Jesus Needs You Too

If you’ve made the decision to place your full trust in Jesus and to deepen your relationship with our Heavenly Father and His son, Consoling the Heart of Jesus can help with this as well. As much as each of us needs Jesus in our daily lives, Father Gaitley explains that Jesus needs us too. His heart is stricken with pain and grief over the lost individuals of this world that do not know His mercy and love. But we, as believers and followers of Christ, can alleviate some of His monumental burden. Now, this may seem like an impossible task: How on Earth can I, a single, small individual ease the pain of the Son of God? Have no fear for Fr. Gaitley explains just how simple it really is.

In the first appendix of his book, Gaitley acquaints the reader with St. Ignatius of Loyola’s “Rules for the Discernment of Spirits.” These were Ignatius’s tools for conquering his battle for spiritual joy, and they are still just as relevant today for our use in overcoming our spiritual struggles to find joy. Essentially, it states that “if we simply accept [Jesus’s] love and care, then this brings peace and joy, which overflows into praise and thanks, which as we know, is the trust that greatly consoles Him” (251). Just simply allowing Jesus into our lives and receiving God’s love and mercy is consoling to Him; He thoroughly wants to hear from us and have a relationship with us. Jesus is uplifted when we share with him even the smallest details or worries or troubles of our day. There is no matter that is too small for the Son of God to be concerned with. Having a closer relationship with Jesus greatly benefits us as well, because who doesn’t need a little Jesus sprinkled in their day!

After accepting Jesus’s love and mercy for us, we can still console him more by sharing this love and compassion with others too. This previous lenten season, I signed up for Dynamic Catholic’s “Best Lent Ever” program. It was a series of daily videos going along with Matthew Kelly’s book The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity. In it, Kelly introduces his concept of the “holy moment.” He describes it as “a moment when you are being the person God created you to be, and you are doing what you believe God is calling you to do in that moment” (36). Essentially, it is when you are responding to a situation, good or bad, and you stop to think “what would Jesus do?”

If Jesus woke up to a beautiful sunrise, He would stop to thank God for a new day full of wondrous beauty. If Jesus was driving down the highway and someone cut him off in traffic, he would not get angry. Rather, he would stop to say a prayer for the other driver. If Jesus was walking out of the grocery store and saw an elderly woman struggling with her bags, he would go to her and help her carry them to her car. These are all holy moments, and these are all things you and I can do each and everyday.

Now, I understand that not every situation we encounter in our daily lives will be this simple to act in accordance with what God wants us to do, but we have to start somewhere. Matthew Kelly writes that “our mere openness to doing the will of God is pleasing to Him” (39). Just stopping to think before reacting to consider what would be the holiest response is a step in the right direction. And, it is pleasing to God and consoling to Jesus. If you let God into your life and strive to create holy moments, just imagine how wonderfully He can change your life.

Jesus gave up His life so that you and I could have ours; working to be who God calls us to be, and letting Him into our hearts and minds is the least we can do in return. Extending our God-given graces to others, even if we personally feel they are not entirely deserving of it, will merit us countless rewards. As St. Faustina describes, “you lose nothing but gain much” (284). That warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return, that is God letting you know you created a holy moment and shared His love.

So, since we have nothing to lose, let’s set out to console the bleeding heart of Jesus and fill this world with holy moments; letting God into your life is a very good place to start.