THE EXTRA SMILE

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

The Extra Smile

Suffer with a smile! Let no one know. Let no one see. This is a secret between the two of us. Only God grants this and I give it only to the souls who know how to endure ceaseless sufferings with a smile. (Jesus) (November 1-2 1965)

Today’s Readings: Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow (Matthew 5)

Prayer Meditation- Lord we are asked to do things all the time, so many demands on our time. It is so easy to shrink back and want to become protective of our time, talents, and treasure when so much is coming at us and we just feel exhausted. The fiat we want to give to You to glorify You in all things becomes a big no when it is our family, our co-workers, our clients who keep pulling on us. Lord help us to go not only the extra mile today but with an extra smile! Because it is in the offering of our daily duty in union with You that we pick up our crosses and follow You!

SCATTERING SEEDS- WE KNOW NOT HOW

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scattering Seeds- We Know Not How

“Do not forget how painful for Me is the fate of the seeds that fall by the roadside. Pull up the flowers growing in your soul and bring them to Me while they are fresh. (Jesus) (May 18, 1963)

Today’s Readings: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. (Mark 4)

Prayer Meditation- Lord, each day You are sowing seeds into our souls. These little seeds grow by our response to Your Grace! Lord help us to not let the seeds fall by the roadside- prune us help us to stay fresh, bringing You fresh flowers each day! May the seeds of faith, hope and love sprout and grow in our souls!

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Saturday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

Live humbly. Live the hidden contemplative life in union with Me. Refrain your tongue and be on guard not to say unneeded words. (Jesus) (April 10, 1962)

Today’s Readings:

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the Evil One.” (Matthew 5)

Prayer Meditation: Lord sometimes we just run our mouth and say all kind of things we don’t mean- we care about what others think and not what is Your best for us! Lord, help us to restrain our tongues and to turn from our “people pleasing” ways so that we can say yes to Your Will for us and no to all else that gets in the way!

GO LOOK AGAIN

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua

Go Look Again

Mary: “Do you know what you represent? You are a sparkle of light enkindled in my Flame of Love. The light you receive from me enlightens souls. The greater the number of souls who sacrifice and watch in prayer, the greater the power of my Flame of Love on earth will be. (Mary) (December 6, 1964)

Today’s Readings: “Climb up and look out to sea,” he directed his servant,
who went up and looked, but reported, “There is nothing.”
Seven times he said, “Go, look again!”
And the seventh time the youth reported,
“There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” (1 Kings 18)

Prayer Meditation- O Lord sometimes it seems that what we do is really nothing. We pray, we fast, we make our little sacrifices and we do it all in faith and yet we really wonder, is this Flame of Love really going anywhere? Loved ones still are away from Church, illnesses haven’t gone away, and we feel like we haven’t even gained one bit of holiness or changed in any way. Grumble, fault find, complain, confess, repeat- every week! Sometimes even  though we know better as Your faithful children we just want to shout where are You God? And yet there is the prophet Elijah waiting and believing for the rain that none one can see. There is nothing, he is told And yet he does not give up, but seven times, that perfect number of completion he says, go look again!! And it is the seventh time that brings the cloud so small but rising from the sea just like our hope should rise always because hope does not disappoint! (Romans 5) because Your love has been poured into our hearts no matter what it feels like! So yes, we give our little fiats with Mary’s, little sparks She is counting on us to sacrifice and watch in prayer- come Holy Spirit, come Flame of Love into all hearts, come Divine Will please reign in all the Earth just as You reign in Heaven!

CONSUMING FIRE

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Wednesday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

Consuming Fire

While saying this, Jesus
quenched in my heart the thirst for souls and He poured the fire of His burning charity over me
in the greatest measure. (Elizabeth) (July 20, 1965)

Today’s Readings: The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
“The LORD is God! The LORD is God!” (1 Kings 18)

Prayer Meditation- Lord, so many have turned like ancient Israel to false gods- idols of all kind. But these idols we have set up for ourselves will never move our stony hearts- only the fire of Your Love can melt away the walls we have built around ourselves! Lord, come down like fire and consume us with the Flame of your Love- let us pass it to others so that they may say too that The Lord is God!

FIRMNESS OF HEART

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Firmness Of Heart

I was sick. For days, I could not pray because I was so weak. The great heat of this summer contributed to my fatigue. I could hardly walk. When I felt a little stronger, I firmly resolved to return to prayer at night. I asked Jesus, “My adored Jesus, give me strength.” (Elizabeth) (August 1, 1962)

Today’s Readings: In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. (Acts 11)

Prayer Meditation: O Lord today we bless You, we adore You and we glorify You and thank you for the witness of Saint Barnabas, the encourager, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. He encourages us even today to remain faithful to You in firmness of heart. Because it is easy to be faithful when all is well but to remain faithful in fatigue, illness, worry, strife, or whatever our circumstances are is where the rubber meets the road. Constancy, never wavering or giving in to our moods or our passions- seems almost impossible. But in Your Word in Psalm 112 you tell us

 For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered for ever.
⁷ He is not afraid of evil tidings;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
⁸ His heart is steady, he will not be afraid.

Lord help us to be faithful because You are always faithful (2 Timothy 2:13) no matter our inconstancy. Jesus we trust in You!

POVERTY OF SPIRIT

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Monday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

Poverty of Spirit

Shortly before this, however, my youngest boy got married. Now, I had to help him get a bedroom. So, I gave up the children’s room. I felt that the Lord was asking for this sacrifice, so I would be totally poor. (Elizabeth) (Diary Page 8)

Today’s Readings: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5)

Prayer Meditation: Like Elizabeth, Lord You call us to poverty of spirit. In detaching ourselves from the things of this world so that we can be filled with You. Lord You know how difficult and painful this process can be but You lovingly call us to fill the God sized holes in our souls with You and only You! Nothing compares to the glory of knowing You Lord!

MOMENTARY LIGHT AFFLICTION

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditations- A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Many times, the Blessed Virgin makes me feel her sorrow. Some days, I suffer so much with her that I can hardly walk. All morning, she poured into me, to a great degree, this grace of suffering. Because of my tearful eyes, I tried to avoid everyone, so they would not notice my great affliction. I have only one thought – to fulfill all that she asks of me. (Elizabeth) (September 15, 1962)

Today’s Readings: Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4).

Prayer Meditation- O Lord, we love You, we bless You, and we adore You because You have given us incredible Sunday readings. Momentary light affliction- we can look at this in the second reading and laugh or maybe cry because our problems can feel anything but light and anything but momentary. O Lord, our first parents sinned and then ran from You. We do the same now plagued with the concupiscence that comes from original sin. O Lord, if You marked all of our iniquities, who can stand? (Psalms 130). This world Lord, when You walked on Earth and even now, is so upside down.  In the Gospel, it was You, Eternal Wisdom, that was called out of Your Mind. And yet, besides You there was only One other, Your Mother who was perfectly doing the Will of God (Mark 3), and You ask us to  strive to do the same even in our concupiscence. Now back to those momentary light afflictions- our weaknesses, our faults, our anxieties, our families, our circumstances, and yes even our sins.  As long as we repent of our sins and live in trustful hope and abandonment to Your Divine Providence in our circumstances, all of this is  producing for us an eternal weight of Glory when these sufferings are united to Your Holy Divine Will. So let us not be discouraged but let us have only one thought- may Your Kingdom Come, may Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven!

DEEP PONDERING

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scriptures

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Deep Pondering

Ponder deeply this vocation to which you were raised due to the only dignity of being a mother. Maternal dignity is at the same time a vocation saturated with sufferings, and that is what I share with you. I thank you, my little one, for your participation that is continual and filled with sacrifices. I, as a loving Mother, can assure you of your heavenly reward.” (Mary) (April 27, 1964)

Today’s Readings: Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God
and pondered it in her heart.(Luke 2)

Prayer Meditation- O Lord, as a  beautiful follow-up to the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, we honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary. More than anyone, She pondered Your Word, pondered it in Her Heart and was fully conformed to Your Most Holy and Divine Will. We may think we are far away from all of this, and yes, praise You Lord, Our Mother had the singular privilege of being immaculately conceived. Yet She is our loving Mother and She wants to share particularly with mothers Her maternal dignity saturated with sufferings. For wives and moms we know our vocation is full of sacrifices and yet also so rewarding and exactly where You have put us especially for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). And we can ponder and pray and  unite our lives and vocations to Our Mother who is with us and for us and She only wants us united to Her Heart and Yours now and into eternity! Totus tuus!

SOLEMNITY DAY SPECIAL- COME GET YOUR GRACE- 100% FREE!

Today’s Consuming Fire Meditation- – A Daily Dose of the Flame of Love Diary Served Up with Today’s Scripture

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus: “Tomorrow is the Friday of the Sacred Heart. How I want to pour out My abundant graces on all of you! Ask much for everyone, not just for yourself. (Jesus) (July 2, 1962)

Today’s Readings: For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3)

Prayer Meditation- O Lord we love You, we bless You and we adore You because today is the day! The Solemnity of Your Sacred Heart! And how You want to pour out Your Abundant Graces. Because the fact of the matter is every day You offer a special “deal” if You will and that special deal is Grace and it is 100% free! O Lord, strengthened by Your Spirit You dwell in our hearts that we would be rooted and grounded in love! We can begin to comprehend not just in Heaven but right here, right now, what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Your Love that we would be filled with You! Let us ask for much t and we will receive not only for ourselves but for everyone! Come Lord Jesus, we say Fiat to what You offer because Your Grace is always enough and it is always free!