WHAT GOD’S ‘VOICE’ SOUND LIKE

Discernment – Listen closely, God May be trying to speak to you.

St. Ignatius Loyola, in his writings on the topic of the discernment of spirits, provides specific instructions on how to identify the voices you hear in your soul, whether in prayer or while going about your daily duties. In particular, Loyola details the attributes of God’s voice.

Loyola explains, “it is proper to God and to His Angels in their movements to give true spiritual gladness and joy, taking away all sadness and disturbance which the enemy brings on.” Furthermore, “It belongs to God our Lord to give consolation to the soul without preceding cause, for it is the property of the Creator to enter, go out and cause movements in the soul, bringing it all into love of His Divine Majesty.”

Additionally, “We ought to note well the course of the thoughts, and if the beginning, middle and end is all good, inclined to all good, it is a sign of the good Angel.”

However, before we can properly discern these voices in our soul it is necessary to discern the state of our soul. Loyola writes that if the soul is moving from “good to better” the good Angel touches “sweetly,” but if the soul is moving from “bad to worse” than the opposite is true and the good spirit can seem sharp and try to kick us back in the right direction.

In general, if we are striving to draw closer to God, he will speak to us in the silence of our hearts with peace and joy. It will likely not be in the form of an earthquake, lightning bolt, or flames of fire, but as Elijah heard, in “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).

The next time you are trying to discern who is speaking to your soul, stop and go over St. Ignatius’ steps of discernment. It might be God who is knocking at the door of your heart, desiring to give you the peace, joy and gladness that will satisfy your spiritual thirst.

Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Prayer

Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, I Consecrate my entire self to the Most Holy Love of Your Two Hearts. I Wish to make reparation for all the sins of the world, including my own. I offer these things for the love of the Hearts of JESUS and MARY. I will keep my mind on beauty and turn my thoughts from evil things.I will not show off, but remain humble. I will offer up all my sufferings, sickness and hurts. I will seek God's Will, not my own. I will show appreciation for the kindness, the blessings that I receive, and God for all things. I will do everything in my life for love of God. And I will love others, as God has loved me. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, receive the offering and consecration I now make of myself to You. Keep me faithful unto death. Bring me one day to the Happy Home in Heaven. I desire to live forever with God the Father and the Most Holy Spirit and You my Jesus, together with Your Most Immaculate Mother. AMEN+

PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS AND MERCY (SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION)

 

From Psalm 51

 O loving and gracious God, have mercy.

Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my sin.

Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again.

For I admit my shameful deed-it haunts me day and night.

It is a sin against You and Your infinite mercy.

 Create in me a new, clean heart, O God.

Purify me and make me white as snow.

Cleanse my thoughts and desires.

Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Jesus, have mercy on me.

Jesus, have mercy on me.

Jesus, have mercy on me.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Amen.

Now do not be afraid of the glorious Sacrament of Reconciliation!

LENTEN PRAYER

Prayer for a Fruitful Lent

My precious and crucified Lord, I offer You this Lent.

I offer it to You with total abandonment and trust.

I offer You my prayers, sacrifices and my very life this day.

Do with me, Lord, as You will.

I pray that this Lent will be fruitful.

I know You have much to say to me and much to do in my life.

May this Lent be a time through which Your mercy is poured in abundance into my soul,

and into the souls of all Your faithful.

Dearest Lord, help me to especially see my sin, this Lent.

Humble me so that I may see clearly.

Give me courage and strength to confess my sins,

and to turn from them with all my heart.

Enlighten me with Your Holy Word, dear Lord.

Help me to come to know You and to deepen the gift of faith in my life.

Show me the plan You have for me,

and place my feet upon the path You have chosen.

My suffering Lord, I thank You for the fullness of Your perfect Sacrifice.

I thank You for holding nothing back,

giving Your life to the last drop of blood.

May I offer You my very life as a sacrifice,

trusting in Your mercy with every offering.

Keep me faithful to my Lenten promises,

and bring forth new life through these sacrifices of love.

Strengthen my prayer and make me holy.

Help me to turn to You, each day,

seeking Your sacred and pierced Heart.

Blessed Mother,

you stood by your Son in His suffering and death,

stand by me, I pray, as I journey through this life.

Pray for me and offer me to Your Son,

 that He may take me into His loving embrace.

Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me a sinner.

Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me a sinner.

Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me a sinner.

Mother Mary, Mother of our Crucified Lord,

pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Amen

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE SIN

God Himself felt for the people of Israel who were slaves to the Egyptians when he said: “I have seen the AFFLICTION of my people and have heard their CRY. I know their SUFFERINGS”(Exodus 3:7). Our lessons today are simple and straightforward.

*One: Sin is Slavery.*

As much as we detest slavery, St. Paul teaches us today that sin by its very nature can be likened to a form of slavery. Just as the Israelites were afflicted and agonized by the Egyptian taskmasters, we are all afflicted as long as we allow sin to dominate our lives.

According to St. Paul: “These things are WARNINGS for us, not to desire evil as they did nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer” (1Cor. 10:10). 

*Two: Never Underestimate Sin.*

Sin is an affliction, a suffering, a detestable condition, something that makes us live lower than the dignity God desires for us. In fact, in our Gospel passage, we see that not only is Sin a form of slavery, but it is also a calamity and a disaster.

Some persons told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. They wanted to know if this disaster was as a result of their sins, assuming that they must have been the worst sinners on earth to deserve such a cruel death.

To their surprise, Jesus said, these victims were not any worse than any one of them (meaning no matter how little our sins are, we too deserve such calamity). Jesus also added a similar instance of the eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and crushed saying: but UNLESS WE REPENT, WE WILL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH. In this way, Jesus paints a vicious picture of sin as something we must avoid at all costs.

*Three: Is Calamity a Punishment for sin?*

Does God allow bad things to happen to us as a result of our sinfulness? If this is the case, how do we explain the case of Job who was a righteous man yet faced a series of affliction? How do we explain the unfortunate things that happen to us even when we are walking in righteousness? How do we explain the brutal death of Jesus even when He was completely sinless?

The truth is that God does not treat us according to our faults. As the Psalmist says: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). Also in Matthew 5:45, Jesus told us that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

This means that good things and bad things happen to both good and bad people not necessarily as a direct punishment for sins. The point Jesus wants us to take to heart is that Sin itself is a calamity just as bad as any other calamity we may experience in life.

*Four: There is Good News.*

The Good News is that we serve a God who CARES for us, a God who FEELS our plight, a God who UNDERSTANDS our struggles and is ever ready to help us. The Good news is that God did not abandon the Israelites, but sent Moses to free them from the hands of captivity. This is really Good News because it means that no matter the extent of our present grip under the captivity of sin, God will not abandon us when we cry to Him.

Just as the Israelites could not save themselves, we cannot do it on our own. Nevertheless, Moses did not force them out of Egypt, their exit came as a result of their own cooperation with Moses. This is exactly what Jesus means when He demands repentance from us.

To repent is to make efforts. Yes, God is interested in the efforts you are making. This is why Jesus gave the parable of the fig tree. For three years, the man who planted the fig tree did not see any fruits and he decided to cut it down. The vinedresser pleaded for more time to dig around it and manure it saying if by next year, it still doesn’t produce fruit, it could be cut down.

What efforts are you making? Have you given up on yourself? Why not dig around your lukewarm heart and apply more manure to your spirituality? The truth is that you really do not have all the time. You do not know when you will take your last breath, Act Now!

*Conclusion: Hate Sin Enough to Flee From it.*

The first key to repentance is to see sin for what it really is. *Develop a strong hatred for sin and never take any sin for granted. The worst thing that can ever happen to you is to trivialize sin, painting it as “normal” or just one of those things.* Remember, the choice is yours to make: Repent or Perish!

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace of freedom from the captivity of sinfulness, Amen!

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Third Sunday of Lent, Year C. Bible Study: Exodus 3:1-15, Psalm 103, 1st Corinthians 10:1-12 and Luke 13:1-9).