THE PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART.
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SACRED HEART OF JESUS:
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THE PROMISES OF OUR LORD.
"I
promise you, in the excessive mercy of my heart that my all-powerful love will
grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday for nine
consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my
disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their
safe refuge in that last moment."
FIFTH
PROMISE I will pour abundant blessings
on all their undertakings.
Today
is the first Friday in May. Let us
consider this fifth promise by Jesus and make it our intention during May.’’
In the fifth promise, Jesus says that He will console us in all our troubles. This is a beautiful blessing to make our
own. However, Jesus wants to be with us
in all our undertakings- in every moment of every day. This means then that Jesus not only shares
our sorrows, difficulties and pain but all our joyous moments big and small as
well. In fact, as the promise says ‘’ I will pour abundant blessings on all
their undertakings’’.
Sadly,
but often true, we bring our sorrows, pains, difficulties and annoyances to God
in prayer and we ask His guidance and help, which of course God is willing to
do, if it is in our best interest.
However,
I don’t know about you, but sometimes we can forget to share our joys with Him
and say thank you. Thank you are 2 small words but so important if we are in
relationship with God and with one another. Sometimes too we can share our joys
with others around us and then they say something negative and the cold water
is poured on our joy. Jesus would only be too happy to share in our joy because
He gave it to us in the first place.
He not
only wants to give us blessings but abundant blessings. Scripture says’’ in your lap, pressed down
and flowing over’’.
WHAT DOES ABUNDANCE MEAN?
What does abundance mean
to you?
Abundant
synonyms can include: Plentiful, copious, rich, ample and lavish.
Do we
ask in prayer for those abundant blessings or do we think we are not entitled
to them? We are entitled to these abundant blessings because we are made in the
image and likeness of God and we are sons/daughters of the Highest God. We are
heirs to the Kingdom. Naturally being
heirs, we are entitled to receive them in that sense because it is our
birthright. We need to claim our birthright and the abundant blessings we can
receive by being a child of God.
Naturally
we are not ‘’entitled’’ in the sense of being blaze about them as that is
taking God and His generosity for granted.
Have
you ever given a gift to someone and they either never said thank you or just
assumed you would give it to them because you have in previous years? Sadly, they have not thought of your generosity
and/or sacrifice as well and taken you and your gift for granted. When you have
had this happen to you a number of times, you will really appreciate my point
of how it makes a person feels. And yet,
we can do exactly the same with God- the rule of the universe who has given us
everything. We wake up in the morning because God allows it. We breathe because
God allows it.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
How
might we apply this promise this month in our own personal life, in our family
and in our parish? One simple way is to
recall at least one blessing you have
received from God each day during the month. The second thing is to say a
prayer of thanks to God and third thing we can do is ask forgiveness for all
the blessings He has given us that we ignored or did not acknowledge.
God is
not afraid of our prayers so be bold as we ask for these abundant blessings. He
has a treasure of plentiful, rich and lavish gifts to give. Do you want to
receive them? I know I do. What about
you and your family and parish.
Imagine
if in a parish, we had a book for the Month of May ( or throughout the year)
where parishioners could write down the abundant blessings received from
God. The priest could choose some of
them and read them out each Sunday for the month and then as a parish, say a
prayer of thanks to God for these abundant, rich and lavish blessings.
You
could do the same thing yourself personally if you live on your own like I
do. I have a book and I jot down the
blessings of the day. It is particularly
useful if I am feeling down or low. I can look at my blessing book and be
uplifted very quickly as I am reminded of the goodness of God. It is also a fabulous reminder on New Years Eve of all the blessings I have received throughout the year. I know some years can be tougher than others for people but in that tough spot, they often forget the blessings received too. Having a blessing book to review as a reminder can be a helpful support.
A family can do the same thing too as a
family.Imagine if each member writes something down every day ( age appropriate). God would not be fuddy duddy or boring nor would Mass either. Young people would start to see and feel that God loves them very much.
Whatever
you choose to do in May, be ready to receive and thank God for the abundant
blessings He is ready to pour in our laps, pressed down and flowing over.
PRACTICAL
APPLICATION
1. Bring
the family together for a meeting in how each individual and as a family may
put this into practical application for this month.
2. Remember
to get each member to be specific so that the process of practical application
is viable and able to be managed.
3. Think
about how you might apply this promise not only In your own life and family but
in your parish and extended world.
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