Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy

The pinnacle of our relationship with God includes being stripped of every other earthly tie so that nothing holds us back from running toward God with great passion and purpose. We must be freed of every attachment in this life so that our one attachment is God and His holy Will. This does not mean we ought to neglect our love for others. This is especially true with family love. Love for those in your family must take on a special focus and become total and irrevocable. However, there is a difference between loving your family with a perfect love and being attached to them in an earthly way. In fact, holy detachment is necessary if you are to love with the Heart of Christ. Loving Jesus as your one desire in life will direct you to Him through others. You will love Christ in your family and in all aspects of your earthly vocation. But your love for all will be a love for Christ when you love Him with this perfect love. When this happens, every other attachment will be transformed into your love of God (See Diary #1365).What do you love in this world? What is it that you are attached to? Think about your greatest earthly loves. Hopefully these loves include family members and others whom God has put in your life. Now examine those loves and ponder whether they are centered in Christ. By loving them are you actually loving God? Or do these earthly loves remain ends in themselves? Reflect upon the goal of making love of God the one and only focus of your life and try to discover how you love God in and through every other person and every aspect of your life.My Lord, I love You and desire to love You above all else and in all else. May You become the one and only goal of my love. As I love You in all Your creatures may I be drawn closer to You and lavish Your perfect mercy upon their lives. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.image: Russian Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

No one can see your heart except you and God. God is aware of every detail of your interior life to a perfect degree; you see the details of your interior life to an imperfect degree. Nonetheless, it is important to become increasingly aware of the reality of your inner life. See your soul as a hidden and secret world in which the Mercy of God resides. Allow the inner chambers of your heart to become consumed with the love of God. This holy and pure love of God must direct all things within you. And although others will not see that which takes place within you, they will see the good fruits that come forth from your life and these good fruits will become an exterior witness to the Mercy of God alive within you. Though the inner life is hidden, it must become manifest so that the secret workings of God will produce Mercy in a visible and radiant way (See Diary #1363). Are you aware of the powerful work of God within your soul? Are you attentive to His merciful hand, leading you and guiding you within this secret sanctuary of your interior life? Fix your interior gaze upon the pure love of God and allow this hidden place to bring forth an abundance of good fruit. As the good fruit of your life is produced, allow it to be made manifest for the world to see and to be inspired and changed by the Mercy of God coming forth from you. Ponder today this direct connection between your interior and exterior and allow your heart to shine forth. Lord, I love You with a burning love. Please continually purify my heart so that Your grace may become active and alive within my soul. As You work Your miracles of grace in my life, bring forth the good fruit of Mercy in my exterior actions so that Your works will become a public testimony to the pure love that is alive in my heart. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Visión del Beato Alonso Rodríguez by Francisco de Zurbarán, via Wikimedia Commons

One very common tendency and temptation most people struggle with is to become fixated upon sufferings, humiliations and the false opinions of others. When we experience one or more of these burdens, we can be tempted to make them the central focus of our life. For example, if you are unjustly humiliated and others have an erroneous opinion of you, it can be exceptionally hard to keep this from dominating your thoughts. Similarly, whatever it is that causes you grief or suffering can easily become the focal point of your life. These tendencies must be overcome by a commitment to look beyond these obstacles and to gaze only on the Truth. What is the Truth? It’s that which is in the Mind of God. Nothing less, nothing more, nothing other. As you seek to look beyond the struggles of life and focus only on the Truth, you will discover God’s glorious Will. His Will always offers us hope, confidence and joy as we move forward in life (See Diary #1360).What is it that dominates your attention? What is it that you are most aware of day after day? If you tend to let yourself become drawn into the confusions of life, work to change the focus of your attention. Instead, look only at the Will of God. His Will is glorious, inspiring, hopeful and renewing. Pay no attention to anything that is not contained within His Divine Will and the confusion, hurt and humiliation that you struggle with will slowly disappear as it is overwhelmed by the Mercy of God.Lord, help me to remain focused on the Truth as it is seen by Your watchful eye and known by Your perfect Mind. Help me to discover Your Will as the only Truth that I must know and help me to embrace Your Will with my whole being. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: The Death of Saint Peter Martyr by Bernardino da Asola, via Wikimedia Commons

Are you willing to accept the Will of God in your life? If so, you must be open to all the details. God’s Will is not some grandiose generalization. Choosing His Will is not simply a matter of saying that you choose to follow Him with broad strokes. Rather, choosing His Will is saying “Yes” over and over to every little prompting and every inspiration that the Lord gives. It’s about building a habit of attentiveness to the small ways that God speaks to you. Mercy is also in the details since Mercy and the Will of God are one and the same. Being open to the Mercy of God means that you come to realize that God wants to enter into the most “insignificant” parts of your life. The truth is that nothing in your life is insignificant to our Lord. Therefore, you must realize that those parts that you perceive as insignificant are very dear to Him. His care and concern reaches far and wide and is offered at every moment to every detail that makes up the apparent complexity of your life. When you realize this, you will, in turn, want to seek the fine details of His holy Will. You will want to serve Him in every way possible and, in so doing, you will be living in His merciful Will (See Diary #1356).Reflect today on the small things in your life. What is it that, at first thought, seems far from the Will of God? Knowing that every little detail of your life is important to our Lord and is always in His sight will give you a new perspective. As you reflect upon the small things that make up your life, turn them over to the Will of God and invite His Mercy into those details. Doing so will lead you down the path of true happiness.Lord, I offer You, this day, every part of my life. Thank You for Your perfect love and concern. Help me to love You in the details, embracing Your perfect Will in all things. May I never tire of allowing Your Mercy to enter so as to produce the smallest acts of love. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Saint Christina giving her father's idols of gold to the poor, via Wikimedia Commons

If you could pick two things to gaze at, what would they be? Ideally, the two greatest things to gaze at are the Mercy of God and your own misery. Most likely, it immediately makes sense that the Mercy of God would be one of the most important things to gaze at, but the wisdom of gazing at your own misery may not be immediately apparent. What we need to understand is that there is danger in seeing only one or the other. If you were to focus in on the Mercy of God without also seeing your misery, then you would not be in a position to invite that Mercy into the parts of your life that need it the most. And if you were to gaze at your misery without also seeing the Mercy of God, you would be led into despair. The Mercy of God is given so that every sin, hurt, confusion, struggle and the like will have a remedy. Our Lord longs to heal us and lift our burdens. Allow His Mercy to meet all that burdens you and His Mercy will achieve its end (See Diary #1345).Try to take some time to quietly and reflectively gaze at both God’s Mercy and your own inner burdens. As you look at both, try to imagine them meeting within the sanctuary of your soul. Let the Mercy of God fuse with any misery you experience in life and, in that act, you will be allowing God to do what He longs to do.Lord, please have Mercy on me and heal me. Help me to see the areas of my life that are in grave need of Your Mercy. As I see them, help me to also fix my eyes upon Your Sacred Heart from which Mercy and grace flow. In this gaze, may I discover Your unending compassion and love and so be healed of all that burdens me. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Frederick Arthur Bridgman - The Prayer, via flickr

Perhaps thinking about your death is frightening. It may not be something that you actually consider very often. But it is a grace to be able to look at one’s death directly and with full confidence. And this is only possible to do with full confidence if your life is in order and given completely to God. If you can honestly look into your soul and see that you have made holiness your ultimate goal, then you can also look directly at death with peace and calm. What is there to fear in that case? What is there to fear if you have dealt with the sin and regrets you have? There is nothing to fear in this case. Death, to the holy soul, is a reward and a journey to look forward to with delight and anticipation (See Diary #1343).Try to do this simple exercise today of imagining this as being your last day on Earth. Perhaps you immediately think about family or other tasks that you need to complete first to prepare. Or perhaps you are filled with fear because you are aware of your sin. First, try to set aside the practical tasks that would be left unfinished and even try to set aside your concern for your family and friends. Though these are good and holy concerns, it is helpful to look at death only in regard to the condition of your soul. If you were to die today, would you be able to look at the merciful Heart of our Lord and tell Him, honestly, that you die with Him as your greatest love? Could you say to Him that His Will is your primary goal in life? If not, reflect upon any obstacle you see and use this meditation to take an honest inventory of your life.Lord, I know that Heaven must be my goal and my focus in life. Help me to put my eyes upon You and all that awaits. Help me to also look honestly at the condition of my soul and to identify any obstacle in the way of my holiness. I love You, dear Lord, help me to make You the central focus of my life. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Jesus and Mary at the deathbed of St Joseph, via flickr

It is proper to speak of both the Justice of God as well as His Mercy. They are not opposed to each other. His Justice will be dealt to those who refuse to repent just as it was dealt to the angels who refused to serve God. But, for now, is it more proper to say that God is Merciful. In fact, the evil one would love for us to become consumed with the idea that God is only Just and that He imposes His judgment upon us continually. When this idea is accepted, it is hard to understand that God actually withholds His Justice as long as we are open to His Mercy. Seek His Mercy, believe in it and run to it. Do not doubt it for a moment. Know that God offers it day and night and never tires of lavishing it upon you. When you are faced with the fear that comes with facing His Justice, turn your eyes to His Mercy and you will be able to easily turn from all sin as you bask in the rays shining forth from His Heart (See Diary #1338).Which of these two images of God do you reflect upon more often? Are you frightened by God’s Justice? Or are you consoled by His Mercy? Both can be useful but never at the expense of the other. We should never presume on God’s Mercy and we should never become fixated on His Justice without immediately remembering His Mercy. Ponder His Mercy today more than anything and you will have no need to fear His Justice. Let your heart experience His love and turn to Him with full confidence and trust.Lord, I am aware that You are Just and will issue Your Justice upon me if I fail to turn to Your Mercy. Therefore, I do turn to Your Mercy. I seek it with all my heart. I love You, Lord, and I desire to love You more. Give me the grace to open my eyes to Your radiant Heart and to be open to all that You wish to bestow. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured Image above: Christ Weeping Over Jerusalem by Ary Scheffer, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you want to be a saint? Hopefully the answer is “Yes.” But what about this question: Do you think you can become a saint? This may be more difficult to answer. It’s easy to dream of sanctity and to desire it, but when faced with the task of achieving it, discouragement can easily set in. Discouragement comes when you see the high call of holiness and conclude that you will never be able to achieve it. You may become fixated upon a certain fault and give up, thinking that you are destined to remain lukewarm and that’s it. You may feel as though you are a nice person and that will have to suffice. But God has great plans for you! He not only calls you to be a saint, He knows you can become one. The key is to allow His Mercy to become so clear to you that you begin to realize sanctity is possible. Holiness, or sanctity, is not achieved because we are good; rather, it’s achieved because God is merciful and we have chosen to fix our gaze upon that Mercy. Never doubt the truth that you are both called to be a saint and that you can become a saint (See Diary #1333).Reflect upon these two questions today. Do I want to become a saint and can this be achieved in my life? Look for ways that you get discouraged at the thought of holiness. Whatever it is that is causing discouragement in you is false. It’s not the truth. Let the Mercy of God appear before your eyes and realize that His Mercy is able to be received by you. And when you are open to receiving the Mercy of God, you will begin your journey to true sanctity.Lord, I do desire to become holy as a result of Your abundant Mercy. Remove my struggles with discouragement and help me to have hope in Your power to change me. I give myself to You, dear Lord, and I trust that You will make me a saint. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured Image above: Saint Kosmas And Saint Damianos, via needpix.com

God created us with passions. These can be either great blessings in our Christian walk or they can become great snares. It all depends on what controls each passion. Passions of anger, for example, can either be used for good or ill. When anger takes over and the source of this anger is a wound or lack of mercy toward another, then we become bound by this sin. But holy anger is a gift from God in that the Lord may inspire us to be “fierce” in one act or another. A parent protecting an innocent child from danger or the direct confrontation with evil may require a certain holy anger as a supporting force. Sexual passions are the same way. When they are used for marital union in accord with God’s design, they are holy. When they are the source of adultery, self-gratification, or any other form of lust, they do us great damage. Seek to be free from unruly passions and allow the Mercy of God to so consume them that these natural gifts are given over to the service of love and the Will of God (See Diary #1331).Are your passions under the control of the powerful Mercy of God or do your passions control you? This is an important question to honestly answer. Passions, when they become strong and untamed, can be hard to control. But when properly surrendered to God, they become a great motivating source of love. Reflect honestly upon your struggle with your passions. Know that God wants to turn them into a great blessing and a source of much mercy in your life. Turn them over to Him, over and over, through prayer, fasting and Confession and the Lord will bring order and stability to these natural gifts.Lord, I offer You my heart, my soul, my body, my mind and my passions. Please bring order and stability to me in every way and use me as an instrument of Your holy and passionate Love. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ Cleansing the Temple by Bernardino Mei, via The J. Paul Getty Museum[

Have you ever made a retreat? Some are privileged to take time away from the busyness of life so as to spend an extended time listening to our Lord and being in His merciful presence. Others find it hard to find even a day to enter such a retreat. Regardless of whether you have or have not had this opportunity, know that you need time alone with Jesus. It is not possible to speak to Him only during your busy day and maintain a proper relationship with Him. The depth of the relationship desired by Jesus requires time set aside solely for Him. Seek these opportunities and do not neglect them. It is through moments of extended prayer and reflection that life is clarified and the Will of God is made manifest (See Diary #1326-1327).When is the last time you spent an extended amount of time alone with our Lord? Perhaps it was only an hour in the chapel or in your room, or perhaps it was longer. Think about how much time you give to Him. We often can find plenty of time to watch a movie, go shopping, or engage in some other recreational activity. The truth is that if we make time alone with our Lord a priority in life, it will happen. We will find the time and our time with Him will be abundantly fruitful. Ponder the level of priority that you give to these moments of quiet reflection with our Lord and recommit yourself to making them the most important part of your life. If you do so, all else will fall into place as His Mercy is poured forth.Lord, I desire to make You the number one priority in my life. I desire to make time for You on a daily basis and to find an extended period of time for You regularly. Help me to have the will to do this so that I may bask in Your presence and allow You to sort through the difficulties I face in life. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Adoration Room of Francis Xavier Church, via Wikimedia Commons

Imagine being a small child on a small boat in the middle of the sea. A storm sets in and you cannot see land in any direction. You are tossed and turned in the waves as they cover the bow with each crash and you wonder how you will survive. Now imagine that your dad is also on the boat with you. He tells you to sit and hold on and that all will be well. He is confident and in charge and shows no fear. The confidence that your father exudes calms you and you trust that he will keep you safe. This is an image of our lives. When we face a crisis we must realize that we are but a child in the midst of the stormy sea in need of our Merciful Lord. It would be foolish for a child to try to take charge of the boat. It would also be foolish for us to try to direct our own lives. We need the steady confidence of Jesus to put our hearts at rest. The Lord must be your Helmsman whenever the waves begin to rise. Do not doubt His ability to handle everything in life (See Diary #1322).What do you do when the storms of life set in? Do you panic? Do you try to take control and handle things on your own? Or do you turn your eyes to the strength and confidence of our Lord and let Him take control of the situation? Turning to Jesus is not simply a matter of sitting back and doing nothing. Rather, turning to Him in abandon is an act of the greatest trust. That trust, when all seems chaotic and overwhelming, opens the door to His peace and keeps you safe and still no matter what comes your way. Reflect upon the way you handle difficulties in life and make the conscious choice to turn to the Divine Helmsman to direct your life through the storm.Lord, I turn to You in confidence and choose to put my full trust in You. I know that You can handle all things and that Your love and care will keep me safe. Increase my confidence in You, dear Lord, and help my heart to always remain at peace. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Ludolf Bakhuizen

We cannot escape the Hand of God. He is the one who sustains the Universe and keeps all things in being. Without His constant care we would cease to exist. But we remain under His providential Hand in one of two ways. Either we are guided by the “rule of love” or by the “rule of justice.” The rule of justice is God’s way of guiding our lives when we turn away from Him. We cannot escape His justice here or at the time of death. When we sin, especially in a serious way, we become slaves to our sin on account of the justice of God. He leaves us to experience the imprisonment of sin on account of His great Mercy. It is Mercy in that the ill effects of His justice are imposed so as to call us to repentance. But those who live under the rule of love are blessed to live on a whole new level. These holy souls bask in the Mercy of God and are freed from the effects of sin. They experience the numerous fruits of the Spirit and act in accord with the holy Will of God (See Diary #1315).Which rule do you live by? Are you regularly falling from grace and encountering the justice of God in your life? Or are you striving to live by His rule of love? Wherever you find yourself today, know that it is a gift of God’s Mercy. Allow His justice to redirect your life when you fall, and seek to embrace the full outpouring of His Mercy. The Lord will never leave you, but it’s up to you how you will experience His Mercy.My Lord, I desire to be filled with Your merciful presence in my life. I pray that I will daily turn from my sin and experience the freedom and joy that comes from living by Your rule of love. Help me, dear Lord, to always make the right choices in my life so as to be drawn into the abundant life You have in store for me. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Image by Treharris from Pixabay

Imagine if Jesus came to you in poverty, hunger and cold and He asked you to care for Him. This experience might startle you and cause you to question if this person really was Jesus. But it is Jesus. Jesus comes to us every day in the person who is in need. It may be that we encounter someone who is homeless, hungry and in need of clothing. If this is the case then this is Jesus. But there are many whom we encounter every day who have a different form of hunger and thirst. Many are starving for love, understanding, compassion and attention. They may present an exterior that is unwelcoming, but inside they are our Lord, seeking to receive mercy from your heart. Do not hesitate to see our Lord present in every person you encounter. Lavish the mercy of your heart on them, especially the most pitiable soul, and you will have lavished your love on Jesus Himself (See Diary #1312).How do you treat the poor and the beggar? Start by thinking about those with physical needs but move deeper to consider all those who carry other needs. Think about the hard of heart, the sinner, the proud, the arrogant, the person filled with anger, etc. Every person you call to mind is our Lord coming to you for a taste of the mercy of your heart. Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Christ. Do you believe this? If you do then this belief must have the practical consequences of you showing mercy to everyone, especially those whom you find most difficult to love. Ponder this practical question today and make a commitment to seek out our Lord in the next “beggar” that you meet, no matter how undesirable they appear.Lord, I love You and I realize that I must seek You out in each person I encounter. Give me the eyes to see You and a heart to love You. As I love You in others, dear Lord, allow the mercy in my heart to give you a sweet delight. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Beggar with a Ukrainian Lyra  by Nikolay Svishchev-Paola, via  Wikimedia Commons

Do you want to do amazing things in this world? Do you sometimes have grandiose ideas and dreams? Sometimes we have more secular dreams of wealth and fame, and sometimes we may have dreams of doing extraordinary things for God and for the Church. But these do not have to be dreams because each and every one of us is called to extraordinary things. The problem is that we often misunderstand what “extraordinary” is all about. So what is it about? It’s especially about doing small things with extraordinary love. Every one of us can do this every day all day. Our lives are filled with opportunities to do “small things.” It may be cooking or cleaning, shuttling kids here or there, caring for the yard, completing tasks at work, or daily casual conversation with others. Every one of these tasks offers us an opportunity to love with extraordinary love. And if you do every small act with great love, then your love will be great and God will do extraordinary things through your life, bestowing His Mercy on many (See Diary #1310).Think about the small things you have to do today. How can you do these simple tasks with exceptional love? Many things we do are done with distaste or indifference. We can fail to see value in the small monotonous activities of our day. This is a mistake. Look for ways to do everything as an act of love and as an offering to God. Be devout and intentional in each opportunity you have and your dreams of greatness will become a reality on account of the Mercy of God shining through your life.Lord, I give to You, this day, every small act I perform. Help me to find value and meaning in even the smallest service. I pray that my love for You will increase in countless small ways so that I may be a holy instrument of Your abundant Mercy. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Pieter il Giovane Bruegel's art by  Pieter Brueghel the Younger, via Wikimedia Commons

What is it that makes someone beautiful? More than anything else it is the virtue of humility. Humility is exceptionally attractive. Though some may not be that impressed with the humble soul at first, over time, humility will draw even the most arrogant and self-centered person to itself. It’s hard to ignore the deep attractiveness of a humble soul because God is intimately present in that person. In fact, it could almost be said that God would do anything that a humble soul asks. It’s as if humility imposes an obligation upon God to bestow extraordinary graces through their lowly heart. Humility is a complete self-emptying of oneself before God and others. The result is that the person “disappears” and all that is left is God. God shines through the humble more radiantly than the person filled with the greatest talents. Humble yourself before God. The lower you go, the more God shines through and the more His Mercy is bestowed (See Diary #1306).Do you seek to be humble? Or do you tend to exert yourself and make yourself the center of attention? The irony is that, as the Scripture says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 14:11). So many of the great saints are perfect examples of this in that their focus was love of God and love of others, but in the end these great saints were often lifted high for others to see. Seek to be one of those great saints by humbling yourself this day. Ponder humility and convince yourself of its value. Through it the beauty and Mercy of God will shine forth.Lord, I know I am full of pride at times and that pride keeps me from admitting this fact. Please humble me and help me to lower myself before Your infinite majesty. Give me the grace to seek you above all things and to give You all the glory and honor. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: The Pharisee and the publican by  Gustave Doré, via Wikimedia Commons

Where is God? It’s easy to think of God being in Heaven or some far off place, looking down upon us and guiding all of creation in accord with His holy Will. This is true, but it’s not the full picture. God is perfectly “transcendent” in that He is way beyond us and beyond the created world. But He is also perfectly “immanent” in that He lives within us. When you pray, seek Him especially within your own soul. Remember that when you receive Holy Communion, God makes your soul a tabernacle. He enters in and remains within unless He is excluded on account of sin. Seek His divine presence within your soul and you will discover the intimacy of His abundant Mercy (See Diary #1302).Reflect upon the image of a tabernacle. Within that sacred dwelling the full glory of God exists in veiled form. But He is there, alive, radiant and glorious. Now see your soul as this tabernacle. See Him coming to you to make His dwelling within you. God desires to fully live within you, making your heart the place of His gentle repose. Spend time today seeking our Lord within. Talk to Him, listen to Him, and commune with Him. Let your heart become alive and radiant with His holy presence. For within your heart is the presence of God.Lord, I thank You for coming to me and making my heart Your dwelling place. I thank You for Your perfect love and care and I pray that I may discover Your divine presence in my life more fully each and every day. I am Yours, dear Lord, make my soul radiant with Your eternal glory. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Holy Family Catholic Church (Columbus, Ohio), via Wikimedia Commons

When you seek to serve our Lord with your whole heart, you may find that He speaks to you about His daily Will. It may not be completely clear, but you may have a sense that He wants this or that from you. God does not typically present you with the entire plan He has for your life all at once. Rather, He offers bits and pieces as needed. Believing what He calls you to do each day requires faith and trust in His gentle voice. The truth is that God does have a perfect plan for your life if you will only listen and respond one step at a time. In the end, from Heaven, this will all make sense and you will see the incredible wisdom of our Lord. However, for now the big and full picture may not be as clear. This is God’s way of drawing you into a relationship of daily dependence and daily surrender. The key is to be faithful each and every day to what you sense our Lord saying. If you do this, little by little, His glorious Will unfolds in your life, and through you His Mercy is bestowed upon the world (See Diary #1300). What do you sense our Lord calling you to do this day? Whatever it is it may not make perfect sense right now. Trust His gentle Voice and inspirations today and follow His promptings. Do what you hear Him command you. If your sense of His Will seems unusual, speak to another about it so as to make sure it is from Him. But in the end, if you seek to fulfill His daily Will you will discover that the road He takes you down is glorious and achieves His glorious purpose for your life.Lord, I desire to serve You with all my heart. Give me the grace of an open mind and heart so that I may discern Your gentle Voice calling me into Your perfect Will. My life is Yours, dear Lord, do with me what You will. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Saint James the Greater by Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons

Saint Mother Teresa is often quoted as saying that God asks us to be faithful, not successful. In other words, we are called to offer our best to the Lord, striving to be faithful to His holy Will, and then leave the rest to Him. At times it may appear that our “best” does not produce the desired good fruit that we desire. Perhaps an attempt you make at reconciling with another failed. Or perhaps you put your heart and soul into some apostolic work and it never appeared to take off in the way you had hoped. There is great freedom in the realization that all we are called to do is be faithful, not successful. “Success” is measured by God, not by human standards. We are truly “successful” only when we are faithful to the Will of God and diligent in committing ourselves to His divine work. If we are faithful in this way, nothing else matters. Do your best and leave the rest to God (See Diary #1295).Reflect upon your level of commitment to the Will of God. Committing yourself to God’s holy Will is not the same as committing yourself to perfect success in all you do. Even if everything you do appears to end in failure, you please God when you are faithful to Him without worrying about the results. God sees your heart and wants your good works to be offered to Him and done in accordance with His Will. Nothing else in life matters. Seek fidelity above success and you will delight the merciful Heart of our Lord.Lord, I give myself to You for Your service and glory. I commit myself to all that You call me to do and pray that I may serve Your Will in fidelity and diligence. Use me, dear Lord, as You will and help me to leave the rest to You. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Mother Teresa by Personal picture taken in India by Evert Odekerken

This may seem like an unusual title. How can sin be a “blessing?” True, strictly speaking sin is an offense against God and has the effect of separating us from God. Thus, sin is not a blessing in the strict sense. But God is All-Powerful and can use everything for His glory, even our sin. Sin could be spoken of as a blessing only in the sense that when we see our sins, acknowledge them, humble ourselves before God and beg for His Mercy, He bestows it in superabundance. In the end, the effects of the humility of repentance do far greater good than the damage done through sin. God can repair the damage immediately, and when He does so, He offers a Mercy that not only heals but also elevates us closer to His Heart. Allow your sin to be turned into a blessing by the power of God and you will be amazed at His endless Mercy (See Diary #1293).Reflect upon the attitude you have in regard to your sin. Too often you may deny your sin, justify it or turn a blind eye to it. This is a profound mistake for two reasons. First, doing this keeps you from repenting. Second, a failure to humbly repent leaves you without the abundant Mercy of God. Foster within your heart a burning desire to see every sin you commit. Seek to become aware of every sin, even the smallest imperfections. Attentiveness even to your spiritual imperfections will enable you to humble yourself before God in such a way that your honesty and thoroughness will bring countless blessings to your life. Lord Jesus, Son of God, have Mercy on me a sinner. Lord, I do see my sin but I also realize that I do not see it clearly enough. Please give me the grace to see my every sin, even the slightest imperfection, and then give me the grace to humbly repent with a sincere and contrite heart. I trust in Your abundance of Mercy, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Mary Magdalene by Orazio Gentileschi, via Wikimedia Commons

Our calling in life can be described as a call to divinization. What does this mean? It means that God came to Earth and took on our human nature so as to draw us into His very life. We are, in a sense, called to become God. This idea of “divinization” was common among the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Athanasius, Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine. It’s not that we are to become God in the sense that our nature becomes divine, this would be a heresy. Rather, we are called to become God in the sense that we are to share in His divine life, becoming one with Him in perfect unity. It would be as if God were an Ocean and we were a drop of water plunged into that Ocean. Though the specific particles of the drop of water representing us remain that one drop, it is absorbed by the waters of the Ocean representing God. Our union with Him must become so complete that God lives in us as we live in God (See Diary #1289). Reflect upon your calling to become divinized. This concept goes to the heart of our Christian vocation in that it expresses the powerful unity we are called to have with our merciful God. He wants you to share in His life and to become one with Him in every way. Though this may be hard to comprehend, you must accept it as your calling in faith. Reflect upon this concept today and tell our Lord that you give yourself to Him so as to become one with Him and to share in His very life. Lord, please come to me and divinize me in accord with Your perfect Will and abundant Mercy. I thank You for calling me to such a glorious and high calling in life and I accept this invitation from You. My life is Yours, dear Lord, transform me, consume me and do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay