July is the month traditionally dedicated to the Precious Blood. This devotion reminds us of the infinite mercy of Jesus who shed his Blood to save us. But Jesus does not save us without us, we still need our participation living in conformity with the Will of God and his teachings. It is at the heart of our daily life, in our “fiat” and “amen”, our repetitive acceptances and “yes” that we sanctify ourselves and become worthy of His Mercy: “not my will, but YOUR Will Lord! Amen, Amen! ”
Amen!
The Amen is a note fallen from the eternal harmony of heaven on our desolate earth to pacify and rejoice! This hymn expresses, in a single word, the filial, submissive, confident, generous and full acquiescence of the heart faithful to all the designs of Providence and to all the dispositions of God.
Alas, we often fight like rebels when events happen or the events of our lives do not happen according to our plans or to our advantage. It is to forget a little quickly that Jesus, from his Incarnation to his last breath, always said “Amen” to the will of his Father: God has decreed that He would be born in a stable: Amen! That he would earn his bread every day by the sweat of his brow: Amen! That He would be persecuted, betrayed, nailed to the gallows to save his brothers: Amen! The path was rough, the chalice bitter, the anguishes poignant, and yet the Heart of Jesus, in his filial obedience, only submitted to a continuous Amen!
Who can trouble those who say Amen to all that God commands? Who can hinder the one whose will is totally melted into that of God? Who can bring down or desolate a soul so fully given and united to the Lord? Nobody, because whoever adheres to God is one with Him, that is what all saints have experienced. Participating in some way in divine immortality, the soul is balanced in all its powers, it triumphs over all obstacles, it reigns victoriously over the world and on itself, affirmed that it is in peace.
So, whatever the event that will surprise us or even darken our lives, let’s say Amen. In failure as in success, Amen! In sadness as in joy, Amen! In health or sickness, Amen! In the annoyances that will exercise our patience, Amen! Of some processes that our superiors will use towards us or God himself, Amen!
Let us faithfully imitate the Heart of Jesus, we will obtain an incomparable peace and freedom! (Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud)