“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I have wondered about this verse for a long time. What kind of rest shall we find in Jesus? And how could we come to Him to lay down our burdens? Now I’ve realized what Jesus meant to say. When He called us to come and rest in Him, we should focus on the last three words, “rest in Him.” Rest in Jesus. Not on your own wealth, or glory or pride. Not on your strengths. Not on your plans for the future. Not even on your own goodness. True rest comes when we rest in God alone.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

"You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." -St. Augustine

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What of each sunrise and each morning
or each bright night filled with sparkling stars
what of the sea breeze and of the soft sand
what of the music that pleases our ears

what of the rain and the snow
what of the stream or the stillness of the lake
what of each smile we behold
or the warmth of each hand we hold

Truly in this life,
it is God who sustains every good thing
that He may reveal unto us
His ever unfailing love

He could have just left us desolate
in the darkness
He could have made us wait in pain
or in refining fire

He could have thrust unto us the vision we have lost
and the misery of the depths to which our souls have fallen fast
He could have plunged us where the fallen angels are
and made us decide right there and then which way we yearn to go

He could have withheld His goodness
He could have spoken to us in Judgment alone

But He opened wide for us the door of His mercy
and spoke as a Gentle Shepherd to the lost

He took our pain
and gave us everything we do not deserve

He loved us
not because we are worthy to be loved

But because He is Love Himself
and bestows upon all
such Mercy and Graces we can never understand

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Soul: Lord, I hear your voice calling me to turn back from the path of sin, but I have neither the strength nor the courage to do so.

Jesus: I am your strength, I will help you in the struggle.

Soul: Lord, I recognize your holiness, and I fear You.

Jesus: My child, do you fear the God of mercy? My holiness does not prevent Me
from being merciful. Behold, for you I have established a throne of mercy on earththe
tabernacle-and from this throne I desire to enter into your heart. I am not
surrounded by a retinue or guards. You can come to me at any moment, at any
time; I want to speak to you and desire to grant you grace.

Soul: Lord, I doubt that You will pardon my numerous sins; my misery fills me with fright.

Jesus: My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can
measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth;
for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be
pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then,
with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your
misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with Me about
your wretchedness. You will give me pleasure if you hand over to me all your
troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace.

Soul: You have conquered, O Lord, my stony heart with Your goodness. In trust and
humility I approach the tribunal of Your mercy, where You yourself absolve me by the hand of your representative. O Lord, I feel Your grace and Your peace filling my poor soul. I feel overwhelmed by Your mercy, O Lord. You forgive me, which is more than I dared to hope for or could imagine. Your goodness surpasses all my desires. And now, filled with gratitude for so many graces, I invite You to my heart. I wandered, like a prodigal child gone astray; but you did not cease to be my Father. Increase Your mercy toward me, for You see how weak I am.

Jesus: Child, speak no more of your misery; it is already forgotten. Listen, My child,
to what I desire to tell you. Come close to My wounds and draw from the Fountain
of Life whatever your heart desires. Drink copiously from the Fountain of Life and
you will not weary on your journey. Look at the splendors of My mercy and do not
fear the enemies of your salvation. Glorify My mercy.

More about the Divine MERCY (CLICK here)

-Diary of Sister Faustina, Divine Mercy

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-But the soul, deaf even to this appeal, wraps itself in darkness.

Jesus calls out again: My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father.

-In the soul arises this reply: "For me there is no mercy," and it falls into greater darkness, a despair which is a foretaste of hell and makes it unable to draw near to God.

Jesus calls to the soul a third time, but the soul remains deaf and blind, hardened and despairing. Then the mercy of God begins to exert itself, and, without any co-operation from the soul, God grants it final grace. If this too is spurned, God will leave the soul in this self-chosen disposition for eternity. This grace emerges from the merciful Heart of Jesus and gives the soul a special light by means of which the soul begins to understand God's effort; but conversion depends on its own will. The soul knows that this, for her, is final grace and, should it show even a flicker of good will, the mercy of God will accomplish the rest.

My omnipotent mercy is active here. Happy the soul that takes advantage of this grace.

Jesus: What joy fills My Heart when you return to me. Because you are weak, I take you in My arms and carry you to the home of My Father.

Soul (as if awaking, asks fearfully): Is it possible that there yet is mercy for me?

Jesus: There is, My child. You have a special claim on My mercy. Let it act in your poor soul; let the rays of grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life.

Soul: But fear fills me at the thought of my sins, and this terrible fear moves me to doubt Your goodness.

Jesus: My child, all your sins have not wounded My Heart as painfully as your present lack of trust doesthat after so many efforts of My love and mercy, you should still doubt My goodness.

Soul: O Lord, save me yourself, for I perish. Be my Savior. O Lord, I am unable to say anything more; my pitiful heart is torn asunder; but You, O Lord... Jesus does not let the soul finish but, raising it from the ground, from the depths of its misery, he leads it into the recesses of His Heart where all its sins disappear instantly, consumed by the flames of love.

Jesus: Here, soul, are all the treasures of My Heart. Take everything you need from it.

Soul: O Lord, I am inundated with Your grace. I sense that a new life has entered into me and, above all, I feel Your love in my heart. That is enough for me. O Lord, I will glorify the omnipotence of Your mercy for all eternity. Encouraged by Your goodness, I will confide to You all the sorrows of my heart.

Jesus: Tell me all, My child, hide nothing from Me, because My loving Heart, the Heart of your Best Friend, is listening to you.

Soul: O Lord, now I see all my ingratitude and Your goodness. You were pursuing me with Your grace, while I was frustrating Your benevolence. I see that I deserve the depths of hell for spurning Your graces.

Jesus (interrupting): Do not be absorbed in your misery-you are still too weak to speak of it-but, rather, gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My sentiments. Strive for meekness and humility; be merciful to others, as I am toyou; and, when you feel your strength failing, if you come to the fountain of mercy to fortify your soul, you will not grow weary on your journey.

Soul: Now I understand Your mercy, which protects me, and like a brilliant star, leads me into the home of my Father, protecting me from the horrors of hell that I have deserved, not once, but a thousand times. O Lord, eternity will hardly suffice for me to give due praise to Your unfathomable mercy and Your compassion for me.

DIARY OF SISTER FAUSTINA, DIVINE MERCY

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If man can help himself
he would have helped himself
a long time ago

but man is trapped
in a duality
that is so easily imbalanced on one side
which is that of darkness

how so you may say
how was a conclusion
leaning on to the negative
arrived at
in a world of duality
where both light and darkness
should have had an equal pull on all things?

If it is not in truth
leaning towards the negative,
why then the corruption
that follows all things born of the flesh?
why is death the fate
of all men after his birth?

Children are born with infirmities
and sickness follows man
all the days of his life
til the grave

It's as though there is but an appointed time
given him
to live
to choose
to be redeemed

Before a final destiny is reached

A destiny that has only been delayed
so he can be lifted up
so he can avoid the complete fall
where he has been heading to all along...

‘However greatly the soul itself labours, it cannot actively purify itself so as to be in the least degree
prepared for the Divine union of perfection of love, if God takes not its hand and purges it not in that dark fire.
-St.John of the Cross

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