Interior sufferings

I think we all know on a level after enough life experience that interior sufferings can be far more painful than physical pain.  This is also true in Jesus' sufferings.  There is a great mystery which Jesus himself states in the Volumes that all the pains witnessed and inflicted upon him by men were only the barest "similes" of his interior pains.  His true suffering, his interior suffering, was so much that he called the pains suffered from his Passion at the hands of men "reliefs" in comparison.  He also states that these pains are "incomprehensible to human nature." 

"My child, come into these tied arms of mine. Rest your head on my breast and you will see more intense and bitter pains, because those you see on the outside of my humanity are but the overflowing of my interior pains."

The Hours of the Passion, Jesus again before Pilate

"Oh! how much will creatures love Me, when they come to know what my Humanity did in the Divine Will, and what It made Me suffer for love of them. My Cross was not of wood – no; It was made of souls. It was them that I felt palpitating in the Cross on which the Divine Will laid Me - and It let none of them escape Me, It gave a place to each one, and in order to give a place to all, It stretched Me in such a harrowing way, and with pains so atrocious, that I could call the pains of my Passion little, and reliefs. Therefore, hasten, so that my Will may make known all that this Eternal Volition operated in my Humanity. This knowledge will win so much love, that creatures will bend to let It reign in their midst.”

Vol. 15, Feb. 16, 1923

     As I was in my usual state, sweet Jesus made me suffer part of His pains and of His deaths, which He suffered for each creature.  From my little pains I could comprehend how atrocious and mortal the pains of Jesus had been.  Then He told me:

 

     “My daughter, my pains are incomprehensible to human nature, and the very pains of my Passion were shadows or similes of my interior pains.  My interior pains were inflicted on Me by an Omnipotent God, and not one fiber could dodge His blow; those of my Passion were inflicted on Me by men who, having neither Omnipotence nor All-seeingness, were not able to do what they wanted, nor to penetrate into every single fiber of mine.

      "My interior pains were incarnate, and my very Humanity was transformed into nails, into thorns, into scourges, into wounds, into martyrdom, so cruel as to give Me continuous deaths; and these were inseparable from Me - they formed my very Life.  On the other hand, those of my Passion were extraneous to Me; they were thorns and nails which could be driven inside, and eventually, they could also be removed; and the mere thought that a pain can be removed is a relief.  But my interior pains, which were formed of my own flesh - there was no hope that they might be removed, or that the sharpness of a thorn or the piercing of the nails might be lessened. 

      "My interior pains were so great and so many that I could call the pains of my Passion reliefs and kisses given to my interior pains; and uniting together, they gave the last proof of my great and excessive love for the salvation of souls.  My external pains were voices which called everyone to enter into the ocean of my interior pains, to make them comprehend how much their salvation cost Me.  And then, from your own interior pains, communicated by Me, you can somehow comprehend the continuous intensity of mine.  Therefore, pluck up courage - it is love that pushes Me to this.”

Vol. 14, Aug. 19, 1922



These sufferings of our Lord were not limited to the time of his Passion but encompassed the entirety of his Humanity from the moment of his conception.

 

"O most loving Father, consider that if my humanity has now reached the extremes of it sufferings, my heart as well bursts for the bitterness and the intimate pains and unheard-of agonies which it has suffered for the duration of thirty-four years, beginning from the first instant of my incarnation.  O Father, you know the intensity of these interior bitternesses which would have been capable of making me die of pure agony in every moment, if our omnipotence had not sustained me to prolong my suffering up to this extreme agony.  Yes, if until now I have offered you all the pains of my most holy humanity to appease your justice which is hanging over everyone, and to draw upon everyone your triumphant mercy, now, in a particular way for the souls consecrated to us who have gone astray, I present my heart to you, crushed, pressed and broken under the press of all the moments of my mortal life."

The Hours of the Passion, The Crucifixion

These pains were witnessed by the Virgin Mary and therefore she became the depository of them and shared in them.

Continuing in my usual state, I felt oppressed because blessed Jesus often allows that I suffer while the confessor is present; and I lamented to Him, telling Him:  ‘My Love, I pray You, I implore You, do not again allow that I suffer in the presence of anyone.  Let everything pass between You and me, and that You alone be aware of my pains.  O please! make me content, give Me your word that You will not do it any more.  Even more, make me suffer twice as much; I am happy, as long as everything is hidden between You and me.’

And Jesus, interrupting my speaking, told me:  “My daughter, do not lose heart; when my Will wants it, you too must surrender.  Besides, this is nothing other than a step of my Life.  My very hidden Life, my interior pains and everything I did, always had at least one or two spectators; and this, with reason, out of necessity, and in order to obtain the purpose of my pains themselves.  The first spectator was my Celestial Father, from whom nothing could escape; since He Himself was the One who inflicted those pains upon Me, He was actor and spectator.  If my Father had seen and known nothing, how could I satisfy Him, give Him glory, and bend Him to mercy for mankind at the sight of my pains?  Their purpose would have failed. 

Secondly, my Mama was spectator of all my pains of my hidden Life, and this was necessary.  Having come from Heaven to earth to suffer, not for Myself, but for the good of others, I had to have at least one creature in whom I was to place that good which my pains contained, and therefore move my dear Mama to thank Me, to praise Me, to love Me and to bless Me, letting Her admire the excess of my Goodness; so much so that, captured, enraptured and moved at the sight of my pains, She prayed Me that in the face of the great good which my pains brought to Her, I would not exempt Her from being identified with my own pains in order to suffer them, to repay Me, and to be my perfect imitator.  If my Mama had seen nothing, I would not have had my first imitator - not a ‘thank you’, no praise.  My pains and the good they contained would have remained without effect because, since no one would have known them, I could not have made the first prop, and the purpose of the great good which the creature was to receive would have been lost.  See how necessary it was that at least one creature be aware of my pains?

Vol. 14, Oct. 3, 1922

   

We have the opportunity to unite ourselves with these sufferings of Jesus which are now revealed to us through these Volumes which the previous saints did not have access to.  Mary, Jesus and Luisa all experienced these sufferings and we can approach each and all of them as depositories of them, although I'd like to add Luisa and Mary will always be creatures while Jesus is God.