Divine Appeal Reflection - 135
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 135: "In the Sacrament of My Love I collect miseries and make glorious things out of them."
The mystery does not end with Our Adorable Jesus gathering human misery; rather, the deepest wonder begins in how He mysteriously transforms it. To say that He “makes glorious things” reveals not simply improvement but divine transfiguration. In Catholic understanding, glory means participation in divine life itself—a process through which weakness becomes radiant with grace. The first mystery here is the mystery of Eucharistic alchemy, where Christ changes not circumstances alone but the interior substance of the soul. Just as bread and wine become His Body and Blood through divine action (cf. Lk 22:19–20; 1 Cor 10:16–17), surrendered human misery enters a hidden sacramental process. The Catechism teaches that through grace the human person becomes participant in divine life (cf. CCC 1996–2000, 460). A father burdened by repeated financial humiliation may not suddenly become prosperous, yet Christ slowly forms courage, tenderness, and dependence upon Providence within him. A young woman carrying emotional wounds may discover deeper compassion for suffering persons. A religious crushed by dryness may unexpectedly become guide for struggling souls. St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort contemplated how surrendered weakness offered to God becomes mysteriously reshaped into instruments of sanctity. Thus, glory often begins invisibly; Christ transforms misery first at the roots of identity. Shame slowly becomes humility, fear becomes surrender, loneliness becomes communion, and wounds become hidden openings through which divine tenderness enters the soul.
The second mystery is the mystery of Christified suffering, whereby misery ceases being meaningless and becomes united to the redemptive work of Christ. Human suffering alone often wounds, confuses, and isolates; yet suffering placed within the Eucharistic Heart becomes mysteriously fruitful. Scripture reveals repeatedly that God transforms affliction into participation in His saving purposes. Joseph passed through betrayal and imprisonment before becoming source of preservation for nations (cf. Gen 37; 50:20). Hosea transformed personal sorrow into prophetic witness of divine fidelity (cf. Hos 1–3). The Catechism (cf. CCC 618, 1508) teaches that suffering united to Christ mysteriously participates in redemption and intercession for others . What glorious things emerge? A mother grieving miscarriage may become refuge for other grieving women. A recovering addict becomes compassionate mentor for struggling souls. A priest wounded by past rejection develops unusual tenderness toward forgotten parishioners. A businessman surviving failure becomes unexpectedly detached from pride and more attentive to the poor. St. Gemma Galgani perceived suffering united to Christ not as abandonment, but as a hidden participation in divine love and redemptive grace . Glory, therefore, is not the absence of wounds, but their mysterious transformation. In the hands of Our Adorable Jesus, suffering may slowly become mercy instead of resentment, wisdom instead of despair, and apostolic fruitfulness flowing from places once marked only by pain .
The third mystery is the mystery of hidden resurrection, because Our Adorable Jesus often glorifies misery gradually, silently, and invisibly. Modern minds expect dramatic miracles, yet divine transformation frequently unfolds beneath ordinary life. Seeds (cf. Jn 12:24; Mk 4:26–29) disappear underground before bearing fruit . The Cross appeared like defeat before Resurrection unveiled hidden victory (cf. Lk 24:13–35). Likewise, Christ often transforms misery through unnoticed processes of purification. A student repeatedly failing yet persevering in trust slowly acquires resilience, humility, and wisdom. A spouse enduring years of misunderstanding may gradually become extraordinarily patient. A caregiver exhausted by caring for a sick relative discovers deep interior strength born from sacrifice. The Catechism (cf. CCC 2015, 1435, 2847) teaches that holiness grows through conversion, purification, perseverance, and grace . St. Jane Frances de Chantal endured profound grief, yet sorrow gradually expanded her heart into deep maternal compassion for suffering souls . Thus, the glorious works of Christ often remain hidden from worldly eyes. Our Adorable Jesus may not immediately remove suffering, but He quietly transforms the one carrying it, until mercy begins radiating from wounds once feared unbearable (cf. 2 Cor 4:7–11). Hidden glory often appears as gentleness replacing bitterness, hope surviving disappointment, purity emerging through struggle, and fidelity quietly maturing through silence .
The fourth mystery is the mystery of apostolic multiplication, because Christ never glorifies misery for the individual alone. What is surrendered in the Eucharist mysteriously blesses others. Scripture repeatedly reveals God multiplying surrendered poverty into communal blessing. The Boy with the Loaves and Fishes (cf. Jn 6:1–14) offered little, yet Christ multiplied it for multitudes . Job emerged from suffering with deeper intercessory authority (cf. Job 42:7–10). The Catechism teaches that every Christian participates in Christ’s priestly mission through offering life spiritually to God (cf. CCC 901, 1368). A father silently carrying worries while remaining gentle shapes emotionally secure children. A widow offering grief for priests invisibly strengthens vocations. A nurse bringing emotional exhaustion into Eucharistic prayer develops extraordinary tenderness toward suffering patients. A youth resisting impurity silently witnesses holiness to friends. St. Damien of Molokai transformed suffering and fear into radical service among the abandoned. Glory emerges because Christ multiplies surrendered pain into healing, courage, holiness, and salvation beyond what the soul itself understands. No hidden suffering offered in love remains spiritually barren.
At the highest contemplative level lies the mystery of glorification through union. Ultimately, Our Adorable Jesus makes glorious things not merely by changing situations but by drawing souls into deeper participation in His own divine life. The Eucharist becomes the furnace where misery slowly loses isolation and enters communion with Christ. Scripture reveals this supreme mystery repeatedly: weakness becomes strength through grace (cf. 2 Cor 12:7–10), dying becomes living (cf. Rom 6:3–11), surrender becomes fruitfulness (cf. Jn 15:1–8). The Catechism (cf. CCC 460, 2014, 2028) teaches that the Christian vocation culminates in participation in divine glory through union with Christ . St. Elizabeth of Hungary transformed personal sorrow into profound charity because union with Christ enlarged love beyond suffering and self-concern (cf. Rom 8:28; Gal 5:6). Thus, the glorious works of God often remain hidden from worldly eyes, appearing instead as quiet sanctity, purified love, patient endurance, courageous mercy, Eucharistic joy, and apostolic fruit unseen on earth . A tired laborer who continues trusting, a mother persevering through hidden tears, a priest remaining faithful through discouragement, or a young couple courageously beginning again after failure may become luminous souls, not because suffering disappeared, but because Christ quietly transformed misery into grace (cf. 2 Cor 4:16–17). In the Sacrament of His Love, nothing surrendered remains ordinary; everything entrusted to His Eucharistic Heart is mysteriously touched by eternity .
Prayer
Our Adorable Jesus, present in the Holy Eucharist , receive all our misery—loneliness, fear, and brokenness. Purify and transform them into compassion and holiness. May our suffering become silent prayer, and our poverty become love offered for souls in Your merciful presence. Amen.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
