Reflection 231: Binding the Hands of PunishmentIf you were a criminal, incarcerated for some crime, you would most likely see life from a perspective that is very different from others. You would daily long to have your punishment removed and your status of freedom restored. However, an act of mercy of this sort is rarely offered by secular society. Instead, harshness and judgment is the norm. But God is much different. God is perfectly aware of everything you have ever done in viol...
Reflection 231: Binding the Hands of Punishment
If you were a criminal, incarcerated for some crime, you would most likely see life from a perspective that is very different from others. You would daily long to have your punishment removed and your status of freedom restored. However, an act of mercy of this sort is rarely offered by secular society. Instead, harshness and judgment is the norm. But God is much different. God is perfectly aware of everything you have ever done in violation of His law. He sees even the minutest sin. And in the end, He will administer His strict justice upon all those who have not been bathed in the justice of His Mercy. So bathe in Mercy now and help others to do the same. God offers this Mercy in varied ways. One specific way God offers the Mercy which appeases His judgment is through your heart. By daily offering your heart to our Lord and by daily offering it for others, God’s judgment is transformed. He sees your holy heart, enters it, and then allows you to offer it for the sanctification of others. In this way you are able to win many souls for God on account of His perfect justice of Mercy (See Diary #1193).
When you look at others, what do you see? Do you see a sinner who deserves punishment for their sins? If so, be careful because this is how God will in turn see you. Strive to see the sins of others as opportunities to pray for them and as opportunities to become an instrument of the Mercy of God. God invites your participation in this act of atonement and withholds nothing when you commit yourself to this act of love.
Lord, please transform the way I see others, especially the sinner. Help me to withhold my own judgment and, in turn, to offer my heart filled with love as an act of Your Divine Mercy. Cleanse every soul, dear Lord, and forgive every sin on account of my love for You. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Andrey Mironov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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