Divine Appeal Reflection - 262
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 262: "The souls I entrusted souls abandon their vocation and drag down other souls entrusted to souls, countless number of Religious and lay people who offer them themselves for their pleasures! Countless number of souls go to perdition because of their dishonesty! ...The souls I entrusted souls have degraded the nobility of their Sacred Ministry through living in superficiality, and not holding fast to the greatness of the gift received. They allow the Red Lucifer to instigate them."
Among all the sorrows that grieve the Heart of our Adorable Jesus, none pierce so deeply as the fall of those consecrated to Him—priests and religious who once stood as visible signs of His presence yet have turned away, even scandalized the flock. These are not just personal sins; they are desecrations of a divine covenant. The wound inflicted is not only upon the Body of Christ, but upon the very memory of His love entrusted to them. A sacred trust—poured out in ordination and profession—is violated, and heaven itself mourns. When Peter denied Him, it was not a stranger but a beloved friend who wounded His Heart. So too today, the betrayal of priests and consecrated persons is a crucifixion renewed, carried not in public squares, but in the silence of tabernacles ignored, vows forgotten, and altars profaned. And yet, the mercy of Jesus never withdraws—He continues to wait in every tabernacle, abandoned but still faithful, wounded but still calling (cf. CCC 1374; CCC 1584; Hos 11:8-9).
The path to healing begins with retreat—a word that must be rediscovered in its sacred depth. The retreat our Adorable Jesus desires is one of deep recollection—a turning away from the exterior noise into the interior cloister of the heart. It is a movement from superficiality to substance, from performance to presence, from activity to adoration (cf. CCC 2710; Mk 6:31). Priests and religious must retreat from their distractions, vanities, and attachments to human approval and worldly success. They must descend, as Christ did, into the desert—to rediscover hunger for the Word, thirst for holiness, and silence that listens (cf. Mt 4:1-2; CCC 2711). A sacramental retreat renews their gaze upon the Eucharist and the confessional not as routine, but as divine encounters (cf. CCC 1385; CCC 1465). An interior retreat purifies the heart of duplicity and self-deception (cf. CCC 2517; Ps 51:10). A communal retreat reconnects them with authentic fraternity in Christ, beyond the social facades and isolating roles (cf. CCC 1534; Acts 2:42). Without such retreat, the Sacred Flame of their consecration grows cold and their witness becomes an empty form (cf. Rev 2:4-5).
To rediscover holiness in vocation is not to revive old emotions but to awaken to the eternal demand of love: a radical self-offering, hidden yet fruitful (cf. CCC 2013; Rom 12:1). For a priest, this means embracing once again the mystery of being configured to Christ the High Priest—not in title but in truth (cf. CCC 1548; Heb 5:1-4). His hands must return to being instruments of blessing, not possession; his words, a channel of God's Word, not self-expression. For a consecrated religious, it is to be clothed anew in the humility of the Virgin Mary, and to echo her fiat with every breath (cf. Lk 1:38; CCC 2030). Holiness is not achieved by activism or acclaim, but by immersion into the life of the Lamb—poor, chaste, obedient, and utterly surrendered (cf. CCC 915–917; Phil 2:5-8). Priests and religious must reclaim their sacred identity by putting themselves at the foot of the Cross as children, with nothing more to offer than their tears and a willingness to start over, rather than as professionals. They discover the sole unshakeable foundation at the Cross (cf. 1 Cor 3:11; CCC 1618-1620).
Yet this return cannot happen in isolation. The Body of Christ suffers together, and so too must it heal together (cf. 1 Cor 12:26; CCC 953). Hidden souls across the Church—mothers, fathers, elderly adorers, cloistered nuns, forgotten missionaries, and children too young to speak—are the unseen pillars of the Church, offering silent sacrifices for those who have strayed. They are the Simons of Cyrene of this generation, lifting the Cross that others have dropped (cf. Lk 23:26). Every whispered Rosary, every hour of nocturnal adoration, every offering of pain, loneliness, or rejection becomes a balm for our Adorable Jesus and a cry for the sanctification of His ministers (cf. CCC 958; Col 1:24). These faithful must never cease. Rather, they must intensify their intercession. They must hold the names of priests and religious in their hearts during every Mass, offer their communions for their repentance, and spiritually accompany them into their retreats. We must beg Heaven for a movement of retreats—deep, transformative, Eucharistic—where priests and consecrated souls rediscover the treasure they carry and weep at the altar as prodigal sons welcomed home (cf. Lk 15:20-24; CCC 1439). Only in this collective offering of the Church will the shattered vessels be made whole, and the wounded Shepherd find consolation in His flock once more (cf. Jn 10:11; Ez 34:15-16).
Prayer:
O our Adorable Jesus, pierced by the wounds of betrayal, we beg You: sanctify every priest and consecrated soul. Draw them into the stillness of Your Heart, where truth heals, purity strengthens, and love restores. May their retreat into You become the dawn of renewal for the Church and the world.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
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