The Seven Mountains of Influence: Bringing the Love of God to a Hurting World
Sponsored
Catholic365 is sponsored by
Road to Purity
In Lumen Gentium, paragraph 2 of section 31 of chapter IV it states: “But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.”
How are the lay faithful continue to be leaven in society, particularly in this period of history when so many former citizens of the Kingdom have left the Church and seem to place their hopes in secular institutions rather than in Christ, when people now believe that civilization can rise without Christ and the leaven of faith in Jesus? Witness to the joy of living a life in Christ is needed now more than ever before! In addition to the visible witness that we are all called to live, there are many hidden means to help Christ sanctify the world through our daily lives. A life of prayer and solidarity with humanity in a spiritual sense is leaven for the loaf as is the exterior Christian witness in our daily activities. In fact, without prayer, that exterior witness in unlikely to bear much fruit because prayer is what ensures that it is truly the Holy Spirit that is leading and guiding the actions taken; it is through prayer that all activities become animated with the sanctifying power of God. Prayer is what breathes life into all actions and makes them bear fruit.
In the Diary of St. Faustina, Jesus says: “bring Me souls”. Direct evangelization is one means to bring Jesus souls and we can never stop doing what we can to bring people back to Christ or to bring new believers into Christ by preaching the Gospel. But there are other ways to bring souls to Christ besides direct preaching and teaching. Through the Novena to the Divine Mercy which we pray between Good Friday and the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter, Jesus asks us to bring Him a different group of souls each day and implore His mercy for them. By this we can see that praying for people brings souls to Christ and a specific novena is but one means to do that. Clearly though, Jesus doesn’t just desire that we bring Him souls during these nine days a year, He thirsts for souls continuously: “During Holy Mass, I saw the Lord Jesus nailed upon the Cross amidst great torments. A soft moan issued from His Heart. After some time, He said: I thirst. I thirst for the salvation of souls. Help Me, My daughter, to save souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer them to the heavenly Father for sinners (Diary of St., Faustina, 1032.) “ So offering our suffering patiently for the salvation of others is another means to bring souls to Christ.
If we are to imitate the Lord, we too must thirst for souls and unite our sufferings to His for the salvation of all mankind. A way to do this daily is to bring souls to Mass with us spiritually and place them at the foot of the cross each time we go, especially the souls of those members of our family who no longer practice or profess faith in Jesus. I am sure that most have already tried the direct “preaching and teaching” techniques with family members and just like Jesus when He tried to preach and teach and perform miracles in his “hometown” of Nazareth, we have likely met with much resistance. Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (Luke 4:24). And though we still need to seek openings and opportunities for dialogue, sometimes we realize that words are not going to make an impact until the Holy Spirit moves in their hearts and provides the grace for them to receive the Gospel message. We can, however, have faith “the size of a mustard seed that moves mountains”, and just like the friends in the Bible who lowered the paralytic through the roof to Jesus so that He could heal the man (Mark 2:1-12), we can bring our friends, family and even the people of the world to Jesus whenever we pray or attend Mass. Remember that St. Therese was a missionary without ever leaving her convent. She brought sinners to Jesus and converted them without ever meeting them, as the story about the murderer who was about to be executed and suddenly requested a cross which he kissed in front of St. Therese’s cell window suggests St. Thérèse of Lisieux and the Murderer| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com).
In addition to praying and bringing souls to Mass with us, we can perform spiritual communions on their behalf, and we can have Masses said for their souls. In The Spiritual Diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann (“The Diary”), wherein Our Lord and Our Lady share the Devotion called the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary https://www.flameoflove.us ,Tuesdays are set aside as a day of prayer for family members. Jesus says we should perform a spiritual communion Act of Spiritual Communion Prayer | EWTN for each member of our family, as well as offer each family member to Our Blessed Mother to be enclosed in her Immaculate Heart and protected under her Holy Mantle. We can also recommend souls to St Joseph, who is the Patron Saint of the spiritual life. Entrusting fathers and young men to St. Joseph is particularly needed in our current society where the role of fatherhood and proper masculinity has been so attacked and disfigured. And let us not forget to say the rosary every day and include the salvation of our family members, sinners, and unbelievers in our prayer intentions, while including the special petition in every Hail Mary after “pray for us sinners”: ‘Spread the effects of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. In the Diary, Mary says this petition will “blind Satan so that souls will not be led into sin”. What a blessing it is to help souls become free of Satan’s grip in their lives? Mary has promised that if we faithfully live the messages in The Diary, we will see the fruits of our labors while still here on earth We can add our prayers, sacrifices and especially fasting, because some forms of spiritual darkness may only be removed through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). The Diary also suggests a Holy Hour on Thursdays or Fridays to be kept by faithful family members and offered for the sanctification of the whole family. Our Lady makes this promise to families who practice the family Holy Hour: “If a family keeps a Holy Hour on Thursday or Friday, “if someone in that family dies, that person will be freed from Purgatory after one day of the fast kept by a family member” (1). Given that other Saints have indicated that the average stay in Purgatory is equivalent to 40 years on earth, this is an incredible grace offered to families who keep this Holy Hour. With the advent of so many online Adoration opportunities, even if we are unable to find a local Church willing to offer Adoration on Thursday or Friday, we can make a Holy Hour through an online Adoration Chapel.
Let us work tirelessly to “offer ourselves to the Heavenly Father through all the wounds of Our Savior Jesus Christ”(2) and “may our hands gather in unity”(3) with His, all of suffering humanity, and in particular, those who are near and dear to our hearts.
1. Flame of Love Diary, 2020, Queen of Peace Media,page 116, paragraph 3.
2. Flame of Love Diary, 2020, Queen of Peace Media, page 116, paragraph 4
3. Flame of Love Diary, 2020, Queen of Peace Media, page 120.
