The author with her husband and son inside the prayer room in Grand Lord Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. In the background is the small statue of the Divine Mercy and Jesus holding the world on his left hand.
For the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10 KJV)
It will take courage to really mean what the above verse says. It will take a true disciple of Jesus to say this and mean it in its essence. Even Saint Faustina, at times failed the test, but then she said sorry to Jesus and Jesus forgave her. About several weeks ago, I’ve gone back to reading Sister Faustina Kowalska’s diary —Divine Mercy in My Soul. It is 2 inches thick with more than 600 pages of text that offers jewels of wisdom, love, mercy, and sacrifice with Jesus as the “Leading Man” and Sister Faustina as the eager bride. It is so amazing that upon reading it, I feel I get transported before Jesus. I also feel that He is speaking right through me and not only to Sister Faustina. God’s love and mercy permeates each page of the book.
I would say that before, I thought I understood patience, love and suffering but now my understanding pales to what this saint writes about. Through this book, I had a clearer understanding of how the different virtues are practiced and applied in different circumstances of life. This Polish nun took on other people’s pains, prayed for others-living and dead, and sacrificed for sinners and holy people in order to do God’s will and spread God’s love and mercy. She truly made Jesus, the sole source of her strength and the core of her being.
As I read more, I am encouraged to do some acts of kindness, too. But as my sister Josephine has told me, it is not easy to be a true Christian. My sister, Jojie as we call her in our family is a hospital nurse. “Sometimes, it is not easy to practice love especially when you are under pressure and you are dealing with life and death situations. So I just tell myself to stay calm and call on the Lord to help me,” she explains.
So part of my journey in 2013 is learning to walk side by side with the Lord and holding onto his hand if necessary in order for me to serve him fruitfully. I guess, I could say, I attempted to walk on water just like Peter. But did I have enough faith to walk, especially when I know well enough that I am a lousy swimmer? To be continued…….
