Your Divine Heart....

Painting by Jerry Barrett 1877

"Oh Jesus,
 my King
 and my God,
take me into the 
sweet shelter of 
Your Divine Heart,
and there unite me to Yourself
in such a way
that I shall live 
totally for You."
St. Gertrude

Resting in Love...

Painting by Joan Brull

"My love, my God,

You are my dearest possession,

without You I have no hope nor desire,

in Heaven or in Earth.

You are my true inheritance 

and all the longing of my life and thought.

My love,

let the goal of my life

be your pleasure consummated in me!

Show me that covenant of marriage

in which my heart joins with yours.

Show me, as evening draws on,

that you are the light of the evening sky,

the light I see in the face of my dear God.

My evening star, dearest and brightest of all,

graciously appear to me at my death,

that I may have the Evening Star of my desire,

and gently fall asleep in all your fullest sweetness,

and find rest in my heart.

Come, fount of eternal light,

take me to yourself from whom I came.

There may I know as I am known,

and love as I am loved,

that I may see you, as you are my God,

and, seeing you, enjoy you and possess you

for evermore."

St. Gertrude the Great

St. Gertrude sharing her thoughts with me this morning.....

"O Jesus, I offer You my poor love, placing it in the arms of Your ardent Spirit, in the furnace enkindled by your love.  O my Beloved, by Your divine power prepare me for spiritual warfare with the weapons of Your Spirit, since I do not rely upon myself, but on your goodness alone.  By Your unfathomable charity, root out of me anything that is not wholly Yours, so that, by the grace of Your love, invited and restored by Your loving sweetness, I may love You alone.  The sweet outpourings of Your Spirit make the burden of life seem brief and light.  Deign to cooperate with my works, so that my soul may magnify You eternally.  May my life be consecrated to You, and may my spirit rejoice in You, my Savior; then every thought and act will be praise and thanksgiving to You".

Heavenly Father,
Like St. Gertrude, root out of ME anything that is not wholly Yours!!  You know what I carry within me that is not good for me or does not glorify YOU!!  I want so much to become the woman YOU intended me to be!  Breathe Your Spirit into me this Pentecost!!  I am so tired of being consumed by things that don't even matter and keep me tied down to this material world and even worse...away from You, whom I am FINALLY learning to love so much!!  Give me, Your little friend who is, with Your grace, seeing her 'nothingness', the 'sweet, but secret kiss' as you did with St. Bernard!!  Enkindle my sinful little heart and make it shine in Your love!!
Amen!