Someone in these days sent me the following email: “I am doing a novena and until now nothing has happened. I am losing hope. I find that God does not like me, excuse me.” Many person feel like this. they pray but do not obtain anything. They think. I the first place it is good to remember the words of the Merciful Jesus directed to St. Faustina and today to me and to you: “Great comfort souls of unlimited confidence give to me, because in souls like this I pour out treasures of my grace. But the graces are harvested from my heart with the vase of confidence, how many, how much more the soul trusts so much more it will receive”.

Then never be discouraged. Losing hope? Never. Always maintain confidence. Jesus merciful: “It makes me happy that they ask much, for my desire to to give much, even more. I remain sad when people ask little, when they narrow their hearts”. (Diary 1548)

Beyond that, Jesus ask us to persevere in prayer: It is through perseverance that you will be compensated.” He tells the story of the widow that bothered the judge to receive what she wanted. He praises her insistence, wanting thus to motivate us to insist as well. Second: We cannot permit the feeling: “I find that God does not like me!” to overcome us, never. This is faith. Jesus Merciful says to Saint Faustina: Do not allow yourself to be dominated by this feeling. It is always in your power (Diary 1760) The feelings are always in your power, but if you allow the feelings will want to have power over you. God loves us, and never is going to take His love from us. Never. Only God ONLY knows love. The feelings, that God does not like us, want to defeat us. They are lying. The enemy wants to utilize our feelings in order to make us think that this lie is true. We remain vigilant and maintain our confidence. Persevere.

Fr. Antônio Aguiar

Translated from Portuguese