Divine Will
in
Practice
From the Hours of the Passion
"... And my Lovable Jesus says to me, 'My child, Courage, do not miss anything of what I suffered. Be attentive to My Teachings. I have to redo man in everything. Sin has removed the crown from him, and has crowned him with opprobrium and with confusion; so he cannot stand before My Majesty. Sin has dishonoured him, making him lose any right to honours and to glory. This is why I want to be crowned with thorns—to place the crown on man's forehead, and to return to him all rights to every honour and glory. Before My Father, My thorns will be Reparations and voices of defence for many sins of thought, especially pride; and for each created mind they will be voices of Light and supplication, that they may not offend Me. Therefore, unite yourself to Me, and pray and repair together with Me."
Reflection
Some years ago in Medjugorje I met a young man who had received the gift of sorrow for his sins. He spent the whole time on the trip crying. He was single, only a few years older than I and lived a pretty sheltered life coming from a very rural area in Ireland. I wondered at the time what was in his life that could cause him such sorrow.
He came to mind while I was praying about the above excerpt of the Passion and asking the Lord what to write. It struck me that it may not have been only his sins that he was crying over but rather perhaps also an experience of Jesus showing him how much He loved him throughout his Passion...... how much He suffered for his salvation.
Let us consider how Jesus suffered, especially in the crowning of thorns. The crown was especially woven to fit his head like a helmet and the soldiers were not able to press it into his head manually so they used a rod to whack it down onto his head which had already been wounded by the scourging. Some of the saints and mystics say the thorns even penetrated his brain. It's difficult for us to comprehend so much pain! We, who sometimes complain of a bruised finger caught in a door! Also, while the other sufferings He endured were for a certain time, like the scourging which he suffered once, the crown of thorns remained, being removed and replaced three times, and the torment of it was renewed each time it was touched as He carried his cross, and He then suffered the agony of the crucifixion whilst wearing the crown until his death.
... And He says to (Luisa and us), 'My child, these thorns say that I want to be constituted King of each heart; to Me belongs every Dominion. Take these thorns and prick your heart; let everything that does not belong to Me come out, and then leave one thorn inside, as the seal that I am your King, and to prevent any other thing from entering into you. Then, (fusing in Divine Will) go through every heart, and pricking them, let all the fumes of pride and the rottenness which they contain come out, and constitute Me King of all.'" Hours of the Passion 9 am (Brackets mine)