652. A Gift I Gladly Received, Despite Having Adamantly Refused Any Other Gifts

💌652. A Gift I Gladly Received, Despite Having Adamantly Refused Any Other Gifts

The day after sister P mentioned she had gone to a general confession, handed me a thick envelope and left, she came to see me again—this time, she was not alone. She brought her husband and their two sons along, with her face blooming with a smile, like a flower in full bloom. Sister P’s husband was a tinsmith who made household items like buckets and basins (which were commonly used at the time). As a gift, he presented me with a dustpan.

“Dear sister, thank you. I am so grateful that I would like to give something to you and I wanted to give you something I made with my own hands. That is why I made this dustpan and brought it to you,” he said. He had crafted it in just one day, despite one of his hands disabled, to give it to me. Although I usually did not accept any gifts or tokens of gratitude, I decided to accept this dustpan, as I felt it was so great a gift—one through which I could offer Prayers of Life for them.

“Wow, thank you. I will gladly accept this. Through offering Prayers of Life, I will use it to sweep away all the bad and ugly ‘trash’ from the souls of four of you , brother, sister and your children,” I said with gratitude as I received it. When I went into the room and listened to what they shared, I could not help but be moved to tears by the Lord’s truly high, deep and boundless infinite love.

Sister P’s husband, with a bright smile, said, “Dear sister, thank you so much for transforming my wife like this,” and was absolutely overjoyed. I responded with a smile, saying, “Dear brother, I have not done anything. Everything was accomplished by the Lord. All that was done well was the Lord’s work and all that was done wrong was my own. I am merely a tool, used briefly by His hands. Please direct your gratitude to the Lord.”

Then he said, “Sister! Do you know what happened yesterday? In over 10 years of living together, I had never once heard her say, ‘I am going out’ or ‘I am back.’ She would leave the house without a word about where she was going or when she would be back, shut the door behind her and when she came back, she would not even look at me—She was always such a curt wife. But yesterday, she very sweetly said, ‘I am going to Naju,’ before leaving and as soon as she got home, she laid out the bedding.

So, I was completely taken aback. Thinking, ‘It is broad daylight, not nighttime and the kids are here too—what on earth is going on?’ I asked, ‘What is wrong with you?’ worriedly. Then she told my eldest son and me to sit side by side up here. We did as she said and out of nowhere, she performed four deep bows to my son and me. We, too, bowed down with her in our bewilderment.

While my son and I were staring blankly, as if in a daze, suddenly my wife started crying—no, it would not be an exaggeration to say she was wailing loudly—and she said to my eldest son and me, ‘Honey, I am sorry! You have been loving me so much all this time but I could not feel your love and have hated and despised you all this time, so please forgive me. And, my son! I am sorry for hating you and for hitting you all this time.’ She asked for forgiveness for all the times she had ignored and mistreated us.

At that moment, our room turned into a sea of tears and later, we ended up crying uncontrollably while holding each other. For the first time in over 10 years of marriage, we exchanged genuine love. The holes in our hearts, which had been left wide open, allowing cold winds to blow through due to the wounds and bitterness accumulated over the years, were filled with love.

And at some point, the hatred and resentment that had been buried over the years transformed into hearts of love. For the first time, we came to understand what true love and happiness within a family really are and we experienced God's immense love.

Our family, while savoring the happiness we had never experienced before, stayed up all night, eagerly waiting for the day to break so we could come and thank you, sister. Sister, we are truly grateful. You have turned my wife into an angel.”

I once again said, “Dear brother, as I mentioned earlier, I am merely a tool being used by the Lord for a brief moment, so give all your thanks to Him.” Admired by the Lord’s infinite love, which is high, deep and wide, we embraced each other and burst into tears. At that moment, I heard the Lord’s loving voice.

“My cute Little Soul, who always desires to give all glory solely to Me! You, who always long to kindle the fire of My love in the hearts of all souls in the world, today once again, with your sacrifice, atonement and sincere love, longed to transform the blades of her selfishness, hatred, anger and contempt into soft, fluff-like love. How could I ever refuse such a desire of yours?

Your tearful longing of love has become a sweet rain upon their souls, allowing them to become lively. I will constantly nurture you so that you can keep leading the countless souls trapped in darkness toward the light. Always let even your smallest will be united with My Sacred Heart’s love.”

*Sister P’s family became a holy family and lived happily. With hearts of repentance for all the wrongs they had done, the entire family chose the path of service. If it had been now, they would have come to Naju but at that time, since the community in Naju had not yet been formed, they left the secular world and lived happily while serving in a Catholic community.

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👇🏻

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