Chastisments and Triumph of the Church

So, back to speaking of the church and what she will undergo.  Jesus speaks of those who pretend to be his children but in fact they will be his most fierce enemies as well as of the Church.  He especially refers to false priests and and how few true ones there will be to administer the sacraments.

 

Chastisements. The children of the Church will be Her fiercest enemies.

The thought of the scourges, and of the fact that I might foment them by going out of that state by myself, pierced my heart. The confessor continued not to be well. I prayed and cried, and I could not make up my mind. Blessed Jesus would come like a flash and then run away, leaving me free. Finally, moved to compassion, He came, and compassionating and caressing all of me, told me:

“My daughter, your constancy conquers Me. Love and prayer bind Me and almost wage battle against Me. Therefore I have come to be with you for a little while, for I could resist no more. Poor daughter, do not cry - here I am, all for you. Patience, courage - don’t lose heart. If you knew how much I suffer… but the ingratitude of creatures forces Me to do this - their enormous sins, their incredulity, almost wanting to challenge Me. And this is the least - if I told you about the religious side... how many sacrileges! How many rebellions! How many pretend to be my children, while they are my fiercest enemies! These false sons are usurpers, self-interested and incredulous; their hearts are bilges of vice. These very sons will be the first to wage war against the Church - they will try to kill their own Mother! Oh! how many of them are already about to come out into the field. Now there is war among governments and countries; soon they will make war against the Church, and Her greatest enemies will be Her own children. My Heart is lacerated with sorrow. But in spite of all this, I will let this storm pass by, and the face of the earth and the churches be washed by the blood of the same ones who have smeared them and contaminated them. You too, unite yourself to my sorrow - pray and be patient in watching this storm pass by.”

But who can say my torment? I felt I was more dead than alive. May Jesus be always blessed, and may His Holy Will be always done.

Vol. 11, March 7, 1915

“Ah! my daughter, there will be contentions among them; death will claim many lives, and also priests. Oh! how many masks dressed as priests. I want to remove them before the persecution against my Church and revolutions arise; who knows - they might convert at the moment of death. Otherwise, if I leave them there, during the persecution these masks will remove the mask, will unite with the sectarians, and will be the fiercest enemies of the Church; and their salvation will be more difficult.”

And I, all afflicted, said: ‘Ah! my Jesus, what pain, to hear You speak of these blessed chastisements. And the peoples -what shall they do without priests? They are already few enough; You want to take away more – and who will administer the Sacraments? Who will teach your laws?’

And Jesus: “My daughter, do not afflict yourself too much; the scarce number is nothing. I will give to one the grace and the strength that I give to ten - to twenty; and one will be worth ten, or twenty. I can make up for everything. And besides, the many priests who are not good are the poison of the peoples; instead of good, they do evil, and I do nothing other than remove the first elements that poison the peoples.”

Vol. 12, Jan. 8, 1919

In the first reading he talked about those who pretend to be his children.  There is one point where I found where he describes the characteristics of what a true child of God is.  It certainly gives pause for self evaluation.

The characteristics of the children of God: love for the cross, love for the glory of God, and love for the glory of the Church.

Continuing in my poor state of privation and of unspeakable bitterness – at the most, He makes Himself seen in silence – this morning He told me: “My daughter, the characteristics of my children are: love for the cross, love for the glory of God, and love for the glory of the Church - to the point of laying down their lives. One who does not have these characteristics, in vain calls himself my son; one who dares to say it, is a liar and a traitor who betrays God and himself. Take a look into yourself, to see whether you have them.” And He disappeared.

Vol. 6, Feb. 8, 1905

 

 

Jesus gives Luisa a vision of an image of the Church.

 

An image of the Church.   

As I told the confessor about my concerns that my state may not be Will of God, and that, at least as a test, I wanted to try to make an effort to go out of it and see whether I could manage or not, without raising his usual difficulties, the confessor said: “All right, tomorrow you will try.” So I was left as if I had been freed of an enormous weight. Now, after he celebrated Holy Mass and I received Communion, I saw my adorable Jesus in my interior for just a little, His gaze fixed on me, His hands joined, in the act of asking for pity and help. At that moment I found myself outside of myself, inside a room in which there was a lady, majestic and venerable, but gravely infirm. She was inside a bed with a headboard so high as to almost touch the vault, and I was forced to stay over this headboard, in the arms of a priest, in order to keep it still and to look at the poor ill one. While in this position, I saw a few religious surrounding and offering their cares to the patient, and saying among themselves with intense bitterness: “She is ill, she is ill - it would take nothing more than a little shake.” And I was taking care of keeping the headboard of the bed still, for fear that, if the bed moved, she might die.

But seeing that things were dragging on, and almost getting annoyed by that idleness, I said to the one who was holding me: ‘For pity’s sake, let me get down; I am doing nothing good, nor am I helping anyone – why stay here, so useless? If I get down, at least I can serve her, help her.’ And he: “Did you not hear that even a little shake could make her get worse and cause most sad things to happen to her? If you get down, since there is no one to keep the bed still, she may even die.” And I: ‘But how can it be possible that, by just doing this, this good can come to her? I don’t believe it - for pity’s sake, let me get down.’ So, after I repeated these words several times, he put me down on the floor, and by myself, with no one holding me, I drew near the ill one, and to my surprise and sorrow I saw that the bed was moving. At those movements, her face went blue, she trembled and emitted a death rattle. Those few religious were crying and saying: “There is no more time, she is in the extreme moments now.” Then some enemies entered – soldiers and captains – to beat the ill one; but, dying as she was, that lady got up with intrepidness and majesty to be wounded and beaten. On seeing this, I trembled like a reed, and I said to myself: ‘I have been the cause of this, I myself have given the push for so much evil to happen.’ And I understood that that lady represented the Church, infirm in Her members, with many other meanings which it seems useless to me to explain, because they can be comprehended by reading what I have written.

Vol. 5, Oct. 24, 1903

 

 

It seems to me in today's world we draw ever nearer this image between the sex scandals, the conflict between the Vatican and the religious and the differing desires among the secular.  The Church is truly in a precarious position.  Lusia later on goes on to further explain the vision by obedience to her confessor.

 

To obey the confessor, I continue to tell the other meanings I understood on the 24^th of this month. So, the lady represented the Church, who is infirm, not in Herself, but in Her members; but even though She is laid low and insulted by enemies, and rendered infirm in Her very members, She never loses Her majesty and venerability. As for the bed She was in, I understood that while the Church seems oppressed, infirm, opposed, She yet rests with a perpetual and eternal rest, and with peace and safety in the paternal bosom of God, like a child on the lap of her mother. I understood that the headboard of the bed that touched the vault was the divine protection that always assists the Church, and that everything She contains has all come from Heaven: Sacraments, doctrine and other things – everything is celestial, holy and pure, in such a way that between Heaven and the Church there is continuous communication, never interrupted. As for the few religious who offered care and assistance to the lady, I understood that few are those who defend the Church with all of themselves - considering the evils She receives as though given to themselves. The room in which She resided, made of stone, represented the solidity, the firmness, and even the hardness of the Church in surrendering to no one the rights that belong to Her. The dying lady who, with intrepidness and courage, allows herself to be beaten by the enemies, represented the Church which, while She seems to be dying, rises again more intrepid– but how? Through sufferings and shedding of blood – the true spirit of the Church, always ready for mortification, as Jesus Christ was.

Vol. 5, Oct. 25, 1903

 

 

He also speaks of the triumph of the cross and the Church after the chastisements.

 

By shunning the cross one remains in the dark.

This morning my adorable Jesus came all glorious, with His wounds more refulgent than suns, and with a cross in His hand. In the meantime I also saw a wheel with four sections of it leaning out, while it seemed that another section shunned the light and remained in the dark. In this darkening the people remained as though abandoned by God, and bloody wars would happen against the Church and against themselves. Ah, it seemed that the things said by blessed Jesus in the past are approaching at a fast pace! Now, on seeing all this, moved to compassion, Our Lord drew near the dark part, and He cast the cross He had in His hand upon it, saying with sonorous voice: “Glory to the cross!” And it seemed that that cross would call back the light, and the peoples, stirring themselves, would implore help and aid. Jesus repeated: “All the glory and triumph will be of the cross, otherwise the remedies will make the very evils worse. Therefore, the cross, the cross!” Who can say how afflicted I was left, and concerned for what might happen?

Vol. 4, Sept. 15, 1901

 

 

... in one flash I saw the whole Church, the wars which the religious must go through and which they must receive from others, and wars among societies. There seemed to be a general uproar. It also seemed that the Holy Father would make use of very few religious people, both for bringing the state of the Church, the priests and others to good order, and for the society in this state of turmoils. Now, while I was seeing this, blessed Jesus told me: “Do you think that the triumph of the Church is far?” And I: ‘Yes indeed – who can put order in so many things that are messed up?’ And He: “On the contrary, I tell you that it is near. It takes a clash, but a strong one, and therefore I will permit everything together, among religious and secular, so as to shorten the time. And in the midst of this clash, all of big chaos, there will be a good and orderly clash, but in such a state of mortification, that men will see themselves as lost. However, I will give them so much grace and light that they may recognize what is evil and embrace the truth, making you suffer also for this purpose. If with all this they do not listen to Me, then I will take you to Heaven, and things will happen even more gravely, and will drag on a little longer before the longed-for triumph.”

Vol. 6, Aug. 15, 1904

It seems to me that that people have not listened and that things are now dragging on, but the triumph will still come.  It is foretold by Jesus and will come as he states at most it will only be delayed for a bit.  And what will bring about this triumph?  He clearly states this as well.  It is these very Volumes on the Divine Will which will renew the Church and bring about her triumph. 

 

Do you see how necessary it is to make them understand that complete abandonment is needed in order to live in my Will? And you say it was not necessary to write about it. I feel compassion for you, because you do not see what I see, and therefore you take it lightly. But in my all-seeingness, I see that these writings will be for my Church like a new sun which will rise in Her midst; and drawn by its blazing light, creatures will apply themselves in order to be transformed into this light and become spiritualized and divinized, in such a way that, as the Church will be renewed, they will transform the face of the earth. The doctrine on my Will is the purest, the most beautiful, not subject to any shadow of the material or of interest, both in the supernatural and in the natural order. Therefore, like sun, it will be the most penetrating, the most fecund, and the most welcomed and appreciated. And being light, of its own it will make itself understood and will make its way. It will not be subject to doubts or suspicions of error; and if some word is not understood, it will be because of too much light which, eclipsing the human intellect, will not allow them to comprehend the whole fullness of the truth. However, they will find not a word which is not truth. At the most, they will not be able to comprehend it fully. Therefore, in view of the good which I see, I push you to neglect nothing in writing. One saying, one effect, one simile about my Will can be like beneficial dew upon souls, just as dew is beneficial on the plants after a day of burning sun, or like a pouring rain after long months of drought. You cannot understand all the good, the light, the strength contained in each word; but your Jesus knows it, and knows the ones whom it must serve and the good it must do.” Now, as He was saying this, He showed me a table in the middle of the Church, and all the writings about the Divine Will placed upon it. Many venerable people surrounded that table and became transformed into light and divinized; and as they walked, they communicated that light to whomever they encountered. Then Jesus added: “You will see this great good from Heaven, when the Church will receive this celestial food, which will strengthen Her and make Her rise again in Her full triumph.”

Vol. 16, Feb. 10, 1924

 

She states that she saw many venerable people being transformed into light and divinized by these very Volumes.  This is not limited to priests or religious.  All are welcome to reach for the heights that these Volumes can bring a soul.  And what good can that soul than effect?!  The very triumph of the Church.

After just beginning a look at the church as cited in the Volumes I came across this address made my Pope Francis to "REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA."  He speaks about the church and also tells of why he chose the name Francis.       http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/march/documents/papa-francesco_20130316_rappresentanti-media_en.html     ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS Paul VI Audience Hall Saturday, 16 March 2013 [Video] Dear Friends,      At the beginning of my ministry in the See of Peter, I am pleased to meet all of you who have worked here in Rome throughout this intense period which began with the unexpected announcement made by my venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI on 11 February last. To each of you I offer a cordial greeting.      The role of the mass media has expanded immensely in these years, so much so that they are an essential means of informing the world about the events of contemporary history. I would like, then, to thank you in a special way for the professional coverage which you provided during these days – you really worked, didn’t you? – when the eyes of the whole world, and not just those of Catholics, were turned to the Eternal City and particularly to this place which has as its heart the tomb of Saint Peter. Over the past few weeks, you have had to provide information about the Holy See and about the Church, her rituals and traditions, her faith and above all the role of the Pope and his ministry.     I am particularly grateful to those who viewed and presented these events of the Church’s history in a way which was sensitive to the right context in which they need to be read, namely that of faith. Historical events almost always demand a nuanced interpretation which at times can also take into account the dimension of faith. Ecclesial events are certainly no more intricate than political or economic events! But they do have one particular underlying feature: they follow a pattern which does not readily correspond to the “worldly” categories which we are accustomed to use, and so it is not easy to interpret and communicate them to a wider and more varied public. The Church is certainly a human and historical institution with all that that entails, yet her nature is not essentially political but spiritual: the Church is the People of God, the Holy People of God making its way to encounter Jesus Christ. Only from this perspective can a satisfactory account be given of the Church’s life and activity.      Christ is the Church’s Pastor, but his presence in history passes through the freedom of human beings; from their midst one is chosen to serve as his Vicar, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Yet Christ remains the centre, not the Sucessor of Peter: Christ, Christ is the centre. Christ is the fundamental point of reference, the heart of the Church. Without him, Peter and the Church would not exist or have reason to exist. As Benedict XVI frequently reminded us, Christ is present in Church and guides her. In everything that has occurred, the principal agent has been, in the final analysis, the Holy Spirit. He prompted the decision of Benedict XVI for the good of the Church; he guided the Cardinals in prayer and in the election.      It is important, dear friends, to take into due account this way of looking at things, this hermeneutic, in order to bring into proper focus what really happened in these days.      All of this leads me to thank you once more for your work in these particularly demanding days, but also to ask you to try to understand more fully the true nature of the Church, as well as her journey in this world, with her virtues and her sins, and to know the spiritual concerns which guide her and are the most genuine way to understand her. Be assured that the Church, for her part, highly esteems your important work. At your disposal you have the means to hear and to give voice to people’s expectations and demands, and to provide for an analysis and interpretation of current events. Your work calls for careful preparation, sensitivity and experience, like so many other professions, but it also demands a particular concern for what is true, good and beautiful. This is something which we have in common, since the Church exists to communicate precisely this: Truth, Goodness and Beauty “in person”. It should be apparent that all of us are called not to communicate ourselves, but this existential triad made up of truth, beauty and goodness.      Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes: a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: “Don't forget the poor!” And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor! Afterwards, people were joking with me. “But you should call yourself Hadrian, because Hadrian VI was the reformer, we need a reform…” And someone else said to me: “No, no: your name should be Clement”. “But why?” “Clement XV: thus you pay back Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus!” These were jokes. I love all of you very much, I thank you for everything you have done. I pray that your work will always be serene and fruitful, and that you will come to know ever better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the rich reality of the Church’s life. I commend you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization, and with cordial good wishes for you and your families, each of your families. I cordially impart to all of you my blessing. Thank you.   (In Spanish)      I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you! © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The Pope and the Church

With the election of Pope Francis I thought I'd take a look through the Volumes and see what was said about Popes in them.  I found that the topic can't be separated from the Church, which makes sense since the Pope is the head of the Church.



Men do not want Jesus Christ as their head. The Church will always be Church.

As I was in my usual state, I found myself near a garden which seemed to be the Church. Near it there seemed to be people plotting an attack against the Church and the Pope, and in their midst there was Our Lord, crucified, but without a head. Who can say how painful, how horrifying it was to see His Most Holy Body in that state! I comprehended how men do not want Jesus Christ as their head, and since the Church represents Him on this earth, they try to destroy what stands in His place.

Then I found myself in another place in which I found other people who were asking me: “What do you say about the Church?” And I, feeling a light within my mind, said: ‘The Church will always be Church. At the most, She might be washed in Her own blood, but this bath will render Her more beautiful and glorious.’ On hearing this, they said: “This is false – let us call our god and let us see what he says.” So a man came out who surpassed everyone in height, with a crown on his head, and he said: “The Church will be destroyed, there will be no more public services - at the most, some hidden ones; and the Madonna will no longer be recognized.” On hearing this, I said: ‘And who are you to dare to say this? Aren’t you perhaps that serpent condemned by God to crawl on the earth? And now you are so daring as to make yourself believed a king, deceiving people? I command you to let yourself be known for what you are.’ While I was saying this, from tall he became very, very short; he assumed the shape of a serpent, and making a flash, he plunged himself down deep. Then I found myself inside myself.

Vol. 4, Feb. 23, 1903

How all Heaven is veiled in the Church.

This morning, Jesus aroused much compassion; He was so afflicted and in suffering that I would not dare to ask Him any question.  We would look at each other in silence; every now and then He would give me a kiss, and I would kiss Him; and He continued to make Himself seen in this way several times.  On the last time He made me see the Church, telling me these exact words:  “All Heaven is veiled in my Church.  Just as in Heaven one is the head, which is God, and many are the saints, of different conditions, orders and merits, so in my Church, in which all Heaven is veiled, one is the head, which is the Pope, and the Sacrosanct Trinity is veiled even in the triple tiara that covers his head; and many are the members that depend on this head – that is, different dignities, various orders, superior and inferior, from the littlest to the greatest, they all serve to embellish my Church.  Each one, according to its degree, has the office entrusted to it, and by the exact fulfillment of the virtues it comes to give from itself a splendor so very fragrant to my Church, that the earth and Heaven are perfumed and illuminated, and the people are so drawn by this light and by this fragrance, that it is almost impossible for them not to surrender to the truth.  I leave it to you, then, to consider those infected members which, instead of shedding light, cast darkness.  How much torment they cause in my Church.”

Vol. 2, May 2, 1899



Jesus shows the Holy Father wanting to gather all his children in the Church together but people reject leadership in their lives on all levels.

Sorrow of the Pope.  Humility.

This morning blessed Jesus made me see the Holy Father with open wings, going in search of his children in order to gather them under his wings; and I could hear his laments, saying:  “My children, my children, how many times have I tried to gather you under my wings - and you escape me!  O please!  Listen to my moans, and have compassion for my sorrow!”  And while saying this, he cried bitterly.  It seemed that it was not only the secular that were moving away from the Pope, but also priests, and these gave greater sorrow to the Holy Father.  How pitiful it was to see the Pope in this position!  After this, I saw Jesus who echoed the laments of the Holy Father, and added:  “Few are those who have remained faithful, and these few live like foxes withdrawn inside their dens.  They are afraid to expose themselves in order to pull their children away from the mouths of the wolves.  They speak, they propose, but those are all words thrown to the wind – they never come to deeds.”  Having said this, He disappeared.

After a little while He came back.  I felt all annihilated within myself in the presence of Jesus, and He, seeing me annihilated, told me:  “My daughter, the more you lower yourself within yourself, the more I feel drawn to lower Myself toward you, and to fill you with my grace.  Here is how humility is bearer of light.”

Vol. 3, March 17, 1900




The world has reduced itself to such a sad state because it has lost subordination to leaders, God being the first.

This morning, Jesus transported me outside of myself and showed me many people, all in discord. Oh, how much this grieved Jesus! In seeing Him suffer very much I prayed Him to pour it into me. But since He still continues in wanting to chastise the world, Jesus did not want to pour it into me. However, after I prayed Him and prayed Him, to make me content He poured a little bit. Then, being a little relieved, He told me: “The reason why the world has reduced itself to such a sad state is that it has lost subordination to leaders; and since the first leader is God against whom they have rebelled, it happened as a consequence that they have lost any subjection to and dependence on the Church, the laws and all the others who are said to be leaders. Ah! my daughter, what will happen to so many members infected by this bad example of the very ones who are said to be leaders – that is, superiors, parents, and many others? Ah! They will reach such a point that neither parents, nor brothers, nor kings, nor princes will be recognized any more. These members will be like many vipers that will poison one another. Therefore, see how necessary chastisements are in these times, and how necessary it is for death to almost destroy this sort of people, so that the few who will be left may learn at the expense of others to be humble and obedient. So, let Me do; do not want to oppose my chastising the people.”

Vol. 2, March 20, 1899

 

Because of this there are many plots against the Pope and the Church.

Then I said: ‘Lord, how is it that You are not coming?’ And He added: “Do you want to hear something? Hear it.” And at that moment many cries of voices from all over the world could be heard saying: “Death to the Pope… destruction of religion…churches torn down… destruction of every dominion… No one must exist above us!” And many other satanic voices, which it seems useless to me to repeat. Then our Lord added: “My daughter, when man disposes himself to good, he receives good; and if he disposes himself to evil, he receives evil. All these voices you hear reach my throne - and not once, but repeated times; and when my Justice sees that man not only wants evil, but he asks for it with repeated petitions, with justice is It forced to concede it, to make them know the evil they wanted. In fact, one can truly know evil only when he finds himself in it. This is the reason why my Justice keeps looking for voids in order to punish man. However, the time of your suspension has not yet come; at the most, a few days for now, so that Justice may press Its hand down on man a little bit, for It can no longer bear the weight of such enormities; and at the same time, so as to make man’s forehead, raised too high, lower down.

Vol. 5, May 8, 1903
 

 

True victims must expose themselves to the pains of Jesus.  Machinations against the Church and against the Pope.

As I was in my usual state, I found myself outside of myself, kneeling on an altar together with two more people.  In the meantime Jesus Christ appeared over this altar, and He said:  “True victims must have communication with my very life; they must avail themselves of my very self, and expose themselves to my very pains.”  While saying this, He took a pyx in His hand and gave Communion to all three of us.  After this, behind that altar there seemed to be a door which led into a street filled with people and jam-packed with demons, in such a way that one could not walk without being squeezed by them; and since it was full of thorns, extremely sharp, one could not make a movement without feeling one’s flesh being pricked deep inside.  At any cost I would have wanted to escape those diabolical furies, and I almost tried to do it, but someone, I don’t know who, prevented me by saying to me:  “Everything you see are machinations against the Church and against the Pope.  They would want the Pope to get out of Rome by invading the Vatican and seizing it, and if you want to avoid these bothers, men and demons will acquire strength and will make these thorns come out which will prick the Church bitterly.  But if you content yourself with suffering them, both the one and the other will be weakened.”  On hearing this I stopped, but who can say what I went through and suffered.  I thought I would never again get out from the midst of those diabolical spirits; however, after staying there almost one whole night, divine protection freed me.

Vol. 4, July 1, 1902

This topic continues with bloody chastisements brought down on people by their own hands and most especially it seems that the attacks against the Church come from within her.   I'll continue this in another post so it won't be too long but I've come away impressed with just how needed it is for us to pray for our Pope and priests.

A transcript of Pope Francis' first homily.  I think we have a lot to look forward to in years to come from him.


http://4dlord.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/first-homily-of-pope-francis/

The Hour of Death

There is a connection between the Agony in the Garden and the Agony on the Cross.  One is to be help to all so that they might die well, the other is specific help at the last moment, even the last breath.




“My daughter, in a special way I wanted to suffer the agony in the Garden, in order to help all of the dying to die well. Look well at how my agony is combined with the agony of Christians: tediums, sadnesses, anguishes, the sweat of blood – I felt the death of all and of each one, as if I were really dying for each one in particular; so I felt the tediums, the sadnesses, the anguishes of each one within Me, and with my own I offered help, comfort and hope to all, so that, as I felt their deaths in Me, they all might receive the grace to die in Me, as though in one single breath - with my breath, and to be beatified immediately by my Divinity.

“If the agony in the Garden was in a special way for the dying, the agony on the Cross was for help at the last moment, at the very last breath. They are both agonies, but one is different from the other: the agony in the Garden, full of sadnesses, of fears, of anxieties, of frights; the agony on the Cross, full of peace, of imperturbable calm. And if I cried out‘I thirst!’, it was the insatiable thirst that all might breathe their last in my last breath; and in seeing that many would go out of my last breath, out of grief I cried out ‘Sitio!’ [‘I thirst!’], and this ‘sitio’ still continues to cry out to all and to each one like a bell at the door of each heart: ‘I thirst for you, oh soul! O please, never go out of Me, but enter into Me and breathe your last in Me!’

“So, six are the hours of my Passion which I gave to men in order to die well: the three in the Garden were for help in the agony; the three on the Cross for help at the very last sigh before death. After this, who could not look at death with a smile? More so for one who loves Me, for one who tries to sacrifice himself on my very cross. Do you see how beautiful death is, and how things are changed? In life I was despised; the very miracles did not produce the effects of my death; even up to the Cross there were insults. But as soon as I breathed my last, death had the power to change things: all beat their breasts, confessing Me the true Son of God; my very disciples plucked up courage, and even those who were hidden became brave and asked for my body, giving Me honorable burial. Heaven and earth, in full voice, confessed Me the Son of God. Death is something great, something sublime; and this happens also for my own children: in life they are despised, oppressed; those very virtues which, like light, should make those who are around them start, remain half-veiled; their heroisms in suffering, their abnegations, their zeal for souls, cast lights and doubts in those who surround them; and I Myself permit these veils, so as to preserve with more safety the virtue of my dear children. But as soon as they die, I withdraw these veils since they are no longer necessary, and the doubts become certainties, the light becomes clear, and this light makes others appreciate their heroism - they pay esteem to everything, even to the smallest things. Therefore, what cannot be done in life, is made up for by death. This, as for what happens down here. That which happens up there, then, is truly surprising and enviable to all mortals.”

Vol. 9, July 4, 1910




"..and in seeing that many would go out of my last breath..."

I've always been amazed in the type of death that God chose for his Son, Jesus, in the crucifixion.  The details of the physical agony are mind numbing in their horror and all combined could not have been endured by one who was only human in nature.  There are a couple of links below that go into detail on his physical sufferings if you haven't already read into it.  Jesus says that each aspect of his suffering is full of divine wisdom and one part that that has particularly hit me is that with crucifixion, unlike other deaths, the last breath is an inhalation.  Jesus even in his last breath sought to draw all souls into him to save them.

Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and by flexing the elbows and adducting the shoulders (Fig 6) ² However, this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the tarsals and would produce searing pain.⁷ Furthermore, flexion of the elbows would cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain along the damaged median nerves.⁷ Lifting of the body would also painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wooden stipes. ², ⁷ Muscle cramps and paresthesias of the outstretched and uplifted arms would add to the discomfort. ⁷ As a result, each respiratory effort would become agonizing and tiring and lead eventually to asphyxia. ²,³, ⁷, ¹⁰, ¹¹

^{http://www.frugalsites.net/jesus/crucifixion.htm}

Another excellent site to reflect on the physical extremes Jesus suffered can be found below, A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion.
http://www.frugalsites.net/jesus/physician.html


Jesus states that at this last point of death of the creature is when he will pull out all the stops, so to speak in order to save the creature.

             “Our goodness, our love is so much, that we try all routes, we use all means in order to tear her from sin, in order to put her in safety, and if we don’t succeed there in life, we make the ultimate surprise of love at the point of death.  Now, you must know that at that point it is the ultimate spying of love that we do to the creature, and we furnish her with graces, with light, with goodness; there we put such tenderness of love, as to soften and to overcome the hardest hearts.  And when the creature finds herself between life and death, between the time that finishes and the eternity about to begin, almost in the act that the soul is about to go forth from the body, I, your Jesus, make myself seen with an amiability that enraptures, with a sweetness that captivates and softens the bitterness of life, specifically at that extreme point; then, my look..., I look at her, but with so much love as to tear an act of sorrow from her, an act of love, an adherence to my Will.

                “Now, in that point of disillusionment, in seeing, in touching with (one’s) hand how much we have loved and love them, they feel such sorrow that they repent for not having loved us, and they recognize our Will as beginning and completion of their life, and as satisfaction they accept death in order to complete an act of our Will.  Because you must know that if the creature doesn’t do not even one act of the Will of God, the doors of heaven are not opened, nor is she recognized as heir of the celestial fatherland, nor can the angels and saints admit her among them, nor would she like to enter there, because she would know that it doesn’t belong to her.  Therefore without our Will there is neither true sanctity, nor salvation.  And how many become saved in virtue of this spying of ours all of love, except the most perverse and obstinate, although it will be necessary for her to make the long stopover of purgatory.  Therefore the point of death is our daily catch, the recovery of lost man.”

                Afterwards he added:

                “My daughter, the point of death is the hour of disillusionment, and all things are presented in that point the one after the other, in order to say:  ‘Good-bye, the earth for you is finished, eternity for you begins.’  It happens for the creature as when she finds herself closed in a room, and it comes to be said to her:  ‘Beyond this room there is another room, in which there is God, paradise, purgatory, hell, in short eternity’; but she sees nothing, if she listens to it asserted by others, and since those that say it it has not yet come to them, they say it in a way almost as not believing, not giving a great importance as to make one believe reality, certainty, (of) that which they say in words.

                “Now, one beautiful day the walls fall, and she sees with (her) eyes that which they said before; she sees her Father God, who with so much love has loved her; the benefits that he has done for her one by one, and all the injured rights of love that she owed him; how her life was of God not hers.  Everything (brings) itself before her: eternity, paradise, purgatory, hell; the earth escapes her, pleasures turn (their) shoulders/(backs), everything disappears, and only that which is present to her is in that room in which the walls have fallen, that is eternity.  What change happens for the poor creature!

                “My goodness is so much, that I want everyone safe, that I allow that these walls fall when creatures find themselves between life and death, between the soul going forth from the body in order to enter into eternity, so that at least they make an act of sorrow and of love for me, and they recognize my adorable Will upon them, I can say (that) I give (them) an hour of truth, in order to put them in safety.  Oh, if everyone might know my industries of love that I do at the last point of life, so that they don’t escape from my more than fatherly hands, they would not wait for that point, but they would love me for all (of their) life.”

Fiat!!!

Vol. 35, March 22, 1938


It's necessary for the creature to do at least one act of the Will of God.  One, and they are saved. 

 

The Garden of Gethsemani

I remember a talk given by a priest awhile ago in which he talked about the hour of the Passion which most moved him in the atrocious agony of Jesus;  he went on to talk about the crucifixion.  I remember being a bit disappointed in a way.  I'm not saying that it wasn't a horrible moment in his Passion even beyond human understanding but the hour which most moved me in Jesus' Passion for the sheer unimaginable weight of his sufferings has always been the Agony in the Garden.  I've felt this even before reading the Volumes but could never have explained why I felt so.  But it was in the Volumes where I found the confirmation for why I had felt so about this point in his Passion.

In previous posts (http://littledivinelights.blogspot.com/2013/02/interior-sufferings.html) it already talked about how internal sufferings are much more grievous than external/physical sufferings.  Jesus specifically speaks in the Volumes about how his three hours in the Garden of Gethsemani outweighed all his other agonies.

“My daughter, men did nothing but work the skin of my Humanity, while the eternal Love worked all of my interior.  So, in my agony, the eternal Love, the immense Love, the incalculable Love, the hidden Love - not men - opened large wounds in Me, pierced Me with flaming nails, crowned Me with burning thorns, made Me drink boiling gall.  And my Humanity, unable to contain so many different martyrdoms at the same time, poured out large streams of Blood; It writhed, and reached the point of saying:  ‘Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; yet, not my will, but Yours be done’ - which It did not say in the rest of the Passion.  Everything I suffered during the course of the Passion, I suffered all together in the agony – but in a more intense, more painful, more intimate way, because Love penetrated deep into the marrow of my bones and into the most intimate fibers of my Heart, which creatures could never reach.  But Love reaches everything; there is nothing that can resist It.  So, my first executioner was Love.  This is why in the course of my Passion there was not even a reproachful glance in Me toward those who acted as my executioners – because I had a more cruel, more active executioner in Me:  Love.  And where the external executioners could not reach, or a little part of Me was spared, Love would continue Its work and spare Me nothing. 

“This happens in all souls:  the first work is done by Love, and once Love has worked her and filled her with Itself, what appears on the outside is nothing but the outpouring of the crafting that Love has performed inside.”

Vol. 9, Nov. 25, 1909


In  all the rest of Jesus' Passion he didn't seek the help of creatures in fact while carrying the cross he talks about how he felt relief in consoling the women who wept for him.

I was thinking about Jesus carrying the Cross to Calvary, especially when He met with the women, and He forgot about His pains and occupied Himself with consoling, answering and also instructing those poor women.  How everything was love in Jesus!  He was the one who needed to be consoled, yet He was consoling – and in what a state He was consoling!  He was all covered with wounds, His head pierced with most pricking thorns, panting and almost dying under the cross – and He was consoling others!  What an example, what a humiliation for us – a little cross is enough to make us forget the duty to console others!  So I remembered the many times in which, finding myself oppressed by sufferings or by the privations of Jesus that pierced and lacerated my interior through, and being surrounded by people, Jesus would spur me on to imitate Him in this step of His Passion; and I, though embittered down to the marrow of my bones, would strive to forget about myself in order to console and instruct others.  And now, finding myself free and without having to deal with people, because of and thanks to obedience, I was thanking Jesus for I no longer found myself in those circumstances… I feel I can breathe a freer air, to be able to occupy myself only with myself.

And Jesus, moving in my interior, told me:

 
“My daughter, yet for Me it was a relief, and I felt as though refreshed, especially in those who were truly coming to do good.
Vol. 9, Sept. 2, 1910


However in the Agony in the Garden he went back to his Apostles more than once seeking comfort and help and even reached the point of asking the Father to let the chalice pass, if possible.

This agony of my Will is so painful, that my Humanity, which wanted to suffer it in the Garden of Gethsemani, reached the point of seeking help from my very Apostles - and even that I did not obtain; and the spasm was such that I sweated living blood.  And feeling Myself succumbing under the enormous weight of the agony of my Divine Will, so long and terrible, I invoked the help of my Celestial Father, saying to Him:  ‘Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me’.  In all the other pains of my Passion, as atrocious as they were, I never said:  ‘If it be possible, let this pain pass’.  On the contrary, on the cross I cried out:  ‘I thirst’ – I thirst for pains.  But in this pain of the agony of the Supreme Will, I felt all the weight of an agony so long, all the torment of a Divine Will that agonizes - that writhes in the human generations.  What sorrow! There is no sorrow that can equal this.

Vol. 20, Nov. 19, 1926


Jesus states he was left without help but he continues to go on to tell of how he did have two supports which allowed him to bear the weight of the Agony and which carried him through the rest of his Passion.

“My daughter, my agony in the garden was hard and painful, maybe more painful than that of the Cross.  In fact, if that was the fulfillment and the triumph over all, here in the garden it was the beginning, and sufferings are felt more at the beginning than when they are ended.  But in this agony the most harrowing pain was when all sins came before Me, one by one.  My Humanity comprehended all their enormity, and each crime carried the mark,  ‘Death to a God’, armed with sword to kill Me!  Before the Divinity, sin appeared to Me as so very horrifying and more horrible than death itself.  Just in comprehending what sin means, I felt I was dying - and I did really die.  I cried out to the Father, but He was inexorable.  Not even one was there to help Me, so as not to let Me die.  I cried out to all creatures to have pity on Me - but in vain.  So, my Humanity languished, and I was about to receive the last death-blow.

“But do you know who prevented the execution and sustained my Humanity from dying?  The first was my inseparable Mama.  In hearing Me ask for help, She flew to my side and sustained Me; and I leaned my right arm on Her. Almost dying, I looked at Her, and I found in Her the immensity of my Will intact, without ever a break between my Will and hers.  My Will is Life, and since the Will of the Father was immovable and death was coming to Me from creatures, another creature, who enclosed the Life of my Will, gave Me Life.  And here is my Mama who, in the portent of my Will, conceived Me and gave Me birth in time, now giving Me Life for the second time to let Me accomplish the work of Redemption. 

“Then I looked to my left, and I found the little daughter of my Will.  I found you as the first, followed by the other daughters of my Will.  Since I wanted my Mama with Me as the first link of Mercy, through which we were to open the doors to all creatures, I wanted to lean my right arm on Her.  And I wanted you as the first link of Justice, to prevent It from unloading Itself upon all creatures as they deserve; therefore I wanted to lean my left arm on you, so that you might sustain It together with Me.    

“With these two supports I felt life come back to Me, and as if I had not suffered anything, with firm step, I went to meet my enemies.  In all the pains that I suffered during my Passion, many of which were capable of giving Me death, these two supports never left Me.  And when they saw Me nearly dying, with my own Will which they contained, they sustained Me, as though giving Me many sips of life.  Oh! prodigies of my Will.  Who can ever count them and calculate their value?  This is why I love so much one who lives in my Will:  I recognize my portrait in her, my noble features; I feel my own breath, my voice; and if I did not love her I would defraud Myself.  I would be like a father without offspring, without the noble cortege of his court, and without the crown of his children.  And if I did not have the offspring, the court and the crown, how could I call Myself a King?  My Kingdom is formed by those who live in my Will, and from this Kingdom, I choose the Mother, the Queen, the children, the ministers, the army, the people.  I am everything for them, and they are everything for Me.”

Vol. 13, Nov. 19, 1921

Those that live in his Will, his own Mother taking the first role, followed by Luisa and all those who who then want to live in his Will become his support.  Mary on his right he states was his support to accomplish the work of Redemption, "the first link of Mercy.  Luisa and all who follow to live in his Will he states are "the first link of Justice."  The first opens the doors to all creatures to be saved, the second prevents Justice "from unloading Itself upon creatures."  This will need another post to examine but it seems the message here is that in his most atrocious agony which he states outweighed all the rest of his Passion in which he found no comfort from either his own apostles or the love of the Father he found his support to endure from the children of the Divine Will.  To be able to bring comfort to God is no small matter indeed and remember Jesus will never be outdone in generosity.

Triple sufferings

The Passion of our Lord was the perfect act of reparation and of rendering to God the Father the glory due to him.  In order to do do as God is triple in his Trinity so his acts are triple as well and this can be seen in the Passion.   In the fall of man sin was a triple act as well involving his will, intellect and memory, that is the image in which he was created similar to his God, and this is reflected in the Passion. 

 

 

I was thinking about the Passion of my always lovable Jesus, especially of what He suffered in the Garden. I found myself all immersed in Jesus, and He told me:

“My daughter, my first Passion was of love, because the first step with which man, in sinning, gives himself to evil is the lack of love; so, since love is missing, he falls into sin. In order to be repaid through Me for the lack of love of the creatures, love made Me suffer more than anyone; It almost crushed Me, more than if I were under a press. It gave Me as many deaths for as many creatures receiving life.

“The second step that occurs in sin is defrauding God of His glory. So, in order to be repaid for the glory taken away by the creatures, the Father made Me suffer the Passion of sin, such that each sin gave Me a special Passion. Although there was one Passion, I suffered for sin as many Passions as there would be sins committed until the end of the world. So, the glory of the Father was restored.

“The third effect produced by sin is weakness in man. Therefore, I wanted to suffer the Passion from the hands of the Jews - my third Passion - to restore in man his lost strength.

“Therefore, with the Passion of love, love was restored and placed at the right level; with the Passion of sin, the glory of the Father was restored and placed at its level; with the Passion of the Jews, the strength of the creatures was placed at its level and restored. I suffered all this in the Garden, and the pain was so much, so many the deaths - the atrocious spasms inflicted upon Me, that I really would have died if the Will of the Father for my death had arrived.”

Vol. 11, Jan. 22, 1913

Then, after this, I saw blessed Jesus for just a little, and He told me:  “My daughter…” (and this, because I was thinking of how Our Lord let Himself be crowned with thorns, not once, but as many as three times; and since those thorns, broken, remained inside His head, as the crown of thorns would be driven in again the thorns which were already there would penetrate deeper.  And I said:  ‘My sweet love, why did You want to suffer this painful martyrdom as many as three times?  Was one time not enough to pay for our evil thoughts?’)  …So, making Himself seen, He said:

       “My daughter, not only was the crowning with thorns triple, but almost all the pains I suffered in my Passion were triple.  Triple were the three hours of agony in the garden; triple was the scourging, as they scourged Me with three different types of lashes; three times did they strip Me, and as many as three times was I condemned to death:  at nighttime, early in the morning, and in broad daylight.  Triple were my falls under the Cross; triple the nails; three times did my Heart pour out blood:  in the garden by Itself; in the act of the crucifixion from Its very center, when I was stretched well on the Cross - so much so that my body was all dislocated and my Heart was smashed inside and poured out blood; and after my death, when my side was opened with a lance.  Triple were the three hours of agony on the Cross.  If one wanted to ruminate on everything – oh, how many ‘triples’ he would find!  And this was not by chance, but everything was so because of divine disposition, to render the glory due to the Father complete, as well as the reparation owed to Him by creatures and the good to be earned for creatures themselves.  In fact, the greatest good that the creature has received from God was being created in His image and likeness, and endowed with three powers – intellect, memory and will – and there is no sin that the creature commits in which these three powers do not concur.  So, she stains and disfigures the beautiful divine image that she contains within herself, using the gift to offend the Giver.  And I, in order to restore this divine image in the creature and to give God all the glory that the creature owed Him, concurred with all my intellect, memory and will, in a special way with these ‘triples’ suffered by Me, in order to render both the glory due to the Father and the good which was necessary for creatures complete.”

Vol. 6, Sept. 26, 1904


In such suffering as our Lord took upon himself it is easy to focus on how much we have failed in causing such to occur but I think the greater focus is the immense love that our God has for us.  In each act we own him a triple act of love, active in our will, remembered and renewed in our memory, and understood and compassionated in our intellect.  But God will always be God and in this game of love he will never be outdone but will always overwhelm us in his goodness.

This morning, having received Holy Communion, I saw my adorable Jesus for a little while, and as soon as I saw Him, I said to Him:  ‘My sweet Good, tell me, do You continue to love me?’  And He:

  “Yes, but I am loving and jealous, jealous and loving.  Even more, I tell you that in order to be perfect, love must be triple, and in Me there are these triple conditions of love:  first, I love you as Creator, as Redeemer and as Lover.  Second, I love you in my omnipotence which I used in creating you, and in creating everything for love of you, in such a way that air, water, fire, and everything else, tell you that I love you and that I made them for love of you; I love you as my image, and I love you out of regard for you individually.  Third, I love you ab aeterno [from eternity], I love you in time, and I love you for all eternity.  And this is nothing but a breath that came out of my love; imagine, yourself, what must be the love I contain within Myself.  Now, you are obliged to return to Me this triple love, loving Me as your God in whom you must fix all of yourself, and let nothing come out of you which is not love for Me; loving me out of regard for yourself and for the good that comes to you; and loving Me for all, and in all.”

Vol. 4, Jan. 11, 1902