For many of us, the word "reparation" is a like a big, red stop sign that puts an end to our drawing close to the Lord's Heart. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us, on hearing this word, might respond to the Lord by saying: "Well, Lord, I do want to help you and be your friend and all, but I don't know about this reparation stuff. It sounds like there's a lot of suffering and sacrifices involved and, well, as you remember from the beginning of the retreat, I'm one of the little ones." Perhaps this is what part of us is saying. Thus, we come to the first obstacle to living our principle and foundation: fear of suffering. But don't worry, for the Lord says to us: "Be not afraid. Listen. I am meek and gentle of heart."
Up Next in Season 1
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Obstacle 2: Our Weaknesses, Sinfulnes...
Have you ever had the experience where, when it came time to pray, you found yourself dragging your feet? For instance, have you ever gone to your local parish for Eucharistic Adoration or a Rosary and found that the fliers posted on the bulletin board in the vestibule suddenly became irresistibl...
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Obstacle 3: Fear of Suffering, Again
In an attempt to knock down the obstacle "fear of suffering," I'm going to give it a one-two punch. In other words, I'm going to treat it in two parts. In the first part, we'll see that the best possible way to console Jesus is so simple and easy—there's nothing to fear. In the second part, we'll...
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Obstacle 4: The Sensitivity of the Lo...
Recall how easy it is to console Jesus: it simply takes our trust. Now recall how easy it is to hurt the Lord: it simply takes our lack of trust. That last part often presents an obstacle to our going to Jesus. The sensitivity of the Lord's Heart is like a double-edged sword. On the one side, it ...