In the Baltimore Catechism we read …
Q. Why did God make you?
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.
Then why all the struggling, why can’t we get down to business of doing just that? Well…that whole little business of sin entering in, with the intent purpose of keeping us from that state of being.
It blocks our vision, distorts our goal and throws meaningless distractions at us at every conceivable moment. So what to do?
I’m speaking to practicing Catholics here, who are already taking part in the Sacraments but still find themselves struggling through life.
In the blue book 149 a, we read…
Beloved sons, look to your Mother. Enter into the refuge which her love has prepared for you. Rest in my immaculate heart.
While searching different versions of my reading this morning from Psalms 131, I found this beauty that gave me such peace.
“But I have learned to feel safe and satisfied,
like a young child in its mother’s arms.” Contemporary English Version (CEV)
This state of rest and satisfaction isn’t a numbed, passive state though. Our Blessed Mother’s Heart is pierced with a dagger and burning in love , she very clearly sees the condition of things around us and the perils that are a constant threat to her children, just as clearly as she saw all that her Son had to endure for us. She is our Mother of Mercy, and she aches to bring us all into the refuge of her Heart where her Beloved Son reigns.
But for us to even get to this point, she must help us to release all that we can’t bring with us. This can be very painful depending on how many worldly attachments and sinful tendencies we still cling to. But we must continue forward.
Continuing on in sections c and d, of the blue book, she says.
Often you are tempted to stop because of weariness, aridity, and the obstacles you encounter. Never must you stop. Let yourselves be led always by the hand of your heavenly Mother. You are journeying along the difficult path of purification.
The the reflection of Day 18 of the Merciful Love prep, agrees.
So when we keep trying and keep trusting, God “purifies” us every moment in His love, and He lets no sin remain.
A result of this purifying process is our heart becomes more like Our Mother’s, with heightened sensitivity and greater compassion for other’s suffering, and that too is painful, especially as it leads us for a greater longing for God.
Fr. Gaitley goes on to write…
All right, so does the Offering to Merciful Love make this life into purgatory? Well, in a certain sense, yes, because it increases our longing for God. But don’t worry. In this life, it’s a sweet longing and a particularly good thing. It’s especially good because it’s not only opens our hearts to deeper prayer and can make life more joyful, but it also keeps us from having to go to the real purgatory in the next life. In fact, St. Therese believed that for little souls who live the Little Way and make the Offering to Merciful Love, purgatory can easily be avoided”.
So the point I take from this is aim for Heaven, (know Him, love Him and serve Him NOW) then if you miss, you still have Purgatory, it’s there as a back up plan because of Our Father’s great merciful love for us, not as a destination point.