Cold

“‘…Their love is lukewarm, and My Heart cannot bear it…’” (Diary of Saint Faustina, 580).

The Dead Christ Shroud Detail (Philippe de Champaigne)

In the Diary of Saint Faustina, the Twentieth Century mystic, Saint Faustina, wrote the words that Christ spoke to her when he explained that He could not bear a lukewarm soul at Diary Entry 580…

“On a certain occasion, the Lord said to me, ‘…Their love is lukewarm, and My Heart cannot bear it; these souls force Me to reject them. Others distrust My goodness and have no desire to experience that sweet intimacy in their own hearts, but go in search of Me, off in the distance, and do not find Me. This distrust of My goodness hurts Me very much. If My death has not convinced you of My love, what will? Often a soul wounds Me mortally, and then no one can comfort Me.  They use My graces to offend Me. There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me. You, who are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My goodness, and thus you will comfort My Heart.’”

And I have often reflected on that information.  Christ also said – twenty centuries earlier…  “‘He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’” (John 14:21-26).We are created in God’s image.  And that means that we are created for GREAT LOVE.  God wants us to feel His love and generosity.  It hurts Him to love us and have us spurn His love through our thoughts, words or deeds….

And yet I spurn my Beloved all the time.  I spurn Him when I ignore Him.  I spurn Him when I distrust Him and I spurn Him when I openly reject Him through my sin…

And every time I reject my God, I turn my heart a little colder towards Him.  And my soul goes down a temperature.  When I was a toddler I would openly kiss the Crucifix that my grandmother placed in front of me.  Now, I hie my faith as though it were shameful, but sin openly as though sin were not…

And I have been thinking about that, for how terrible a thing it is to cause my Beloved to reject me because He cannot bear my cold cold heart and soul.  And how terrible when all the purpose of my entire life is to LOVE HIM and be with Him forever in Heaven…

My poor God.  My poor poor God…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.