Divine Appeal Reflection - 197
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 197: "I assure you the rigours of My Eternal Father’s Justice are awful! Blood is shed and will still be shed for so many sins, diseases, earthquakes, tidal wave, family-devastating thieves. The Red Lucifer has sworn to flatter souls with his lies. He continues his march for blood and death!"
The most terrifying dimension of Lucifer’s assault upon life is not merely destruction, but the corruption of conscience until evil appears justifiable and human dignity becomes expendable (cf. Jn 8:44). This darkness begins when life is no longer revered as God’s sacred gift, suffering no longer awakens compassion, and authority becomes an instrument of domination rather than service (cf. Gen 1:26–27; Mk 10:42–45). Evil often advances through seemingly small compromises, deliberate silence, and excuses that gradually make wrongdoing appear normal . Its deepest deception occurs when the heart no longer recognises its need for repentance and begins calling evil good . Yet Christ’s light exposes these deceptions, awakens the conscience, and calls us to defend life, restore dignity, and return to the truth of divine love . Pharaoh’s Egypt illustrates this terrible progression:(cf. Ex 1:8–22) the fear of losing national security and control was transformed into a policy that condemned innocent Hebrew children to death, as though the preservation of power could justify the destruction of the vulnerable . The blood of the children exposed the hidden destination of a political lie that had first presented an entire people as a threat. This is a profound dimension of the appeal: before evil attacks the body, it attempts to alter the soul’s judgment about whose life deserves protection. A family may begin by labelling one member troublesome and eventually exclude that person from every expression of affection; a community may gradually regard an entire group as expendable; a professional may reduce a suffering patient to an inconvenient case rather than a person entrusted to his care (cf. Gen 4:8–10; Prov 14:31). Our Adorable Jesus invites us to examine this terrifying exchange in which a person’s usefulness becomes more important than his dignity. The Catechism(cf. CCC 2258) teaches that human life possesses a sacred character and must be respected from conception until natural death . Mystically, Lucifer’s march seeks to establish a counterfeit creation: a world in which the powerful determine the worth of the weak, the prosperous determine the worth of the poor, and the wounded are judged according to the inconvenience their suffering creates. The soul must therefore defend life not only at its final hour, but at the hidden moment when another person begins to appear less worthy of love (cf. Gen 1:26–27; Jas 2:1–9).
A deeper dimension of the march for blood and death is its attempt to turn the human heart into an accomplice before forcing it to confront the consequences of its choices. When Cain murdered Abel,(cf. Gen 4:9–10) the blood of the innocent cried out from the ground, revealing that no act of violence can erase the victim’s worth or escape the judgment of God . The murderer may silence a voice, intimidate witnesses, or conceal evidence, but cannot transform injustice into innocence before the One who searches every heart . Joseph’s brothers likewise attempted to bury their betrayal beneath deception,(cf. Gen 37:18–35) presenting their father with a bloodstained garment while concealing the truth of what they had done . Yet years later, their troubled consciences recalled the suffering their cruelty had caused, exposing the inner burden that their deception had never truly removed . Their story reveals how evil entangles its servants:(cf. Prov 28:13) one wrongdoing demands concealment, concealment requires further falsehood, and repeated deception gradually imprisons the heart within its own fabrications . What human beings attempt to bury through silence and lies remains open before God, whose truth calls the guilty not to deeper concealment, but to repentance, accountability, and the restoration of what they have wounded .This occurs when an employer falsifies records after exploiting a worker, when a relative invents accusations to hide financial abuse, or when an institution protects its image by discrediting those who report genuine wrongdoing . Yet the spiritual danger extends beyond deliberate concealment. A witness may recognise the truth yet remain silent out of fear of an influential offender, while a colleague may join in humiliating another person rather than risk losing acceptance among peers . A family, too, may conceal wrongdoing beneath an appearance of harmony, leaving the wounded person to suffer so that others can remain comfortable . Such silence does not make every bystander equally responsible for the original offence, but it reveals how fear and self-interest can obstruct the duty to protect the vulnerable . The Church(cf. CCC 1783–1785) teaches that conscience must be carefully formed in truth and that no one should be compelled to act against its demands . When we expose wrongdoing through truthful and responsible means, seek protection for those at risk, and accept the personal cost of refusing complicity, we deny evil the power to turn another person’s suffering into a story of shame, silence, or deserved punishment .
The reference to the rigours of Our Eternal Father’s Justice opens before us a profound mystery: divine justice is not the wounded pride of an offended ruler or the vindictiveness of human anger, but the perfect expression of God’s holiness, truth, and righteous judgment (cf. Ps 9:7–12). Nothing escapes His all-knowing gaze, and no hidden deed, silenced victim, or forgotten suffering lies beyond His knowledge . God’s judgment penetrates every hidden truth and remains untouched by the partiality, dishonesty, and manipulation that can distort human courts, where evidence may be concealed, witnesses silenced, and decisions swayed by wealth or power . In the encounter between the rich man and Lazarus,(cf. Lk 16:19–31) the beggar whose misery went unnoticed at the gate is finally recognised, while the rich man discovers the eternal weight of his neglect . This divine reversal teaches us that the pain of the forgotten never escapes God’s sight, even when human society treats it as unimportant . Divine justice assures us that wickedness will not possess the last word, while God’s mercy challenges us to shelter the defenceless, resist oppression, and alleviate human suffering through concrete acts of charity . This mystery is revealed most powerfully on Calvary,(cf. 1 Pet 2:22–24) where the innocent Christ endured the injuries and cruelty arising from humanity’s sin without ever surrendering to sin Himself . In rising from the tomb, Christ shattered death’s dominion and unveiled the unconquerable power of God’s saving love, through which evil shall not have the ultimate victory . The Father patiently pursues the sinner, seeking a heart renewed by repentance rather than the destruction of the one who has fallen . Genuine mercy therefore stands beside the wounded,(cf. Lk 19:8–10) summons the wrongdoer to sincere conversion, and preserves the possibility of reconciliation without compromising truth or justice . It neither disguises wickedness nor excuses oppression, but confronts evil with truth while keeping open the door to redemption . Forgiveness must never become an excuse to expose someone to continued harm or prevent legitimate accountability .Yet the time given for conversion is not a declaration that no conversion is needed . The Catechism(cf. CCC 311–314) teaches that God is neither the cause of moral evil nor indifferent to the struggle against it, and that He can bring good from what He permits without making evil good . We should therefore approach calamities with humility, repentance, and practical charity, never claiming to know the hidden reason God allowed a particular person to suffer . Divine justice calls us to become truthful now, while mercy still invites us to change .
Illness, natural disasters, betrayal, and sudden loss reveal how fragile earthly security can be, reminding us that possessions, reputations, and carefully constructed plans cannot guarantee permanence . Christ invites us to build our lives upon God rather than place our ultimate confidence in material security . Yet suffering must never be interpreted as proof that its victims have been singled out for punishment,(cf. Lk 13:1–5) for Jesus rejected such simplistic judgments about human tragedy . Rather, life’s uncertainty calls us to deepen our trust in God and anchor our hope in what earthly calamities cannot destroy: faith, charity, and the promise of eternal life . Jesus explicitly(cf. Lk 13:1–5) rejected simplistic attempts to connect particular tragedies with the supposed greater guilt of those who suffered them . The deeper invitation is to discover what remains spiritually decisive when the structures upon which we relied begin to collapse. Job lost possessions, children, and health, yet his suffering exposed the inadequacy of a spirituality that assumes visible prosperity is a reliable measurement of divine favour (cf. Job 1:13–22; Job 2:7–10). His friends intensified his anguish when they tried to explain his suffering through a rigid calculation of guilt and punishment, showing how religious explanations can wound those whom compassion should accompany . Here we discover an apostolate often neglected: the apostolate of refusing to manufacture explanations for another person’s tragedy. The nurse beside a terminally ill patient, the neighbour helping a family displaced by flooding, the priest sitting with parents after a child’s death, and the friend accompanying someone whose home has been robbed can all bear witness to God without pretending to understand everything God permits . The Catechism(cf. CCC 302–314; CCC 385) acknowledges the mystery of suffering within a creation that has not yet reached its promised fulfilment . Against this background, the march for blood and death includes the temptation to let catastrophe produce spiritual bitterness, to let bereavement destroy every capacity for hope, or to let betrayal convince us that goodness itself is foolish. Christian hope does not require us to call darkness light;(cf. Ps 23:4; Rom 8:18–25) it enables us to seek the light while honestly acknowledging darkness . When disaster strips away our illusions of control, we are invited not to despise earthly life, but to love it more responsibly, receive each person more reverently, and hold our possessions with greater generosity .
The deepest counter-mystery to Lucifer’s march is found in the Eucharistic Heart of Christ, where the One who gives His Body and Blood answers humanity’s capacity for destruction with a self-gift that creates communion. Lucifer’s counterfeit movement takes life from another to exalt the self;(cf. Jn 6:51–58; Jn 10:10–11) Christ’s movement gives Himself so that others may live in Him . This contrast reaches beyond a general opposition between good and evil: it reveals two radically different ways of inhabiting existence. One vision of greatness demands that others be lowered so that the self may rise, while the other discovers true greatness in the willing surrender of oneself for the good of others (cf. Mk 10:42–45). Our Adorable Jesus revealed this divine paradox when,(cf. Jn 13:1–5) knowing that His Passion was approaching, He continued to love His disciples and gave Himself to the Church under the Eucharistic signs of His Body and Blood . Even the presence of Judas at the sacred meal reminds us that physical proximity to holy things cannot substitute for the surrender of the heart to transforming grace . A person may kneel before the Blessed Sacrament while harbouring contempt for the poor, receive Holy Communion while refusing to make amends for an injustice, or speak eloquently about Christ while remaining indifferent to another’s suffering . Eucharistic devotion becomes fruitful when the One we adore transforms the way we recognise, defend, and serve the dignity of every person . This transformation must become concrete: protecting a child from abuse, refusing dishonest dealings, supporting a family burdened by illness, accompanying the relatives of a prisoner, or seeking appropriate help when someone faces a serious threat to their safety . St. Oscar Romero bore courageous witness to Christ by defending the poor and denouncing the violence inflicted upon the powerless,(cf. Is 1:17) even when speaking the truth placed his own life in danger . His example challenges us to examine whether our love for Our Adorable Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament becomes a living commitment to protect the oppressed, speak for the voiceless, and restore dignity wherever human suffering is ignored . It may also mean accepting our own need for confession, professional assistance, or accountability when anger and destructive habits threaten the people entrusted to us . The victory of Christ is not measured by our ability to explain every tragedy, but by our willingness to cooperate with grace so that fewer people are abandoned, deceived, exploited, or harmed. Lucifer’s march cannot be resisted by fear alone, because fear can itself become an instrument of manipulation. It is resisted through truth enlightened by faith, justice purified by mercy, courage governed by charity, and hope anchored in the Resurrection . Every time we restore dignity where contempt has reigned, preserve life where selfishness threatens it, and bring truth where deception has taken root, we bear witness that the final destiny of creation belongs not to blood and death, but to the Lord who makes all things new .
Prayer
Our Adorable Jesus, purify our hearts of every falsehood that obscures the sacredness of human life. Give us courage to defend the forgotten, compassion to recognise the suffering of others, humility to submit to Your justice, and confidence in Your unfailing mercy . Through Your Eucharistic Heart, transform us into instruments of truth, reconciliation, and life wherever hatred, injustice, and death wound humanity . May Your presence within us teach us to love as You love and to recognise Your face in every person entrusted to our care . Amen.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
