Divine Appeal Reflection - 149
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 149: "My ministers are worriless and tranquil. They do not defend Me. Instead they step on Me and allow everything. My arm falls inexorably. Many of them do not believe My words."
The first cry of Our Adorable Jesus is one of profound loneliness: "My ministers are worriless and tranquil." He is not condemning the holy peace that springs from trusting the Father (cf. Jn. 14:27), but exposing a spiritual tranquility that has become detached from His own Heart. Christ never knew such indifference. Even after exhausting days of preaching, He looked upon the crowds with compassion because He saw them wandering without shepherds (cf. Mt. 9:36). He remained awake through the night before choosing the Apostles (cf. Lk. 6:12–13). He wept over Jerusalem because people were unknowingly rejecting the very grace that could save them (cf. Lk. 19:41–44). His priests are ordained to share this same Heart . Yet Our Adorable Jesus reveals that many ministers no longer carry the hidden anguish of His Shepherd's Heart. A priest may preach faithfully, celebrate the Sacred Mysteries, visit the sick, and fulfill every pastoral duty, yet gradually cease spending long hours before the tabernacle interceding for the souls entrusted to him by name (cf. Jn. 10:3–4; Heb. 7:25). A bishop may diligently oversee his diocese while failing to notice that some of his priests are quietly losing the joy of their first love, becoming spiritually weary and inwardly isolated (cf. Rev. 2:4–5; Jn. 21:15–17). A novice master may carefully form young religious in discipline and community life, yet overlook that one novice has abandoned intimate prayer and now serves Christ only outwardly, like Martha without first becoming Mary (cf. Lk. 10:39–42). A superior may rejoice that apostolic works flourish while failing to perceive that prolonged adoration has diminished, fraternal charity has cooled, and zeal for holiness has been replaced by efficiency (cf. Acts 6:2–4; Phil. 3:7–10).
Our Adorable Jesus does not condemn generous work; He mourns when ministry no longer springs from hearts consumed by His thirst for souls . The greatest poverty of a minister is not physical fatigue but the gradual loss of that interior fire which once kept him on his knees, carrying every soul before the Father with tears, faith, and persevering love (cf. Rom. 9:1–3; Col. 1:24). St. Alphonsus Liguori taught that the true shepherd measures his ministry by the salvation of souls rather than personal success. St. John Vianney often wept after hearing confessions because he knew each soul possessed eternal value . During the plague, St. Charles Borromeo tirelessly sought out the sick, longing above all that they might receive the sacraments and die reconciled with God (cf. Jas 5:14–15; Mt 9:36). Scripture (cf. Jer. 9:1) presents another heartbreaking image in the prophet Jeremiah, whose eyes became fountains of tears because God's people were spiritually lost . Christ asks why His ministers often sleep peacefully while He continues agonizing over every soul tempted to despair, every dying sinner postponing repentance, every young priest secretly losing faith, every religious sister slowly becoming consumed by routine. The shepherd who truly shares the Heart of Jesus cannot remain spiritually comfortable while heaven and hell continue to confront souls every hour (cf. Heb. 13:17; Ezek. 33:7–9).
The appeal then reaches an almost unbearable sorrow: "They do not defend Me. Instead they step on Me and allow everything." These words unveil a hidden form of betrayal that rarely makes headlines because it unfolds quietly, one compromise at a time . It begins when love gradually yields to comfort, truth to human respect, and prayer to routine, until the heart no longer resists what it once rejected (cf. Rev 2:4–5; Mt 24:12). Such infidelity is often invisible to others, yet it deeply wounds the Heart of Christ, who continually calls His servants back to their first love and wholehearted fidelity . Jesus does not first accuse His ministers of attacking Him but of no longer protecting what belongs to Him. Throughout His earthly life, (cf. Ps. 41:9; Jn. 13:18–30) Christ willingly accepted persecution from His enemies, yet His deepest wounds came from those closest to Him . The same mystery continues today. Every time a priest celebrates the Holy Eucharist hurriedly, speaking the sacred words with the same tone used for ordinary conversation, Christ experiences a poverty of love where there should be profound reverence . Every time perpetual adoration is quietly abandoned because "people are too busy," Jesus remains alone in the tabernacle, (cf. Mt. 26:40–45) waiting with the same patience He showed in Gethsemane while His closest friends slept . Every time a confessional remains locked for weeks because administrative work appears more urgent than reconciling sinners with God, souls drift further into darkness. Every time a homily deliberately avoids speaking about conversion, sin, judgment, purity, or the Cross to avoid complaints, (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2–4) Christ's own words are quietly set aside in favor of human approval . Whenever a religious superior sees a community slowly becoming worldly yet remains silent out of fear of disturbing a false peace, Christ's voice is left unheard (cf. Ezek 33:7–9; Gal 1:10). Whenever seminarians are formed in knowledge but not in prolonged Eucharistic prayer, the foundations of future priesthood are weakened (cf. Jn 15:4–5; CCC 1378).
St. Peter Damian courageously confronted corruption among the clergy, knowing that silence before spiritual illness is not charity but neglect. St. Catherine of Siena urged bishops and even the Pope to return to holiness because renewal begins with converted shepherds . St. Peter Julian Eymard devoted his life to rekindling Eucharistic love, convinced that the Church's deepest poverty was hearts that no longer adored Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament . Scripture (cf. Num. 25:6–13) offers the striking example of Phinehas, (cf. 1 Sam 1:3 ; 2:12) whose burning zeal defended God's holiness when others remained passive . Likewise, the young prophet Samuel refused to permit God's word to fall to the ground through negligence (cf. 1 Sam. 3:19). Our Adorable Jesus reveals that ministers do not wound Him only through grave personal sin. They also do so whenever human respect outweighs fidelity to the Gospel, silence replaces courageous charity, comfort prevails over sacrificial love, or preserving appearances becomes more important than defending the truth and the Eucharistic Heart of Christ . The deepest sorrow is that Jesus is often left abandoned not by strangers, but by those called to stand closest to His altar and shepherd His flock .
The words "My arm falls inexorably" reveal one of the most misunderstood mysteries of God's dealings with humanity. Jesus is not describing the exhaustion of His omnipotence but the sorrow of a Father whose offered mercy is repeatedly resisted by those entrusted with dispensing it. Throughout Sacred Scripture, God's "arm" symbolizes His saving power stretched out to rescue His people (cf. Ex. 15:16; Isa. 52:10). Yet there are moments when that saving arm appears to withdraw, not because God ceases to love, but because human freedom continually rejects His invitations. This sorrow becomes even more painful when the resistance comes from Christ's own ministers. A priest who gradually neglects daily mental prayer may continue preaching eloquently, yet his words slowly lose the warmth born of intimate friendship with Jesus . A bishop who fears public opinion more than the Gospel may preserve outward peace while leaving souls without clear spiritual guidance (cf. Acts 5:29; Gal 1:10). A religious superior who avoids necessary correction to remain liked can unintentionally allow spiritual complacency to spread . Likewise, a novice mistress who notices a young sister growing attached to comfort, distractions, or human approval, yet delays loving intervention, risks allowing small compromises to weaken a vocation meant to belong wholly to Christ . Jesus says otherwise. Every neglected inspiration of the Holy Spirit allows another opportunity for grace to pass. Eli watched the gradual corruption of his priestly sons until judgment reached his entire household (cf. 1 Sam. 2:22–36). King Saul repeatedly excused partial obedience until his heart became incapable of hearing God with simplicity (cf. 1 Sam. 15:13–23). The Catechism (cf. CCC 1865; CCC 2001) teaches that repeated resistance to grace gradually hardens the heart and dulls its sensitivity to God's voice . St. Bernard of Clairvaux observed that souls rarely fall all at once; they first lose their spiritual attentiveness. Christ's lament is therefore profoundly human: He grieves not only great sins, but the slow drifting of hearts that once loved Him deeply (cf. Rev 2:4–5; Mt 24:12). He watches priests who were once inflamed with Eucharistic love slowly become professional functionaries. He sees deacons who once embraced joyful poverty gradually become preoccupied with comfort, possessions, influence, or personal projects. He sees friars who once desired sanctity become absorbed by material possessions, titles, or intellectual prestige. His arm "falls" because those chosen to cooperate with His grace increasingly cooperate with themselves. The deepest sorrow is not that Christ ceases acting, but that His chosen instruments no longer allow Him to act freely through them.
The appeal reaches its most piercing climax: "Many of them do not believe My words." Our Adorable Jesus speaks of something far more frightening than doctrinal disbelief. He reveals a practical unbelief that quietly enters consecrated life when His words are still professed with the lips but are no longer lived as eternal realities (cf. Mt 15:8; Jas 1:22). The greatest danger is not openly denying Christ, but gradually living as though His promises, warnings, and commandments no longer shape daily decisions . A priest may profess belief in the Real Presence yet rush through thanksgiving after Mass because appointments seem more important than remaining with the One he has just held in his hands . A bishop may sincerely profess the Gospel yet allow fear of criticism to soften the proclamation of difficult truths (cf. Acts 20:27; Gal 1:10). A confessor may hesitate to call a penitent to genuine conversion out of fear of being rejected . A religious community may faithfully observe its rule while quietly measuring success by security, influence, or numbers rather than holiness (cf. Mt 6:33; Phil 3:7–8). Our Adorable Jesus does not ask whether His ministers can explain His words with eloquence, but whether they believe and live them with undivided hearts, loving truth more than approval and souls more than comfort . If they truly believed that one soul is worth more than the whole world , parish schedules would revolve first around confession, adoration, preaching, and the dying. If they truly believed that every Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of Calvary (cf. Lk. 22:19–20; CCC 1366–1367), no liturgy would ever become routine. If they truly believed that the devil continually seeks to destroy souls , they would never become spiritually casual. Scripture presents the moving contrast between Josiah, whose heart trembled upon hearing God's word and immediately sought reform (cf. 2 Kgs. 22:11–13), and King Zedekiah, who repeatedly heard Jeremiah yet lacked the courage to obey (cf. Jer. 38:14–28). The difference was not knowledge but belief.
Our Adorable Jesus calls every priest, bishop, deacon, seminarian, religious, consecrated soul, and every soul to return to the hidden simplicity of childlike faith, where every word from His Sacred Heart is received, contemplated, and lived with complete trust . The Church's deepest renewal begins not in human achievement but in souls transformed by the Eucharist, surrendered to the Holy Spirit, and conformed to Christ from within . It will begin when hearts are renewed by grace and ministers once again depend entirely upon Christ, allowing His presence, His mercy, and His truth to shape every aspect of their lives and mission . It will begin above all with hearts wholly surrendered to Christ—hearts that love His Eucharistic Presence more than success, seek holiness more than recognition, cherish prayer more than activity, and value the salvation of souls above every earthly ambition . Then Christ's ministers will become more than administrators or teachers; they will become living icons of the Good Shepherd, allowing His compassion, purity, and sacrificial love to shine through their lives . Their preaching will flow from contemplation, their authority from holiness, their service from Eucharistic communion, and their hidden sacrifices will quietly draw countless souls toward God .Such lives become living Gospels, proclaiming more powerfully than the most eloquent sermons that Our Adorable Jesus alone is the source of eternal life (cf. Jn 6:68), and that no soul which abandons itself entirely to His mercy and truth will ever be disappointed or put to shame .
Prayer
Our Adorable Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, renew Your priests and consecrated souls in childlike faith, Eucharistic love, and unwavering fidelity. Fill them with the Holy Spirit , that they may courageously proclaim Your truth, shepherd Your flock after Your Heart, and joyfully spend themselves for Your glory and the salvation of souls . Amen.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.