvious conclusion?? So dense was I that the Holy Spirit had to hit me in the head with a rock to get my attention!! Thank you Holy Spirit! Lesson learned! As Padraig always says at the end of his posts...At the end of the day we will be judged on LOVE
Beautiful and how wonderful you recalled Jesus in prison; so few remember that (although it was portrayed in the film, 'The Passion of the Christ'.)
Jesus makes the shoulder for the burden; who knows how many thousands and thousands of souls you have saved through this huge Cross.
There is nothing on Earth quite so humbling as to come across the sufferings of others. It also makes you so thankful for your own blessings. Only in Heaven will we know...
Thats so true. And often these sufferings are hidden and manifest as ill temper or other negative behavior. We just don't know the wounds others carry in their hearts. Only God knows. That's why I think it is so important to cut some slack to people who "act out". Now maybe it's just pure meaness in them but we can't judge that. I fail often I am ashamed to say. But I do try not to judge.
I admit I am old now And I am a great, great super Crank. The King of Cranks But you know when I look at the World around me of Woke Superniceness, cranky does not look so bad.
