The Way of Divine Love, by Sister Josefa Menendez

(Selections)
A Call To Souls
Hidden in the silence of her convent in Poitiers, France, Sister Josefa Menendez who had left her home in Spain to follow her vocation, became the chosen instrument of Christ's love.
Jesus, His Heart on fire, revealed himself to her, spoke to her, molded her as He pleased, and gave her a share in his work of redemption. Then he entrusted his desires to her, and asked her to transmit them to the world.
The aim of this page is to respond to that appeal, by spreading the message to as many souls as possible.
May they accept and read the message; may they find in it light and strength for each day as it comes; may they become collaborators in this work of love; may they be fuel for the fire that our Lord came to enkindle throughout the whole earth.
According to his desire, may they be a chain of souls whose hearts will be more and more on fire with love, love that trusts and expects everything from Him, so that, aflame with this fire, they will communicate it to the whole world.

NOTICE. -- In 1923 Christ said that he wanted his words to be made known, and that his grace would accompany his words and those who made them known. (June 19, 1923. Way of Divine Love, p. 369). Please help to spread the writings of Josefa Menendez. Five leaflets, suitable for distribution in church racks, will be sent free of charge to anyone who requests them. Please send your request to: editor@atonementbooklets.20m.com --- A free prayer card may also be obtained upon request. --- This website does not give addresses to third parties.

 --- "I tell you once more that grace will accompany my words, and those who make them known. Truth will triumph, and peace will reign over souls and the world, and my kingdom will come!" (1923, Poitiers, France).

More Precious Than Gold, Part 1, by Josefa Menendez -- Download PDF
The trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 1:7 -- “Gold is purified in the fire. So tribulation purifies and fortifies the soul.” “Gaze well and long on this Heart. It is the Crucible in which the most defiled are purified, and afterwards inflamed with love.” --- Words of Christ to Sister Josefa Menendez. Words of Our Lord about the purification of the soul and related topics.

More Precious Than Gold, Part 2, by Josefa Menendez --Download PDF
In June, 1923, Our Lord said: “I tell you once more that grace will accompany My words and those who make them known. Truth will triumph, and peace will reign over souls and the world, and My kingdom will come!” --- "When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  Job 23:10 ----- Our Lord reveals the secrets of His Heart to Josefa, and to all souls of good will.

A Cup of Cold Water, by Josefa Menendez -- A Cup of Cold Water --- The value of daily actions, offered in union with the actions and merits of Christ. ---- "Write for my souls," He said. "The soul who constantly unites her life with mine glorifies me and does a great work for souls. Thus, if engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls... "I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action in itself that is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. When I swept and laboured in the workshop of Nazareth, I gave as much glory to My Father as when I preached during My public life.
Three Recommendations, by Josefa Menendez -- Three Recommendations -- Advice Our Lord gave to Josefa and to all souls of good will. How the Church will triumph. = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

---

A  Cup  of  Cold  Water
The  Value  of  Daily  Actions "And whoever shall give to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."   –   Matthew 10:42
THE Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). The same apostle wrote to the Colossians, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)
In the Scriptures, Christ promised that he would pour out his spirit upon men and women of all conditions (Acts 2:17-18). The wisdom of God can do all things, and remaining itself the same, renews all things, and through nations conveys itself into holy souls, making them friends of God and prophets. (Wisdom 7:27). In 1922 Christ revealed himself to Josefa Menendez, a sister at the convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in Poitiers, France.
"Write for my souls," He said. "The soul who constantly unites her life with mine glorifies me and does a great work for souls. Thus, if engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls, more perhaps, than if she had preached to the whole world, and that, whether she studies, speaks or writes, whether she sews, sweeps or rests, provided first that the act is sanctioned by obedience or duty and not done from mere caprice; secondly, that it is done in intimate union with Me, with great purity of intention and covered with My Blood.
"I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action in itself that is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. When I swept and labored in the workshop of Nazareth, I gave as much glory to My Father as when I preached during My public life.
"There are many souls who in the eyes of the world fill important posts, and they give My Heart great glory; this is true. But I have many hidden souls who in their humble labors are very useful workers in My vineyard, for they are moved by love, and they know how to cover their deeds with supernatural gold by bathing them in My Blood. My love goes so far that My souls can draw great treasure out of mere nothing. When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls, when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment, how great is the treasure they amass in one day!
"I will reveal My love to them more and more. It is inexhaustible, and how easy it is for a loving soul to let itself be guided by love." (Nov. 30, 1922).
Jesus was silent. Josefa laid down her pen, and for a few instants remained in adoration before Him who thus opened His Heart so widely before her. "Adieu," He said at last, "go back to your work; love and suffer, for love is inseparable from suffering. Abandon yourself to the care of the best of Fathers, and to the love of the tenderest of Partners."
This was ever the lesson dearest to God Our Savior. His Cross is a choice gift, surpassing the most precious of favors. On this First Friday He left it to Josefa, who carried it both day and night.
On Saturday, December 2, she noted simply: "With great difficulty I managed to go to meditation, for my strength is gone." At eight o'clock, however, she was at her post, and Jesus soon joined her.
"Write for souls," He said, as on the preceding day.
Josefa knelt at her small table, and Our Lord spoke, standing beside her.
"My Heart is all love and it embraces all souls, but how can I make My chosen souls understand My special love for them, and how I wish to use them to save sinners and so many souls who are exposed to the perils of the world? For this reason I would like them to know how much I desire their perfection, and that it consists in doing their ordinary actions in intimate union with Me. If they once grasped this, they could divinize their life and all their activities by this close union with My heart, and how great is the value of a divinized day!
"When a soul is burnt up with desire to love, nothing is a burden to her, but if she feels cold and spiritless everything becomes hard and difficult. Let her then come to My Heart to revive her courage. Let her offer Me her dejection, and unite it to My fervor; then she may rest content, for her day will be of incomparable value to souls. All human miseries are known to My Heart, and My compassion for them is great.
"But I desire souls to unite themselves to Me not only in a general way.
I long for this union to be constant and intimate, as it is between friends who live together; for even if they are not talking all the time, at least they look at each other, and their mutual affectionate little kindnesses are the fruit of their love.
"When a soul is in peace and consolation, doubtless it is easier for her to think of Me, but if she is in the throes of desolation and anguish, she need not fear. I am content with a glance. I understand, and this mere look will draw down on her special proofs of my tenderness.
"I will repeat again to souls how My Heart loves them, for I want them to know Me thoroughly, that they may make Me known to those I place in their care.
"I ardently desire My chosen souls to fix their eyes on Me, and never turn them away, and among them there should be no mediocrity, which usually is the result of a misunderstanding of My love. No! it is neither difficult nor hard to love My Heart, but on the contrary, it is sweet and easy. They need do nothing extraordinary to attain to a high degree of love; purity of intention, be the action great or small, intimate union with My Heart, and love will do the rest."
Jesus stopped; then bending down towards Josefa who was prostrate at His feet: "Go," He said, "and have no fear. It is I who cultivate this little flower, that it may not perish! Love Me in peace and joy."


Carrying the Cross at Night
Every night the Master brought Josefa His Cross which He asked her to carry for the soul that was causing Him such sorrow.
"Will you carry My Cross?" He asked her.
And instantly she offered herself to take it from His sacred shoulders.
On Friday, Sept. 8, 1922, towards evening He came "as a poor man hungry and begging," she wrote, thus accurately describing the atmosphere of sad appeal that seemed to envelop His whole person.
"O slake My thirst to be loved by souls, especially to be loved by those I have chosen. That soul is oblivious of My love," he went on. "It is his ingratitude that puts me into this state."
"Then," wrote Josefa, "I begged Him to accept all the little acts done here, the sufferings of the house, and above all the very real desire we all have to comfort and please Him. I asked Him to purify and transform these very little things, and give them some value in His sight.
"I do not look at the act itself, I look at the intention," He replied. "The smallest act, if done out of love, acquires such merit that it gives Me immense consolation. I want only love, I ask for nothing else."
Others besides Josefa had a share in this ransom: there were at that time at the convent in Poitiers several sisters who by their acceptance of illness or infirmity were closely united to Our Lord crucified. Speaking of them Our Lord said on Sept. 13:
"Many are willing to entertain Me when I visit them with consolation. Many receive Me with joy in Holy Communion, but few welcome Me when I visit them with My Cross. When a soul is stretched on the cross, and is surrendered to My will, that soul glorifies me, and consoles Me, and is very close to Me."
He then made His meaning clearer still: "It is because of the sufferings of My religious that that sinner has not fallen lower still; but yet more must be undergone for his conversion. When he has come back to Me, Josefa," He added, so that she might not lose sight of her mission, "I will tell you the secret of My love for souls, for I want them all to know how great it is."
Days and nights passed during which Josefa had no relief from her sufferings of soul or body.
"Be not dismayed," said Our Lord to her on Sept. 21, "for that soul will not be lost. He will soon be returning to My Heart, but when a soul is to be saved, much suffering is needed."
This none knew better than Josefa. The devil set himself against her in furious assaults, as if he had guessed the redemptive character of her suf-ferings for the soul he thought to have securely in his clutches. Descents into hell were added to the other painful afflictions she underwent, and night after night the Cross of Jesus lay heavy on her shoulder. On Sept. 25, after a more than usually painful night, Our Lord manifested Himself to her. His Heart had no wound and was transfused with light and beauty.
He said, "See! that soul has come back to Me and has allowed grace to triumph. O love Me, and refuse Me nothing to obtain for Me the love of many other souls."
Who on reading this account can doubt that the lost sheep is ever the best loved-- the prodigal son the most eagerly sought and the most tenderly received?
But Our Lord did not allow Josefa any long respite. Her mission ceased neither day nor night, since souls are in peril, and the world is full of sin. Such is the lesson He seems to be teaching us through her.
Saints' Quotes
Saints' Quotes
Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell
Four Last Things

All for the Glory of God 
The apostle Paul wrote, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). Our Lord gave a practical lesson about this passage to Josefa in 1922:
On Tuesday, June 14, Jesus the all beautiful came. He bore in His hands the Crown of Thorns, and He asked Josefa with an expression of mildness: "Will you comfort Me?"
She assented at once, and He continued: "I want you to work at bringing back to Me a much-loved soul. Direct your attention and offer all you do for him. Often present My Blood to the Father. Kiss the ground, in reparation for this outraged Blood, trampled underfoot by the souls I so dearly love. If you obtain leave, I will tell you all you can do for him."
Then He laid out a plan for days of oblation:
"When you awake, enter at once into My Heart, and when you are deep down in It, offer My Father all your actions united to the beating of My Heart. Unite all your actions to Mine, so that it will no longer be you, but I, that act in you."  (Galatians 2:20)
"During Mass, present this soul that I want to save to My Father, so that He may pour over him the Blood of the Victim that is about to be immolated.
When you go to Holy Communion, offer the divine wealth you then possess to pay that soul's debt.
During your prayer, place yourself beside Me in Gethsemane, share My anguish, and offer yourself to My Father as a victim, ready to endure all that your soul is able to bear.
When you take your food, think that you are giving Me that alleviation, and do the same whenever you take pleasure in anything whatsoever.
Do not be separated from Me, even for one instant. Often kiss the ground. Do not omit to make the Stations a single day. If I need you, I will tell you.
Look solely to My will in all you do, and accomplish it with the greatest submission.
Humble yourself profoundly, but always joining confidence and love to your humility.
Do everything out of love, and do not lose sight of what I suffered for souls.
During the night you will rest in My Heart. Mine will hearken to the beats of yours, which will stand as so many acts of love and desire. Thus you will bring back to Me that soul that so offends Me."
I asked Him to be indulgent with me, if one or other of these points is not done exactly as He wishes, for I am very weak.
In the evening, during my adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, He came with bleeding hands and feet, and looking up to heaven, He said: "Offer My Father the divine Victim and the Blood of My Heart for that soul."
He repeated the same words three times. I told Him of my desire to comfort Him and to carry out all He had explained to me.
"Do not be over-anxious; you possess My Heart for all I ask you to do." (June 14, 1921. Poitiers, France)

The  Value  of  Good  Desires 
"Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will prepare their heart, you will cause your ear to hear." --Psalms 10:17
"Those souls must come back to Me without further delay. Pray hard that they may allow grace to penetrate them. Although you can do no more than desire to see Me loved, this is already much. It relieves My Heart. For this longing is love. Offer yourself for those souls, that love may pierce them through and through."
I prayed to Him for all those souls, begging of Him to make many of them know the goodness of His Heart and love Him.
"It pleases Me to see you famished for My love and burnt up with longing to see Me loved. That by itself is consolation to My Heart. Yes, pray for the souls of which I have given you charge. A few more sacrifices, and they will return to Me."
On Saturday, Nov. 20, He came to her, as a beggar, destitute and asking for love. Many little wounds were lacerating His Heart.
"Tell Me, would you not attempt the impossible to comfort Me, Josefa? Share with Me for a moment the bitterness of My heart."
Then helpless distress seemed to overpower my soul. He was still there, and gradually His Heart lit up, and all His wounds disappeared.
"Listen," He said, "I want you to give Me souls. Only love in all you do is required. Suffer because you love, work because you love, and above all abandon yourself to love. When I let you feel anguish of spirit and great loneliness, suffer in love. I want to make use of you, as a tired man uses a stick to lean upon. I want to possess you, to consume you entirely, but all in great sweetness, so that enduring a martyrdom of love, you thirst to suffer more."

 Our Lord Seeks Victims
On Oct. 27, 1920, Our Lord told Josefa Menendez, in France: “I shall make of you a victim, for you must resemble Me if you are to be My Bride, and can you not see what I am like?”

On Dec. 18, 1920, He said: “I use your helplessness to save souls, Josefa; I want you to be the victim of this Heart. Do not refuse Me anything; comfort Me when I need comfort, and remember that I spared nothing to prove My love for you.”

On June 30, 1921, Our Lord appeared to Josefa after communion and showed her the wounds in His hands and feet, and taught her to discover the invisible wound of love. “Look at My wounds,” He said. “Adore them; kiss them; they were caused not by souls, but by love.” She was mute, not knowing what to say. He repeated, “Yes, they are caused by the love I have for souls, a love of compassion for sinners. Ah! Did they but know.” He continued: “The greatest reward I can give a soul, is to make her a victim of My love and mercy, rendering her like Myself, who am the divine Victim for sinners.” (Way of Divine Love, p. 103).

On Nov. 25, 1921, Our Lord showed her His Heart surrounded by flames, and He said: “See how My Heart is consumed with love for souls! You, too, must burn with desire for their salvation. I want you to go deep into this heart today, and to make reparation with It. Yes, we must repair,” He repeated. “I am the great Victim, and you are a very little one, but if you are united to Me, My Father will listen to you.” (p. 123).

On Feb. 11, 1923, Our Lord told her: “I need victims to repair the bitterness inflicted on My Heart and to relieve My sorrow. How great is the number of sins committed! How many the souls that are lost!” (p. 233)

On March 2, 1923, Our Lord said to her: “My Cross is heavy. That is why I come here to rest, and to give a share of it to each of My well-beloved souls. My Heart is in search of victims to lead the world to love, and I find them here.” [the convent in Poitiers, France]. (Way of Divine Love, p. 249)

On June 12, 1923, Our Lord said: “To make reparation for the crimes of the world, I will choose victims who will obtain pardon, for there are in the world many whose desire is to please me, and there are moreover generous souls who will sacrifice everything they possess, that I may use them according to My will and good pleasure.” (p. 354).



"The Way of Divine Love, the Message of the Sacred Heart to the World," by Josefa Menendez, Sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1890--1923. This book is more than an account of extraordinary graces granted to a humble soul. It is the message that Our Lord wants made known to the world. It is truly a spiritual classic. Approved by Pope Pius XII. 506 pgs. Soft cover. $3.50 + $4.00 shipping.
J.M.J. Book Co.,
P.O. Box 15,
Necedah, WI 54646 --- Tel. (608) 565-2516

The Divine Mercy Devotion and the Second Coming of Christ

Stanley Villavicencio is a Filipino from Cebu who travels all around the world to give his amazing testimony: that he died, and lived again for Divine Mercy. On the morning of 2 March 1993, Stanley’s mother-in-law saw him convulsing in bed, mouth frothing, vomiting blood, and with hardly any pulse. He was rushed to the emergency room of Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City. 

Stanley’s father and sister, both doctors, together with four Cebu medical specialists, concluded that nothing could be done to save Stanley. During the three days that he was in a coma and pronounced clinically dead, Stanley shared that Jesus appeared to him, showed to him a film of his entire life, then told him that he needed to go back to the world to propagate the devotion to Divine Mercy.
Thus, on the third day, Stanley suddenly sat up and took out all of the life support systems attached to him. The nurse who was monitoring him ran away terrified. Stanley was found completely normal. The lead doctor, who proclaimed the case a miracle, was so touched by the experience that he decided to enter the priesthood.
Stanley’s case was thoroughly examined by the Vatican. Stanley quit his job and now goes all around the world proclaiming his testimony on the Divine Mercy a full-time basis, with the blessings of the Church hierarchy and under the guidance of Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Cebu.

Fruits of His Testimony

Stanley’s testimony has touched the lives of numerous people. A Central Bank employee, conscience-stricken after hearing Stanley’s testimony, decided to return the P400,000 (approximately $8,000) he stole from the bank. A group of prisoners in a jail in Agusan del Sur, who were previously planning to stage a riot, repented after hearing Stanley’s talk. In Cebu, a very depressed Aglipayan woman, who invited Stanley to give a talk in their church, changed her mind on plans to commit suicide, after hearing his testimony.
Muslims and Protestants alike have been moved. He has been invited to speak in many countries on his experience, and the Divine Mercy devotion. In Mexico, in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Stanley spoke to thousands of people and hundreds of priests and bishops.
The amazing fruits of Stanley’s testimony, as well as the medically-unexplainable manner with which he recovered from a state of clinical death, provide us with ample reason to believe in the authenticity of his experience, and provides a powerful witness to the Divine Mercy devotion.

“You Will Witness My Final Coming!”

Stanley continued to receive messages from Jesus in his dreams, even after his initial encounter with the Lord. On 31 August 1994, he received this striking message: “My son, you will witness My final coming.”
If then we are to believe that Stanley’s mission is authentic, then Jesus has given us, through Stanley, a message that is so profound and so intense that it ought to do nothing less than shake us to the core and wake us up: the Second Coming of Christ will happen in Stanley’s lifetime!
Stanley, born in 1953, is now 56 years old. According to the CIA World Factbook, the average life expectancy of Filipinos, as of 2008, is 70.8 years, with males averaging 67.89 years. If Stanley lives according to the overall Filipino male average, then he has approximately ten years to live. If he is healthy, and manages to live until the ripe old age of 90, then he has approximately 33 years to live. That means, based on Jesus’ statement to Stanley that he will witness the Lord’s final coming, the Second Coming of Christ may very well happen anywhere in the next 10 to 30 years!
Numerous other private revelations have talked about the proximity of the Second Coming of Christ and the need for mankind to repent in preparation for “the great day of the Lord”. In recent apparitions and private revelations, such as Our Lady’s messages to Fr. Gobbi of the Marian Movement of Priests, as well as the apparitions in Akita, Africa and Medjugorje, Our Lady emphasized the urgent need to repent since time is “running out”.
It should be noted also that the Lord Jesus said to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of Poland: “You will prepare the world for My final coming… let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice.” (St. Faustina’s Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul)

Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ

In the messages to Stanley, as well as in the messages given to St. Faustina, Jesus emphasized that the Divine Mercy devotion is a preparation for His Second Coming. In His message to Stanley on 1 April 1996, Jesus said: “…proclaim My Mercy to all souls, the days of the earth are so short now, so the duration of this devotion will soon come to an end.”
Likewise, in his 4 October 1996 message: “Blessed are those who take advantage of My Mercy while it is still the Day of Mercy, but beware, the Day of Judgment is sooner than everyone thinks.”

Time to Prepare!

If Jesus’ imminent return to the world is near, then our foremost priority should be to prepare for this momentous event! Just like a basketball game, we are in the “last two minutes” — only this time the stakes are much, much higher: the fate of our souls for all eternity.
How do we prepare then? The answer, of course, is prayer, particularly the prayers recommended by Jesus the Divine Mercy Himself. Jesus admonishes us to pray the Chaplet. He said to Stanley: “Pray, pray the Chaplet and recommend it to all, as the last hope of salvation. Encourage people to pray the Chaplet without ceasing.” This message of praying the Chaplet without ceasing was repeated to Stanley numerous times: “Pray, pray, the Chaplet without ceasing, it will be a shield against the enemies.”
Note that Jesus did not say “pray the Chaplet daily.” He encourages us to pray the Chaplet without ceasing. If we are prepared, the Second Coming of Christ should not be a cause for worry or fear but a source of boundless hope and joy! For at last, the time will come when all our toils and sufferings in this world will end; when sickness and death will be no more; when emotional pains and hurts will cease. If we prepare well, it will be the magnificent moment when we will at last claim our glorious crown, and will say with St. Paul (2 Timothy 4:1-8):

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 by Arthur Policarpio

Pope: Avoid the temptation to interfere - (The sin of detraction is one of the most forgotten sins!)

  The Christian must overcome the temptation to "interfere in the lives of others," was the exhortation of Pope Francis at Mass this morning at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope also stressed that talk and envy do so much harm to the Christian community.

"What is it to you?" Pope Francis begin his homily referring to a question Jesus posed to Peter when he had meddled in the life of the disciple John, "whom Jesus loved." Peter, the Pope pointed out, had "a dialogue of love" with the Lord, but then the dialogue "is diverted to another track," and he also suffers from a temptation: "to interfere in the lives of others." How do you say "vulgar," said the Pope, Peter becomes "nosy". Focus is therefore on two modes of this mix in the lives of others. First, the "comparison", "to compare oneself with others." When there is this comparison, Pope Francis said, "we end up in bitterness and even envy, but envy rusts the Christian community, "it brings much hurt," the "devil wants that." The second mode of this temptation, he added, is gossip. It begins "in an educated way," but then we end up “feeling bad”.

"We all chat in Church! As Christians we chat! The chatter is hurtful? We hurt one another. It is as if we want to put each other down.: instead of growing one makes the other feel small while I feel great. That will not do! It seems nice to chat ... I do not know why, but it looks nice. Like sweet of honey, right? You take one and then another, and another, and another, and in the end you have a stomach ache. And why ? The chatter is like that eh? It is 'sweet at first and it ruins you, it ruins your soul! Rumours are destructive in the Church, they are destructive ... It’s 'a little' like the spirit of Cain who killed his brother, his tongue; it kills his brother! "

On this road, the Holy Father said, "we become Christians of good manners and bad habits." But how do we do this ? Normally, Pope Francis noted, "we do three things":

"We supply misinformation: we tell only half that suits us and not the other half, the other half we do not say because it is not convenient for us. You smile at that ... Is that true or not? Did you see that thing? It goes on. The second is defamation: When a person truly has a flaw, it is big, they tell it, 'like a journalist' ... And the character of this person is ruined. And the third is the slander of saying things that are not true. It is like killing ones brother! All three - disinformation, defamation and slander - are sins! This is sin! It is to slap Jesus in the person of his children, his brothers. "

That is why Jesus does with us what he did with Peter when he says: "What is it to you? Follow me, "The Lord in this instance" points the way ":

"'This kind of talk will not do you any good, because it will just bring to the Church a spirit of destruction. Follow me! '. These are the beautiful words of Jesus, it is so clear, that he has so much love for us. As if to say: 'Don’t have fantasies, believing that salvation is in the comparisons with others or in gossip. Salvation is to go behind me '. Following Jesus! Today we ask the Lord Jesus to give us this grace not to ever get involved in the lives of others, not to become Christians of good manners and bad habits, it is to follow Jesus, to walk behind Jesus on his way. And this is enough. "

During his homily, Pope Francis also recalled an episode from the life of St. Therese who wondered why Jesus gave so much to one and not to another. The older sister then took a thimble and a glass and filled them with water and then asked Therese which of the two was more full. "But both are full," said the future saint. Jesus, the Pope said, does this with us", "he does not care if you're big, you're or small." What interests him is "if you are filled with the love of Jesus."

From Vatican Radio: http://en.radiovaticana.va

Pope Francis: A Jonah for Our Times?

The world was transfixed in early 2013 as three meteors broke through the deceptive calm of outer space. Thanks to the media, for a few weeks, people were confronted with the remote, but unsettling, possibility that the ultimate horror might come true—a killing fire, raining down from the sky.

Actually, humanity has been confronted by such a horror, and it did come true. And it left far more in its wake than the selective damage of the 2013 event, which was terrible enough—wounding 1,100 people in the heart of Russia, the most significant meteor explosion to hit earth in 100 years.

But the earlier event, which happened several millennia ago, brought no less than complete annihilation.  Although details are sketchy by modern standards, it was a cataclysmic, epic-sized event that incinerated all human beings in its wake. Even in our history-challenged day, most people know something of this horror, which was recorded in Scripture as the day “the Lord rained brimstone and fire out of heaven.”
The epicenter took place in two ancient cities, recorded by name as Sodom and Gomorrah. Even thousands of years later, the names alone cause many 21st century inhabitants—including Catholics—to either smile indulgently or bristle in indignation. It’s not hard to see why. The account of that terrible day of fire and brimstone is understood by many as a myth or fairy tale rather than history, and it includes the kind of “judgmental” language that  is so offensive to modern sensibilities.

The details are obscured in the terse language of Scripture but the meaning has always been clear. When male strangers arrive in the dissolute city of Sodom, the Sodomites demanded that they be turned over to them for sexual pleasure. Lot, the just man, objects: “Do not commit this evil,” he implores.

A common sense reading of the passages, not to mention centuries of biblical exegesis—have been clear—the evil spoken of by Lot is homosexuality.
The rest of the story is familiar, even to us “moderns.” In brief, the ancient Sodomites and people from Gomorrah refused to turn away from their evil intentions. God, through angel messengers, warns Lot that, because of their persistent evil, devastation will befall the entire region. The angels tell Lot and his family to flee. Everyone else is destroyed.

According to the Bible, this catastrophe was witnessed by Abraham, our father in faith.  Genesis 19:28 tells us that, looking from afar, Abraham “saw the ashes rise up from the earth as the smoke of a furnace.”
It’s a grim scene. But it’s so central that, at least a thousand years after the event—and two millennia before our time—two epistle writers, including the first pope, refer to it.
Jude, in his epistle, reminds the first generation of Christians that the evil citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah have a role to play: “They are set before us to dissuade us as they undergo a punishment of eternal fire” (1:7). And the apostle Peter included a future warning about Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that God “condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [to destruction], reducing them to ashes, making them an example for the godless [people] of what is coming” (2Pt.2:6).

However, and interesting to note, God dealt very differently with another biblical “sin city.” Nineveh was a dissolute city, too, but God sent the prophet Jonah to call people back from their depravity. Jonah did so, and the people of Nineveh heard him and repented, showing their sincerity by putting on sackcloth and ashes.
By contrast, Sodom and Gomorrah did not repent. The distinction is crucial.

Now we come to our own times. Once again, an aggressive homosexual movement is sweeping the world. We know that the United States is beset with legal pressures to accept homosexual marriage and the requirement that gay couples be accepted as adoptive parents. The threat is so real, that as of 2013 traditional Catholic adoption agencies across the country are preparing to shut down rather than be legally forced to place children in homes without a married mother and father.

But the aggression of the homosexual movement goes much further. In fact, so many nations have accepted, or are considering, expanding gay rights to include marriage (including France, once a cornerstone of western Christianity) that the countries have become too numerous to mention. Clearly, we are now surpassing the homosexuality of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But many may ask—why would God single out one sin for so much punishment? Why do we need a modern day Jonah?
Scripture is clear, and if we think about it, our own reason should tell us reasons why. Sins of lust strike at the heart of the inner person—called in Scripture “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” St Paul says, “You have been bought at a great price,” reminding us that the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, his unspeakable suffering and death, is in effect mocked by those who corrupt and sully their inner being with lust (1 Cor.6:20).

What’s more, in a deeply personal way, lust is the sin that destroys families—as well as the instinct to make families. It’s as simple as that. We all know it’s true—adultery, sex outside of marriage, pornography and perversions are cancers that tear at the heart of the family unit, that beautifully designed model of man, woman and child, designed by God to reflect the divine life itself. This assault on the most blessed of human pacts, the family, incites more than God’s displeasure—it incites his wrath: As Paul says in his epistle to the Ephesians (5:5-6) the sins of “fornicators” and “unclean and lustful persons” “bring down God’s wrath upon the disobedient.”

But we must go further. Homosexual acts are singled out in particular.  In Romans (1: 18, 26-27) Paul speaks about the “wrath of God” descending upon “women (who) exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and men (who) gave up natural intercourse with women and burned with lust for one another.”

Today, the Christian concern and alarm over homosexual sins is not some arbitrary singling out of a “lifestyle”—it’s the modern day aggressive homosexual movement which is calling attention to itself, by making demands on civilization that clearly reject everything that tradition, human reason, and God‘s laws have set in place. Homosexuality’s merciless demands that society publicly admire their sin, turn over the institution of marriage, and even bestow the right to raise children—is the modern equivalent of Sodom’s men trying to break down the door of Lot’s house to satisfy their own lustful pleasure.

Christians did not ask for this fight, but the times are clear. We must accept the unavoidable reality that, once again, gay rights are in full aggressive mode, as much, if not more so, than in Sodom and Gomorrah. St. Peter warns of “what is coming” and the context clearly indicates that another “reduction to ashes” is in store for depraved humanity. Clearly, we need another Jonah.
This spring, an event occurred which should give us reason to hope.

The event was the thoroughly unexpected arrival of Pope Francis—an event which our faith tells us was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Significantly, this pope has a track record of defending holy matrimony against the modern homosexual movement.
Three years ago, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, instructed his priests to bring the faithful to an upcoming protest against homosexual “marriage” as the nation of Argentina debated the expansion of homosexual rights. At the time, his message was widely noted, and also maligned, in secular Argentina (which ultimately became the first Latin American country to allow gay civil unions). However, the future Pope Francis continued, courageously, to speak out. As quoted by LifeSiteNews in March, 2013, he said:

“Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God,” wrote Cardinal Bergoglio in a letter sent to the monasteries of Buenos Aires. “We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

Since then, the United States and the rest of the world has slid even further down the path of indifference to grave sin. Even many Catholics have begun to shrug off the threat of gay marriage, suggesting that “maybe the time has come” to accept this eventuality. Few elected officials—if any—are standing up in public to forcefully denounce the appalling, strong arm legal tactics being used to inflict gay adoptions and marriage on religious institutions.

Many who want to follow God’s laws are asking, in near despair, what is to become of our country? What is to become of our world?
But now, take note that the relatively obscure prelate who fiercely stood up against the government in Argentina over the matter of homosexual marriage when others were silent is now our present Pope.

Could it be that God has provided us with a Jonah for our times?

 by Fr. Regis Scanlon, O.F.M. Cap

Pope Francis: Where There Is Calumny, There Is Satan Himself!

 Pope Francis Continues To Speak On Satan
And The Works Of Evil!

 For the third time in as many weeks, Pope Francis has warned not to speak ill  of others, and again mentioned the devil in another striking homily this morning  in the chapel of the Vatican’s Santa Martha residence.
Calumny, he said, is worse than sin and is the direct expression of Satan.  “We are all sinners; all of us. We all commit sins. But calumny is something  else. It is of course a sin, too, but it is something more,” he said, according  to a Vatican Radio report.

“Calumny aims to destroy the work of God, and calumny comes from a very evil  thing: it is born of hatred. And hate is the work of Satan. Calumny destroys the  work of God in people, in their souls. Calumny uses lies to get ahead.” Be in no  doubt, he said: “Where there is calumny, there is Satan himself.”
He then gave the example of St. Stephen, who was a victim of calumny,  wrongly accused of bearing false witness, and was martyred because of it. The  Church’s first martyr, the Pope said, does not repay falsehood with falsehood.  Instead, he “looks to the Lord and obeys the law”, being in the peace and truth  of Christ. It’s the way of martyrdom, he said, and there have been   numerous examples of those who have witnessed to the Gospel with great  courage.
But he added  and later repeated  that the age of martartyrs “is not yet  over” and that “even today we can say, in truth, that the Church has more  martyrs now than during the first centuries.”

“The Church has many men and women who are maligned through calumny, who are  persecuted, who are killed in hatred of Jesus, in hatred of the faith,” the Holy  Father continued. “Some are killed because they teach the catechism, others are  killed because they wear the cross … Today, in many countries, they are  maligned, they are persecuted … they are our brothers and sisters who are  suffering today, in this age of the martyrs”.

This age of “such great spiritual turmoil” reminded the Pope of an ancient  Russian icon that depicts Our Lady covering the people of God with her mantle:  “We pray to Our Lady to protect us, and in times of spiritual turbulence the  safest place is under the mantle of Our Lady. She is the mother who takes care  of the Church. And in this time of martyrs, she is the protagonist, the  protagonist of protection: She is the Mother. (…) Let us state with faith:  Mother, the Church is under your protection: Care for the Church.”

This is the third time at these early morning Masses that the Pope has warned  against speaking poorly of others. Last month he said it was the equivalent of  selling someone “like a commodity,” not unlike Judas, who sold out Jesus for 30  pieces of silver. A few days later, he warned against gossip, saying that  complaining behind each other’s backs is a temptation that comes “from the Evil  One, who does not want the Spirit to dwell among us and give peace.”

Since his election last month, the Pope has also made frequent references to  the devil. Observers have noted this emphasis with interest, especially as  explicit mentions of the devil largely fell into disuse in the years following  the Second Vatican Council. With his disappearance from Church texts, exorcists  complained that the rite of exorcism had become useless against demons.

Pope Francis’s frequent allusions to “Satan” and the “Evil One” may well be  part of an effort —one that Benedict XVI had already begun  to cast out the  presence of evil and so bring back healing and harmony to the Church, and to  parts of the Vatican in particular.

Taken From:  National Catholic Register. 
By: Edward Penetin 

CHURCH-APPROVED MESSAGES SPOKE OF COMING STORM, JOLTS TO EARTH, AND A RENEWED WORLD

Spirit Daily has been reporting on Elizabeth Kindelmann -- a "victim soul" seer from Budapest who died in 1985 after receiving years of what are now called the "Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" messages -- some with dramatic portents for the future.
 

Those messages met with the rare approval of a cardinal, Péter Erdö, primate of Hungary (also president of the Council of Episcopal Conference in Europe) and at least six bishops in Latin America -- along with her local ordinary. 

Somehow, in the flood of "revelations," locutions, and apparitions, these seem to have been missed.

But dramatic they are (and available in the way of a booklet, The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), which has a website and from which we hope to obtain booklets for distribution in the U.S.).

In addition to Cardinal Erdö, the seer drew the support of a second cardinal, Archbishop Bernardino Echeverría Ruiz, of Guayaquil [right]. The other bishops included prelates from Acapulco, Celaya, Tuxila, Hermosillo, Mexico City, and Durango. After requesting approval of the global Church for the organization based on Flame of Love, Cardinal Ruiz was sent a letter from the Vatican's J. Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the laity, encouraging him "to take every measure for the association to give abundant fruits among its members" and inviting him "to continue with the tender task of spiritual accompaniment."

"Jolts" were coming to the earth, Elizabeth said she was told (by the Lord), jolts that will "give rise to a new world by the power of faith." The earth will be renewed, "for never has such a flow of grace ever been given since the Word became Flesh," she said she heard.

This renewing of the world will be tested by suffering and take place through the imploring force of the Virgin, the seer added.

"Know that the earth is like nature before a storm," Elizabeth, who died in 1985, says she was told. "It can also be compared to a volcano when it suddenly awakens, smothers, kills, and blinds everyone with the infernal smoke sprouting up and its falling ashes, that destroys everything around. The deadly ashes full of sulfur want to blemish human souls created in the image of God."

But the flame of the Blessed Mother is about to ignite, Mary told Elizabeth -- blinding Satan and freeing mankind from the "smoking lava" of hatred. 

"The elect souls will have to fight the Prince of Darkness," Mary intoned. "It will be a frightening storm -- no, not a storm, but a hurricane devastating everything! He even wants to destroy the faith and confidence of the elect. I will always be beside you in the storm that is now brewing. I am your mother. I can help you and I want to! You will see everywhere the light of my Flame of Love sprouting out like a flash of lightning illuminating Heaven and earth, and with which I will inflame even the dark and languid souls! But what sorrow it is for me to have to watch so many of my children throw themselves in hell!"

There will be persecution and the persecutors, warned Mary, will be the "cowards" who "fear for their well-being, those who know everything better than others."

They would attack as Herod once attacked, the Blessed Mother warned.

"My children," Mary concluded, "the Arm of my Divine Son is ready to strike. I can barely hold it back. Help me! If you invoke my Flame of Love, we can save the world together."

Her voice, said Elizabeth, was "full of majesty, power, and firmness" when she spoke of coming events. "I cannot convey with words the inexpressible astonishment and the wonder with which I heard that. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke in quite another tone, her usual and maternal tone of soft tenderness: 'Fear not, have confidence in my power as a mother.'"

from Spirit Daily.

More info here: http://www.salvemaria.ca/index-en.html 

 

Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(said with an ordinary rosary)

The Sign of the Cross is made five times in veneration of the Savior's five Holy Wounds.

On the Our Father [Pater] beads:
"Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for those who seek refuge in you."

On the Hail Mary [Ave] beads:
"Holy Mother, save us through your Immaculate Heart's flame of love."

At the end, the Glory Be to the Father is repeated three times.

(Also known as the Flame of Love Chaplet)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE PRAYER OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ also taught Elizabeth a new prayer, and He invited her to propagate it, since He considers it to be a powerful means to blind Satan.

O my Jesus,
may our feet journey together,
may our hands gather in unity,
may our hearts beat to the same rhythm,
may our souls be in harmony,
may our thoughts be in unison,
may our ears listen to the silence together,
may our glances melt in one another,
and may our lips beg Our Heavenly Father,
together, to obtain Mercy.
Amen. *
(May 4, 1962)

* This prayer summarizes the essence and the goal of the message of the FLAME OF LOVE: the union of love with God and the call of love of Jesus to each one of us. It constitutes the way to live our life. Our thoughts, words, actions and even our silences, closely united to Jesus, obtain by Him, with Him and in Him, an eternal value.

 

Seems to me it's right in union with the Divine Will that Luisa Piccarreta gave us. 

Words of Jesus on suffering -The reason for suffering

 Words of Jesus to St Gemma -The reason for suffering and her share in the Sacred Passion
--Gemma's reply of love

Jesus says to Gemma: "When I shall be a spouse of blood to you, I will love you, but you must be as one crucified. Prove your love for Me as I have proved My love for you; and do you know how? -By suffering pains and crosses without number. You must consider yourself honoured when I treat you thus, and when I lead you through thorny and sorrowful paths. It is with My permission that the Devil torments you, that the world fills you with disgust, that the persons dearest to you cause you affliction. ... And you, My daughter, must think of only one thing during this time, that is, of exercising great virtues. Keep on the path of the Divine will, and humble yourself, and be convinced that if I nail you to the Cross, I love you."

"My daughter "-Jesus said to me- "if you truly love Me, you will love Me even in darkness. Embrace the Cross, My daughter, and be certain that whilst you are satisfying your desire of suffering you are satisfying My heart; and remember, the more bitter the Cross seems to your heart, the more agreeable it is to Mine."
And again Jesus has said to me: "Do you know why I desire to send crosses to the souls that are dear to Me? I desire to possess them entirely, and for that reason I surround them with crosses, and I shut them in with tribulations so that they may not escape out of My hands; for that reason I spread thorns everywhere so that giving their affections to no one they may seek all their pleasure in Me alone. My daughter, if the Cross was not felt, it could not be called a Cross. Be certain that if you stand beneath the Cross you will never be lost. The Devil has no power over those souls who weep near the Cross. My daughter, how many would have abandoned Me, if I had not crucified them. The Cross is a very precious gift, and many virtues can be learned through it."

And to this Gemma writes: ‘The Lord delights in playing with souls that are very dear to Him, but He plays with them because He loves them. Now He consoles them, now He allows them to become well esteemed by mankind, and afterwards He allows them to become a laughingstock to the world. At one time He makes them so courageous that Hell has no terrors for them, and at another time, He allows them to be frightened at the least thing. Whoever thinks that he is suffering, knows little; but whoever suffers and yet thinks that he suffers little or naught, is enlightened. Whoever is humiliated on earth, is in Heaven and on the Cross; whoever has the first place on earth, has the last before God. He who knows the Cross, desires it; he who does not know it, runs away from it.'
Gemma was meditating on and even living the Passion of Jesus Christ, and from this meditation she drew all her consolation. 'To meditate on Thy Passion, oh Jesus, has always been a great relief to holy souls.'
And this is how she wrote of the fruits she gathered from this meditation. 'Every day I make a meditation, but always on the Passion. If I did not do so, it would seem to me that Jesus would reprove me thus:

"See, My daughter, here I am on the Cross, through love, a victim for your many faults. Consider well My sufferings, and then deny Me, if you can, the tender compassion that I deserve.'


[All the quotations in the following section have been taken from the “Lettere ed estasi di Santa Gemma”.]
‘When I see Jesus weep, my own heart is transfixed with sorrow; I think . . . I think how I have by my sins caused some of the oppression which Jesus suffered in the Garden. At that time Jesus saw all my sins, all my omissions, and besides, He saw the place I should have occupied in Hell, if Thy Heart, oh Jesus, had not granted me pardon.'
‘When I am looking at the Crucifix, it seems to me that Jesus turns to me with words of reproof and says: "If you allow yourself to sin you will crucify Me anew. Are not these sufferings enough?" Mia Dio! After these words could I hold out any longer? But Jesus turning to me, very pleased, added and repeated: "Love Me as much as you can, and I shall give you all that you desire. Love Me with all your heart and I shall forgive you all your sins." -Oh the infinite goodness of Jesus! All He asks of me is love! '

‘Many times I have asked Jesus to teach me the true way of loving Him, and then Jesus allows me to see all His open Wounds, and that He says: "Look, My daughter, look how I have suffered! Do you see this Cross, these nails, these thorns? They are the works of love. Look and learn how to love."
 


HEROIC RESOLUTIONS
The lessons which were taught in this school of love and suffering penetrated into the soul of the holy girl. The resolutions which she was thereby induced to make are among the most heroic that can be conceived, and the maxims she formulated almost divinely sublime.

‘I shall compensate Thee, oh Jesus, by treating myself as Thy slave, and by putting my shoulders under Thy Cross.'
‘Suffering will raise my spirits, and far from discouraging me will give me the strength necessary to correspond with Thy grace.'
‘Oh, how much I realize that by doing what the goodness of Jesus wills, every cross is changed into joy, suffering even becomes too pleasant! He has neither cross nor fear who is closely united with Jesus.'

‘My heart possesses Jesus and possessing Jesus I feel that I can smile even in the midst of so many tears. I feel, yes, I feel happy even in great suffering oh Jesus, whether Thou caresses me or strikes me, it is the same to me. Yea, when Thou dost strike me, I am all the more pleased, because it is really what I deserve.'
‘It ought not be that suffering should adapt itself to us, but we ought to adapt ourselves to suffering.'

‘Whoever loves Jesus has sufficient strength to suffer any cross whatsoever.'
‘Whoever truly loves, suffers gladly.'
‘The more a cross is contrary to my desires, the more it is like to Thine, oh Jesus.'
‘The masters of this world teach always with the voice, and You with suffering.'

‘Who knows how many would have abandoned Thee, if Thou had not held them to the Cross.'
‘ In loving it is Thou who delightest my soul, and in suffering it is I who delightest Thy Soul.'
'Why are you so afflicted, 0 my soul? You offend your Beloved if you do not embrace the Cross with gladness. If you do not send your thoughts to Calvary, you are not concerned about Paradise.'
‘Oh Jesus, You give crosses to those who love Thee! '
‘Oh Cross, when I am near thee I feel strong! '
'All my days are sown with crosses. Oh holy Cross, I have embraced thee! '
‘May my life be a continual sacrifice! May You increase my sufferings, my humiliations! '
‘If I had to live in the world without suffering I should say to Thee: "Let me rather die now. Either crucify my soul or make me die ! '

Upon hearing a cry like this-a cry that only the love of the Crucified could inspire, we shall now contemplate Gemma’s love for God:

TRANSPORTS OF LOVE FOR GOD
In a letter Gemma says- ‘Oh Passion of Christ! You Angels of Heaven, bow down with me in honour of the Passion of Jesus; together let us catch the Blood of Jesus! Passion of Jesus, I love Thee! Angels of Heaven, come, let us all adore the Passion of Jesus! '

‘How sweet and good Jesus is to me, in spite of my being so wicked! How shall I ever correspond with the mercy that Jesus shows me? What shall I give to Jesus in exchange for all the benefits He showers upon me?'
‘It is true, is it not, Jesus, that love is the best exchange for Thy gifts? And even I can love Thee. But I do not love Thee because of Thy gifts to me. I love Thee because Thou art my Jesus, I love Thee because Thou alone art worthy of being loved. I love Thee because Thou art good, because Thou hast promised, You have sworn never to abandon me....'

‘I love Thee because You are my benefactor, my preserver, because You consume my soul and make my soul divine. Because You are my Spouse, I seek Thee always, I seek Thy affection, Thy friendship, Thy glory.'

‘You ask me how I should like to love Thee? With that purity with which the virgins loved Thee; with that fortitude with which the martyrs loved Thee. Yes,... You know, 0 Jesus (but do I say it too often?), I want to love Thee as Thy holy Mother loved Thee.'
‘I should like to possess the purity of the Angels, and even that of our Mother, most holy Mary.'
‘Do You know what chastisement I fear to merit? It is that of being condemned not to love Thee any more, my Jesus.'

‘Love demands love, and fire calls upon fire--Even from the depths of my unworthiness I love Thee, 0 my Jesus, and intensely. It would be impossible for me not to think of Thee. . . . I spend my days uttering burning aspirations of love.'
‘But what do You call me? What do You say of me? I am Thy delight, 0 Jesus? I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus; You are the staff of my life, the flame of my heart, the apple of my eye.'

‘See, Jesus, if You had shown Thyself less lovable; if You had not made me understand the extent of Thy love for me, I should have loved Thee less. But You have made me love Thee, and now I cannot do without Thee.'
‘What would happen to me if Jesus ceased to love me? I not to love Jesus, and Jesus not to love me? But it is a thought that terrifies me, and I beseech Jesus to continue to love me, to think of me, even though I do not succeed in loving Him as I ought.'


‘Oh dear Jesus, come to me, come! Do not be disgusted with my misery, for although it is great, Thy mercy is greater still. Come, and with Your purity, make my heart clean; with Thy meekness, beat down my pride. Visit my conscience, and if there is anything that displeases Thee, root it out and destroy it. Until my heart is full of true and solid virtue, do not come to it, do not expose to insult the honour of Thy glory, the greatness of Thy Majesty. Oh my God, You lower Thyself to the vilest of Thy creatures such as I am, repair the harm my sins have done, and raise me up, oh Jesus! And then, come to me always, oh Jesus....'

'I consider my soul as a high mountain with Jesus resting against it to prevent it from falling. Yes, it is indeed so! If Jesus did not sustain me I should fall. . . . 0 my God, make haste that I die, and die of love for Jesus! Do You not see that my heart and my body are in the throes of an agony and that I am on fire? Do You not see that I am a victim of love and that I shall soon die of love? The world wearies me; I long for one thing only, love, love, love.'

'What do You say, 0 Jesus? That when I am small then I am great? The smaller I feel, the more I feel I love Jesus. His love inebriates me, filling me ever more and more…I shall be alone with Jesus….What joy one experiences when one abandons oneself into the arms of Jesus! The faithful soul becomes His dearest child. He opens His arms to receive it, and presses it to His most Sacred Heart. Oh Jesus, I am in such need of Thy love!’

Source: "Blessed Gemma Galgani" by Father Amedeo C.P., Translated into English by Father Osmund Thorpe C.P., 1935.

GoodBye Isn't Forever When You Step into Eternity

I don't really know how to begin this, I only know I have to write something about someone very dear to my heart that may soon step into eternity. Funny how you can become close with folks you meet online. A few commonalities and phone calls and you realize you have a soul mate that you'd have otherwise never met. Such is the case with my "hero"; Maddie. I won't identify her completely, but I will ask for your kind prayers for her ... just say Maddie, God knows her well! :) 

She's been living on 'borrowed time' for some time now. Cancer, among other maladies, has been her biggest cross. She's an animal lover and a people lover. She's led prayer groups even through her years of illness. She's offered many times to sit with folks she doesn't even know while they're getting their chemo treatments, even though she was currently undergoing her own treatments. 

Her Faith is phenomenal; and although she's had a few rough times and scares, it's been what's held her together. But it hasn't just held her together ... she has a peace and a joy that I can't even imagine under those circumstances. This is one of the reasons she will always be my "HERO". 

Most recently, she's spent the better part of the last year in and out of hospitals with surgeries, chemo, radiation and other interventions caused by complications from the cancer. She's had sustained pain that most of us would faint from. Much of the cancer is in her lungs, but also went to the bones in the back of her neck to the spinal area and now it's spread to her brain. There's nothing more that can be done. No more chemo, no more radiation ... no more treatments. 

She will be going back to her home area from the treatment center in Texas and into a hospice for a last few months. Since I've known Maddie ... whenever we talk, it always pops up about how much she wants to hug Jesus :) We've also made a pact, that whoever gets there first will pray the other one there :) God can do anything of course, but it appears that she'll be taking the high road and getting there before me. 

The high road indeed. A while back, she'd asked Jesus to let her have her purgatory on earth ... I think He granted her that wish. Her son will be taking her back to LA next week. When she gets settled in, she will try to stay in contact on facebook as long as she can.

I wanted to write this to ask for prayers for her during the remainder of her time here on earth. She's assured me that the Doctors have said they can keep her comfortable as far as meds and pain goes now and the folks at the hospice will be kind and prayerful. There's a deacon there that she knows so that's nice and her son will be able to visit more. She will even get to visit with her pets a bit :) 

I believe with all my heart and soul that death is the beginning of the REAL LIFE we were meant to have. The eternity that God planned for us and Jesus redeemed us for through His Perfect Passion and Resurrection. But I can cry when I read a greeting card and since my own encounter with cancer and a hysterectomy, those emotions run even wilder than before; thankfully, she understands this too. You try to be strong for someone ... but most of my tears are cuz I'm amazed by her strength and peace and see the BEAUTY IN IT ALL. 

So this is a hard one for me.  

The depth of her Faith and love of the Trinity and our Lady overwhelms me at times. Would that all just have half of what she's got; the world would be a much nicer place to be in till we get home. Jesus truly has given her His peace that goes beyond all understanding in this, praise be His Holy and Magnificent Name! 

So .. please keep Maddie in your kind prayers, even if she doesn't know you, somehow, I know that when she gets to heaven, she'll know who prayed for her and I can assure you that she will be most grateful and return those prayers without a doubt when you need them the most! So, when you see a cute animal, a beautiful sky, a gorgeous flower, think of my hero, Maddie and say a prayer for her please.