Should set your hearts on fire.

Words of St. Nathaniel

October 4, 2022

“To know as you are known is no small thing,

And yet this you are promised, as we were promised,

And now rest in this promise.

For He has numbered the hairs of your head,

And His thoughts of you are more numerous than the grains of sand.

Oh, the wonder of how you are known, and of how precious you are to Him

Should set your hearts on fire.

For the One who is all things, has so loved us who are nothing,

That He gave His life for us.

And even to be allowed to know Him from a distance,

To ponder His majesty from afar,

Would be all that we, such vile creatures, could have hoped.

But nay, He does not leave us afar,

But instead gives us His Heart, His Sacred Heart,

And, indeed, reaches out His arm, and pulls us unto Himself

So that we no longer view Him from afar,

But instead at arm’s length – nay, heart to heart!

And, indeed, He has promised that we shall know Him as we are known.

And those of us who now rest in that promise,

Bear witness of this to you,

And implore you to turn neither to the right or to the left,

To neither avert your eyes or to be knocked down,

But to stand firm and take not your eyes from Him.

For then shall you also one day rest in His promise,

And you will know Him as you are known.

For He has given you His Heart, His Sacred Heart,

And has pulled you close to Himself.

And although the winds blow, and the waters sweep over you,

And the fire nips at your heels,

Do not waver but stand firm.

For to know as you are known is no small thing,

And yet this you have been promised.

Evil walks through the world and attacks all men,

And has set its sight on the bride of Christ,

And has breached her doors, and has soiled her halls.

But the bridegroom is the One who has conquered all things,

And He will call for His bride,

And those who have stood firm will indeed inherit His promise.

Therefore, remember this – To know as you are known is no small thing,

And yet this you are promised if you take your eyes not off of Him,

For He has not kept you at a distance,

But instead has given you His Heart, His Sacred Heart,

And has pulled you close.

Oh, meditate upon the wonder of how you are known,

And of how He has loved you.

For this is His promise – That you shall know Him as you are known

If you do not waver.

Oh, how He has loved us.

Shall you not love Him in return,

Although the world trembles, and men lose heart and fall?

For He has not kept you at a distance,

But has given you His Heart, His Sacred Heart,

That where He is, you may be also,

And there you shall know Him as you are known.

To this I bear witness.“

-S