SPEAKER_01 0:06

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

SPEAKER_00 0:25

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, june 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. Heavenly Father, through the sacred heart of Jesus, draw us ever closer to you. When our hearts are burdened, discouraged, or afflicted, remind us that your love never ceases, and that your desire is our friendship and confidence. Help us to receive your love with gratitude and to return that love with our whole heart as we seek to live fully in your divine will. Amen. In the Song of Songs attributed to Solomon, we read in chapter two verses ten through fourteen. My lover speaks and says to me Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come. For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the season of singing has come. The cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come. O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and you are lovely. The catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph number one. God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, and a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. In today's reading, Jesus reveals to Louisa the loving exchange he desires between himself and the soul. Louisa writes As I continued to be embittered, my adorable Jesus, having compassion for me, came and seemed to sustain me in his arms. Then, as he transported me outside of myself, I saw that a profound silence, a sadness, a mourning reigned everywhere. The impression my soul received on seeing people that way was such that I felt a grip in my heart. Then, as though calling me aside, blessed Jesus said to me, My daughter, let us move what afflicts us away from us for a little while, and let us refresh each other. While saying this, he began to caress me and kiss me, but my confusion was such that I did not dare to return those kisses and caresses. And he added, How come? I refresh you with kisses and with caresses, and you do not want to refresh me by returning to me your kisses and your caresses? So I felt the confidence to give him tit for tat, and while I was doing this, he disappeared. Today's reading opens a world covered in silence, sadness and mourning. Louisa feels the weight of this sorrow so deeply that it grips her heart. Yet in the midst of this darkness, Jesus arrives, not merely to comfort her, but to invite her into a deeper relationship of mutual love. His words are amazing. Let us refresh each other. We often think of our spiritual lives as receiving from God. We seek his mercy, guidance, strength, and consolation. All this is good and familiar. Yet Jesus reveals something beautiful here. He desires a response. He wants our love in return. This is not because God lacks anything. The Lord is infinitely complete and perfect. Rather, in his love he freely chooses to delight in the love of his children. He created us for communion with him, and genuine communion involves both receiving and giving. At first, Louisa hesitates. She feels unworthy to return his caresses and kisses. Her confusion prevents her from responding freely. How often we experience something similar? We know God loves us, but we hesitate to approach him with simplicity and confidence. We may feel unworthy, distracted, or uncertain. Jesus gently corrects that hesitation. He invites Louisa to trust his love enough to return it. Living in the divine will helps us enter this exchange more fully. Every act done in God's will becomes an act of love offered back to him, a prayer, a sacrifice, an act of patience, a hidden duty, a moment of trust during suffering, all become ways of returning love for love. The song of songs proclaimed earlier echoes this reality. The bridegroom calls Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come. Jesus continually invites the soul into closer union. He does not force, he invites. He does not condemn, he calls. He desires our free response. Perhaps the greatest lesson of this passage is confidence. Jesus wants us to approach him without fear. He wants us to know that his heart delights in our love, however small it may seem. The more we live in his divine will, the more every moment becomes a loving exchange between creator and creature. Today, let us accept his invitation. Let us allow him to console us, to strengthen us, and love us. Then let us return that love through every act of our day, united with his divine will and offered for his glory. Let us pray. Jesus, our sweetest love, thank you for the tenderness of your sacred heart. Thank you for sustaining us when we are weary, comforting us when we are afflicted, and drawing us into your loving embrace. Forgive us for the times we have doubted your love or held back our hearts from you. Remove every fear, hesitation, and lack of confidence that prevents us from responding fully to your invitation. Teach us to live in your divine will, so that every thought, word and action may become an act of love offered back to you. Let our prayers refresh your heart. Let our sacrifices console you. Let our trust glorify you. Jesus, help us to remember throughout this day that you are always near. May we return your love with gratitude, fidelity, and joy. May every beat of our hearts echo the words Jesus, I love you, and I want to love you in your divine will. We entrust ourselves completely to you and ask for the grace to remain always united to your holy will. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Jesus invites us into a loving exchange of hearts. As we receive his love, may we respond with confidence, gratitude, and fidelity, allowing every act to become a return of love within his divine will. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.