16 October 2021
Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin
We must understand that righteousness is not our own doing. Paul tells the Romans that righteousness “depends on faith, so that it may be a gift” (Rm. 4:16). If we start to think that righteousness is something that depends on us, we become arrogant and insufferable. But just because righteousness is a gift does not mean we have to be afraid, or that we cannot rely upon this gift. If righteousness is a gift, it is an altogether reliable gift.
Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the visitation sister who received the message of the Sacred Heart. What we learn from her visions and writings is that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is eager to give us every good gift. Think of the ways in which God constantly shows you how He loves you and desires your good, beginning with your very existence. If God is so constant in giving you good things all throughout your life, why would He be unreliable in giving you what makes you good to your very core? Know how reliable the Heart of Jesus is, and know what a reliable gift God offers you in the righteousness that comes from faith.