Why God Rules

By Marc Massery

Turn to any page of St. Faustina’s Diary and you find spiritual gems. Like this one:

During my meditation, I heard these words: “My daughter, you give Me most glory by patiently submitting to My will, and you win for yourself greater merit than that which any fast or mortifica- tion could ever gain for you. Know, My daughter, that if you submit your will to Mine, you draw upon your- self My special delight. This sacrifice is pleasing to Me and full of sweetness. I take great pleasure in it; there is power in it” (904).

The world says that practicing Catholicism means adhering to a strict list of rules — rules that only keep you from living your best life. 

Now, it’s true that the Lord has rules. But saying that you need to reject God’s laws in order to have a meaningful life is like saying that you have to reject the rules of harmonics to make beautiful music. You can bang away at the keyboard all you want. But without understanding — without adhering to the rules of music — you’ll only end up making noise. Learning the rules, however, gives you the ability to play any beautiful song your heart desires. All musicians know this. 

Of course, no analogy perfectly expresses the complexity and importance of trying to follow God’s will. But we can all admit, on our own strength and knowledge, we’re not going to get very far in life. We need rules, a structure, a tradition of people who have succeeded before us. And the virtuosos of the Christian life are the thousands of saints who have gone before us: St. Peter, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Faustina, St. John Paul II, and Mother Theresa, to name a few. These holy men and women are shining examples of how trying to follow the will of God can make our lives worth living and can enrich the lives of others (especially the neediest) along the way, too. 

For all these saints, following the Lord’s will didn’t squelch their passion. God’s ways enabled them to discover the very purpose for which they were created. As a result, these men and women had a powerful impact on the world. So, try to follow the Lord’s will with all your heart. He doesn’t want to hold you captive. He wants to set you free and enable you to flourish. He only needs your trust. 

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One sister said to me, “Get ready, Sister, to receive a small cross at the hands of Mother Superior. I feel sorry for you.” But as for me, I rejoiced at this in the depths of my soul.

Turn to any page of St. Faustina's Diary, and you'll find spiritual gems. 

Turn to any page of St. Faustina’s Diary and you’ll find spiritual gems. Like this one: