739. Prayers and Masses for Those Who Committed a Fraud Me in the Apartment Contract

💌 739. Prayers and Masses for Those Who Committed a Fraud Me in the Apartment Contract

The landlord had promised to leave behind items such as bonsais, an air conditioner, earthenware jars, and a wardrobe—but not only were those gone, even the laundry lines had been cut and taken. The place was left in utter disarray, filled only with trash, as they fled in the night without even cleaning. Though I was initially shocked, I thought to myself that it was my fault, because I was there, they committed such a sin and with that sorrowful thought, I plopped down onto the floor in silence.

The neighbor in unit 301, who had recommended the apartment and encouraged us to live nearby, was equally stunned. Feeling overwhelmed and deeply sorry, she flopped down on the floor with me and soon broke into tears, her heart clearly crushed. But I quickly composed myself and reassured her, patting her and saying it was not their fault but mine.

It is because I had assumed their hearts would be like mine and I had believed everything they said without question. For a brief moment, a wave of disappointment in myself was about to wash over me—“Is it not said that the one who is deceived is more foolish than the deceiver?”

However, I quickly realized, "Ah, this must be the devil's attempt to steal my peace!" So I offered it up, with Semchigo as if I had helped some unfortunate souls. Immediately, I offered up those poor people—who had sinned because of me—to the Lord and the Blessed Mother. As I cleaned up the piles of trash they had left behind, I offered them up with the Prayers of Life that all the evil within their souls might be cleansed as well.

Had someone else bought that apartment, they would likely have been much more meticulous. They would not have traveled to Gwangju just because the sellers called; they would have checked the house thoroughly before paying the balance. 

But because it was me—someone who naively believed them—everything unfolded this way. So, it was solely my fault. I comforted the neighbor, who was still crying. "Do not worry," I told her. "We can just practice Semchigo. We can practice Semchigo as if I had never expected to receive any of those items and I will practice Semchigo as if I had paid a little more for the apartment. So please stop crying and do not feel sorry."

Then she, who was a Protestant, was furious and began cursing the former landlord. I gently told her, "No, let us not curse them. If we speak ill of them, it only defiles our lips. Instead, let us pray for them together." She stopped in her tracks, eyes wide in surprise, and said, "Pray? You want to pray for them?"

So I explained gently and clearly, “It was because of me that they sinned. If someone else, someone more meticulous, had made the contract, those people would not have acted that way.” Upon hearing that, the neighbor, a Protestant, stopped crying and said, “Oh my, I have learned something else from you, Uram’s mom. There really are good Catholics like you.”

I replied, "No, there are many who are far better Catholics than I am." She then said, "I see. I would only hear about Catholicism, but now I see—it's beautiful." When I told my husband, Julio, about what had happened, he did not say a single bad word about those people either. As a couple, we said, "Yes, it is our fault, because we were there, they committed sin," and we prayed together for their repentance.

I even offered a Mass for them, so that not a trace of distraction would remain in my heart. Since it was through my presence that they sinned, I took it as granted to offer a Mass for their repentance. When the neighbor in unit 301 heard that, she was shocked again.

"I am a believer of God too," she said, "but even cursing them does not feel like enough. How can you pray for them and even offer a Mass? Uram's mom, your faith is amazing!" I offered it up with taking it as my fault and practicing Semchigo. After all, did the Lord not tell us to love even our enemies because God's law is not the same as human law?

And besides, they were not enemies—just people who, fallen into their greed, broke a promise. Yes, they took away everything they had promised to leave behind but were not those things originally theirs anyway? As I reflected in this way, I heard the voice of Jesus, overflowing with emotion:

"Yes, my little baby! This very place shall become a spiritual bathhouse where many people will come and be healed through the grace of repentance. It will become the house of my Mother, where the love and grace of my Mother's combined Immaculate Heart and mine will be sent down in abundance."

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👇🏻

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