Showing posts with label Sufferings equal Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sufferings equal Grace. Show all posts

Friday 20 October 2017

#78 St. Lambert of Maastricht - Answers why God Overwhelms Us with Crosses at Times





St. Lambert of Maastricht, Bishop and Martyr gives revelations of his martyrdom in defence of the Faith – Suffering is Sweet when you have the True Christian Faith – The Sufferings of Life the Shortest Way to Reach Perfection – God Loves a Soul that is Spiritually Detached - Why God Allows Us to be Overwhelmed at Times – A Sign of Love



Ecstasy of September 16, 1878


“My name is St. Lambert, Bishop and Martyr. I suffered martyrdom by supporting the truths of God and the Church, because I did not want to break the law and deny my Christian faith. There have been many martyrs from the time when I was martyred. There has been much blood shed by men and impious barbarians who rejected the faith in Jesus Christ. (Note: this paragraph and especially the last sentence seems to suggest he was murdered by heretics / apostates. According to historical accounts, he died defending the sacrament of marriage.)


My martyrdom was long and with tortures of all kinds. They could not take my life. I was tortured in a manner hideous and merciless. My limbs were twisted, crushed under a sort of instrument of iron. Then, after having been ground, so to speak, I was exposed on a wire fence bristling with sharp points that pierced my flesh and tore my body. I was beaten with iron rods on all parts of my body, so that I could not make any movement. The last execution was even more painful. They made openings on all
parts of my body and I shed my blood to support the Faith.

Now, I will say a word on behalf of Our Lord.

It is sweet to suffer and endure martyrdom when you have the true Christian faith. Nothing frightens, nothing detracts, nothing is discouraging when it comes to the Holy Will of Him who died for us. Throughout my life I suffered much while on earth. I was accused, I carried a burden of accusations. When the love of God is based in souls, everything becomes light so that one does not feel the arrival of greater pain. Suffering on behalf of men is very sweet because we feel superhuman strength that comes from Above and gives us courage so that we are ready to face all dangers, all threats and all condemnations. .. Our Lord has planted in our hearts the vigour of courage and Hope to revive in us a lively faith, a love so strong, that God has great recognition. (i.e., is recognised as part of this great work of suffering and receives much honour and glory?)

God alone knows the price of this loving grace. The sufferings of this life are the shortest way to reach perfection. The man, who does not suffer in his body, or in his soul or his heart, has much to fear and worry, because he is far from Holy perfection. (This) perfection leaves on man's face beaming features that announce the elevation of his soul, his heart, his thoughts toward God, which is his Hope.

Our Lord put us on earth, in a kind of dark prison, closed, black, and that prison, it is our human miseries, which rise like walls, to make us even greater captives. Our sweet Lord did not put us on earth to enjoy and relax or to be perfectly happy. He has placed us on earth to love Him first and then to make us participants of His Divine Kingdom. To spend life on earth without loving God is to spend life without life, without waiting to be rewarded. Our adorable Lord, in His fatherly love, permits sometimes that we be crushed, mangled, blackened. These moments are very rich, very precious full of love.

If we knew at that moment that Our Lord prepares us, promises us and give us (these
sufferings), we would live outside ourselves, in the Divine Hope. Our Lord looks at our soul so tenderly, so lovingly, that he embellishes it with His eyes. He removes the dust, that is to say the miseries that surround our souls and He adorns it with beauty and splendour. He gives a greater freedom to taste how sweet it is to rise to the desire to love perfection. At the time of depression and neglect, (i.e. the 'dark night' of the soul) the soul gains a treasure of graces from God. It enters the friendship of its Creator. It is there where you need to pass, more or less deeply.

We must quickly remove our attachments to the earth and give it (our soul) to the Supreme Creator of all things. God does not love a soul that has a home rising to heaven and another home down on earth. (i.e. when a soul is still spiritually attached to the things earth). As always the attachment of the earth will destroy the strength of the other.

We must cut this too human attachment where charity is not always perfect. In humanity, there is imperfection, misery, lightness (i.e. shallowness?). In contrast, in the Divine attachment, everything is perfect, everything becomes perfect, all elevates in complete perfection.

Sometimes the weakness of the heart finds solace in the weakness of the human voice. Do not look for and enjoy the consolation (I.e. in human attachments) because, in this searching, in the time you spend, the thought of God is forgotten. Human thought, is in its full force and extent, occupied with vile miseries and imperfect affections. Our Lord sends us His cross, tenderly, so that our soul, our heart, our mind, our thoughts are occupied only with God and His Cross. When He sends His dear cross, He desires that we be occupied with Him and His Cross. He wants everything else to disappear. It is to make us think of Him that He overwhelms us more deeply, sometimes …

Courage! If God overwhelms you, it is a sign that He loves you, He prepares you, that He destines you and you are predestined, like workers for a great work. Live without consolation, without assurances, without human support, so to speak, without light. This is the greatest sorrow, it is true, but the most meritorious. I am going to pray for all my brothers in the Cross and above the Cross, as, on earth, you are all workers of the Cross, workers, labourers for the work of God, workers for the work of the Holy Trinity.

::::

Notes: Saint Lambert was born in 640, died in 709. Born in Maastricht, he became bishop of that city in 668, but in 674 he was driven from his see by the tyrant Ebroin. Afterwards, he lived for seven years at the Benedictine abbey of Stavelot as a simple monk. He was recalled to his see by Pepin of Heristal, father of Charlemagne, and did much to foster the apostolate of St. Willibrord. He was murdered in Liége, and has ever since been venerated as a martyr. Feast day, September 17.

Of great interest, Wikipedia has the following information: “Lambert is said to have denounced King Pepin's adulterous liaison with Alpaida, who was to become the mother of Charles Martel. This aroused the enmity of either Pepin, Alpaida, or both. The bishop was murdered at Liege by the troops of Dodon, Pepin's domesticus (manager of state domains), father or brother of Alpaida. (...). Lambert came to be viewed as a martyr for his defence of marital fidelity.”

As St. Lambert said he died in defence of the True Faith to Marie-Julie Jahenny, we can see from this revelation that defending the sacrament of marriage from those who would profane or redefine it contrary to Church teaching is to defend the true Faith, and in fact, by encouraging the Children of the Cross, with his revelations: “I suffered martyrdom by supporting the truths of God and the Church, because I did not want to break the law and deny my Christian faith. There have been many martyrs from the time when I was martyred. There has been much blood shed by men and impious barbarians who rejected the faith in Jesus Christ. (...) It is sweet to suffer and endure martyrdom when you have the true Christian faith,” it seems this struggle to defend this sacrament will be the greatest source of persecutions before the Victory of the Cross will occur. It is interesting that those who attempt to destroy or redefine what marriage is, usually end up heretics. Notice the martyrdom of St. Thomas More who gave his life in defence of the sacrament when King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of marriage validity. Instead of being obedient to God's law, he invented his own religion, unleashing a bloody period of martyrdom and persecution in England.

(Image: Right: The reliquary of St. Lambert of Maastricht.  Left: A depiction of his martyrdom.)

****

Go To:



at
Labels: , , , , , ,

#77 St. Marcellin - Details of his Martyrdom - Sacrifical Suffering witholds God's Justice from Striking



Ecstasy of September 12, 1878

“I am Saint Marcellin, who lived among the heretics. I was persecuted for refusing to apostatize my Faith ... I was among those who had a passionate love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This love was my strength, my consolation, my sublime happiness.

I had a thought that urged me strongly to go among this heretic people, although I did not rush forth to engage in any order, neither of heaven nor earth. This thought was always pressing me and my desire grew to go carry the name of God to these infidel people. So I went there voluntarily, having in myself the One who strengthens me. This was my last meal at the Banquet of Love.

Upon arriving, among this people, I was taken first to the chief of the heretics. Unknown, I knocked and he opened. I approached this robust man, proud of himself and he saluted, genuflecting to earth. He got up and said,

"Are you one of the impostors of the One who wants to destroy our religion?"

I replied proudly: "I am a Christian, child of God by baptism."

He then asked me: "Do you eat the food that they say (is) God?"

I said, "I (am) nourished by the God of the Cross and the Eucharist."

He raised his hand over me and said, "You are then one of the associates of the One whom they call the Christ, King of the World?”

I said, "I am, and I am proud of it."

Then he cursed me, pushed me roughly outside his palace and ordered guards to bind and chain me. At the same time, I searched and found the cross with which I lived. It was enough. The order was a gift born to kill me. (A rough translation from the French that is probably an expression, i.e. that it was a special gift to die in this manner.) I was abused, insulted, robbed, dragged, overwhelmed. I asked the king to grant that I may die the next day, so that, one last time, I (could) receive the Bread of the Strong. But they soon laid me on a rack of iron and I was pressed by springs so terribly that my pains were incredible. The next day I received the palm of martyrdom, I was first extended on the rack, then thrown on a burning pile. This is how I was slain by sacrilegious hands. The king ordered them to open my chest, (not a box or a tabernacle, the text seems to imply his actual breast), to find the God of my soul, to trample Him underfoot, to crucify Him, to dishonour Him. Then I was left several days next to a river and I from there was thrown down. (A ravine? A waterfall? This part is not made clear.) But soon a strange (I.e foreign) woman came to take my body to give it burial, and I was transported to a blessed cemetery.


I have, at present, a word to say on behalf of Our Lord. Dear brothers in the Lord and His Holy Cross, you suffer right now, but will a time not much farther away give and spread again the greatest sufferings? (This expression seems to say; After death, will you still continue to suffer? No …) Therefore suffer the joy of going closer to God each day. You who are suffering right now, for the God we all worship, be confident that, well accepted by your suffering, you withhold justice from the Lord for all your brothers who dishonour Him and blaspheme Him ... At this moment, you need to be attached to God more than ever before and detach yourself from everything else that God despises ...


Today is the time to be stoned, crucified, trampled upon, covered with filth to the eyes of the world. That is the mantle now worn by the children of God. But God does not regard you in the same way as the world. You are brilliant in the eyes of God. What happiness! I envy your fate! I want to live with you! I will pray for you at the Throne of eternal glory of our Father.

*****

CORRECTION / ADDITION to the notes in “We Are Warned: The Prophecies of Marie-Julie Jahenny” for St. Marcellinus:

The “Friends of Marie Julie / Sanctuary Website” were correct in assuming this was not Marcellinus the Pope as popes who visited Marie-Julie would inform her of this, so they thought this saint must be the martyr mentioned in the canon of the Mass, who died with St. Peter an exorcist, however, they may have been mistaken.

Marcellinus in the vision mentions a desire to convert heretics and apostates, reveals his persecutors attempting to make him apostatize from the Faith, and he also speaks of his great love for the Blessed Sacrament. This could be St. Marcellinus of Carthage who defended the Catholic Faith against the Donatist heretics. The Donatists claimed that the validity of the sacraments depended on the moral character of the minister, and that sinners could not be members of the Church, and could not be tolerated by a true Church unless their sins were secret. These teachings certainly undermined belief in the power of Transubstantiation and endangered belief in the existence of the Blessed Sacrament, which they aught depended on the worthiness of the priest. The sect came into existence in Africa during the disorders following the persecution under Diocletian (303–305AD).   The date of this ecstasy also took place a day before his death, which occurred on 13th of September. His traditional feast day was April 6, and now changed to September 13th. Considering he corresponded with St. Jerome, was a friend of the great theologian St. Augustine, who dedicated his work “The City of God” to him, and that many theologians and doctors of the Church came to Marie-Julie when teaching her about the treasury contained in suffering the Cross, this is convincing evidence of the correct identity of the visiting saint.


However, Marcellin in the ecstasy gives an account he was left by a river for days, and then his body was thrown down unlike the history of Marcellinus of Carthage who was beheaded. Strangely, this death by a river resembles the death of St. Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saône, a priest who was martyred c. 178 AD. St. Marcellus was a priest of Lyon who was imprisoned by the Roman government along with other Christians of Lyon and their bishop, Pothinus, ca. 177 in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The rest of his Christian companions were executed, but Marcellus, managed to escape prison and fled north along the Saône river, first to Tournus and then to Chalon. There he was sheltered by a pagan, whom he converted to Christianity. Leaving Chalon, Marcellus encountered the provincial governor, who invited him to a celebration in his residence. When the governor began the celebration with an appropriate sacrifice, Marcellus excused himself on the grounds that he was a Christian; the governor ordered him to participate in the sacrifice, and Marcellus refused. The governor is said to have had Marcellus buried up to his waist on the bank of the Saône, where he died three days later. The difference here is this saint was among pagans, while Marcellin in the ecstasy says he went to convert heretics.


So, this could be St. Marcellinus of Carthage, or perhaps St. Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saône. We will have to wait for a thorough examination of the original text to see if anything might have been left out in the publication that might help clear up this mystery.

(Image: the ancient ruins of Carthage.)

*****

Go To:




at
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday 17 October 2017

#75 St. Nestor of Magydos - – Lessons on Trust in God Alone - Seek No Consolations other than God – Attachments to the Earth Prolong a Painful Existence



St Nestor gives details of his Apostolate and Martyrdom – The Pleasures of the Earth do not give Merits – Suffering a Great Treasure – The Spirit of Detachment – Seek No Consolations other than God – Attachments to the Earth Prolong a Painful Existence


Ecstasy date September 5, 1878

“May the peace of Our Lord be with you, dear Brothers of the Cross, may His love strengthen you! May His goodness give you hope!

I am Saint Nestor, Bishop and Martyr. I died for my God, stretched on racks. I died on the cross.
I lived in past centuries. I initially had the intention of leaving the world and entering solitude, but God decided otherwise. I was elected Bishop and was destined to spread the faith among non-Christian peoples.

After a few years in the ministry of Bishop, I was a martyr. This is how God decided my martyrdom. I travelled the earth to convert the infidels. A kind of jealousy and ill will was aroused among the people and immediately I suffered abuse. It was not yet the time of martyrdom. I lived three more years after the first persecution. I redoubled my preaching. The stronger God's love was in my soul, the more my zeal gave me dedication, a boundless charity for that poor people. After I had preached the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the unfaithful people came together and conspired against me and put me to death.

My martyrdom was very long in torments. They tortured me on racks. Seeing that I was still living and that nothing took my life, they decided to crucify me on a tree, but I was not dead. I was dragged, beaten by these people. Arriving at the place of execution I was stripped, they twisted my members, they broke my teeth with instruments that you do not know about. I was pierced with needles of iron, especially in the most sensitive parts. I was then placed on the tree, very wide and very large. I was attached with four nails. The torments just made my face glow more with happiness. They pinned my head on the tree. They hit my head so hard my head was broken and my face distorted. My head was flattened against the tree of crucifixion. Seeing that I was still breathing, they cut off my head and I expired in torment and pain.


They wanted to leave my blood and my wounds to lapped by animals, but they (compassionate witnesses?) refused and cried because of my martyrdom. Then the infidels shut up my body in a wooden box and their intention was frightening! (I.e. they planned a terrible desecration to the body.) But God knows everything, He sent chosen souls to ask for my body. They too were beaten, but the infidels yielded to their request. That is how I was carried away and how my body was removed from the infamous sacrilege that the unfaithful people intended to do.


I come, now, to say a word on behalf of Our Lord.


We are all more or less, martyrs on this earth, we all are.
There is no richer Treasure, nothing more precious than to suffer for God.

Let the world laugh at you, let it chase you in every way, as long as you serve God and that you love Him (while) on earth. There is only one happiness, one love, one joy, it is God who has all these riches. What (purpose) is it to have enjoyment on the earth? To have complete freedom in all things? It is a happiness, but happiness without merit. Why do you focus so much on this earth? Why is there such a liking to listen to what the earth repeats? We must use this vain and meritless time to think of God, to pray, to ask Him for the graces we need. (I.e, do not idly spend your time on earth's fleeting enjoyments that do not give heavenly merit.)

Why do they still neglect to trust in God (in order to) occupy themselves with another trust of mud and dust? (I.e, to place trust in mankind and the earth that is but dust?) This trust, is the most lowest, it is the last, it is that which comes from creatures … . (I.e. attachment to creatures.)


To become perfect, in all the graces of Heaven, we must (be) withdrawn and in this same withdrawing, the mind and thoughts. (I.e. to practise the spirit of detachment and solitude.) You have to recollect into your interior ... Those who suffer need to know that to withdraw is an advantage and that they are in a good path … They must take pain for a spouse and reject everything else ... Whoever is espoused to it (i.e. suffering) does not need anything else, other places, other companions to talk with or to console. Suffering will suffice, for nothing else will ... God possesses everything. God is the sovereign Comforter, the earth does not console ... The more one detaches from it, (the earth), the more a new life will approach. Often, we prolong painful existences by too many ties to the world and creatures. The way to shorten this miserable existence is to remove everything and receive God as our only Consoler, to say every thing to Him, to tell Him all …


I wish the children of God and the Cross, the strength and courage, and above all this great detachment will soon come in peace and in the House that the Lord prepares you.
It should reassure you that the Lord promises you His protection.”

**

(Image above: the martyrdom of St. Nestor of Magydos, Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II)

Biography provided by the “Friends of Marie-Julie” / “Sanctuary Website” : Saint Nestor died in 251. He was Bishop of Magydos in Pamphylia (southern Asia Minor). He was crucified during the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius (249-251). Saint Nestor was so beloved, having exhorted the faithful from the top of his cross, that the pagans knelt with the Christians. Feast Day February 26.

A Serbian Orthodox website says: “Nestor was distinguished by great meekness. In the time of Decius, he was taken for trial and harshly tortured for Christ. At the time of his death, he saw in a vision a lamb prepared for sacrifice, which he interpreted as a sign of his own imminent sacrifice. He was tortured by the Eparch Publius and finally crucified in Perga in the year 250.” (Source.)

Wikipedia states: “His courage and authority were so noteworthy that a Roman magistrate uttered these words: "Until we have got the better of the bishop, we shall be powerless against the Christians." He was arrested under Emperor Decius, and sentenced to death by the local Roman governor, Pollio or Epolius of Lycia, after refusing to sacrifice to the pagan gods of the state.

**

Go To:


at
Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday 3 October 2017

#70 St. John-Francis Regis - Sufferings of the Cross Worthy of Holy Envy –– the Mortal Danger of Slander - Unless God Intervenes Slanderers Will be Lost



St. John-Francis Regis visits Marie-Julie Jahenny – Sufferings of the Cross in these evil times Worthy of Holy Envy – Slanderers: how they behave – the Mortal Danger of Slander - Unless God Intervenes Slanderers Will be Lost

Ecstasy August 13, 1878

“I have come to give a word on behalf of God at the entry of your Holy Novitiate. We are at the foot of the Cross, and we wait and we hope to go into our sweet and Blessed Country.


What is this earth, what is suffering in comparison with endless happiness? Our life on earth is short and Our Lord has measured our years. Let us commence, it is time to live for God and for Heaven.


If the adorable Lord descended now, upon a bright cloud to judge and condemn, how would He find any just in this fair land of merit? It is frightening! ... Today, what injustice! What hidden infamies! What veiled slander! How do they persevere, those souls who commit them?

This is how they do it.

First they try to stifle remorse, but it follows them everywhere. In conversations, in their companies, their words are beautiful, clear as glass. But the reasoning of the soul, at the bottom of their interior, no one hears and it is frightening. The soul moans, cries, suffers, because it is the only thing in these men that belongs to the Sovereign Good. (I.e. the rest of these sinners has become completely evil in thought, word and deed.)


Slander is like a worm, it eats into the soul of the most beautiful and chaste virtues, and then, after being eaten whole, the soul can not become master because it is opposed by the evil human mind, by human nature so angry and so cruel. The soul can no longer prevail, and if God does not come to its aid, it is forever doomed …


Wait with patience! The time of the Lord is open to Heaven. But what a surprise for the headstrong! (The stubborn sinners who refuse to repent.) But what joy for the few (i.e. the righteous that suffer on earth) that I envy their position on earth, because I would have the honour to suffer for my God! Heaven, I come to their aid!

How admirable is the way of the Cross! It is worthy of envy!

How great are its merits! O Royal Way! Vive la Croix, the treasure of the true chosen ones ...”


*****

Notes:

St. Johan-Francis Regis was born at Font-Couverte in the diocese of Narbonne in Langedoc, France. At the age of eighteen he entered the Society of Jesus at Béziers, was ordained in 1631, and from that moment knew no rest spending himself in preaching the Gospel to the uneducated farmers of Languedoc and Auvergne, providing for prisoners and fallen women, establishing confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament, and effecting everywhere numerous conversions among the Protestant Huguenots. He died while preaching a mission on December 30, 1640, and was canonized in 1737. (New feast day June 16, traditional feast day December 31.). 

*****

Go To:


Previous Post #69 St. Paul - Suffering Opens Heaven - Persecutions from Slander and Envy gain us the most Merits - "Friends of the Cross" will Suffer Persecution- Why Slander is horrible in God's Sight

Next Post #71 St. Gregory the Great - PROPHECY Echoing Leo XIII's vision to Come - CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE CHURCH

Prophecies: Table of Contents


 

at
Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday 27 September 2017

#69 St. Paul - Suffering Opens Heaven - Persecutions from Slander and Envy gain us the most Merits - "Friends of the Cross" will Suffer Persecution



Visit of St. Paul the Apostle – Suffering opens Heaven and marks our place in Glory – the Persecution caused by Slander and Envy is Highly Meritorious – How best to suffer this type of persecution – Marie-Julie Jahenny and the “Friends of the Cross” will suffering a 'double persecution' because this mission is a 'double work'




Ecstasy of August 12, 1878


“May the Peace of the Lord be in your soul and your spirit, and with all the friends of God. I am Saint Paul. I come to say a word on behalf of Our Lord before the entry of your Holy Novitiate.

Look first at our Lord on the Cross, and this glance will lead us to suffer. Let us meditate on the Sorrows of a God, and we will suffer bravely the trials of life.

God was the last of men by shame, by the ignominy, by insults. Why would we not wish to suffer? Do we wish to be above the Divine Master?

It is not only the pains of life that opens for us the door of heaven and mark our place in glory. He who does not suffer is not the disciple of God, and does not know Him. We are esteemed to be treated as His favoured ones.

If we are chained by the authority of men, if we can not leave, let us be silent. An hour will come, when we will speak to the authority of this land, which is not that of (or not by ) the authority of man. (Note: the bishop who approved her, Fournier of Nantes was dead by this time, after which Marie-Julie Jahenny was persecuted by the diocese and forbidden to receive the sacraments. This phrase by St. Paul saying a time will come to speak to 'the authority of this land' could indicate a warning to the current reigning bishop who was permitting the persecution due to slander and envy as we see in the next sentences....)

It is a thousand times better to be silent and suffer all things, (by those) who speak, with envy and jealousy. These two ways of persecution are horrible in God's eyes, the eyes of One who sees everything.

I prefer, I would rather have been chained for Jesus Christ, than to have been delighted to be ravished up to Heaven. There, however, was the joy, happiness without suffering, without alteration, it was perfect joy, but I did not suffer anything and I did not merit anything. (Observe: St. Paul's transports to Heaven gave him heavenly joy and he did not suffer, but in this joy without suffering he did not gain merits!)


Our adorable Lord, in the designs of His infinite Mercy, also wants us to be stoned at the hands of treacherous language. The slanderous tongue is more dangerous than a double-edged sword, because the blow of the sword can be cured or relieved, because it only extends to the depth and width of the blade, while the stroke of language extends everywhere. In one day, it will spread around the world, and who can stop it? (Note: this explains why God sees the sins of slander and envy as 'horrible' because they do so much more damage than a physical injury, hence, suffering these things silently without complaints grants great merits.)

Our Father the Creator is pleased to test us in different ways, friends tried, but friends of God.

When God wants to do a solid work, especially when He wants to establish the Friends of the Cross (I.e. Marie-Julie Jahenny's mission?) who worked from the beginning and are determined to work until the end, the persecution must be greater, because it is a double work.

Our Lord, choosing friends of the Cross, requires that the blows are deeper because the work will be more beautiful. The more disciples, the more suffering. It is the sign of a great work. It is a sure sign. Do not be afraid! ...”

**
Notes: these last encouraging words are not only directed to Christians in general, but it seems in a particular way to Marie-Julie Jahenny and those entrusted to spread devotion to her Great Work of the Cross, which will come after that of the Sacred Heart and will be the work of the restoration of the Church and the world in France and beyond. It is through the Cross that the Victory will be gained after the chastisements. As Heaven told her, the Great Monarch to come will write everywhere 'In hoc signo vinces' as a sign of Heaven's miraculous intervention on his behalf:


May 11, 1877: "The Cross will defeat the greatest heroes (of the enemy). They will bring it to the face of the enemy and it will give them the victory ... You Christians, who will spend a terrible moment, take the Cross for support ... When the elected King and Saviour of France has seen the triumph of France, he will write everywhere “in hoc signo vinces;” by this sign you will conquer! (i.e. The sign given to Emperor Constantine.) France will be under the banner of the Sacred Heart, the Cross and Mary."


And again:

October 27, 1887. The Sacred Heart to Marie-Julie Jahenny:


“Blessed Margaret Mary was chosen to publish the glory of My Sacred Heart, and you, you are chosen to publish the glory of My Cross. She is the victim of My Sacred Heart, you are the victim of My Cross. The Work of My Cross is beautiful and grand, it will quickly follow the Work of the Sacred Heart.”

****

Go to:

Previous Post #68 St. Thomas Aquinas Returns - Sufferings Perfect - True Happiness - Peace Amidst Sufferings

Next Post #70  St.John-Francis Regis – Sufferings of the Cross in these evil times Worthy of Holy Envy – Slanderers: how they behave – the Mortal Danger of Slander - Unless God Intervenes Slanderers Will be Lost



at
Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday 13 September 2017

#68 St. Thomas Aquinas Returns - Sufferings Perfect - True Happiness - Peace Amidst Sufferings

 


St. Thomas Aquinas visits again - Suffering perfects a soul and unites it to God - Suffering a Little-Known Treasure - Suffering is Never Without Reward - Suffering with Inner Peace gives us True Happiness - God Tests through Sufferings to see if we are True Christians - Perfection a Great Virtue Beloved of God and Attained through Suffering -  How to Be Peaceful Amidst the Cross -


Ecstasy August 8, 1878

“I wish you peace, I wish that peace be in your soul in your heart, in your mind.”

Marie-Julie: “It's St. Thomas Aquinas, He is radiant with glory at the foot of the Cross. He
said to me:

'It is I who come to say a word on behalf of the Lord, at the entrance of your Holy Novitiate. 

God created us to love Him and serve Him. All happiness is to love God, and all the joy you taste in the love of God, this is the peace one experiences. Our Lord gives us His goods so generously that there is no heart on earth able to thank Him as He desires, what the Divine Master ... (missing text here?) 

Suffering perfects us and unites us to our Beloved. Our Lord watches over us with such kindness and generosity, He wants our happiness, He wants to give us His rich rewards.  Let us rejoice in the suffering on this earth, that our heart beats with joy, happiness and gratitude! Suffering is a little-known Treasure. If known, this Treasure would also become for us an immense source of comfort, happiness and joy. 

God is pleased to test us on earth, because he wants to see if we are true Christians ...
Our Lord never gives suffering or pains without rewards. When we have trouble on earth, we must always keep a joyful heart of recognition (of this). Suffering proves (or tests) peace and peace proves happiness. All the happiness consists in love of Our Lord and His Cross. We must suffer with a sweet and holy patience, because it is in suffering that is perfection. 

Perfection is an eminent virtue, a virtue that is pleasing to God ... The higher the flood of persecutions pass over us, the more God will love us and God will draw His Glory in our
pains ...

Our Cross of the earth is enriched with diamonds and pearls because we bear no irritation, because we carry them with calm, because we want only good for those who wish us harm. This thought, is it not capable to give courage to the soul?


Our souls are such a great price and are so dear to the eyes of God He loves them with a tenderness and kindness that can not be explained here below. Our adorable Lord, by creating our souls, made them with all His love, all His Goodness, but He wants our souls to love Him in return and that they give thanks for all the benefits He gives them in this life. .. . 


Walk with courage, do not worry about anything! Love God, serve Him faithfully. Walk in the way of the Cross with certainty, it is the Way of the Chosen, the Royal Way! I would still live on earth to suffer for the glory of my God!”

**** 

Go to:





at
Labels: , , , ,

Saturday 9 September 2017

#66 St. John of the Cross - How to Suffer Well - Suffering a Sign God Loves Us - Importance of the Morning Offering



St. John of the Cross visits Marie-Julie: Love of the Cross Perfects Viritues Within - How to Suffer Well and not Badly - Suffering a sign God loves us and we are the friends of God - The Importance of the Morning Offering, it pleases God



Ecstasy dated July 11, 1878

“I am Saint John of the Cross. I come to say a word before you enter the Holy Novitiate. Love the cross, all carry the cross. Cherish the cross and we all take comfort in the Cross. It is the love of the Cross which perfects within us the beautiful virtues that the Lord wants to give us in His generosity.

Without the cross and without the tribulations, we must not rely on the supreme happiness, because happiness is in pain, in suffering, in the Cross, in persecutions in this world. The Cross is a valuable book, but so few know how to read (it).”

Marie-Julie: “It is true, good saint, but teach us.”

St. John of the Cross: “The Cross of the Divine Master contains all the lights and all the sublime riches. It is necessary to start our study there during (our) life because that is where the perfection of the soul begins. The more the Lord sends us pain, suffering in this world, the more He loves us, the more it brings us closer to Him, He caresses us more in His blazing love. The pains of the earth and all the miseries of life are infinitely precious merits before the Lord.  Many suffer on earth, but many suffer badly.”

Marie-Julie: “Teach us good saint.”

St. John of the Cross: “To suffer well is to procure the immense glory of peace, wealth, love on earth, the recovery of the bliss of repose of the soul. I also lived on earth in the midst of crosses and tribulations, but I was never weary, because I felt so great perfection, a tenderness of love in suffering, as if I could take all the suffering of the earth, I would have done so for my God. If you are the friends of God, you must expect to suffer. And you, the friends of God, He will help you, sometimes in His joy, sometimes His dear Cross on which He has suffered so much.”

Marie-Julie:“Thank you, good saint, this is good.”

St. John of the Cross: “It is a sure sign that God loves us when He makes us suffer on earth. He who does not suffer, is not the true friend of God. The Lord admits us (into) His grace, thank him. Remember that when we feel the pains of life, we experience His grace. When the Lord begins a work in which He wants His glory to break forth, he surrounds it first with persecutions, the cross, neglect, all kinds of penalties. This is the real charm of the Finger of God. It is necessary that one who is in the friendship of the Lord be tested, that everything in his soul is purified.”


Marie-Julie: “I always fear offending the Lord, teach us, good saint, what to do not to displease
Him in the smallest things.”

St. John of the Cross: “First, we must maintain humility, obedience, submission, love can say to the Divine Jesus: 'I offer you in advance what will happen, penalties, crosses, or love and joy,' that is the real way not to displease God, for all has been offered to Him in advance ...” (A reminder of how the Morning Offering each day pleases God!)

*****

Notes: Saint John of the Cross was a great Spanish mystic and theologian who worked with St. Teresa of Avila in the founding of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1542-1591). He was canonized in 1726 and declared Doctor of the Church in 1926. His work in the field of mystical theology is authoritative. He studied with great precision, all stages of the ascent of the contemplative soul in its return to God. It is a long path of light and love, of painful purification and enlightenment gradually, resulting in the total and indissoluble union of the soul with God. Saint John of the Cross describes his personal experience which gives him an invaluable skill. His presence in La Fraudais should reassure those who still doubt the atmosphere of truth and obedience to the Church. He was just appointed to guide Marie-Julie in the ways of the Holy Novitiate. For several months she was taught by the Holy Spirit on the essential place of the Cross in the spiritual life of Christian souls on earth to heaven. (Biography provided by the Friends of Marie-Julie / SanctuaryWebsite.)

****

Go to:



at
Labels: , , ,

Thursday 7 September 2017

#65 St. Francis de Sales - Christian Perfection - The "Persecution of the Enlightened" - and more.



Visit of St. Francis de Sales:  Christian Perfection requires Humility and Awareness of God's Presence at every moment - The "Persecution of the Enlightened" - How to Recognise if any Work is of, for and from God.



  Ecstasy of July 9, 1878

“I am St. Francis de Sales.”


Marie-Julie: “Yes, I saw you once, but long ago.”


Saint Francis: “Ah, good! It is I who have come today on behalf of the Lord. The peace of the Lord be with you! I wish the same to all children of God and of His Cross.”


Marie-Julie: “Many thanks, good saint.”


Saint Francis: “God created us on earth to love Him, to serve Him, to worship Him and to live in the union of His Holy Presence and His Peace. To rise in Christian perfection, we need two things: first humility, and second, the Presence of God at every moment.


 Humility is the safeguard of all virtues. Without this virtue, we cannot make progress in Christian life, nor in the advancement of Grace.


God communicates to us His light. He gives us His blessings because He wants us to return all to Him through these two great virtues. I tasted the Highest of God's love and I was admitted into the depths of His divine light. It is for us to understand the heights where God raises us. We can only understand them through the Light of God.  As long as our own light exists, (i.e an I - Me attitude,  self-interest, pride in self, etc,)  one should not think of making progress in virtue. This lower light needs to be extinguished and God replaces it with one of His divine lights.


I kept multiple lights at once that made me discern the pain and joy of many souls that I led by the Divine Light, from a distance. The Light of God, in our minds, brings to our own mind the conditions of pain and joy, which is in each soul. This discernment was not given to all the Fathers of the Church. God does what He wants. 


Christian perfection consists in a true love of God. The Love of God makes rapid progress in us, (I.e in the spiritual life), but do not put any obstacles to that love, if we want to rise in perfection.


I had much to suffer for this great Treatise on the Love of God; this is so difficult for the human
mind alone, (to understand by itself) that God must mingle this with His glory, that He wants us to develop in His greatness, His love and perfection.


Nothing can be acquired without suffering.


 I paid for everything and God sold everything dearly (An odd expression from the French, probably means all of God's graces came at a high price = suffering.)


There are ways to experience God that men can not define or understand. Why? Because our
mind is too attached to things of little value.


To understand this better:

- First: it is absolutely necessary that you must have a special gift.
- Second: the mind must be clear and fully detached from all things

- Third, the proper light of God is newly recreated in our minds for us to understand, and delve further into all the great ways to the degree in which they are found. It is difficult to look further into the Divine Ways, but it can be done with the help and power of God.



First I gave my mind, my thoughts, my memory, all to God. I sacrificed everything to Him and I said, "Lord, for Your own glory and for my humility, that I can perfectly distinguish the operations of each of your wonders worked in myself." I acquired this great grace by penalties as rough as martyrdom, by unbearable suffering (that) without the grace of God ...


How that our brothers and men of earth can figure not these graces appear for nothing! (Difficult / odd translation from the French, perhaps he means to say, 'How can men figure that all these graces
cost nothing?') I know what they cost me and I know what it costs to those who are destined to develop them.  I have not missed persecution, or slanders from all sides. But I can say it was a treasure of light for me because it was only when all these terrible persecutions (came) that I saw the desired light.


See how God tests with all sorts of troubles and tribulations. There came a time when, on the verge of the glory of God, I was everywhere overwhelmed by insults, outrages, to denounce me. I had a joy so complete, so perfect love, a peace so deep that I thought I already had the desired light.


 If we only suffered from ignorant people, it would be very little.  But to suffer from educated people, from people of integrity, of light. (I.e from those who should know and understand, for example, to be attacked by your own fellow priests and bishops when promoting God's work, etc.) This is called the PERSECUTION OF THE ENLIGHTENED. This is a merit infinitely large. All the strength and courage I had I found in the persecution by the bishops, from major prelates, which I received daily, denunciations of black and terrible accusations. All this only increased my faith and my love for God.


They strongly attacked me because I was giving advice to people who were far from me, but it was only by the light that God gave me. For all my trouble, I was corresponding with the soul far away from me. I understood and they understood me. Every pain and every love is shared between all the hearts that I had under my direction. That is what the Holy Spirit reported in a vision of the Holy Novitiate. This is nothing but a divine power and a direct permission of God. This is the true light, this is the perfect finger of God.


All the glories of God, if they are not pursued by people of both parties, (i.e the Church and the world)  they are not fully of God.

If the persecution of the works of God are not many, it is a sign that the work will not go long. (i.e a work that is truly of God and done for God's glory will meet with many setbacks and triublations.  If the road is 'too easy' it is a sign it won't go far, the work is not from God.)


I take proof from the great and illustrious St. Paul, who was caught up into Heaven. If the glory of God is not crossed, torn, exposed to all kinds of contradiction, this can not be purely the work of God. 

If you knew what I suffered to start the first convent! If we knew it would take courage and be armed with a boundless confidence. As soon as the walls were started, the man of God who had the right to govern me (i.e his superior) demolished it and it fell before my eyes. I was overwhelmed, insulted, covered with shame, by all the people following the man of power. I had to support a terrible struggle for the words I wrote on the Love of God and of Christian perfection.


When God wants to do great things, He puts a lot of seals of all kinds. He must also go through the Cross, go through the trials of this life before entering the glory that God has promised ..."

****

Notes: St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) was canonized in 1665. Bishop of Geneva, he struggled against Protestantism that ravaged France and Switzerland. By his fiery preaching, he brought back
many lost souls to the fold. He was also a great master of the spiritual life. With Saint Jeanne de Chantal, of whom he was director, he founded the Order of the Visitation, and for the Visitines wrote his famous Treatise on the Love of God. Another of his works, "Introduction to the Devout Life" had a deep and lasting influence. This great saint was awarded the title of Confessor of the Church, for his zeal to proclaim and to love the Truth. He also received a Ph.D. for the soundness of his doctrine and the wisdom of his teachings. It seems he came several times "to visit" during the ecstasies, to advise and comfort Marie-Julie, who recognized and welcomed him with great respect. It is not always the case with the saints! At first, she is very suspicious because she fears to be deceived by an illusion, which is a credit to her care. The martyrs who come to prepare (her) for the Holy Novitiate must "show their credentials," which is sometimes quite touching in her direct simplicity! (i.e the Heavenly visitors to her had to prove who they were so she would not be fooled by the demon). This fear of being the victim of an illusion, human or diabolical, is the signature of a great experience for us and a guarantee (i.e. a safeguard for us). (In other words, she could recognise St. Francis de Sales' holiness immediately, and did not have to test him as she usually did to make sure it was not an apparition of a devil to trick her. Biography provided by the 'Friends of Marie-Julie  / Sanctuary Website.)

*****

Go to:


at
Labels: , , , ,

#64 Revelations of the Life of St. Titus - The Secret of Sanctification



St. Titus, bishop and martyr, appears to Marie-Julie Jahenny - gives an account of his apostolate. He teaches us to observe his life: sanctification can only come through the Cross, through trials, sufferings and persecution.

***

Ecstasy date July 8, 1878:

“I am holy Titus, a disciple of the great St. Paul ... I have come to say a word before you enter the Holy Novitiate. (i.e. the Novitiate of the Love of the Cross, the mission to be entrusted to Marie-Julie Jahenny.)

I suffered a martyrdom of persecution everywhere on earth. I was roughly led by the great St. Paul. I lived in the desert for 33 years. I left early, leaving everything behind me, to follow the path that led me to this dreadful solitude. In the solitude of the desert you are not exempt of the pains and tests than when you live in the middle of the world.

I preached the holy doctrine of the Gospel under the dictation of the great St. Paul. I went through the cities and towns. I announced to the people the Word of God. I have been pursued, beaten, stoned by the obstinate people who looked upon God's Word like (it was) the word of Hell.

I lived on earth without money and without money, covered in miserable clothes, armed with my staff and my Cross. These were all my riches and my treasure.

I was, by obedience, subject to all that the great St. Paul demanded of my will. It was not until after his preaching that I announced the Word of God. Every day, it gathered us under its wings and taught us the great doctrine of God. Having preached and travelled the world, I suddenly felt inspired to leave the solitude and evangelical preaching, but I consulted with the great St. Paul, as I consulted him in everything, and he said, "No, the disciples must preach the holy Christian doctrine!"

So I obeyed and I was sent by St. Paul into the midst of the Luciferians (I.e, those influenced by Satan) where he himself had long preached. So I preached the love of the Cross of Jesus Christ. But I was overwhelmed with reproaches and insults. I remained on the pavement of th e streets, day and night, while I preached, because the people had a horror of us. I heard repeatedly in my ears that the Doctrine of God was foolish.

I suffered, I endured all pains, but I did not reject It. It was during the last years that I acquired the great love of the Divine Perfection, because I was becoming more and more exposed
to all contradictions. God then poured into my heart all kinds of benefits and He brought me into the depths of His ultimate secrets.

Meanwhile, I felt more and more the weight of my mission that overwhelmed me. I found no more taste. (I.e, the mission was distasteful.) Everything was more bitter for me than when I had experienced joy on entering. On leaving the Luciferians, I heard three times a voice saying to me: “Leave the preaching of the Gospel and the Cross. You will preach to a people as stubborn
as this one.” This frightened me a lot and shook me in the deepest parts of the soul. I consulted St. Paul again: "Stay still,” he said, “the time has not come. You are just starting to taste the suffering."

I was in fearful torment that God alone knew. I followed the orders of St. Paul and I embarked to another city just as hostile to God, the Gospel and the Cross. Upon entering the city, I heard once more the same voice that spoke to me. This divine voice floored me. I fell with my forehead on the pavement and asked God for His enlightenment to recognize Him. At once I saw an angel dressed in white who carried in his hand a white banner and showed me a gold writing on which I read: “You have preached enough on the doctrine of God and the Cross to this stubborn people, you will become a Bishop and will preach to another population as pagan as the first.”

When I read this sign, I became calm and I was reassured. The light showed me that God was calling me to this place. I consulted St. Paul again and he replied: "I had the same vision at the same time. You will go by the light of the Cross in the middle of this wild and obstinate people."

I lived in the city of Afra (in Crete) there from which came St. Chaffre, the ascetic hermit. In this large population I found great obstacles. I was consecrated bishop of this city at an advanced age and I lived there 19 years and 10 months where I finished my career. I had great persecution and  ribulation in this city. Every day during my preaching, they surrounded me with murmurs and curses. But God reserved a punishment for this ungrateful city. For a short time later, he sent many plagues, that soon put to death most of the population.

Moreover, in that city, I had enemies, my brothers, who have deserted me and reproached my solitude and called me a tramp and rider. (i.e he was even persecuted by his fellow priests). But God allowed that my holiness was made known and radiant. Most of my brothers in the priesthood became blind or became disabled in the most necessary members (of the body).

After the pain and had visited my brothers, God sent me to rescue them, and it was the saliva in my mouth that opened the eyes of my persecutors and revived their paralysed limbs. That is how I left (or overcame) the tests that were known only to God.

After these wonders, I preached the Doctrine of God and the Cross, and I converted many souls and went to God. My body rested in this town, but not in full, one part was translated in the
solitude by the great St. Paul.

(St. Titus's Lesson:) There is no way more necessary for us to comply with the example of our Divine Master than (by) the persecution of men. That is where I gained all, that raised me to the height of divine perfection. My whole life was gall and vinegar despite the divine pleasures. God has made me a martyr of interior trials and external sufferings, through the graces of the Cross I was detached from the earth and perfected ...”

****

Notes: the traditional biography of St. Titus (by the 'Friends of Marie-Julie'): Saint Titus was a  isciple of St. Paul who met him during his third voyage (55-58 AD) to Ephesus on the Aegean Coast. Having accompanied St. Paul in several of his apostolic missions, whom St. Paul calls his brother and his beloved disciple, Titus settled in Crete, appointed by the Apostle as Bishop of the island. This is where St. Paul wrote him a letter, which the liturgy gives us several extracts, especially on Christmas Day. He has the title of Confessor of the Faith, as he did much for the evangelization of the  Mediterranean. His name is often associated with that of St. Timothy, another travelling com anion of Paul named Bishop of Ephesus (now Turkey). He died a martyr for his opposition to the pagan cult of Diana.

****

Go to:


at
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)