By Katie Patrizio
St. Faustina was born at the turn of the 20th century in Poland. At 20, she entered the convent and soon began receiving visions of Jesus. Unsurprisingly, this brought confusion for her and those around her. In her diary, she recounts how, at one point, her confessor, in apparent exasperation, told her not to do anything Jesus commanded in her visions. The next time Our Lord appeared, she shared nervously: “Jesus, I can no longer do anything You command me to do.”
She explains that she feared Jesus would be “grievously offended.” But His response delivered an important lesson: “Jesus listened,” she writes, “with kindness and satisfaction […] He was pleased and said to me kindly, ‘Do only that for which you obtain permission.’”
The implications are striking. Jesus Himself submitted to her confessor’s authority, asking her to obey rather than go over his head. Why? The answer is simple: Obedience is life.
Our parents fell in the Garden of Eden by an act of pride exercised in disobedience. The simplicity of this reality can be seen in the directives of a parent which often focus on preserving the safety of the child, e.g., “look both ways before crossing the road.” God exercises His care for us in the same way, setting up ground rules to keep us spiritually safe. In His goodness, He has given us guides – Pastors, Bishops, and Popes; if we stay close to them and submit to their commands and desires, our safety is assured.