Who among us has not worried about the future or been burdened with regrets?
It was a surprise when I recently began to re-read the Divine Mercy in my Soul Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalski to discover that the second entry in her notebook is a prayer to calm those fears for what may come tomorrow and regrets over what has already been.
O My God
When I look into the future, I am frightened,
But why plunge into the future?
Only the present moment is precious to me,
As the future may never enter my soul at all.
It is no longer in my power,
To change, correct, or add to the past.
For neither sages nor prophets could do that.
And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.
O present moment, you belong to me; whole and entire.
I desire to use you as best I can.
And although I am weak and small,
You grant me the grace of your omnipotence.
And so, I am trusting in Your mercy,
I walk through life like a little child,
Offering You each day of this heart,
Burning with love for Your greater glory.
Saint Faustina’s prayer is supported in Scripture. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19.
“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble,” Matthew 6:34.
We may not be saints ourselves— although that is the goal—but our struggles are ones that the saints also prayed to overcome. St. Faustina, pray for us that will learn to live in the present for Christ.
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