Reflections from the Heart – April 27, 2025

Divine Mercy Sunday
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Write on a scroll what you see.” Do you have a journal? If so, do you use it or is it like one of those many books or apps you have or obtained that just sit idle waiting, hoping for that one day for you to open it and use it? Journaling your faith journey becomes your gospel story and the good news you share of how God is operating in your life, how Jesus is transforming your darkness into light, how the Holy Spirit is sanctifying you, healing you and making you holy. Journaling your gospel story and your personal intimate journey with Jesus provides you with the greatest spiritual tool and blessed means to pray intimately with God in such a personal and private way that it becomes ever so life changing. It is not your dear diary or your antisocial dialog with self or the disinterested electronic society or the personal means you utilize public mediums to socially publish your every step or failure or the means you share your every plateau or success or the way you socially mention your every achievement of social or antisocial success or status. The journal is certainly not like an e-scroll where you share moments and perhaps every moment what you are eating, who you are sightseeing or the places you are visiting, visited or plan to see again. In your journaling and prayer, the Lord provides you and offers to you a personal, direct knowledge with you of himself that you may increase in your faith life and grow in the spiritual one. God speaking and directly sharing his self, his vision, his plan with you that you may grow in intimate wisdom and personal understanding of heavenly things, that you may receive a personal revelation of Jesus and pray the way the holy saints of God do. It is not difficult and yes, you have the time. Simply begin by writing what is truly on your heart, acknowledge how you really feel and write, relating it directly in conversation to God. It is interesting to note, how often we recite prayers impersonally or in a disconnected way or pray unwillingly and even verbally lie or make false accusations, harsh judgements or broken promises when we pray to or with God. Journaling on the other hand makes it difficult to write a lie or make a false claim. In the power of the pen, pencil, paper, book or tablet, only the truth comes out so we simply, truthfully write what we see and hear.