For not all paths lead to Heaven, but the path of misery surely does…
I have been thinking about troubled souls and the souls of those who suffer.
Saint Faustina wrote in her Diary 648, “At three o’clock, I saw the Lord Jesus, crucified, who looked at me and said, ‘I thirst’. Then I saw two rays issue from His side, just as they appear in the image. I then felt in my soul the desire to save souls and to empty myself for the sake of poor sinners. I offered myself, together with the dying Jesus, to the Eternal Father.”
And I have been reflecting on that diary entry as I have been reflecting on my interactions with those who suffer.
It is a truly terrible thing to witness suffering. When the person who is suffering is someone who I love, it is even more terrible. When it is a family member or a friend, their suffering can become very all-consuming for me. And I have been reflecting on that as I consider the suffering souls in my life.
Though I am not particularly soft-hearted, it is a terrible burden to witness suffering in others that I feel helpless to influence or assist with. And at times, witnessing such suffering can cause my soul to become consumed with grief.
But I have been thinking about those souls as I have been reflecting on that vision of Saint Faustina. You see, she saw in CHRIST the suffering of all the world.
And I have been reflecting on the magnitude of that. You see, if I am hurt to witness the suffering of a loved one, who much more outraged should I be to witness the suffering of my Beloved – God Himself?
And that is what I have in my mind today. You see, Christ came to earth to teach me how to get to Heaven. And He did this is such a way that the path became clear to me, and to you too. And how do I get to heaven? What is the path that I am required to follow? Well, it is the same path that Christ trod. The path to Heaven is through Calvary…
And I have been thinking about that today as well. You see, those souls who are suffering so terribly, are the souls who are treading the path to Calvary. Theirs is the road that leads to Heaven. And today I realise how ironic it really is to grieve for a soul who is walking the path to Paradise… After all, the path to Calvary is littered with broken hearts…
And when I think about it like that, I am overcome with gratitude. For all the heartbreak and the misery and the suffering and the sadness that I see among those I love, are merely the marks of the Messiah in their lives…
And when I see that, I can understand why I must pray for the Grace to dance – not walk – but to dance, all the way along the path to Calvary. For not all paths lead to Heaven, but the path of misery surely does…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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