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Sunday, April 14, 2024

EMBRACING DAILY CROSSES FOR REDEMPTION

Divine Appeal Reflection - 76


Today, consider in Divine Appeal 76: "Many receive Me with joy in Holy Communion but very few receive Me when I visit them with My Cross.” Along with the intimacy with Our Adorable Jesus through the reception of the Holy Eucharist, the Divine Appeal invites humanity to behold Him in their entire lives through their family, occupation, and simple daily challenges. This way of Christian life, seeing daily crosses as joyful gifts, is the one we must live for the salvation of souls. 


Sr. Anna Ali's mystical experience started on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1988 after seeing an apparition of Jesus shedding bloody tears, and it persisted until her death in 2012. She wept blood from midnight on Wednesday and throughout the entire Thursday. This extraordinary event, filled with agony and redeeming love, was the expression of her solidarity with Christ as she carried out His mission of redemption. Sr. Anna Ali's mystical encounter at its core was a passionate appeal for priests and consecrated souls. Seeing Our Adorable Jesus subjected to gruesome abuses and disrespect by those expected to care for Him, she offered her tears of blood as a sacrificial offering for the cleansing and purity of their souls. Her example incites souls to imitate Christ's profound agony in Gethsemane, portraying His emotional and spiritual battles as he headed for His crucifixion. Despite the pain He endured, Christ submitted to the will of the Father, showing virtue and trust to all the souls in the world, calling them to share in His suffering and surrender their wills to God.  


Sr. Anna Ali's tears represent her immense love for Christ and the resolve to suffer to save souls, especially the priests and consecrated souls. By such an action, she defies Christ's sacrificial example, who, out of love, bore the Cross to atone for humanity's sins. Her mystical, incomprehensible encounter becomes a burning message for all souls to achieve this mission: to shift from only sacramental reception of Jesus to a deeper relationship where they offer their lives as a living sacrifice for God's remission. Through the practice of prayer, offering of sacrifices, and doing of good deeds, souls continue the great legacy of Sr. Anna Ali, which is a way of marching on earnestly, with a conviction that our efforts are all worthwhile. The tears that she shed give us an understanding of the fact that divine love and human suffering meet at some point. This is an example she puts to challenge souls to incorporate Jesus into all aspects of their lives, becoming instruments for his grace and mercy. 


We, therefore, pray that Sr. Anna Ali's witness ignites the holy zeal of intercession for priests, consecrated souls, and all sinners, which strengthens faith in the Divine power of the redemptive love of Christ. As we journey onward, may we echo the words of St. Paul," I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, (Colossians 1:24).

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