Devotion to the Sacred Heart in June: day 24
24nd June
Our Father, who art in heaven, may your name be sanctified, your kingdom come, your will be done, as in heaven as on earth. Give us our daily bread today, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Invocation. - Heart of Jesus, victim of sinners, have mercy on us!
Intention. - Repair sins of hatred.
PEACE
One of the promises that the Sacred Heart has made to its devotees is: I will bring peace to their families.
Peace is a gift from God; only God can give it; and we must appreciate it and keep it in our heart and in the family.
Jesus is the King of peace. When he sent his disciples around the cities and castles, he recommended them to be bearers of peace: Entering some house, greet them with saying: Peace to this house! - And if the house is worthy of it, your peace will come upon it; but if it is not worthy, your peace will return to you! (Matthew, XV, 12).
- Peace be with you! (S. Giovanni, XXV, 19.) This was the greeting and best wishes that Jesus addressed to the Apostles when he appeared to them after the resurrection. - Go in peace! - she said to every sinful soul, when she fired her after forgiving her sins (S. Luke, VII, 1).
When Jesus prepared the minds of the Apostles for his departure from this world, he comforted them with saying: I leave you my peace; I give you my peace; I give it to you, not as the world is used to. Let your heart not be troubled (St. John, XIV, 27).
At the birth of Jesus, the Angels proclaimed peace to the world, saying: Peace on earth to men of good will! (San Luca, II, 14).
The Holy Church continually implores the peace of God over souls, putting this prayer on the lips of the Priests:
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, give us peace! -
What is peace, so much loved by Jesus? It is the tranquility of order; it is the harmony of the human will with the divine will; it is a profound serenity of the spirit, which can also be preserved. in the toughest tests.
There is no peace for the wicked! Only those who live in the grace of God enjoy it and study to observe the divine law as best as possible.
The first enemy of peace is sin. Those who give in to temptation and commit a grave fault know this from sad experience; they immediately lose peace of heart and have bitterness and remorse in return.
The second obstacle to peace is selfishness, pride, the detestable pride, for which it yearns to excel. The heart of the selfish and the proud is without peace, always restless. Humble hearts enjoy the peace of Jesus. If there were more humility, after a reproach or humiliation, how many grudges and desires of revenge would be avoided and how much peace would remain in the heart and in the families!
Injustice is above all the enemy of peace, because it does not preserve harmony in relations with others. Those who are unjust, claim their rights, up to the exaggeration, but do not respect the rights of others. This injustice brings war into society and discord into the family.
We keep peace, within us and around us!
Let us strive never to lose peace of heart, not only by avoiding sin, but also by keeping away any disturbance of the spirit. All that brings disturbance in the heart and restlessness, comes from the devil, who usually fishes in the turbid.
The spirit of Jesus is a spirit of serenity and peace.
Souls little experienced in the spiritual life easily fall prey to inner turmoil; a trifle takes away their peace. Therefore, be vigilant and pray.
Saint Teresina, tried in every way in her spirit, said: Lord, try me, make me suffer, but do not deprive me of your peace!
Let's keep peace in the family! Domestic peace is a great wealth; the family that lacks it, is similar to a stormy sea. Unhappy those who are forced to live in a house where the peace of God does not reign!
This domestic peace is maintained by obedience, that is, by respecting the hierarchy that God has placed there. Disobedience disturbs the family order.
It is maintained through the exercise of charity, pitying and bearing the defects of the relatives. It is claimed that the others never miss, make no mistakes, in short, that they are perfect, while we commit many shortcomings.
Peace in the family is preserved by truncating at the beginning any reason for discord. Let the fire go out immediately, before it turns into a fire! Let the flame of discord die away and put no wood on the fire! If a disagreement, a disagreement arises in the family, everything should be clarified calmly and prudently; silence all passion. IS?? better to give in something, even with sacrifice, rather than disturb the peace of the house. Those who recite a Pater, Ave and Gloria for peace in their families do well every day.
When some strong contrast arises in the house, bringing hatred, efforts should be made to forget; do not recall the wrongs received and do not talk about them, because the memory and the talking about them rekindle the fire and the peace goes further and further away.
Do not let discord spread, taking peace away from some heart or family; this happens especially with imprudent speech, with intruding into the intimate affairs of one's neighbor without being asked for it and by relating to people what is heard against them.
The devotees of the Sacred Heart keep their peace, take it everywhere by example and word and take an interest in returning it to those families, relatives or friends, from whom it was banished.
Peace returned
Because of the interest, one of those hatreds that turn families upside down originated.
A daughter, married for years, began to hate parents and other family members; her husband approved of his action. No more visits to the father and mother, nor greetings, but insults and threats.
The storm lasted long. The parent, nervous and uncompromising, at a given moment devised revenge.
The devil of discord had entered that house and peace had disappeared. Only Jesus could remedy, but invoked with faith.
Some pious souls of the family, the mother and two daughters, devoted to the Sacred Heart, agreed to receive Communion many times, so that some crime would not happen and that peace would soon return.
It was during the Communions, when suddenly the scene changed.
One evening the ungrateful daughter, touched by the grace of God, presented herself humiliated at the father's house. He embraced his mother and sisters again, asked for forgiveness of his conduct and wanted everything to be forgotten. The father was absent and some thunderstorms were feared as soon as he returned, knowing his fiery character.
But it was not so! Returning to the house calm and meek as a lamb, he embraced his daughter, sat in a peaceful conversation, as if nothing had happened previously.
The writer testifies to the fact.
Foil. To preserve peace in the family, kinship and neighborhood.
Ejaculation. Give me, oh Jesus, peace of heart!