#catholicdailyreading

Gospel passage for Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” Mark 5:7–9

Prayer: My most powerful Lord, I offer to You, this day, the person whom I call to mind who is most in need of Your redeeming grace. May I never lose hope in Your ability to transform their life, to forgive their sins and to bring them back to You. Use me, dear Lord, to be an instrument of Your mercy, so that they will come to know You and experience the freedom You so deeply desire that they receive. Jesus, I trust in You.

The greatest suffering we can endure is a spiritual longing for God. Those in Purgatory suffer greatly because they long for God and do not yet fully possess Him. We must enter into the same purification here and now. We must let ourselves long for God. We must see Him and realize we do not yet fully possess Him and that He does not yet fully possess us because of our sin. This will be painful but is necessary if we are to be purified of all that keeps us from His perfect Mercy (See Diary #20-21).

Reflect upon the fact that the spiritual purification of your soul is necessary. Ideally, we will all embrace this purification here and now. Why wait? Do you seek to grow in this purification? Are you willing to let your soul long for God and have Him as your one desire? If so, all else in life will fall into place as you seek Him and as you discover the Divine Mercy that awaits.

Lord, please do purify my soul in every way. Allow me to enter into my purgatory here and now. Let my soul become consumed with a longing for You and let that desire overshadow every other desire in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.