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If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely. Small beginning, greater and heartfelt work grows purely.

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Welcome. This is David Russell and Your Faith Anew, Daily Reflections Guiding You to Live in the Divine Will. Today's reflection is from the Book of Heaven by the servant of God Louisa Picaretta, may twenty ninth, nineteen hundred, volume three. Let us begin in the will and name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord Jesus, in moments of sorrow, confusion, and chastisement, teach us to remain close to your heart. Help us to recognize your hidden presence even when you seem distant. May we take you by the hand in trust, console you with our love, and remain faithful in every circumstance. Amen. Saint Paul writes in the letter to the Romans, chapter eight, verses thirty five to thirty nine. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph one sixty four Now, however, we walk by faith, not by sight. We perceive God as in a mirror, dimly, and only in an imperfect way. Even though enlightened by him in whom it believes, faith is often lived in darkness and can be put to the test. Even in times of spiritual darkness or suffering, the soul is invited to trust completely in God's loving providence and remain united to His will. As we enter today's reading, let us listen closely to the cry of Jesus hidden within suffering humanity, and to the invitation to console him through faithful love. Louisa writes Continuing in the same state, I felt all oppressed, and I had all the need of a support to be able to bear the privation of my highest good. Having compassion for me, blessed Jesus showed his face from within my heart for a few minutes, but not with clarity, and letting me hear his most gentle voice, he told me Courage, my daughter, just a little longer. Let me finish chastising, for afterwards I will come as before. While he was saying this, in my mind I said, What are the chastisements that you have begun to send? And he added The continuous rain that is pouring is more than hail, and it will cause sad consequences for the people. Having said this, he disappeared, and I found myself outside of myself inside a garden. From there one could see crops withered in the vineyards, and within myself I kept saying Poor people, poor people, how shall they go on? While I was saying this, a little boy appeared in that garden, crying and screaming so loud as to deafen heaven and earth, but no one had compassion for him. Even though everyone could hear him crying so much, they would not bother with him, and they would leave him abandoned and alone. A thought flashed within me. Who knows whether he is Jesus? But I was not sure about it. So drawing near him I said What is it that you are crying, dear child? Do you want to come with me since they all left you prey to tears and to sorrow which oppresses you so much as to make you scream so loud? But nothing. Who could calm him down? He just barely answered with his sobs that yes, he wanted to come. So I took him by the hand to bring him with me, and in the very act I was doing this, I found myself inside myself. This passage reveals both the sorrow of the soul deprived of sensible consolation and the hidden suffering of Jesus himself. Louisa feels abandoned and oppressed, yet Jesus appears briefly to strengthen her with courage. He reminds her that chastisements are permitted for a time, but his mercy remains present. The image of the crying child is deeply moving. Everyone hears him, yet no one responds. This reflects the condition of the world so often distracted by its own concerns that it no longer notices the sorrow of Jesus. The divine will calls us to become attentive souls, souls who hear the cry of Christ hidden in suffering, loneliness, indifference, and sin. Louisa's response is important. She approaches the child with compassion. She offers companionship. She reaches out her hand. This is the essence of living in the divine will. Responding to Jesus with love even when clarity is absent. She was not even certain the child was Jesus, yet love moved her to act. Many times in our own lives we may feel spiritual dryness, confusion or heaviness. Yet these moments can become opportunities for deeper trust. The divine will transforms suffering into union when the soul continues to love faithfully. Today, Jesus still seeks souls willing to console him. He seeks souls who will not ignore his cries, but who will walk with him, remain with him, and bring him into every moment of life through acts of love, reparation, and trust. Let us pray. Jesus, hidden child of sorrow, teach me to recognize you in every suffering moment. When my heart feels oppressed or abandoned, remind me that you remain near even in silence. I do not want to pass by your cries with indifference. Give me the grace to approach you with compassion, to take you by the hand and to remain faithful in love. May every act of my day become a response to your heart. Let my prayers, sacrifices, and hidden sufferings console you and unite me more deeply to your divine will. Mother Mary, guide me to remain attentive to Jesus in all circumstances and to trust completely in the loving designs of God. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. No matter how hidden Jesus may seem, he is always near to the soul that seeks him with love. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.