Chapter Twenty Three
ADDED FORCE
St. Grignion de Montfort, who foresaw the whole "unfolding" of devotion to the Two Hearts, was born in 1673, at the very time the Sacred Heart was appearing to St. Margaret Mary. He wrote prophetically:
"If the falsely enlightened, whom the devil has so miserably misled even in prayer, had known how to find Mary, and through Her to find Jesus, and through Jesus, God the Father, they would not have had such terrible falls."
That is the "on-going process" which began in force at Paray le Monial, picked up force at Fatima, and has brought us into the third day, when "the Blue Army will have much to do." St. Grignion continues: "The saints tell us that when we have once found Mary, and through Mary, Jesus, and through Jesus, God the Father, we have found all good."
We will then have come into the era of the Divine Will, already dawning in many souls at the present moment.
Double the Force
"He who says all," St. Grignion continues, "leaves out nothing. Our spiritual journey is a dynamic process which takes us through Mary to Jesus, in union with the Holy Spirit, back home to God Our Father."
But even for many of the best of us, the process is not dynamic. The words "through Mary to Jesus" are more an expression than a reality. Many say the words and believe them, but do not experience their dynamism.
Here is where the force of our response to the Two Hearts could be doubled. Yes, and far more! It could be made almost infinitely more powerful. But how can we describe this dynamism? How can we explain the difference between saying prayers and really praying? And if we should succeed in describing it, how can we make it personally real in ourselves?
Let us fervently ask the Holy Spirit for light. Let us join at this very moment in saying:
"Lord Jesus, Son of God our Father, coming as Our Lady of All Nations, Your Mother has taught us to ask you to send NOW Your Holy Spirit over the earth. Send Him now to us that we may understand and, understanding, to increase our effectiveness for the triumph of Your Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart of our Mother."
Focus
Recently, a comparison came to light which might be a great help. It is called the "Magic Eye." It is a computer-generated picture called a stereogram which is perfectly flat. But if you "focus" properly a three dimensional picture will emerge.
Indeed, it will not only emerge, but you will find yourself gazing into it almost as though you were "entering in" what you are seeing.
At first, you see only a maze of colored dots or things which have no meaning. But when you focus "through" the flat image you are suddenly in the third dimension.
This is what should happen when we pray. We should focus into the new dimension of the supernatural. But many of us are not getting beyond the flat picture.
How It Feels
When we become aware that we are communicating with God or the Saints, we cross the chasm between belief and realization. Although in this world, we become at the same time in the more real world of God. It is as radical an experience as looking at a flat and meaningless surface and suddenly being in the third dimension.
How much more meaningful and powerful our prayer becomes when we are aware that GOD is there-GOD is LISTENING.
Yet many pray thousands of words and never cross the chasm into that wonderful, love-filled supernatural world.
We were surprised to discover at one of our Lay Apostles retreats that many of those present had never really crossed that chasm, even though they had been daily communicants for many years, and even though for some it was their fourth annual Lay Apostles retreat.
How To Cross
This led to an exchange on a level we had never before experienced. We began to speak of our personal prayer experience. We found that at least one of the group was "in focus" most of the time. She had for some years developed into living in the Divine Will. Some others had never focused. Others found that they were triggered into the supernatural dimension just by saying "Jesus." Most said it happened rarely, and seemed like some special grace of the moment.
Perhaps the reader can recall one of those moments of special awareness. Perhaps it was at a Shrine, in a Charismatic meeting, touching the rock of Lourdes, or at the chapel of the apparitions in Fatima. And perhaps we thought this was just special, and not something we should experience every time we pray.
But it is something we should expect every time we pray!
If we do not, there is one special reason: We have not fully surrendered ourselves to God.
Take It Away!
Once a man was in the rain at the grotto in Lourdes without a coat. He knew he would become wet, but he wanted to attend Mass in this holy place.
After some time, he wondered that although it was raining very heavily, he did not feel wet. He reached his hand under the thin jacket he was wearing. The rain did not seem to have gone through. He was dry. Two thoughts came to him: 1) Maybe the thin garment was somehow waterproof; 2) Maybe this was a "funny kind" of rain.
Miracle? The supernatural happening to him? No such thought.
After Mass, he started to walk across the esplanade which, in the heavy rain, was completely covered with water which could not escape from the asphalt fast enough. Suddenly, his foot went into a declivity in water over his shoe.
Instinctively, he bent over and removed his shoe to empty out the water.
But his foot was dry.
It was a miracle!
In that moment of realization did he cry out in thanksgiving? Did he welcome this evidence of a touch of kindness from His Creator? No. He cried out: "All right! I believe, Lord. Now let me get wet!"
He hesitated to cross the chasm between belief in the supernatural and its reality. It felt too much like giving up one world for another. It was like, going swimming for the first time, being afraid to take one's feet off the bottom.
"Yes"
But the refusal to acknowledge God's intimacy lasted but a moment. It was almost at once replaced with an awesome "Thank you." It was replaced with "Yes."
He walked in the rain for another two hours in wonder, in "focus."
Since I do not know what experiences others may have, I hope the sharing of my own experiences may be helpful. For me, there are two simple things which I find bring me into focus as much as that miracle in the rain: the Rosary and the Scapular.
I think this is true also for many, as for St. Claude de la Colombiere. It is the realization when praying the Rosary while clothed in Our Lady's mantle that She is there. She is listening. And more than just aware that She is listening, I feel myself aware in Her presence. Bathed in the light of Her Heart, I am in that deep dimension of the supernatural.
Easy to Lose
This is what happened to the children of Fatima. Our Lady bathed them in the light of Her heart after they said "Yes." And suddenly, as Lucia describes it: "We felt lost in God." And they had an awareness of God in the Eucharist.
That is the great wonder of it. It becomes difficult to put into words. It is much like the stereogram.
When you succeed in focusing on the three dimensions of a stereogram, you find that you can look all around in it, from one detail to another. You can become lost in it.
But it takes focus-which is comparable to our "Yes" to crossing the chasm to the supernatural. And the moment you start thinking of something else, you lose it as happens with the stereogram. The moment you look at the picture itself, you see nothing but colored dots.
Takes Practice
There are three suggested ways to "see through" a stereogram. One of them is to hold the image very close to the eyes, and then slowly move it away while trying not to look at the picture itself but, as it were, through it. Some try over and over before getting into focus. Others focus quickly. But after it happens, the more one practices the more easily and quickly one can enter the three dimensions.
The same is true of prayer. Once we have said "Yes," trusting our minds and hearts to let go and enter the infinite world, we can focus into that wonderful awareness which makes prayers not just words but something one cannot put into words.
Can we imagine what it would mean if all of who attended daily Mass, all who practiced devotions like the Rosary and the First Saturdays and vigils were in focus? Can we imagine how much the third day would be shortened!
This and other books by John M. Haffert
God's
Final Effort | Too Late? | The Day I Didn't Die