Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Thursday, 21 July 2016
Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Monday, 20 June 2016
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
THE TESTIMONY OF CATALINA ON THE HOLY MASS
In a marvelous catechesis, the Lord
and the Virgin Mary have been instructing us, in the first place, about the way
to pray the Holy Rosary, to pray with our hearts, meditating and enjoying the
moments of our encounter with God and our Blessed Mother. They have also taught
us the way to make a good Confession, and [in this testimony] they have shown
us what takes place during the celebration of the Holy Mass and the way to live
it with our hearts.
2) This is the testimony that I must and want to give to the whole world, for the greater Glory of God and for the salvation of all those who want to open their hearts to Him. It is given so that many souls who are consecrated to God may rekindle the fire of their love for Christ; those who own the hands that have the power to bring Christ to earth to be our nourishment [the priestly souls] and the others [the religious souls] that they may break loose of the habit of receiving Him as a “routine practice” I 5 and relive the amazement of the everyday encounter with Love. And it is given so that my lay brothers and sisters the world over may live the greatest of Miracles, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with their hearts.
3) It was the vigil of the Annunciation and the members of our group and I had gone to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some of the ladies of the prayer group were not able to do it then, and they left their Confession for the next day before Holy Mass.
4) When I arrived to Church the next day, a little bit late, His Excellency, the Archbishop and the priests were already coming out of the sacristy. With that gentle and feminine voice that sweetens one’s soul, the Virgin Mary said:
5) “Today is a day of learning for you; and I want you to pay close attention because all that you witness today, everything that you experience on this day; you will have to share with all humanity.” I became awe struck and did not understand [the meaning of Her words] but I tried to be very attentive. 6) The first thing I noticed was a choir of very beautiful voices that was singing as if from far away. At times the music would draw closer and then move farther away, like the sound of the wind.
7) His Excellency started Mass, and when he reached the Penitential Rite the Blessed Virgin said:
8) “From the bottom of your heart ask the Lord’s forgiveness for all your faults, for having offended Him. In this way you will be able to participate worthily in this privilege that is, to attend Holy Mass.”
9) I must have thought for a split second: ”But I am in the state of Grace. I just went to confession last night.”
10) She answered: “Do you think you have not offended the Lord since last night? Let Me remind you of a few things. When you were leaving home to come here, the girl who helps you approached 6 you to ask for something, and since you were running late, you answered her in a hurry and not in the best way. That was a lack of charity on your part, and you say that you have not offended God...?
11) "On your way here a bus crossed into your lane and almost hit you. You expressed yourself in an unfitting manner against that poor man, instead of coming saying your prayers and preparing yourself for Mass. You showed lack of charity and you lost your peace and patience. And you say that you have not hurt the Lord…?
12) "You arrive at the last minute when the procession of the celebrants to the Altar has begun… and you are going to participate in the Mass without previous preparation..."
13) “All right my Mother, say no more to me,” I replied. “You do not have to remind me of more things because I am going to die of grief and shame.”
14) "Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should arrive earlier so that you can say a prayer and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems and your distractions in order that you may be able to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the celebration is about to begin, and you participate in Mass as if it were an ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why? This is the greatest of Miracles. You are going to live the moment when the Most High God gives His greatest gift and you do not appreciate it."
15) That was enough. I felt so bad that I had more than enough to ask for forgiveness from God. Not only for the offenses of that day, but also for all the times that, like so many other people, I had waited for the priest to finish his homily before I entered the Church. I asked forgiveness for the times when I did not know or refused to understand what it meant to be 7 there, and for the times perhaps, when having my soul full of more serious sin, I had dared to participate in the Holy Mass. 16) It was a Feast day and the Gloria was to be recited. Our Lady said: “Glorify and bless the Most Holy Trinity with all your love, in your acknowledgement of being the Trinity’s creature.”
17) How different was that Gloria! Suddenly I saw myself in a far off place full of light, before the Majestic Presence of the Throne of God. With how much love I went on thanking Him, as I repeated: “For your immense Glory we praise You, we bless You, we worship You, we glorify You, we give You thanks, Lord, God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.” And I evoked the paternal countenance of the Father, full of kindness… “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…” And Jesus was in front of me, with that face full of tenderness and Mercy...” For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the most High Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit...” the God of beautiful Love.... He, Who at that moment, was filling my entire being with joy…
18) And I asked: “Lord, deliver me from all evil spirits. My heart belongs to You. My Lord, send me Your peace so that I may obtain the best possible benefits from this Eucharist and that my life may produce the finest fruits. Holy Spirit of God, transform me, act within me, guide me. Oh God, give me the gifts that I need to serve you better…!”
19) The moment of the Liturgy of the Word arrived and the Virgin Mary had me repeat: “Lord, today I want to listen to Your Word and produce abundant fruit. Let Your Holy Spirit cleanse the soil of my heart so that Your Word may grow and develop in it. Lord, purify my heart so that it may be well disposed.”
20) Our Lady said: “I want you to be attentive to the readings and to the entire homily of the priest. Remember that the Bible says that the Word of God does not return without having born fruit. If you are attentive, something of all that you have heard will remain in 8 you. You must try to recall all day long those Words that have left an impression on you. Sometimes it may be two verses; other times the reading of the entire Gospel or perhaps only one word. Savor them for the rest of the day and this will then become part of you, because that is the way to change one’s life, by allowing the Word of God to transform you.
21) “And now tell the Lord that you are here to listen to what, you want Him to say to your heart today.”
22) Once again I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to hear His Word. And I asked Him to forgive me for having had so hard a heart for so many years, and for having taught my children that they should go to Mass on Sunday [only] because it was so commanded by the Church and not for love, for the need to be filled by God…
23) For I, who had attended so many Eucharistic Celebrations, mostly to fulfill an obligation, and thus believed that I was saved, the thought of living the celebration had never entered my mind, much less that of paying attention to the readings or to the priest’s homily!
24) What great sorrow did I feel about so many years of needless loss because of my ignorance!… How superficial is our attendance at Mass when we go only because it is a wedding Mass or a funeral Mass or because we want to be seen by society! What great ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments! How much waste in trying to educate ourselves and becoming cultured about the things of the world, things which can disappear in one moment leaving us with nothing. Things, which at the end of our lives, do not even serve us to prolong our existence by one single minute! And yet we know nothing of what will obtain for us a little bit of Heaven on earth and eventually, eternal life. And we call ourselves cultured men and women…!
25) A moment later came the Offertory, and the Holy Virgin said: “Pray like this: (and I followed) Lord, I offer all that I am, all that I have, all that I can. I put everything into Your Hands. Build up Lord, 9 with the little that I am. Transform me, God Almighty, through the merits of Your Son. I ask for my family, for my benefactors, for each member of our Apostolate, for all the people who persecute us, for those who commend themselves to my poor prayers… Teach me to lay my heart down on the ground before them, so that their walk may be less hard... This is how the saints prayed; this is how I want all of you to pray.”
26) And this is how Jesus asks us to pray, that we lay our hearts on the ground so that they [for whom we intercede] may not feel its harshness, but rather that we give them relief through the pain caused by their stepping on our hearts. Years later, I read a prayer booklet by a Saint whom I love dearly, José MarÃa Escrivá de Balaguer, and in that booklet I found a prayer similar to that which the Virgin Mary taught me. Perhaps this Saint, to whom I entrust myself, pleased the Virgin Mary with those prayers.
27) Suddenly, some characters that I had not seen before began to stand up. It was as if from the side of each person present in the Cathedral another person emerged, and soon the Cathedral became full of young beautiful beings. They were dressed in very white robes and started to move into the central isle, on their way to the Altar.
28) Our Mother said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord.”
29) At that point I was completely astonished because these beings had such beautiful faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very beautiful, they had almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very beautiful. 10
30) Some of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something [inside] that shone a great deal with a golden white light. The Virgin Mary said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of the people, who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of the significance of this celebration, those who have something to offer to the Lord…
31) “Make your offering at this moment… Offer up your sorrows, your pains, your dreams, your sadness, your joys. Offer your petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in your offering and in your asking.”
32) Behind the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were going empty handed. The Virgin Mary said: “Those are the angels of the people who, in spite of being here, never offer anything. They have no interest in living every liturgical moment of the Mass, and their Angels have no offerings to carry before the Altar of the Lord.”
33) At the end of the procession came other Angels who were rather sad, with their hands together in prayer, but with their eyes downcast. “These are the Guardian Angels of the people who are here, yet they are not here. That is to say, they are the people who have seen themselves forced to come, who have come here out of obligation but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. Their Angels go forth in sadness because they have nothing to carry to the Altar, except for their own prayers.
34) “Do not sadden your Guardian Angels… Ask for much. Ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your relatives, your neighbors, for those who commend themselves to your prayers. Ask for much, not only for yourselves, but also for all the others.
35) “Remember that the offering which most pleases the Lord, is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus, upon His 11 descent may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin, but the offering of yourselves united to the merits of Jesus, is pleasing to the Father.”
36) That spectacle, that procession was so beautiful, that it would be difficult to compare it to another. All those celestial creatures were bowing before the Altar, some leaving their offering on the floor, others prostrating themselves on their knees, their foreheads almost touching the ground. And upon reaching the Altar, they would disappear from my sight.
37) The final moment of the Preface had arrived, and suddenly, when the assembly was saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” everything that was behind the celebrants disappeared. Behind the left side of the Archbishop appeared thousands of Angels in a diagonal line: small Angels, large Angels, Angels with immense wings, Angels with small wings, Angels with no wings. Like the previous Angels, all were dressed in tunics like the white albs of the priests and altar boys.
38) Everyone knelt down with hands placed together in prayer and bowed their heads in reverence. You could hear the most beautiful music, as if there were very many choirs harmonizing in different voices, all of them saying in unison with the people: Holy, Holy, Holy…
39) The moment of the Consecration had arrived, the moment of the most marvelous of Miracles… Behind the right side of the Archbishop appeared a multitude of people also in a diagonal line. They were dressed in the same kind of tunics as the Guardian Angels but in soft colors: rose, green, light blue, lilac, yellow; that is, in different and very soft colors. Their faces were also brilliant, full of joy. They all seemed to be of the same age. You could tell (and I cannot say why) that there were people of different ages but their faces looked the same, without wrinkles, happy. They all knelt down as well, at the singing of the “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord…” 12
40) Our Lady said: “These are all the Saints and the Blessed in Heaven, and among them are also the souls of your relatives and family members who already enjoy the Presence of God.” Then I saw Her. She was there, exactly to the right of His Excellency, the Archbishop… a step behind the celebrant. She was suspended a little off the floor, kneeling on some very fine fabrics, transparent but luminous at the same time, like crystalline waters. The Holy Virgin, Her hands joined together, was looking attentively and respectfully at the celebrant. And She was speaking to me from there, but silently, directly to my heart, without looking at me:
41) “It seems strange to you seeing Me a little behind Monsignor1 , does it not? This is how it should be... Notwithstanding how much My Son loves Me, He has not given Me the dignity that He gives a priest, of being able to bring My Son in My hands daily, as the priestly hands do. Because of this I feel such profound respect for a priest and for the whole miracle that God carries out through a priest, that I am compelled to kneel here.”
42) My God, how much dignity, how much grace the Lord pours out over the priestly souls. And neither we, nor perhaps some of them, are aware of it.
43) There began to appear in front of the Altar some shadows in human form, gray in color, and they were raising their hands upwards. The Holy Virgin said: “These are the blessed souls of Purgatory who wait for your prayers to be refreshed. Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you but they cannot pray for themselves. It is you who have to pray for the blessed souls in order to help them depart [from Purgatory], that they may go to their encounter with God and enjoy Him eternally.
44) “As you see, I am here all the time. People go on pilgrimages and look for My apparition sites, and that is good because of all the graces that they receive there. But during no apparition, nor in any 13 other place am I present longer [over time] than at the Holy Mass. You will always find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated. At the foot of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”
45) To see that beautiful countenance of our Mother at that moment of the “Sanctus”, together with all the others with their resplendent faces, their hands placed together, awaiting that miracle which repeats itself continuously, was to be in Heaven itself. And to think that there are people, that there are some of us who can be distracted, talking at that moment… I say with sorrow that many men, more than women, stand with their arms crossed, as if paying homage to the Lord from one equal to another.
46) The Virgin Mary said: “Tell everybody that never is a man more a man than when he bends his knees before God.”
47) The celebrant said the words of the “Consecration.” He was a person of normal height but suddenly he began to grow and become filled with light. A supernatural light between white and gold enveloped him and grew very strong around his face, in such a way that I could not see his features. When he raised the Sacred Form, I saw his hands. There were some marks on the back of his hands, from which emanated a great deal of light. It was Jesus!… It was He Who was wrapping His Body around the celebrant, as if He were lovingly surrounding the hands of His Excellency. At that moment the Host began to grow and became enormous, and upon it was the marvelous Face of Jesus, looking toward His people.
48) By instinct I was about to bow my head and Our Lady said: “Do not look down. Look up to view and contemplate Him. Cross your gaze with His and repeat the Fatima prayer: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love You. Forgiveness and Mercy… Now tell Him how much you love Him and render your homage to the King of Kings.” 14
49) I told it to Him. It seemed that I was the only one that He was looking at from the enormous Host. But I learned that this was how He gazed at each person, with love to the fullest. Then I bowed my head until I had my forehead on the floor, as did all the Angels and the Blessed from Heaven. I wondered, perhaps for a fraction of a second, what was all that about Jesus taking on the body of the celebrant, and at the same time being inside the Host, which upon being lowered by the celebrant, became small again. Tears were running down my cheeks. I was unable to let go of my astonishment. 50) Immediately afterwards, Monsignor said the consecratory words for the wine and, as the words were being said, lightning began to flash in the sky and in the background. There was no church ceiling and no walls. It was all in darkness, but for that brilliant light on the Altar.
51) Suddenly, I saw Jesus crucified suspended in the air. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of His chest. The cross beam of the Cross was sustained by some strong, large hands. From within the resplendent light, a much smaller, brilliant light came forth like that of a very small, very brilliant dove. It swiftly flew once around the entire Church and went to rest on the left shoulder of His Excellency who continued being Jesus, because I could make out His long hair, His luminous wounds and His large body, but I could not see His Face.
52) Above, was Jesus crucified, His head fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to contemplate His face, His bruised arms and torn flesh. He had a wound on the right side of His chest and blood was gushing out toward the left; and what looked like water, but very brilliant, [gushed out] toward the right. They were more like jets of light coming forth towards the faithful, and moving to the right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing into the Chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but not a single drop was spilled!
53) At that moment the Virgin Mary said: “This is the miracle of miracles. I have repeated this to you. Time and space do not exist for the Lord, and at the moment of the Consecration all the 15 assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.”
54) Can anyone imagine that? Our eyes cannot see it, but we all are there at the very moment when Jesus is being crucified, and He is asking for forgiveness to the Father, not only for those who are killing Him, but also for each one of our sins: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” 55) From that day on, I do not care if I am taken for a mad woman but I ask everyone to kneel and to try to live this privilege that the Lord grants us, with his or her heart and with all the sensitivity that she or he is capable.
56) When we were about to pray the Our Father, the Lord spoke for the first time during the celebration and said: “Wait, I want you to pray with the deepest profundity that you can summon. At this moment I want you to bring to mind that person or persons who have done you the most harm during your life, so that you may embrace them close to your bosom and say to them from your heart: “In the Name of Jesus, I forgive you and wish you peace. In the Name of Jesus, I ask for your forgiveness and wish you my peace. If the person merits peace, he or she will receive it and greatly benefit from it; if that person is not capable of opening up to peace, then that peace will return to your heart. But I do not want you to receive or offer peace to others when you are not capable of forgiving and feeling that peace in your own heart first.
57) “Beware of what you do,” continued the Lord “You repeat in the Our Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. If you are capable of forgiving and not forgetting, as some say, you are conditioning the forgiveness of God. You are saying: forgive me only as I am capable of forgiving but not further.”
58) I do not know how to explain my pain at the realization of how much we can hurt the Lord. Also, how much we can injure ourselves by holding so 16 many grudges, bad feelings and unflattering things, which stem from our own unconscious feelings and over-sensibilities. I forgave; I forgave from my heart, and asked for forgiveness from all the people whom I had hurt at one time or another, in order to feel the peace of the Lord.
59) The celebrant said, “...grant us peace and unity…” and then, “the peace of the Lord be with you...”
60) Suddenly I saw amid some (but not all) of the people who were embracing each other that a very intense light placed itself in between them. I knew it was Jesus and I practically threw myself to embrace the person next to me. I could truly feel the embrace of the Lord in that light. It was He Who was embracing me to give me His peace, because in that moment I had been able to forgive and remove from my heart all grief that others had caused. That is what Jesus wants, to share in that moment of joy, hugging us in order to wish us His Peace.
61) The moment of the celebrants’ Communion arrived. There I once again noticed the presence of all the priests next to Monsignor. When he took Communion, the Virgin Mary said:
62) “This is the moment to pray for the celebrant and the priests who accompany him. Repeat along with Me: “Lord, bless them, sanctify them, help them, purify them, love them, take care of them and sustain them with Your Love… Remember all the priests in the world. Pray for all the consecrated souls...”
63) Dear brothers and sisters, this is the moment in which we must pray for them, because they are the Church, as also are we, the laity. Many times we the laity demand much from the priests but we are incapable of praying for them, of understanding that they are human, and of comprehending and appreciating the solitude that many times can surround a priest.
64) We must understand that priests are people like ourselves, and that they are in need of our caring and understanding. They need affection and attention from us because in consecrating themselves to Jesus, they are giving their lives for each one of us, as He did. 17
65) The Lord wants that the people in the flock, who have been entrusted to him by God, pray and help in the sanctification of their Pastor. Someday, when we are on the other side, we will understand the wonder worked by the Lord in giving us priests to help us save our souls.
66) The people began to leave their pews to go to Communion. The great moment of the encounter in Holy Communion had arrived. The Lord said to me: “Wait a moment. I want you to observe something…” An interior impulse made me raise my eyes towards the person who was about to receive Communion on the tongue from the hands of the priest.
67) I must explain that this person was one of the ladies from our group who had been unable to get to Confession the previous night and had done so just that morning before Holy Mass. When the priest placed the Sacred Host on her tongue, something like a flash of light, that very golden-white light (that I had seen before) went right through this person’s back first, and then continued to envelop her back, her shoulders and her head. The Lord said:
68) “This is how I am pleased to embrace a soul who comes with a clean heart to receive Me!”
69) The tone of Jesus’ voice was that of a happy person. I was in awe, looking at my friend return to her pew, surrounded by light, embraced by the Lord. I thought of the wonder that we miss so many times by going to receive Jesus with our small or large offenses when it should be instead a celebration.
70) Many times we say that there are not always priests to hear our Confession. But the problem is not about always going to Confession. The problem rests in our ease of falling into evil again. On the other hand, in the same way that women make an effort to look for a beauty parlor, or that men, for a barber when we have a party, we also have to make an effort to seek a priest when we need all those dirty things removed from us. 18 We must not have the audacity to receive Jesus at any time with our hearts full of ugly things.
71) While on my way to receive Communion, Jesus said: “The Last Supper was the moment of the greatest intimacy with My own. During that hour of love I instituted what in the eyes of mankind might be the greatest madness, to make Myself a prisoner of Love. I instituted the Eucharist. I wanted to remain with you until the end of time because My Love could not bear that you, whom I loved more than My Life, be left orphans…”
72) I received that Host which had a different flavor. It was a mixture of blood and incense that inundated me entirely. I felt so much love that the tears ran down my cheeks, prevailing over my efforts to hold them back.
73) When I returned to my seat and started to kneel down, the Lord said: “Listen...” And a moment later, I began to hear the prayers of the lady who was seated in front of me and who had just received Communion.
74) What she was saying without opening her mouth was more or less like this: “Lord, remember that we are at the end of the month and I do not have the money to pay the rent, the car and the children’s school. You have to do something to help me… Please, make my husband stop drinking so much. I can no longer bear his drunken episodes, and my youngest son is going to be held back again this year if you do not help him. He has exams this week. And do not forget that my neighbor must move to another place. Have her do it at once because I cannot stand her any more… etc., etc..”
75) Then, His Excellency said: “Let us pray,” and obviously all the assembly stood up for the final prayer. Jesus said in a sad tone: “Did you notice? Not once did she tell Me that she loved Me. Not once did she give thanks for My gift to her of bringing My Divinity down to her poor humanity to elevate her toward Me. Not a single time did she say: ‘Thank You Lord.’ It has been a litany of requests… and almost all of those who come to receive Me are like that. 19
76) “I have died for love and I am risen. For love I await each one of you, and for love I remain with you... But you do not realize that I need your love. Remember that I am the Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for the soul.”
77) Do you realize that He, Love, is begging for our love and we do not give it to Him? Moreover, we avoid going to that encounter with the Love of Loves, with the only Love who gives Himself in a permanent oblation.
78) As the celebrant was about to impart the blessing, the Most Holy Virgin said: “Be attentive, be careful… [Many of] you make any old sign instead of the Sign of the Cross. Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you receive from the hands of a priest. You do not know if after leaving here you will die or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing from another priest. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect, as if it were the last one of your life.”
79) How many things we forego by not understanding and not participating daily in Holy Mass! Why not make an effort to begin the day a half-hour earlier so as to hurry to the Holy Mass and receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to pour out on us?
80) I am aware that not everybody can go to daily Mass because of their obligations, but at least two or three times a week. And yet so many avoid going to Mass on Sunday, using the smallest excuse: that they have a child, or two or ten so they cannot go to Mass. How do people manage when they have other important types of commitments? They take all the children with them, or they take turns with the husband going at one hour and the wife at another, but they fulfill their duty to God.
81) We have time to study, to work, to entertain ourselves, to rest, but WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO GO TO HOLY MASS AT LEAST ON SUNDAYS. 20
82) Jesus asked me to remain with Him a few minutes longer after Mass was over. He said:
83) “Do not run out as soon as Mass is over; stay a moment in My company. Enjoy it and let Me enjoy yours…” 84) As a child I had heard someone say that the Lord remained with us for five or ten minutes, after Communion. I asked Him at this moment:
85) “Lord, for how long do You really remain with us after Communion?”
86) I suppose that the Lord must have laughed at my silliness because He answered: “For as long as you want to have Me with you. If you speak to Me all day long, offering Me some words as you go about your chores, I will listen to you. I am always with all of you. It is you who leave Me. You come out of Mass and you are done with the day of obligation. You kept the day of the Lord and that is it. You do not think that I would like to share in your family life with you, at least on that day.
87) “In your homes you have a place for everything and a room for each activity: a room to sleep, another to cook, another to eat, etc., etc.. Which is the place you have made for Me? It must be not just a place where you have an image that is dusty all the time, but a place where at least five minutes a day, the family meets to give thanks for the day and for the gift of life, to ask for their needs of the day, to ask for blessings, protection, health… Everything has a place in your homes, but Me.
88) “Men plan their day, their week, their semester, their vacations, etc.. They know what day they are going to rest, what day they will go to the movies or to a party, or visit grandmother or the grandchildren, their friends, the children, or go to their diversions. How many families say at least once a month: ‘This is the day for our turn to go and visit Jesus in the Tabernacle, and the whole family comes to talk to Me? How many sit down before Me and have a conversation with Me, telling Me how it has been since the 21 last time, telling Me their problems, the difficulties, asking Me for what they need… allowing Me to share in their things? How many times?
89) “I know everything. I read even the deepest secrets in your hearts and minds. But I enjoy your telling Me about your things, your allowing Me to share in as a family member, as the most intimate friend. How many graces man fails to receive by not giving Me a place in his life!”
90) When I stayed with Him that day and on many other days, He continued to give us teachings, and today I want to share them with you on this mission that has been entrusted to me. Jesus says:
91) “I wanted to save My creatures because the moment of opening the door to Heaven has been impregnated with too much pain…” “Remember that no mother has ever fed her child with her own flesh. I have gone to that extreme of Love in order to communicate My merits to all of you. “
92) “The Holy Mass is Myself prolonging My life and My sacrifice on the Cross among you. Without the merits of My life and My Blood, what would you have to present yourselves before the Father? Nothingness, misery and sin…”
93) “You should exceed the Angels and Archangels in virtue, because they do not have the joy of receiving Me as nourishment like you do. They drink a drop from the spring, but you, who have the grace of receiving Me, have the whole ocean to drink.”
94) The other thing that the Lord spoke about with sorrow concerned the people who go to their encounter with Him out of habit, those souls who have lost the awe of each encounter with Him. He said that routine turns some people so lukewarm that they have nothing new to tell Jesus when they receive Him.
95) He spoke of no small number of consecrated souls who lose their enthusiasm about falling in love with the Lord, and turn their 22 vocation into a trade, a profession to which they give no more than what it demands of them, but without the sentiment…
96) Then the Lord spoke to me about the fruits that each Communion must yield in us. It does happen that there are people who receive the Lord daily but do not change their lives. They spend many hours in prayer and do many works, etc., etc., but their lives do not go on transforming, and a life that does not continue to transform itself cannot bear true fruits for the Lord. The merits we receive in the Eucharist should bear the fruits of conversion within us and fruits of charity toward our brothers and sisters.
97) We, the laity, have a very important role within our Church. We have no right to remain silent in the presence of the command that the Lord gives to us as baptized men and women to go forth and announce the Good News. We do not have any right to absorb all this knowledge and not share it with others, and allow our brothers and sisters to starve while we have so much bread in our hands. 98) We cannot watch our Church crumble while we are comfortably staying in our parishes and homes, receiving and receiving so much from the Lord: His Word; the priest’s homilies; the pilgrimages; the Mercy of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; the marvelous union and nourishment of Holy Communion; and the talks given by such and such preachers.
99) In other words, we are receiving so much and do not have the courage to leave our comfort zone and go to a jail, to a correctional institution and speak to those who need it the most. To tell them not to give up, that they were born Catholic and that their Church needs them there, suffering, because this suffering will serve to redeem others, because that sacrifice will gain for them eternal life.
100) We are incapable of going to hospitals, to the terminally ill, and praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to help them with our prayer during that time of struggle between good and evil, and to free them from the snares and temptations of the devil. Every dying person is fearful, and 23 they feel comforted merely by our taking their hand and talking to them, talking about the love of God and the wonder that awaits them in Heaven, close to Jesus and Mary, close to their departed ones.
101) The hour that we live does not allow us to side with the indifferent. We must be an extension of the hands of our priests and go where they cannot reach. But in order to afford ourselves the courage to do it, we must receive Jesus, live with Jesus and nourish ourselves with Jesus.
102) We are afraid to commit a little further. And yet, when the Lord says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and the rest will be added onto you,” it is about the whole thing, brothers and sisters. It means to seek the Kingdom of God in all possible ways and through all available means, and… to open our hands in order to receive EVERYTHING additionally! This is because He is the Boss, Who pays the best; the only One Who is attentive to the least of your needs! V
103) Brothers, sisters, thank you for allowing me to carry out the mission that has been entrusted to me of having these pages reach you.
104) The next time you go to Holy Mass, live it. I know that the Lord will fulfill for you His promise that “Your Mass will never again be the same as before,” and when you receive Him, love Him! Experience the sweetness of feeling yourself resting against the folds of His side, pierced for you to leave you His Church and His Mother; in order to open for you the doors to His Father’s House, so that you can feel for yourself His Merciful Love through this testimony, and try to reciprocate with your small, little love. 24
105) May God bless you on this Easter. Your sister in the Living Jesus, Catalina Lay Missionary of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Apostolate of the New Evangelization (ANE) www.Jesucristovivo.org (in Spanish) V Divine Mercy Chaplet esus gave Saint Faustina extraordinary promises of graces for those who would recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. This devotion uses ordinary rosary beads and begins with an Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed. On the large bead before each decade of the Rosary say: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On the ten small beads of each decade say: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. After praying for five decades, conclude by saying three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. For a FREE FLYER of the Novena to the Divine Mercy, send a stamped, selfaddressed envelop to the address on the next page.
2) This is the testimony that I must and want to give to the whole world, for the greater Glory of God and for the salvation of all those who want to open their hearts to Him. It is given so that many souls who are consecrated to God may rekindle the fire of their love for Christ; those who own the hands that have the power to bring Christ to earth to be our nourishment [the priestly souls] and the others [the religious souls] that they may break loose of the habit of receiving Him as a “routine practice” I 5 and relive the amazement of the everyday encounter with Love. And it is given so that my lay brothers and sisters the world over may live the greatest of Miracles, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with their hearts.
3) It was the vigil of the Annunciation and the members of our group and I had gone to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some of the ladies of the prayer group were not able to do it then, and they left their Confession for the next day before Holy Mass.
4) When I arrived to Church the next day, a little bit late, His Excellency, the Archbishop and the priests were already coming out of the sacristy. With that gentle and feminine voice that sweetens one’s soul, the Virgin Mary said:
5) “Today is a day of learning for you; and I want you to pay close attention because all that you witness today, everything that you experience on this day; you will have to share with all humanity.” I became awe struck and did not understand [the meaning of Her words] but I tried to be very attentive. 6) The first thing I noticed was a choir of very beautiful voices that was singing as if from far away. At times the music would draw closer and then move farther away, like the sound of the wind.
7) His Excellency started Mass, and when he reached the Penitential Rite the Blessed Virgin said:
8) “From the bottom of your heart ask the Lord’s forgiveness for all your faults, for having offended Him. In this way you will be able to participate worthily in this privilege that is, to attend Holy Mass.”
9) I must have thought for a split second: ”But I am in the state of Grace. I just went to confession last night.”
10) She answered: “Do you think you have not offended the Lord since last night? Let Me remind you of a few things. When you were leaving home to come here, the girl who helps you approached 6 you to ask for something, and since you were running late, you answered her in a hurry and not in the best way. That was a lack of charity on your part, and you say that you have not offended God...?
11) "On your way here a bus crossed into your lane and almost hit you. You expressed yourself in an unfitting manner against that poor man, instead of coming saying your prayers and preparing yourself for Mass. You showed lack of charity and you lost your peace and patience. And you say that you have not hurt the Lord…?
12) "You arrive at the last minute when the procession of the celebrants to the Altar has begun… and you are going to participate in the Mass without previous preparation..."
13) “All right my Mother, say no more to me,” I replied. “You do not have to remind me of more things because I am going to die of grief and shame.”
14) "Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should arrive earlier so that you can say a prayer and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems and your distractions in order that you may be able to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the celebration is about to begin, and you participate in Mass as if it were an ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why? This is the greatest of Miracles. You are going to live the moment when the Most High God gives His greatest gift and you do not appreciate it."
15) That was enough. I felt so bad that I had more than enough to ask for forgiveness from God. Not only for the offenses of that day, but also for all the times that, like so many other people, I had waited for the priest to finish his homily before I entered the Church. I asked forgiveness for the times when I did not know or refused to understand what it meant to be 7 there, and for the times perhaps, when having my soul full of more serious sin, I had dared to participate in the Holy Mass. 16) It was a Feast day and the Gloria was to be recited. Our Lady said: “Glorify and bless the Most Holy Trinity with all your love, in your acknowledgement of being the Trinity’s creature.”
17) How different was that Gloria! Suddenly I saw myself in a far off place full of light, before the Majestic Presence of the Throne of God. With how much love I went on thanking Him, as I repeated: “For your immense Glory we praise You, we bless You, we worship You, we glorify You, we give You thanks, Lord, God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.” And I evoked the paternal countenance of the Father, full of kindness… “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…” And Jesus was in front of me, with that face full of tenderness and Mercy...” For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the most High Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit...” the God of beautiful Love.... He, Who at that moment, was filling my entire being with joy…
18) And I asked: “Lord, deliver me from all evil spirits. My heart belongs to You. My Lord, send me Your peace so that I may obtain the best possible benefits from this Eucharist and that my life may produce the finest fruits. Holy Spirit of God, transform me, act within me, guide me. Oh God, give me the gifts that I need to serve you better…!”
19) The moment of the Liturgy of the Word arrived and the Virgin Mary had me repeat: “Lord, today I want to listen to Your Word and produce abundant fruit. Let Your Holy Spirit cleanse the soil of my heart so that Your Word may grow and develop in it. Lord, purify my heart so that it may be well disposed.”
20) Our Lady said: “I want you to be attentive to the readings and to the entire homily of the priest. Remember that the Bible says that the Word of God does not return without having born fruit. If you are attentive, something of all that you have heard will remain in 8 you. You must try to recall all day long those Words that have left an impression on you. Sometimes it may be two verses; other times the reading of the entire Gospel or perhaps only one word. Savor them for the rest of the day and this will then become part of you, because that is the way to change one’s life, by allowing the Word of God to transform you.
21) “And now tell the Lord that you are here to listen to what, you want Him to say to your heart today.”
22) Once again I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to hear His Word. And I asked Him to forgive me for having had so hard a heart for so many years, and for having taught my children that they should go to Mass on Sunday [only] because it was so commanded by the Church and not for love, for the need to be filled by God…
23) For I, who had attended so many Eucharistic Celebrations, mostly to fulfill an obligation, and thus believed that I was saved, the thought of living the celebration had never entered my mind, much less that of paying attention to the readings or to the priest’s homily!
24) What great sorrow did I feel about so many years of needless loss because of my ignorance!… How superficial is our attendance at Mass when we go only because it is a wedding Mass or a funeral Mass or because we want to be seen by society! What great ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments! How much waste in trying to educate ourselves and becoming cultured about the things of the world, things which can disappear in one moment leaving us with nothing. Things, which at the end of our lives, do not even serve us to prolong our existence by one single minute! And yet we know nothing of what will obtain for us a little bit of Heaven on earth and eventually, eternal life. And we call ourselves cultured men and women…!
25) A moment later came the Offertory, and the Holy Virgin said: “Pray like this: (and I followed) Lord, I offer all that I am, all that I have, all that I can. I put everything into Your Hands. Build up Lord, 9 with the little that I am. Transform me, God Almighty, through the merits of Your Son. I ask for my family, for my benefactors, for each member of our Apostolate, for all the people who persecute us, for those who commend themselves to my poor prayers… Teach me to lay my heart down on the ground before them, so that their walk may be less hard... This is how the saints prayed; this is how I want all of you to pray.”
26) And this is how Jesus asks us to pray, that we lay our hearts on the ground so that they [for whom we intercede] may not feel its harshness, but rather that we give them relief through the pain caused by their stepping on our hearts. Years later, I read a prayer booklet by a Saint whom I love dearly, José MarÃa Escrivá de Balaguer, and in that booklet I found a prayer similar to that which the Virgin Mary taught me. Perhaps this Saint, to whom I entrust myself, pleased the Virgin Mary with those prayers.
27) Suddenly, some characters that I had not seen before began to stand up. It was as if from the side of each person present in the Cathedral another person emerged, and soon the Cathedral became full of young beautiful beings. They were dressed in very white robes and started to move into the central isle, on their way to the Altar.
28) Our Mother said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord.”
29) At that point I was completely astonished because these beings had such beautiful faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very beautiful, they had almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very beautiful. 10
30) Some of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something [inside] that shone a great deal with a golden white light. The Virgin Mary said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of the people, who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of the significance of this celebration, those who have something to offer to the Lord…
31) “Make your offering at this moment… Offer up your sorrows, your pains, your dreams, your sadness, your joys. Offer your petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in your offering and in your asking.”
32) Behind the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were going empty handed. The Virgin Mary said: “Those are the angels of the people who, in spite of being here, never offer anything. They have no interest in living every liturgical moment of the Mass, and their Angels have no offerings to carry before the Altar of the Lord.”
33) At the end of the procession came other Angels who were rather sad, with their hands together in prayer, but with their eyes downcast. “These are the Guardian Angels of the people who are here, yet they are not here. That is to say, they are the people who have seen themselves forced to come, who have come here out of obligation but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. Their Angels go forth in sadness because they have nothing to carry to the Altar, except for their own prayers.
34) “Do not sadden your Guardian Angels… Ask for much. Ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your relatives, your neighbors, for those who commend themselves to your prayers. Ask for much, not only for yourselves, but also for all the others.
35) “Remember that the offering which most pleases the Lord, is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus, upon His 11 descent may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin, but the offering of yourselves united to the merits of Jesus, is pleasing to the Father.”
36) That spectacle, that procession was so beautiful, that it would be difficult to compare it to another. All those celestial creatures were bowing before the Altar, some leaving their offering on the floor, others prostrating themselves on their knees, their foreheads almost touching the ground. And upon reaching the Altar, they would disappear from my sight.
37) The final moment of the Preface had arrived, and suddenly, when the assembly was saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” everything that was behind the celebrants disappeared. Behind the left side of the Archbishop appeared thousands of Angels in a diagonal line: small Angels, large Angels, Angels with immense wings, Angels with small wings, Angels with no wings. Like the previous Angels, all were dressed in tunics like the white albs of the priests and altar boys.
38) Everyone knelt down with hands placed together in prayer and bowed their heads in reverence. You could hear the most beautiful music, as if there were very many choirs harmonizing in different voices, all of them saying in unison with the people: Holy, Holy, Holy…
39) The moment of the Consecration had arrived, the moment of the most marvelous of Miracles… Behind the right side of the Archbishop appeared a multitude of people also in a diagonal line. They were dressed in the same kind of tunics as the Guardian Angels but in soft colors: rose, green, light blue, lilac, yellow; that is, in different and very soft colors. Their faces were also brilliant, full of joy. They all seemed to be of the same age. You could tell (and I cannot say why) that there were people of different ages but their faces looked the same, without wrinkles, happy. They all knelt down as well, at the singing of the “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord…” 12
40) Our Lady said: “These are all the Saints and the Blessed in Heaven, and among them are also the souls of your relatives and family members who already enjoy the Presence of God.” Then I saw Her. She was there, exactly to the right of His Excellency, the Archbishop… a step behind the celebrant. She was suspended a little off the floor, kneeling on some very fine fabrics, transparent but luminous at the same time, like crystalline waters. The Holy Virgin, Her hands joined together, was looking attentively and respectfully at the celebrant. And She was speaking to me from there, but silently, directly to my heart, without looking at me:
41) “It seems strange to you seeing Me a little behind Monsignor1 , does it not? This is how it should be... Notwithstanding how much My Son loves Me, He has not given Me the dignity that He gives a priest, of being able to bring My Son in My hands daily, as the priestly hands do. Because of this I feel such profound respect for a priest and for the whole miracle that God carries out through a priest, that I am compelled to kneel here.”
42) My God, how much dignity, how much grace the Lord pours out over the priestly souls. And neither we, nor perhaps some of them, are aware of it.
43) There began to appear in front of the Altar some shadows in human form, gray in color, and they were raising their hands upwards. The Holy Virgin said: “These are the blessed souls of Purgatory who wait for your prayers to be refreshed. Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you but they cannot pray for themselves. It is you who have to pray for the blessed souls in order to help them depart [from Purgatory], that they may go to their encounter with God and enjoy Him eternally.
44) “As you see, I am here all the time. People go on pilgrimages and look for My apparition sites, and that is good because of all the graces that they receive there. But during no apparition, nor in any 13 other place am I present longer [over time] than at the Holy Mass. You will always find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated. At the foot of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”
45) To see that beautiful countenance of our Mother at that moment of the “Sanctus”, together with all the others with their resplendent faces, their hands placed together, awaiting that miracle which repeats itself continuously, was to be in Heaven itself. And to think that there are people, that there are some of us who can be distracted, talking at that moment… I say with sorrow that many men, more than women, stand with their arms crossed, as if paying homage to the Lord from one equal to another.
46) The Virgin Mary said: “Tell everybody that never is a man more a man than when he bends his knees before God.”
47) The celebrant said the words of the “Consecration.” He was a person of normal height but suddenly he began to grow and become filled with light. A supernatural light between white and gold enveloped him and grew very strong around his face, in such a way that I could not see his features. When he raised the Sacred Form, I saw his hands. There were some marks on the back of his hands, from which emanated a great deal of light. It was Jesus!… It was He Who was wrapping His Body around the celebrant, as if He were lovingly surrounding the hands of His Excellency. At that moment the Host began to grow and became enormous, and upon it was the marvelous Face of Jesus, looking toward His people.
48) By instinct I was about to bow my head and Our Lady said: “Do not look down. Look up to view and contemplate Him. Cross your gaze with His and repeat the Fatima prayer: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love You. Forgiveness and Mercy… Now tell Him how much you love Him and render your homage to the King of Kings.” 14
49) I told it to Him. It seemed that I was the only one that He was looking at from the enormous Host. But I learned that this was how He gazed at each person, with love to the fullest. Then I bowed my head until I had my forehead on the floor, as did all the Angels and the Blessed from Heaven. I wondered, perhaps for a fraction of a second, what was all that about Jesus taking on the body of the celebrant, and at the same time being inside the Host, which upon being lowered by the celebrant, became small again. Tears were running down my cheeks. I was unable to let go of my astonishment. 50) Immediately afterwards, Monsignor said the consecratory words for the wine and, as the words were being said, lightning began to flash in the sky and in the background. There was no church ceiling and no walls. It was all in darkness, but for that brilliant light on the Altar.
51) Suddenly, I saw Jesus crucified suspended in the air. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of His chest. The cross beam of the Cross was sustained by some strong, large hands. From within the resplendent light, a much smaller, brilliant light came forth like that of a very small, very brilliant dove. It swiftly flew once around the entire Church and went to rest on the left shoulder of His Excellency who continued being Jesus, because I could make out His long hair, His luminous wounds and His large body, but I could not see His Face.
52) Above, was Jesus crucified, His head fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to contemplate His face, His bruised arms and torn flesh. He had a wound on the right side of His chest and blood was gushing out toward the left; and what looked like water, but very brilliant, [gushed out] toward the right. They were more like jets of light coming forth towards the faithful, and moving to the right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing into the Chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but not a single drop was spilled!
53) At that moment the Virgin Mary said: “This is the miracle of miracles. I have repeated this to you. Time and space do not exist for the Lord, and at the moment of the Consecration all the 15 assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.”
54) Can anyone imagine that? Our eyes cannot see it, but we all are there at the very moment when Jesus is being crucified, and He is asking for forgiveness to the Father, not only for those who are killing Him, but also for each one of our sins: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” 55) From that day on, I do not care if I am taken for a mad woman but I ask everyone to kneel and to try to live this privilege that the Lord grants us, with his or her heart and with all the sensitivity that she or he is capable.
56) When we were about to pray the Our Father, the Lord spoke for the first time during the celebration and said: “Wait, I want you to pray with the deepest profundity that you can summon. At this moment I want you to bring to mind that person or persons who have done you the most harm during your life, so that you may embrace them close to your bosom and say to them from your heart: “In the Name of Jesus, I forgive you and wish you peace. In the Name of Jesus, I ask for your forgiveness and wish you my peace. If the person merits peace, he or she will receive it and greatly benefit from it; if that person is not capable of opening up to peace, then that peace will return to your heart. But I do not want you to receive or offer peace to others when you are not capable of forgiving and feeling that peace in your own heart first.
57) “Beware of what you do,” continued the Lord “You repeat in the Our Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. If you are capable of forgiving and not forgetting, as some say, you are conditioning the forgiveness of God. You are saying: forgive me only as I am capable of forgiving but not further.”
58) I do not know how to explain my pain at the realization of how much we can hurt the Lord. Also, how much we can injure ourselves by holding so 16 many grudges, bad feelings and unflattering things, which stem from our own unconscious feelings and over-sensibilities. I forgave; I forgave from my heart, and asked for forgiveness from all the people whom I had hurt at one time or another, in order to feel the peace of the Lord.
59) The celebrant said, “...grant us peace and unity…” and then, “the peace of the Lord be with you...”
60) Suddenly I saw amid some (but not all) of the people who were embracing each other that a very intense light placed itself in between them. I knew it was Jesus and I practically threw myself to embrace the person next to me. I could truly feel the embrace of the Lord in that light. It was He Who was embracing me to give me His peace, because in that moment I had been able to forgive and remove from my heart all grief that others had caused. That is what Jesus wants, to share in that moment of joy, hugging us in order to wish us His Peace.
61) The moment of the celebrants’ Communion arrived. There I once again noticed the presence of all the priests next to Monsignor. When he took Communion, the Virgin Mary said:
62) “This is the moment to pray for the celebrant and the priests who accompany him. Repeat along with Me: “Lord, bless them, sanctify them, help them, purify them, love them, take care of them and sustain them with Your Love… Remember all the priests in the world. Pray for all the consecrated souls...”
63) Dear brothers and sisters, this is the moment in which we must pray for them, because they are the Church, as also are we, the laity. Many times we the laity demand much from the priests but we are incapable of praying for them, of understanding that they are human, and of comprehending and appreciating the solitude that many times can surround a priest.
64) We must understand that priests are people like ourselves, and that they are in need of our caring and understanding. They need affection and attention from us because in consecrating themselves to Jesus, they are giving their lives for each one of us, as He did. 17
65) The Lord wants that the people in the flock, who have been entrusted to him by God, pray and help in the sanctification of their Pastor. Someday, when we are on the other side, we will understand the wonder worked by the Lord in giving us priests to help us save our souls.
66) The people began to leave their pews to go to Communion. The great moment of the encounter in Holy Communion had arrived. The Lord said to me: “Wait a moment. I want you to observe something…” An interior impulse made me raise my eyes towards the person who was about to receive Communion on the tongue from the hands of the priest.
67) I must explain that this person was one of the ladies from our group who had been unable to get to Confession the previous night and had done so just that morning before Holy Mass. When the priest placed the Sacred Host on her tongue, something like a flash of light, that very golden-white light (that I had seen before) went right through this person’s back first, and then continued to envelop her back, her shoulders and her head. The Lord said:
68) “This is how I am pleased to embrace a soul who comes with a clean heart to receive Me!”
69) The tone of Jesus’ voice was that of a happy person. I was in awe, looking at my friend return to her pew, surrounded by light, embraced by the Lord. I thought of the wonder that we miss so many times by going to receive Jesus with our small or large offenses when it should be instead a celebration.
70) Many times we say that there are not always priests to hear our Confession. But the problem is not about always going to Confession. The problem rests in our ease of falling into evil again. On the other hand, in the same way that women make an effort to look for a beauty parlor, or that men, for a barber when we have a party, we also have to make an effort to seek a priest when we need all those dirty things removed from us. 18 We must not have the audacity to receive Jesus at any time with our hearts full of ugly things.
71) While on my way to receive Communion, Jesus said: “The Last Supper was the moment of the greatest intimacy with My own. During that hour of love I instituted what in the eyes of mankind might be the greatest madness, to make Myself a prisoner of Love. I instituted the Eucharist. I wanted to remain with you until the end of time because My Love could not bear that you, whom I loved more than My Life, be left orphans…”
72) I received that Host which had a different flavor. It was a mixture of blood and incense that inundated me entirely. I felt so much love that the tears ran down my cheeks, prevailing over my efforts to hold them back.
73) When I returned to my seat and started to kneel down, the Lord said: “Listen...” And a moment later, I began to hear the prayers of the lady who was seated in front of me and who had just received Communion.
74) What she was saying without opening her mouth was more or less like this: “Lord, remember that we are at the end of the month and I do not have the money to pay the rent, the car and the children’s school. You have to do something to help me… Please, make my husband stop drinking so much. I can no longer bear his drunken episodes, and my youngest son is going to be held back again this year if you do not help him. He has exams this week. And do not forget that my neighbor must move to another place. Have her do it at once because I cannot stand her any more… etc., etc..”
75) Then, His Excellency said: “Let us pray,” and obviously all the assembly stood up for the final prayer. Jesus said in a sad tone: “Did you notice? Not once did she tell Me that she loved Me. Not once did she give thanks for My gift to her of bringing My Divinity down to her poor humanity to elevate her toward Me. Not a single time did she say: ‘Thank You Lord.’ It has been a litany of requests… and almost all of those who come to receive Me are like that. 19
76) “I have died for love and I am risen. For love I await each one of you, and for love I remain with you... But you do not realize that I need your love. Remember that I am the Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for the soul.”
77) Do you realize that He, Love, is begging for our love and we do not give it to Him? Moreover, we avoid going to that encounter with the Love of Loves, with the only Love who gives Himself in a permanent oblation.
78) As the celebrant was about to impart the blessing, the Most Holy Virgin said: “Be attentive, be careful… [Many of] you make any old sign instead of the Sign of the Cross. Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you receive from the hands of a priest. You do not know if after leaving here you will die or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing from another priest. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect, as if it were the last one of your life.”
79) How many things we forego by not understanding and not participating daily in Holy Mass! Why not make an effort to begin the day a half-hour earlier so as to hurry to the Holy Mass and receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to pour out on us?
80) I am aware that not everybody can go to daily Mass because of their obligations, but at least two or three times a week. And yet so many avoid going to Mass on Sunday, using the smallest excuse: that they have a child, or two or ten so they cannot go to Mass. How do people manage when they have other important types of commitments? They take all the children with them, or they take turns with the husband going at one hour and the wife at another, but they fulfill their duty to God.
81) We have time to study, to work, to entertain ourselves, to rest, but WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO GO TO HOLY MASS AT LEAST ON SUNDAYS. 20
82) Jesus asked me to remain with Him a few minutes longer after Mass was over. He said:
83) “Do not run out as soon as Mass is over; stay a moment in My company. Enjoy it and let Me enjoy yours…” 84) As a child I had heard someone say that the Lord remained with us for five or ten minutes, after Communion. I asked Him at this moment:
85) “Lord, for how long do You really remain with us after Communion?”
86) I suppose that the Lord must have laughed at my silliness because He answered: “For as long as you want to have Me with you. If you speak to Me all day long, offering Me some words as you go about your chores, I will listen to you. I am always with all of you. It is you who leave Me. You come out of Mass and you are done with the day of obligation. You kept the day of the Lord and that is it. You do not think that I would like to share in your family life with you, at least on that day.
87) “In your homes you have a place for everything and a room for each activity: a room to sleep, another to cook, another to eat, etc., etc.. Which is the place you have made for Me? It must be not just a place where you have an image that is dusty all the time, but a place where at least five minutes a day, the family meets to give thanks for the day and for the gift of life, to ask for their needs of the day, to ask for blessings, protection, health… Everything has a place in your homes, but Me.
88) “Men plan their day, their week, their semester, their vacations, etc.. They know what day they are going to rest, what day they will go to the movies or to a party, or visit grandmother or the grandchildren, their friends, the children, or go to their diversions. How many families say at least once a month: ‘This is the day for our turn to go and visit Jesus in the Tabernacle, and the whole family comes to talk to Me? How many sit down before Me and have a conversation with Me, telling Me how it has been since the 21 last time, telling Me their problems, the difficulties, asking Me for what they need… allowing Me to share in their things? How many times?
89) “I know everything. I read even the deepest secrets in your hearts and minds. But I enjoy your telling Me about your things, your allowing Me to share in as a family member, as the most intimate friend. How many graces man fails to receive by not giving Me a place in his life!”
90) When I stayed with Him that day and on many other days, He continued to give us teachings, and today I want to share them with you on this mission that has been entrusted to me. Jesus says:
91) “I wanted to save My creatures because the moment of opening the door to Heaven has been impregnated with too much pain…” “Remember that no mother has ever fed her child with her own flesh. I have gone to that extreme of Love in order to communicate My merits to all of you. “
92) “The Holy Mass is Myself prolonging My life and My sacrifice on the Cross among you. Without the merits of My life and My Blood, what would you have to present yourselves before the Father? Nothingness, misery and sin…”
93) “You should exceed the Angels and Archangels in virtue, because they do not have the joy of receiving Me as nourishment like you do. They drink a drop from the spring, but you, who have the grace of receiving Me, have the whole ocean to drink.”
94) The other thing that the Lord spoke about with sorrow concerned the people who go to their encounter with Him out of habit, those souls who have lost the awe of each encounter with Him. He said that routine turns some people so lukewarm that they have nothing new to tell Jesus when they receive Him.
95) He spoke of no small number of consecrated souls who lose their enthusiasm about falling in love with the Lord, and turn their 22 vocation into a trade, a profession to which they give no more than what it demands of them, but without the sentiment…
96) Then the Lord spoke to me about the fruits that each Communion must yield in us. It does happen that there are people who receive the Lord daily but do not change their lives. They spend many hours in prayer and do many works, etc., etc., but their lives do not go on transforming, and a life that does not continue to transform itself cannot bear true fruits for the Lord. The merits we receive in the Eucharist should bear the fruits of conversion within us and fruits of charity toward our brothers and sisters.
97) We, the laity, have a very important role within our Church. We have no right to remain silent in the presence of the command that the Lord gives to us as baptized men and women to go forth and announce the Good News. We do not have any right to absorb all this knowledge and not share it with others, and allow our brothers and sisters to starve while we have so much bread in our hands. 98) We cannot watch our Church crumble while we are comfortably staying in our parishes and homes, receiving and receiving so much from the Lord: His Word; the priest’s homilies; the pilgrimages; the Mercy of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; the marvelous union and nourishment of Holy Communion; and the talks given by such and such preachers.
99) In other words, we are receiving so much and do not have the courage to leave our comfort zone and go to a jail, to a correctional institution and speak to those who need it the most. To tell them not to give up, that they were born Catholic and that their Church needs them there, suffering, because this suffering will serve to redeem others, because that sacrifice will gain for them eternal life.
100) We are incapable of going to hospitals, to the terminally ill, and praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to help them with our prayer during that time of struggle between good and evil, and to free them from the snares and temptations of the devil. Every dying person is fearful, and 23 they feel comforted merely by our taking their hand and talking to them, talking about the love of God and the wonder that awaits them in Heaven, close to Jesus and Mary, close to their departed ones.
101) The hour that we live does not allow us to side with the indifferent. We must be an extension of the hands of our priests and go where they cannot reach. But in order to afford ourselves the courage to do it, we must receive Jesus, live with Jesus and nourish ourselves with Jesus.
102) We are afraid to commit a little further. And yet, when the Lord says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and the rest will be added onto you,” it is about the whole thing, brothers and sisters. It means to seek the Kingdom of God in all possible ways and through all available means, and… to open our hands in order to receive EVERYTHING additionally! This is because He is the Boss, Who pays the best; the only One Who is attentive to the least of your needs! V
103) Brothers, sisters, thank you for allowing me to carry out the mission that has been entrusted to me of having these pages reach you.
104) The next time you go to Holy Mass, live it. I know that the Lord will fulfill for you His promise that “Your Mass will never again be the same as before,” and when you receive Him, love Him! Experience the sweetness of feeling yourself resting against the folds of His side, pierced for you to leave you His Church and His Mother; in order to open for you the doors to His Father’s House, so that you can feel for yourself His Merciful Love through this testimony, and try to reciprocate with your small, little love. 24
105) May God bless you on this Easter. Your sister in the Living Jesus, Catalina Lay Missionary of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Apostolate of the New Evangelization (ANE) www.Jesucristovivo.org (in Spanish) V Divine Mercy Chaplet esus gave Saint Faustina extraordinary promises of graces for those who would recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. This devotion uses ordinary rosary beads and begins with an Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed. On the large bead before each decade of the Rosary say: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On the ten small beads of each decade say: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. After praying for five decades, conclude by saying three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. For a FREE FLYER of the Novena to the Divine Mercy, send a stamped, selfaddressed envelop to the address on the next page.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Saturday, 26 March 2016
Ash Wednesday
Into the Desert
In so many of the great figures of salvation history—Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, etc.—a period of testing or trial is required before they can commence their work. We see the same thing in the initiation rituals of primal peoples, and you can see it in Luke Skywalker’s initiation in Star Wars.
The goal of the Biblical initiation rituals is to convey this simple truth: your life is not about you. It is about God and God’s purposes for you.
This was the purpose of Jesus's forty-day sojourn in the desert, which we model during Lent. The desert represents a stripping away of our attachments, so as to make the fundamental things appear. In the desert, there are no distractions or diversions or secondary matters. Everything is basic, necessary, and simple. Either one survives or one doesn’t. One finds in the desert strengths and weaknesses he never knew he had.
So are you ready to visit your desert? Are you prepared to deal with your particular temptations to pleasure, power, money, and honor? Even if, in the past, you have not succeeded in the ways you wanted, remember that our God is a God of second chances. It’s never too late to start again.
On this Ash Wednesday, let's recommit ourselves and together journey into the desert.
Lent Day 2
Mustard Seeds
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, “the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants…so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade” (Matthew 13:31).
The first Christians understood Jesus to be speaking of his Church, the mystical body that began in the smallest way, but has come in time to be home to the nations of the world. The mustard seed of the Church began with a thirty-year-old man, dying on an instrument of torture, his disciples having fled, and his enemies mocking him. But it grew into the Body of Christ composed of billions of people in every country on the planet, and many more in heaven.
Watch this pattern repeated up and down the centuries. Francis of Assisi was something of a drifter, a young man who had repudiated the way of his father and was following the prompting of the Lord. Most people saw him as crazy, dangerous, and deranged. Soon, he attracted followers, and their number grew into the hundreds. The first Franciscan missionaries were stoned, chased away, or killed. But within a hundred years of Francis’s death, they were a world-wide organization—a mustard seed, indeed.
Mother Teresa left the relative comfort of her convent behind high walls in Calcutta and walked out into the streets of the worst slum in the world. Anyone seeing her with ordinary eyes would have written her off. But soon enough, she attracted followers who established her order in Calcutta, then around India, then in Venezuela, Rome, New York, London, and around the world. Another mustard seed.
This Lent, what mustard seed can you plant that might grow into a great tree where the birds of the air make their nests?
Lent Day 3
Freedom from Sin
The Church speaks the deepest truth about sin. It refuses to explain it away or make excuses for it or call it by another name. This is one reason for the Church’s deep unpopularity throughout the ages.
Do you remember that terrible story from the fall of 2006 in which a mad man made his way into an Amish school house in Pennsylvania and killed, in cold blood, five little girls and then himself? It would be hard to imagine a more heinous crime.
Yet, in the immediate wake of that terrible event, the families of the slain children went to visit the family of the man who had killed their little girls—and they pronounced their forgiveness of him. Their wounds, psychological and emotional, must have been as evident as the physical wounds on their kids.
And yet, they pronounced forgiveness. Mind you, it was not so much their own peace that they were offering; it was Christ’s peace, the peace beyond all understanding. But they were vehicles of it, the means by which it rushed into the world.
Can I suggest a reading of Christ’s words to the disciples that might be a tad surprising? “If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound” (John 20:23). This does indeed have a juridical sense; Christ is indeed commissioning his priests to be the instruments of sacramental forgiveness.
But I think that there is a broader sense here as well, a sense in which these words apply to all Christians, priests and laity alike. Jesus is giving his Church the enormous privilege and responsibility of bearing the divine forgiveness to a fallen world.
And see how the words of the Lord apply precisely: if you (my followers) forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven; and if you don’t, they are still held bound by them.
The Church’s great mission is the pronouncement of the forgiveness of sins, the letting-free of a sin-bound world.
Have you accepted that mission?
Lent Day 4
Peter Maurin and Concrete
Acts of Love
Today I'd like to highlight one of the great Catholic figures of the twentieth century, Peter Maurin. He was born in May of 1877 in the south of France, one of 23 children—that's not a typo. He was educated by the Christian Brothers and, early on, became deeply inspired by the example of St. Francis.
In 1909, Maurin sailed for North America and for about twenty years lived a sort of radical Franciscan life, performing manual labor during the day, sleeping in any bed he could find, dining in skid-row beaneries. Any money he made, he spent on books or gave to those less fortunate.
During these years, Maurin was trying to develop a coherent Catholic social philosophy. The main problem with society, he felt, was that sociology, economics, and politics had all been divorced from the Gospel. The Gospel was a private concern of “religious” people and had no discernable effect on the way the political, social, and economic realms were run.
In a word, he thought that society had lost its transcendent purpose. Life had come to be organized around the drive for production and the search for profits, rather than around the real spiritual development of the person.
Maurin knew that the Church had an answer to this, and it was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Maurin’s program was what he called “a personalist revolution,” which meant the building of a new world within the shell of the old, rather than waiting for social circumstances to change. The Christian should simply begin living according to a new set of values.
In 1932, Peter Maurin met a young woman in New York named Dorothy Day. For some years, Dorothy had been trying to find her path, a way of reconciling her new-found Catholic faith with her deep commitment to social action. With the arrival of Peter Maurin, she felt that her prayers had been answered.
He told her to start a newspaper which would present Catholic social teaching and provide for greater clarity of thought, and then to open “houses of hospitality” where the works of mercy could be concretely practiced. And this is precisely what she did. Together Day and Maurin founded the Catholic Worker Movement. They operated soup kitchens and bread lines for the poor, and invited homeless people to stay with them.
Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day remind us that we simply cannot love Christ without concretely loving those most in need. Love of Christ and love of neighbor coincide. Heaven and earth must come together.
Lent Day 5
Not on Bread Alone
The temptations Jesus faced in the desert may seem a little obscure to us, but, in fact, they lie at the heart of all human temptation. They are three classic substitutes for the good that is God’s will.
The first great temptation is to focus our lives on material things and the satisfaction of sensual desire: “The tempter approached him and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.’” Jesus is starving after 40 days of fasting, and he feels the temptation to use his divine power to satisfy his bodily desires.
This means that he feels the pull to make the satisfaction of bodily desire the center and ground of his life. This is the pull toward hedonism—the philosophy that the good life is the physically-satisfying life. Food, drink, sex, material things, money, comfort, or a secure sense of the future have become the supreme values for many in our culture.
Many, many people throughout history, and to this day, are waylaid by this powerful temptation. It is powerful because the desires are so basic. Thomas Merton said that the sensual desires—for food, comfort, pleasure, and sex—are like little children in that they are so immediate and so insistent.
But our lives will never open to greater depth as long as we are dominated by our physical desires. This is why in so many of the initiation rituals of primal peoples, something like fasting or sensible deprivation is essential. It is also why initiation into a demanding form of life, like the military, often involves the deprivation of sensual pleasures.
When we give way to this temptation, it shuts down the soul, for the soul has been wired for God. It was created for journey into the divine, for the beatific vision. When sensual desire dominates, those deeper and richer desires are never felt or followed. They are, as Merton said, like little children, constantly clamoring for attention.
This is why Jesus responds: “Scripture has it, ‘Not on bread alone shall man live” (Matthew 4:4). Life means so much more than sensual pleasure. Love, loyalty, relationship, family, moral excellence, aesthetic pleasure, and the aspiration after God are all so much more important.
Lent Day 6
The Allure of Power
Having failed at his first attempt to tempt Jesus in a direct and relatively crude way, the devil plays a subtler game: “The devil took him higher and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant” (Matthew 4:8).
This is the more refined temptation of power. Power is one of the greatest motivating factors in all of human history. Alexander the Great, Caesar, Marcus Aurelius, Charlemagne, the Medicis, Charles V, Henry VIII, Louis XIV, and Napoleon—these are all people who have been seduced by the siren song of power.
We notice something very disquieting in the account of this temptation: the devil admits that all the kingdoms of the world have been given to him. He owns and controls them. That is quite a sweeping indictment of the institutions of political power. Isn’t it true that it seems extremely difficult for someone to attain high positions of power and not become corrupt?
It might be useful to recall here the two great names for the devil in the Bible: ho Satanas, which means “the adversary”, and ho diabolos, which means “the liar” or “the deceiver.” Worldly power is based upon accusation, division, and lies. It’s the way that earthly rulers have always done their business. A tremendous temptation for Jesus was to use his Messianic authority to gain worldly power, to become a king. But if he had given in to this, he would not have remained a conduit of the divine grace. He would be as remembered today as, perhaps, one of the governors of Syria or satraps of Babylon.
No, Jesus wanted to be the one through whom the divine love surged into creation, and so he said to Satan, “Scripture has it, ‘You shall do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore.’”
Lent Day 7
Always Be Ready
The first two temptations were straightforward enough: sensual pleasure and power. But this third one is more elusive. It is the temptation toward glory. It is the temptation to use God, to manipulate him instead of becoming his servant: “Then the devil led him to Jerusalem, set him on the parapet of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here…’”
What does the Temple have to do with glory? There was no place more central in Jewish society than the Temple, no place more revered. To stand therefore at the very pinnacle of the Temple is to stand highest in the eyes of the world. Everyone would be watching you, even God. As the devil says to Jesus, “He will bid his angels watch over you…with their hands they will support you, lest you stumble on a stone.”
This is the temptation to self-deification, one that all of us sinners are susceptible to. It's the temptation to make ourselves the center of the universe. But Jesus replies, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” God remains God, and you must become his servant.
Having dealt with these three classic temptations—sensual pleasure, power, and self-deification—Jesus is ready for his mission.
But the Gospel ends on an ominous note: “When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.” Notice the words “for a time.” This is warning to all of us that temptation will return throughout our lives, often at key moments.
Lent is a good time to remember that we must always be ready.
Lent Day 8
Resisting the Lordship of God
The past few days we have looked at the temptation of Jesus in the desert. All temptations have one thing in common: they entice us to resist the Lordship of God in our lives.
The first human temptation began with the Great Lie in the Garden of Eden, the lie that says we can live our best life outside the rules of God. It suggests that we need total autonomy to be happy. We know this temptation well.
Likewise, the three temptations Jesus faced in the desert are temptations we all face. They're not exactly the same, of course, but his temptations represent three classic ways that we resist the Lordship of God in our lives.
First, we place sensual pleasure at the center of our concerns. We make eating, drinking, and sex our dominant concerns. But this is a mistake, for only God can legitimately fill that central position. This is why Jesus must confront this temptation, feeling its full weight, and then resist it for us.
Next, we are tempted by power. From political dictators to tyrants within families and friendships, power is alluring. This is the temptation Jesus faces as he is brought to the highest mountain and offered all the kingdoms of the world. Once more, on our behalf, acting for us, Jesus resists this temptation.
Finally, we tend to place honor in that central position. We want a high reputation, we want to be seen by everyone, admired and thought highly of. This is the temptation Jesus faces when he is taken to the parapet of the Temple, the highest place in the society of his time, the place of supreme visibility. And, for the third time, Jesus confronts and resists this temptation for us.
Today, I ask you to reflect on where you are right now. What are you doing in the garden of your life? Who is luring you and how? Are you buying into the Big Lie?
Where are you in desert? How do you stand up to the three great temptations: to sensual pleasure, to honor, and to power?
Lent Day 9
Groaning in Labor
No one has to tell us that the world as we know it is a place of suffering, travail, and woe. Just watch the nightly news, or walk through a forest preserve or nature preserve and see the slaughterhouse of the animals. You'll see injustice, violence, and blood everywhere.
In light of that, let us take a look at Paul’s mysterious and wonderful letter to the Romans: “I consider that the sufferings of the present time are as nothing compared to the glory to be revealed for us. For creation was made subject to futility…in the hope that creation itself would be set free… We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now” (Romans 8:18-22).
These are wonderful and yet puzzling words. Paul gives us the magnificent image of groaning in labor. The gestation of a baby is a slow and often uncomfortable process, and the act of giving birth—especially in Biblical times—is often horribly painful.
So the world, in all of its travail and woe, is like a maternity ward where millions of mothers are laboring to give rise to life. Or the world, in all of its travail and woe, is like a garden that stands in constant need of pruning and hoeing and cutting.
Think of an old, gnarled tree whose beauty is largely due to the signs of its struggle with life, or the beauty of an old person’s face, which arises from the twists and turns and agonies of making it through the human journey. These are signs of suffering in the present life.
And yet all of this is in service of God’s deep purposes, even when we can’t clearly see them.
Lent Day 10
Rejoice in Our Suffering
St. Paul reflected often on suffering. In his letter to the Colossians, the apostle says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24).
In his letters, Paul frequently attests to his great suffering. He was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned many times, rejected by his own people, and he suffered under the weight of some ailment—physical or psychological, we don’t really know—for the whole of his life. Finally, of course, he was put to death. He was a man who knew about pain.
But here he tells us that he rejoices in his sufferings because, somehow, they are joined to the sufferings of Christ.
How do we understand this? Well, Christ saved us through an act of suffering. He died for us on the cross, bearing in his own person the weight of our sin. On the cross, suffering and love coincided. And when you think of it, every act of love involves suffering, since love always involves bearing the burden of another.
Now in Paul’s vision, the Church is not a society or a collectivity of like-minded people. Rather, it is a body, made up of interdependent cells, molecules, and organs. We don’t just follow Christ or admire him; we participate in him. Baptism involves just this dynamic of identification and participation.
Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that we will be called upon to suffer. We have been given the privilege of carrying on Christ’s work in the world in just this way.
Charles Williams speaks of the principle of co-inherence as key to Catholicism. This is the idea that we are connected to one another much as the organs and systems of a living body are connected.
Thus, just as one system can take up the work of another, or one organ the burden of another that is ailing, so can one member of the body of Christ bear the burden of another.
In accord with Paul’s master idea, we can consciously offer our suffering—physical, spiritual, psychological—to Christ in order that he might use it, in his own mysterious manner, to benefit someone else. Christ allows us to minister through our pain.
Lent Day 11
Suffering and Salvation
There are times when the saving quality of our suffering is relatively easy to understand (even if it’s hard to bear). When a mother stays up all night, depriving herself of sleep, in order to care for a sick child, she is carrying his burden, suffering so that some of his suffering might be alleviated. When a person willingly bears an insult, and refuses to fight back or return insult for insult, he is suffering for the sake of love.
I’ll give you two more dramatic examples. First is Maximilian Kolbe. When a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz in the summer of 1942, the Nazi soldiers imposed their penalty. They took all of the prisoners from the escapees’ barracks and lined them up and then at random chose a man to be put to death in retaliation. When the man broke down in tears, protesting that he was the father of young children, a quiet bespectacled man stepped forward and said, “I am a Catholic priest; I have no family. I would like to die in this man’s place.”
Here, with brutal clarity, we can see the relationship between salvation and suffering willingly accepted. St. Maximilian Kolbe was consciously participating in the act of his Master, making up, in Paul’s language, what is still lacking in the suffering of Christ (Colossians 1:24).
And then there is St. Francis of Assisi, from whom Pope Francis took his name. Among the many stories told of St. Francis, one of the most affecting is that concerning his encounter with a leprous man.
Young Francis had a particular revulsion for leprosy. Whenever he saw someone suffering from that disease, he would run in the opposite direction. One day, he saw a leper approaching, and he sensed the familiar apprehension and disgust. But then he decided, under the inspiration of the Gospel, to embrace the man, kiss him, and give him alms. Filled with joy, Francis made his way up the road. When he turned around, he discovered the man gone, disappeared.
Once again, suffering was the concrete expression of love.
Lent Day 12
God on the Mountain
Today at Mass, we hear about the Transfiguration of Jesus, which was of great importance for the early Christians.
The Transfiguration takes place on a mountain, and this right away places it in relation to the Old Testament. Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son on a mountain; Noah’s ark comes to rest on Mt. Ararat; the law is given to Moses on Mt. Sinai; Elijah challenges the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel; Jerusalem is built on the top of Mt. Zion.
Mountains are places of encounter with God.
In the New Testament, Jesus gives the law on a mountain: the Sermon on the Mount. He dies on Mt. Calvary. And, in a climactic moment in his public life, he brings three of his disciples to the top of a mountain—and there he is transfigured before them.
What is especially being stressed here is the manner in which Jesus represents the fulfillment of the Old Testament revelation, economically symbolized by the two figures with whom he converses: Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophets.
When a Jew of Jesus’ time would speak of the Scriptures, he would use a shorthand: the Law and the Prophets. So in speaking to Moses and Elijah, in the glory of the Transfiguration, Jesus signals that he brings the law and the prophets to their proper fulfillment.
N.T. Wright, the great contemporary Biblical scholar, says that the Old Testament remained, fundamentally, a story without an ending, a promise without fulfillment…that is, until Jesus came into history.
Lent Day 13
What the Transfiguration Means
At the Transfiguration, Moses represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets. But why were Peter, James, and John present? And what does this event mean to us today?
St. Thomas Aquinas devotes an entire section in his Summa theologiae to the Transfiguration. His treatment offers some answers.
Aquinas says that it was fitting that Christ be manifested in his glory because those who are walking an arduous path need a clear sense of the goal of their journey. The arduous path is this life, with all of its attendant sufferings, failures, setbacks, disappointments, and injustices. And its goal is heavenly glory, which is fullness of life with God, the transformation of our bodies.
As Jesus makes his way toward the cross, he accordingly allows, for a brief time, his glory to shine through, the radiance of his divinity to appear. This event is meant to awaken our sense of wonder and affirm that we are not meant finally for this world.
Next, Aquinas asks about the “light” or the “glory” that envelops Christ during the Transfiguration, noting that it “shines.” Why have people, trans-historically and trans-culturally, associated holiness with light? Well, light is that by which we see, that which illumines and clarifies. But light is also beautiful, and beautiful things shine. Aquinas says that Jesus, at the Transfiguration, began to shine with the radiance of heaven so as to entrance us with the prospect of our own transfiguration.
Finally, Aquinas talks about the “witnesses” to the Transfiguration, namely Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah. Moses stands for the Law, and Jesus recapitulates, perfects, and illumines the Mosaic law: “I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it.” Christ is the new Moses, the new Lawgiver.
Similarly, Elijah stands for the prophets; he was the greatest of the prophets. The prophets spoke the words of God. And since Jesus is the Word of God, the prophetic books are read in his light.
So why is Peter there? Because, says Aquinas, he loved the Lord the most. Why is John there? Because the Lord loved him the most. Why is James there? Because he was the first of the Apostles to die for his faith. Who gets access to the glory of Jesus? Those who are tied to him through love
Lent Day 14
Where is Your Mountain?
As we continue our meditations, especially focusing on the Transfiguration, I would like to reflect on prayer. Studies show that prayer is a very common, popular activity. Even many people who profess no belief in God still pray!
But what precisely is prayer—or better, what ought it to be? The Transfiguration is extremely instructive. We hear that Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him “up the mountain to pray.” Now, as we’ve said before, mountains are standard Biblical places of encounter with God. The idea was that the higher you go, the closer you come to God.
We don’t have to be literal about this, but we should unpack its symbolic sense. In order to commune with God, you have to step out of your every day, workaday world. The mountain symbolizes transcendence, otherness, the realm of God. If people say, “I pray on the go” or “my work is my prayer,” they’re not really people of prayer.
Your mountain could be church, a special room in your house, the car, or a corner of the natural world. But it has to be someplace where you have stepped out of your ordinary business. And you have to take the time to do it. Jesus and his friends literally stepped away in order to pray.
The text then says, “While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white” (Luke 9:29). The reference here is to Moses whose face was transfigured after he communed with God on Mt. Sinai. But the luminosity is meant in general to signal the invasion of God.
In the depths of prayer, when you have achieved a communion with the Lord, the light of God’s presence is kindled deep inside of you, at the very core of your existence. And then it begins to radiate out through the whole of your being. That’s why it is so important that Luke mentions the clothing of Jesus becoming dazzling white. Clothes evoke one’s contact with the outside world.
The God discovered in prayer should radiate out through you to the world, so that you become a source of illumination.
Lent Day 15
From Mountain to Mission
We’ve mentioned before how Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, but there is more to their appearance at the Transfiguration than just a symbolic representation or shorthand for the Jewish Scriptures. They give us additional insights into the nature of prayer.
Recall that the text says, “Behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah…” When you pray, you step out of the ordinary world of space and time and enter into the properly eternal realm of God. This means that you can come into contact with the past and the future. You establish contact with what the Church calls “the communion of saints,” all those friends of God over the centuries. We speak of invoking the saints, speaking with them, seeking their help and intercession. This is not just pious talk. It is grounded in this metaphysics of eternity.
But what precisely are Jesus, Moses, and Elijah talking about? The answer is “…his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). We notice first of all the thematic connection between the Exodus that Moses led—a journey from slavery to freedom—and the exodus that Jesus would accomplish on the cross, a journey from sin and death to resurrection.
In both cases, it is a great work of liberation and life-giving love. This is key: the fruit of prayer in the Biblical tradition is action on behalf of the world. We are, essentially, a mission religion. Even the highest moments of mystical union are meant to conduce to doing God’s work in the world, to becoming a conduit of the divine grace. This is why Peter’s line is so important: “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Luke 9:33).
As Luke points out immediately, “But he did not know what he was saying.” The point of prayer is not to stay on the mountain. It is not to cling to mystical experience, however wonderful. It is to become radiant with the divine light so as to share it with the world. And this is why the voice from the cloud, once it identified Jesus, specified, “Listen to him.”
Lent Day 16
Like a Flash of Lightning
One of the key visuals in the story of the Transfiguration is the divine light that radiates from Jesus. Matthew says, “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” Luke reports, “His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” And Mark says, “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”
This light seems to signal the beauty and radiance of a world beyond this one, a world rarely seen, and only occasionally glimpsed, amidst the griminess and ordinariness of this world.
Is this beautiful and radiant world ever seen today? Let me share a few stories with you. When I was traveling recently, I met a man who, as a young man, encountered St. Padre Pio, the famous stigmatist. He was privileged to serve his Mass. During the elevation of the host, after the consecration, this man noticed something remarkable: there was a glow around the holy man’s hands. Years later when he heard reports of “auras” he said to himself, “That’s what I saw that day.”
Malcolm Muggeridge, the English journalist and convert to Catholicism, was filming Mother Teresa for a documentary. One day, the electricity was out, and he bemoaned the fact that he had to film her without lights, convinced that the day would be lost. But when the film was developed, he noticed that the scenes were beautifully lit, and it appeared as though the light was coming from her.
And I know this might be a bit of a stretch, but there is scientific speculation that the marks on the shroud of Turin, the holy icon thought by many to be the burial shroud of Christ, were caused by a burst of radiant energy—light energy.
From the time of the earliest disciples, the holy followers of Jesus were pictured with halos above their heads. What is a halo if it is not the divine light breaking into our world today?
Lent Day 17
Mass and the Mountain
Yesterday we talked about the divine light as it appears through holy men and women. But is it possible for us ordinary people to see this light? I suggest that we do so every time we enter into the drama and beauty of the liturgy.
As Jesus appears in full glory, Peter, James, and John fall down in holy fear. This suggests an attitude of worship, the stance that all of us assume every time we approach the altar of God.
See also how the story paints an icon of the liturgy, both earthly and heavenly. At the center of it stands Jesus, the light of the world, the source of life. On either side of him stand Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the prophet). In the course of the liturgy, we read from the Old Testament, described in Jesus’ time in the shorthand of “the Law and the Prophets.”
Moses and Elijah also stand for the communion of saints, those who have been drawn into the heavenly life and who commune with Jesus. They are present at the liturgy, too, as we invoke them just before the Eucharistic prayer: “with the angels and the saints.”
There is also a “bright cloud” and from the cloud a voice declaring, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The bright cloud signifies the Holy Spirit, and the voice is that of God the Father. This is a Trinitarian theophany—as at the Baptism of Jesus—and this theophany runs right through the liturgy from beginning to end.
After the vision, Peter, James, and John return to their day-to-day lives, coming back down the mountain. So, after we have glimpsed the light, we are told, “Go, the Mass is ended.”
Lent Day 18
God of the Nations
While we take comfort from much of the Bible’s message, the Bible is not always comforting news. It often carries a message of warning and danger. It’s good for us, during this Lenten season, to attend to the darker side of the Biblical message.
For example, when we read in the Old Testament about the pollution of the Lord’s Temple, it’s a familiar prophetic theme: the people have wandered from the ways of God, rendering impure what God intends to be just and upright. God sends prophet after prophet in order to bring his people back, but they are ignored, mocked, and rejected. Then God’s judgment falls on the unfaithful nation.
What is the instrument of God’s justice? One of the heathen nations, the Chaldeans, who come and destroy the city of Jerusalem, burn the Temple, carry off its most sacred objects, and lead the people into exile.
What is this? Dumb bad luck? Just the give and take of geo-political forces? No! The Bible insists that this should be read as God’s action—more specifically as God’s judgment and punishment. How at odds this is with the typically modern/Enlightenment view, according to which religion is a private matter, confined to the heart and the mind of the individual. For the Biblical authors, God is the Lord of history and time, and hence the Lord of nations and the Lord of nature. His works and actions must be discerned in all events.
Let me give you an example of such a boldly theological reading of political events. Karl Barth is considered one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the twentieth century. At the start of the First World War, he was a country pastor in Switzerland who had been trained in the confident liberal theology that was all the rage around the turn of the last century. This theology shared the common view that with the rise of the natural sciences, with the development of technology, and with political and cultural liberation, human beings could build the Kingdom of God here on earth.
From the quiet of his parsonage in Switzerland, Barth followed the horrors of the First World War, the slaughter of hundreds of thousands, the devastation of nations, the collapse of the European social order. Then something dawned on him: the conviction that it was precisely the inflated self-regard and hubris of nineteenth century liberalism that led to this disaster!
He saw the European powers as descendants of the builders of the Tower of Babel, attempting to reach up to God on their own terms and in their own way. Behind the sunny confidence of the liberal period, he discerned arrogance, imperialism, and colonialism. The advances of science were made possible through the rape of the environment and economic comfort for some was made possible through the enslavement of others. In all of this, he read current events in light of God's great plan.
As difficult as that sometimes is to do, it's how we're to read our lives as well
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