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<\/p>\nA<\/span>t the end of November, I shared with you<\/a> the powerful counter-witness of Kirsten and David MacDonald against the strong tide of the culture of death that is sweeping through Canada. As the country’s suicide rate soared through euthanasia, Kirsten \u2014 bedridden with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis<\/span>) \u2014 became a prisoner in her own body. Yet, she refused to take her life, instead offering it up for “priests and humanity.”\u00a0 I went to visit them both last week, to spend time together watching and praying in the last days of her life.<\/p>\n Two nights ago, after having fallen asleep surrounded by five sisters from the Queenship of Mary community from Ottawa, and without drugs, Kirsten went Home leaving behind her eight-year-old daughter, Adessa, and husband David.<\/p>\n While I was with them, I looked Kirsten in the eyes and said to her, “I am concerned what will happen to Canada when God takes you home. For your sacrifice (refusing to be euthanized and even refusing drugs) is, I believe, holding back the hand of justice for this country \u2014 a country that has embraced the culture of death as a solution to its problems, from the womb to the tomb. Sometimes, it’s just one or two souls that can change the course of time…” Then I shared with her this passage from St. Faustina’s diary:<\/p>\n I saw a resplendence beyond compare and, in front of this brilliance, a white cloud in the shape of a scale. Then Jesus approached and put the sword on one side of the scale, and it fell heavily towards\u00a0the ground until it was about to touch it.<\/em> Just then, the sisters finished renewing their vows. Then I saw Angels who took something from each of the sisters and placed it in a golden vessel somewhat in the shape of a thurible. When they had collected it from all the sisters and placed the vessel on the other side of the scale, it immediately outweighed and raised up the side on which the sword had been laid\u2026Then I heard a voice coming from the brilliance: Put the sword back in its place; the sacrifice is greater<\/em>.<\/strong> \u2014Divine Mercy in My Soul, <\/em>Diary, n. 394<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n You have heard the words of St. Paul:<\/p>\n Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church\u2026<\/strong> (Colossians 1:24)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In the footnotes of the New American Bible<\/em>, it says:<\/p>\n What is lacking:<\/em> although variously interpreted, this phrase does not imply that Christ\u2019s atoning death on the cross was defective. It may refer to the apocalyptic concept of a quota of \u201cmessianic woes\u201d to be endured before the end comes; cf. Mk 13:8, 19\u201320, 24 and Mt 23:29\u201332. <\/strong>\u2014New American Bible Revised Edition<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Those \u201cmessianic woes\u201d, also recorded in the \u201cseals\u201d of chapter six of Revelation<\/a>, are for the most part man-made. They are the fruit of our<\/em> sin, not God\u2019s wrath. It is we<\/em> who fill up the cup of justice<\/a>, not God\u2019s anger. It is we<\/em> who tip the scales, not God\u2019s finger.<\/p>\n \u2026the Sovereign Lord patiently waits until [nations] reach the full measure of their sins before punishing them\u2026 he never withdraws his mercy from us. Although he disciplines us with misfortunes, he does not abandon his own people.<\/strong>\u00a0 (2 Maccabees 6:14,16)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n “A general uproar,”<\/em> must now happen, Jesus told Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, “and many things are suffered in order to reorder, renew and give a new shape to the kingdom, or the house.”<\/em> [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. A General Uproar Must Happen<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Kirsten-Family.jpg\")
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Holding Back the Hand of God<\/h5>\n
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