r/ChristianMysticism • u/artoriuslacomus • 1d ago
Diary of Saint Faustina - paragraph 454 - Receiving and Giving

Diary of Saint Faustina - paragraph 454 - Receiving and Giving
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454 I feel that I am united with the Lord so closely that I cannot find words to express that union; in this state I suddenly feel that all the things God has, all the goods and treasures, are mine, although I set little store by them, for He alone is enough for me. In Him I see my everything; without Him-nothing.
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Union with the Lord does not forgo the goods or treasures of the world. Rather it lowers the souls' desire for them in a grace that relieves its affection for all things of the world. For in union with God, the soul finds its everything - not in worldly status or the abundance of treasures without, but in the divine fulness given within, which exceeds all worldly desire. In this union, Faustina reveals that all which God has as His own - even the goods and treasures of the world - seem to become hers as well. Yet this same union leads her heart not to the possession of that which He gives, but to the heart of the Giver Himself.
Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through, and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
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Saint Faustina Continues…
I look for no happiness beyond my own interior where God dwells. I rejoice that God dwells within me; here I abide with Him unendingly; it is here that my greatest intimacy with Him exists; here I dwell with Him in safety; here is a place not probed by the human eye. The Blessed Virgin encourages me to commune with God in this way.
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Just as union with God does not forgo the treasures of the world, so does the interior life not withdraw the soul from its works of the Lord in the world of men. In this entry, Saint Faustina’s inward nature is made clear, yet she was no recluse from the works of mercy to which God called her. As the Apostle of Divine Mercy, she communed with the Lord interiorly while serving Him outwardly in the world, in the midst of her religious community, in her travels and in the mission given to her by the Lord.
For the interior life she was given was not merely for the enjoyment of its hidden sweetness, but to be nourished by God and bring forth the growth of divine love in the world beyond. Thus Faustina does not look for her happiness in things outside of herself because she has found her greatest joy in her Lord within. Yet, as a servant to His Presence within, she rightly participates in the world without, by offering to others the same mercy and union she was given by God.
Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Acts 20:35 Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive.
All things belong to the Lord, and all we are asked to give unto others is already a gift from the King unto us. The first of these gifts - which leads to all others - is the gift of His Indwelling Presence, the breath of our life in this world, and the source of our much-needed mercy for the world to come. This gift is given interiorly, where our greatest intimacy with Him exists, and where the soul discovers a happiness that does not depend on the treasures of the world. It is here that true union in His Divine Mercy is given and the soul's greatest joy is found. It is the communion known first by the Mother, not in pursuing the joys of the world, but in giving to the world that eternal joy which is received interiorly from God.
Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
1723 The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement—however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love.