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5 My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by
Him; 6 for whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; He scourges every son He
acknowledges." 7 Endure your trials as "discipline;" God treats you as sons. For
what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are without
discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards. 9 Besides this,
we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should
we not (then) submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? 10 They
disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but He does so for our
benefit, in order that we my share His holiness. 11 At the time, all discipline
seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of
righteousness to those who are trained by it (Heb 12: 5-11).
On the concept of “discipline,” St. Paul teaches that, “effective discipline” invokes “the
mind of Christ,” while also emphasizing that its “secret power” is “Christ-like love” as
elucidated below:” 225
It is the incentive of love, the sharing of the Spirit, the humble attitude - that is the
mind of Christ, which makes it possible to hold another accountable…through
disciplinary measures (to) maintain moral integrity (or) to be a loving person…
Ultimately then, it is not the power of persuasion or coercion that effects recall (or
withdrawal from the self-defeating position) but the power of Christ-like love…in
an atmosphere of support and forgiveness…The secret power of effective
discipline is that the one who holds another accountable is first accountable to be
a loving person.
Jesus is God, Truth, and Love Himself, “abounding in faithfulness,” and He knows
perfectly what is best for a soul (CCC, 231). Thus, He “uses whatever instruments He likes to
purify (or to perfect) a soul” (Diary, # 38).
III B.2 God’s Will: The Totality of What is Good for the Soul 226
(2.1) Jesus Calls for Total, Lifetime Holocaust Offering of the Will (Diary, # 923)
On February 7, 1937, Jesus told Sr. Faustina:
I demand of you a perfect and whole-burnt offering, an offering of the will. No
other sacrifice can compare with this one. I Myself am directing your life and
225
Hawthorne, Gerald F. and Ralph P. Martin, ed., Dictionary Of Paul And His Letters: The Christ. (Illinois:
Intervarsity Press, 1993), 218.
226
Ibid., Faustina, Diary, # 923, 952, 957, 371-372, 444, 639.
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