Monday 23 October 2017

#80 St. John I, Pope - We Are ALL Martyrs in a Land of Exile – Courage and Blood Needed to Save the Church in Peril

 
 
We Are ALL Martyrs in a Land of Exile – Courage and Blood Needed to Save the Church in Peril


Ecstasy date September 19, 1878

Dear children of God, may peace reign in the deepest realm of your souls. I am Saint John, Pope, who died in prison.

I was exiled for the cause of God and was tormented by horrific tortures in the prison where I gave my soul to God ... I suffered bitter pain because I would not deny the name of Jesus Christ and for supporting the dogma of the Holy Trinity and the infallibility of the Church.


Since my martyrdom, many have followed me and won the same palm (of martyrdom) as I. After wearing chains, beaten and denied food, I was not at the end of my martyrdom. I underwent a second examination by the Emperors and their servants. Nothing would shake my faith. I kept my soul in the Holy Name of God and at the same time, the thought of the Holy Church in exile during the siege. These two thoughts made me accept death. After the interrogation I was beaten and subjected to the most terrible tests. It was there that I would consume my martyrdom after long days of exile. I was bound hand and foot and hung by the neck with a chain after (receiving) hard blows. It was in this prison of exile and that my soul took its flight to see its eternal reward.

Now, a word on behalf of Our Lord.

We are all martyrs on earth, each in the manner determined by the Divine Will. We are placed in a land of exile, which today it is more than ever before because they want to banish the name of God, Religion and the Church. They want Christians to collapse under the law Christians, prepare your weapons, that is to say, your courage, because the threats are great. The blow that is borne will be terrible by its repercussions (effects) ... The Church is in peril ... It will take courage and blood to save the Temple of God ... Our Lord gives you a heavy cross, these are the crosses that will spare you from the great blow ... Be happy to carry the Cross of our Divine Master ...”

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This Tuscan saint was pope from 523 to 526. In 526, he went to Constantinople on an
embassy from King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths. On his return, Theodoric threw Pope John into prison on suspicion of having conspired with the emperor Justin. However, the King was an adherent to the Arian heresy that recognised the human nature of Christ, but not His divinity. No doubt, his Arian beliefs made him persecute Pope John. The Arian heresy caused great havoc in Christendom although condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. Catholics loyal to Rome and St. John's teachings were long persecuted by hostile kings and emperors. The Ostrogoths and Visigoths who occupied Italy and Spain were eventually drawn away from this heresy by the Apostles of the Dark Ages. Saint John, Pope, died in prison. His feast day is May 27.

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Saturday 21 October 2017

#79 St. Francis of Assisi - Reveals the Special Protection Afforded to the Friends of the Cross



Ecstasy of September 17, 1878

St. Francis of Assisi: “Brothers of the Cross, do not worry about what people will say to you! In what will be done against you! Keep the peace and hope that the road that leads to honour and glory is open to you ...

Why are you not attacked face to face? (i.e. only from behind and out of sight by enemies and opponents?) Because God has poured into you respect that you have earned in devoting yourself to His glory. It is this respect from God, which prevents insults and prevents enemies from approaching in front of you, with head and eyes elevated. That is why they respect you by force. There is still something that contains them; they are attacked by themselves, without knowing how they are held by an invisible power that blows upon them, "You will respect the soul chosen by God, you will respect the body of the man and all its movements that are dedicated to the work of thy God." This is the breath they do not see or know or hear, but they feel it …


Dear Brothers of the Cross, why do they tear your reputation? It is that you are men of flesh tempered and re-tempered in the Divine source which is reserved for true and faithful servants of God. That is why you are strong as iron tested by fire. (I.e. the greatest persecutions caused by slander is reserved for true servants destined to be doubly tempered.) But they cannot tear your honour, because this honour is not a natural honour like all the others. This honour comes only from God, of His cross, His promises. It comes only from the Divine Will, as the confidence that (befits) my brothers in God. Why invent them? (I.e. why do God's enemies invent sufferings / slanders? The following passage is a little unclear. Text could be missing.) Because the jealous honour of the enemies of my God elevates them (His enemies), it gives work, it leaves them no rest. This is an honour, a pride that living in vice, in anger, a vengeance of all your enemies who are the enemies of Jesus Christ ... (i.e. the evil one also have a sense of honour they try to maintain amongst themselves as they destroy God's servants, like a 'thieves honour'.) This anger comes from jealousy, pride, desire that God should not be defended, that His name not be respected, that His Cross has no defenders, that all He does is forgotten and annihilated. That is why you suffer for God, for His Name, for His Cause …

The small number of Friends of the Cross is chosen and blessed. It is God who wills it. It is for him (the friend of the Cross, are granted) the most beautiful divine promises ... God said: "It is above you, over you and around you that I rest My adorable glance. I want you to be devoted to My designs. I choose you to support, to defend the beginning of My work. I place you up in My work as a solid pole. (I.e. as a pillar.) You will lean it up, you will support it, you will carry it on your shoulders, when it will be under the greatest threats ... "


Victims and servants are to help Our Lord to support the work, (i.e. to spread the Glory of the Cross) the walls of the work, to place beautiful cut and polished stones. What a great crown of glory! What an honour !...”

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Note from the “Friends of Mary Julie / Sanctuary Website”:

St. Francis of Assisi was the spiritual father of Marie-Julie of the Crucifix, who was a tertiary of the Franciscan Order. The Seraphic Father guided and supported her through the path of light and love, of the total gift of herself. (I.e. during the Holy Novitiate of the Cross) Of course he knew from personal experience. The mission of St. Francis, in the renewal of the Church is essential: "Go, Francis, and repair My Church." These words that resounded in the chapel of Assisi are still valid. The reconstruction work (i.e. the Renewal) will be the cooperation of Heaven and the faithful of the earth.”

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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.

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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.)

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#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.

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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.)

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Wednesday 18 October 2017

#76 St. Abraham (of Kidunaia?) - The Beginning of the True Love of God is Inner Silence and the Spirit of Detachment - God is Displeased When We Let Our Inner Peace be Disturbed



St. Abraham, Hermit – Perfection Gained by Spiritual Detachment – The Beginning of the True Love of God is Inner Silence and the Spirit of Detachment - God is Displeased When We Let Our Inner Peace be Disturbed


Ecstasy date September 10, 1878

I am Saint Abraham, Hermit. (Possibly St. Abraham Kidunaia) I am a solitary who lived in the desert and I am known here on earth. I come to say a word on behalf of Our Lord before entering the Holy Novitiate.


Let us all pray and do penance because today penances are rare, the pleasures are great. (I.e. the opportunity to do penance is not there as in the past and worldly earthy pleasures abound.) Consider our very short passage on this earth, and in this thought, we love God more. Let us love Him for those who do not love Him. Let us all be solitaries (i.e. hermits) on earth, that is to say, we enclose ourselves in the Love and the Secret of God. We live in this strength, live in the love that Our Lord gives us so generously. It is tender, it is extremely sweet to suffer on earth, especially when God allows the complete detachment of all things in order to be occupied with Him alone in our hearts and thoughts. If there is a life of happiness on earth, it is this, a detached life, a life all consumed in the Holy Will of God. In death our will will find perfect peace. If a soul is to serve God well, if it would love Him dearly and enjoy His tender Love, it will be detached, it separates itself from the frivolous love that exists on earth, I mean love in creatures. If we are to find the Creator, if we wish to talk to Him, if we want Him to be the only witness of everything we do, we must break the human bond that still prevents us from reaching the highest perfection. Why seek away from God, pleasure, happiness and satisfaction? Where are they to be found? Could there be a new source (for these things), after we we no longer live on earth?”

Marie-Julie: “Oh, no, good saint, there is no new source for that!”

St. Abraham: “Why do we find while in the maintenance of the world, (i.e., while they still live on earth) a kind of strength, courage and expansion? Because they are not entirely dead to the human creature. There is still a long way to go, there is a strong bond to break and our wills to master. How can this be done, if souls continue to do their own will? This is what happens. They climb in the beginning to a certain degree of progress. Once there, they have no more courage. It happens that the creature goes back, it needs a human support. At this degree, where they rest for some time rather than climb the mountain, sometimes they descend more strongly than when they climbed, thanks due to this kind of carnal love.” (I.e. attachment to the things of the world and people as a source of happiness and comfort keeps one from making progress in spiritual perfection.)

Marie-Julie: “Good saint, I did not know that it is like that.”

Saint Abraham: “It is a kind of love that God does not love because often it is not pure, it is imperfect, and they often believe that they see clearly when they see darkness. We are all (placed) on earth to love our Father, our Creator. He alone can no longer be enough? He alone is no longer as powerful as before? Since seeking far from Him to satisfy their heart is not in this love, they will look for a way to fortify and console themselves because the love of the creature is often a great depravity among souls who come together to console and strengthen themselves with a pinch of dust, since the creature is nothing but corruption and imperfection.


On the earth, our Divine Saviour, who so loved us, wants us to love Him. Let us retreat into ourselves and let us say this word that I have often pondered:

"What will it serve to have been satisfied, that I would use these hours without the Presence, without thinking of God? These are hours which are not counted, which are not marked among the number of merits."

When one lives alone with God, how happy they are! All worries seem to vanish because only God makes us so happy while we live, so to speak, in perfect love. All on earth was created to love us, to suffer and to relieve us. (Note: he seems to say here when were are completely attached to God alone, then we truly live in the world, but not of it, the earth then becomes as God intended for us, a means to perfection and not something to drag us down, as what happens when we become attached to things of earth first without God.)


Never has the number of ingratitudes been greater than today. One no longer loves to relieve his neighbour, they no longer like to do something to repair his attacked honour. Why? Because they are weak and that they are cowards and they still have an attachment that is not broken. (i.e. Ingratitude, slander, lack of charity are vices of weak cowardly souls that are still attached to the things of earth.)

We enter into silence, and most importantly, we move away from the noise of the earth to serve God, to taste how sweet it is to love Him on earth. This is the beginning of true love. Life is full of miseries, it is full of torments, pain and worry, we keep our peace in the midst of the biggest problems. It is a sign that God has dug in us, the beginning of the source of peace. We carry our crosses, more or less burdensome on earth and sometimes it happens that our crosses are frightening in their gravity.

(Next sentence is a rough translation: During our life, it is not that God weighs down our miserable body, the world is mixed there.) If while on this earth we are never perfectly tranquil it is because we sometimes see, sometimes we experience another pain that comes to crown the pain that (before) was moderate. Soon this trouble is so great that one can not measure it, explain it or understand it. Guard peace, let us be tranquil. God watches over us. God protects us and helps us by His grace and His love. Keep the peace, it pleases God. By disturbing His peace, you displease God … (I.e. no matter how great they are, let no troubles, sufferings or anxieties disturb your inner peace gained by the spirit of detachment.)


Let us obey God as He is leading us, who commands and who orders us... The victims of the Cross have to bear the Cross. Is it not the richest, most beautiful, the most in loving? Why do they (the victims) need anything else, when God gives them a rich treasury overflowing on all sides? The Cross is to be their union, their companion, their rest, their support, consolation, their hope and their home on earth.”


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Note: this must be Abraham Kidunaia (d. c. 366) as the Rev. Alan Butler wrote the following description of him in his “Lives of the Saints” Vol 3. (1866) which corresponds with his message to Marie-Julie Jahenny:

St. Abraham converted his desert into a paradise, because he found in it his God, whose presence makes Heaven. He wanted not the company of men, who enjoyed that of God and his angels; nor could he ever be at a loss for employment, to whom both the days and nights were two short for heavenly contemplation. “Whilst his body was employed in penitential manual labour, his mind and heart were sweetly taken up in God, who was to him All in All, and the centre of all his desires and affections. His watchings were but an uninterrupted sacrifice of divine love, and by the ardour of his desire, and the disposition of his soul and its virtual tendency to God, his sleep itself was a continuation of his union with God, and exercise of loving him. He could truly say with the spouse, I sleep, but my heart watcheth. Thus Christians, who are placed in distracting stations, may also, if they accustom themselves, converse interiorly with God in purity of heart, and in all their actions and desires have only his will in view. Such a life is a kind of imitation of the Seraphim, to whom to live and to love are one and the same thing. “The angels,” says St. Gregory the Great, “always carry their Heaven about with them wheresoever they are sent, because they never depart from God, or cease to behold him; ever dwelling in the bosom of his immensity; living and moving in him, and exercising their ministry in the sanctuary of his divinity.” This is the happiness of every Christian who makes a desert, by interior solitude, in his own heart.”

About St. Abraham's life, Rev. Butler wrote:

St. Abraham was born at Chidana, in Mesopotamia, near Edessa, of wealthy and noble parents, who, after giving him a most virtuous education, were desirous of engaging him in the married state. In compliance with their inclinations, Abraham took to wife a pious and noble virgin: but earnestly desiring to live and die in the state of holy virginity, as soon as the marriage ceremony and feast were over, having made known his resolution to his new bride, he secretly withdrew to a cell two miles from the city Edessa; where his friends found him at prayer after a search, of seventeen days. By earnest entreaties he obtained their consent, and after their departure walled up the door of his cell, leaving only a little window, through which he received what was necessary for his subsistence. He spent his whole time in adoring and praising God, and imploring his mercy. He every day wept abundantly. He was possessed of no other earthly goods but a cloak and a piece of sackcloth which he wore, and a little vessel out of which he both eat and drank. For fifty years he was never wearied with his austere penance and holy exercises, and seemed to draw from them every day fresh vigour. Ten years after he had left the world, by the demise of his parents, he inherited their great estates, but commissioned a virtuous friend to distribute the revenues in alms-deeds. Many resorted to him for spiritual advice, whom he exceedingly comforted and edified by his holy discourses.

 A large country town in the diocese of Edessa, remained till that time addicted to idolatry, and its inhabitants had loaded with injuries and outrages all the holy monks and others who had attempted to preach the gospel to them. The bishop at length cast his eye on Abraham, ordained him priest though much against his will, and sent him to preach the faith to those obstinate infidels. He wept all the way as he went, and with great earnestness repeated this prayer: “Most merciful God, look down on my weakness: assist me with thy grace, that thy name may be glorified. Despise not the works of thy own hands.” At the sight of the town, reeking with the impious rites of idolatry, he redoubled the torrents of his tears: but found the citizens resolutely determined not to hear him speak. Nevertheless, he continued to pray and weep among them without intermission, and though he was often beaten and ill-treated, and thrice banished by them, he always returned with the same zeal. After three years the infidels were overcome by his meekness and patience, and being touched by an extraordinary grace, all demanded baptism. He staid one year longer with them to instruct them in the faith; and on their being supplied with priests and other ministers, he went back to his cell.”



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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.

**

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Monday 16 October 2017

#74 St. Lucian - Time of Chastisements after Marie-Julie's Death – Christ is Crucified by Corrupt Clergy – A Warning – Victims and Children of the Cross will be Protected



St. Lucian (of Antioch?), martyr, converses with Marie-Julie about a recent vision she received – the Time of Chastisements will come after Marie-Julie's Death – Christ is Crucified on His Altars by Corrupt Clergy – Pronounces a Warning – Victims and Children of the Cross will be Protected


Ecstasy date August 27, 1878


St. Lucian: “Has it been long since you climbed the steps of love that lead to the altar for your last communion?”

Marie-Julie: “Tell me, good Saint, do you mean my 14th communion?”

(Note: the meaning of '14th communion' is is unclear, probably the number of times she has received Holy Communion since she entered the 'Novitiate of the Cross', or the number of holy communications she has received on the subject since she entered.)

St. Lucian “Yes.”

Marie-Julie: “Ah well! This morning, I have climbed.”

Have you not seen this altar of love elevated above the superior degrees of love?”

Yes, the altar is very high and the steps too.”

St. Lucian: “This sign means that the soul is preparing to take off into the elevated regions, celestial, and God at the same time, prepares the promised enjoyment to the soul by the elevation of or (to) that mysterious altar. Who is it that speaks on this altar?” (I.e. a sign of how Our Lord is preparing her soul for the elevated heights of Heaven.)

Marie-Julie: “Good saint, first, Our Lord.”

St. Lucian: “What did He say in the brightness of His glory?”

Marie-Julie: “Here is what the good Jesus said: 'It is at the foot of the altar that I teach you everyday to love Me. The more you love me on earth, the more you approach to that loving and eternal Union.' This, good saint, is how good Our Lord begins.”


(Observation: as this text has the same wording and shares the same date: so the "Unidentified Saint" in the previous text in Post #73 must be St. Lucian. No doubt the texts got duplicated, and the identity of the saint was not included in one of them. Our Lord teaches her how to love Him everyday at the foot of the altar before the Blessed Sacrament. Also, He reveals here that the more she love Him on Earth, the more she approaches that promised Union in the heights of Heaven she was shown.)

St. Lucian: “He gives you the imminent hope?”


Marie-Julie: “Yes. When He speaks to me of the imminent hope, He is beaming and His adorable face is radiant with joy and happiness.” (Note: she was constantly reminded she would die 'soon', but of course, she found out like Sr. Lucia of Fatima, that 'soon' means years in Heaven's vision of time!)

St. Lucian: “Does he make it known to you the reason for prolonging human existence?” (i.e. this is either a reference to the human race, but more likely a question as to why he prolongs Marie-Julie's life despite the promise of going to Heaven as we see in the next sentences.)

Yes, good Saint.”

St. Lucian: “What is the purpose?”

Marie-Julie: “This is what Our Lord said: 'I leave you some time because I need souls to suffer and to support (i.e. restrain) the blow of My Justice.' This, good saint, is what He says.” (i.e. Our Lord still needs her as a victim soul to stave off the chastisements.)

St. Lucian: “Our Lord tells you that His arms get tired?” (i.e. did Our Lord tell you He is tired of holding up His arms and is ready to strike?)

Marie-Julie: “Here follows what He said; 'Patience for a little while, I wait (upon) for the last time the Divine Will of My Father. The will of My Father will not be held for long, I will soon submit to Its divine commands. That is why I quickly make your soul rise up the steps of the Holy Novitiate. This is so that everything is ready when the time will be prepared.´

St. Lucian: “What did you understand by these words?”

Marie-Julie: “Good saint, I realized that when the actual time of Our Lord is coming, my deliverance will also arrive.”

(NOTE: Our Lord revealed He was quickly preparing her soul for Heaven, when her soul was perfected, then the Work of the Cross would be ready, she understood that when the Lord came for her at her death, then the TIME HAD COME for Our Lord to submit to the Divine Will of the Father regarding the chastisements. Our Lord also revealed in another vision she would live to see the 'spark' that would start the chastisements. She died in 1941 during WW II.)

(Note: as the "Unidentified Saint" obviously is St. Lucian as we discovered above, click post #73 to read the rest of his warning .#73 Our Lord, Our Lady and an Unidentified Saint – an INTERIOR WARNING Will be Given )



St. Lucian: “That thought is just. Then our adorable Lord did not say when He would come to the Tabernacle of the Earth to your soul?” (I.e. a reference to receiving the Blessed Sacrament.)

Marie-Julie: “No, good saint, He did not say that to me, but He told me that I should not wait for His Sacred Body and Precious Blood from the ministers who are now living as a pastor and director of our parish. That is what He told me.” (i.e. Marie-Julie had entered a period of persecution and was denied the Sacraments by the parish.)

And then?”

Marie-Julie: “He said His plans were prepared for this, to receive It, but He did not let me know how.”

St. Lucian: “I think I can say that our adorable Lord will be brought and given to your soul by the first victim of the Cross from which (or whom) you last received the Sacred Body of Christ.” (I.e the Saint believes it is safe to reveal that it will be Fr. David, her confessor and spiritual director who will bring the Blessed Sacrament to her, he was also called the 'First Victim' by Heaven. From the ecstasies, we discover hints that Abbé David shared in Marie-Julie's sufferings, becoming a victim soul by having been granted the title 'First Victim' in the mission to spread the great work of the Holy Cross at La Fraudais.)

Marie-Julie: “Thank you, good Saint. The good Jesus did not say anything more.”

St. Lucian: “And who is it, then, that makes this preparation?” (I.e. preparing her soul to receive a miraculous Communion? She received several miraculous Holy Communions when she was denied the Sacraments by the parish.)

Marie-Julie: “It is St. Thomas Aquinas who is continually preparing my soul.”

Do you not think that the Angelic Saint Thomas is redoubling love?”

Yes, good Saint, his words have been more inflamed in love. Good saint, he speaks of a flower dying, I do not know what that means.”

The flower that dies off, it is the mortal body.”

He also speaks of a fruit, but I do not know what it is.”

The fruit, it is the immortal soul, which leans toward the Beloved for Him to pick.”

Thank you, good Saint.”

Meanwhile, reascend to a higher degree. Have you loved our Lord on His eternal throne in heaven?”

Yes, good Saint, every morning, I do.”

What is your conversation with God?”

On many things.”

St. Lucian: “Do you talk of His hidden Justice, irritated against the Earth?”

Marie-Julie: “Our Lord has said little, only He made so many painful complaints for so many pastors and priests of the Church that I have suffered a wound in my soul more cruel than death.”

What does our Lord say on this subject?”

Good saint, He said He enters the hearts of those who crucify Him and who renew His bloody Passion. He then added that many punishments awaited those priests at the foot of the Holy Altars, punishments visible to the public eyes of His faithful people. There, good Saint, that is what Our Lord said.”

And then our adorable Lord made known the end of the pains and tears of this ordeal so
cruel?”

Yes, He said a word about it to me: He told me: 'I want you to have in Me, a full and complete confidence. I forbid you to put your hope in men, the most powerful or not. The more you expect from Me with hope, I will come quickly.' That is what he told me good saint.

What else?”

Then the good Jesus said that the test was in full force and in (or at) its greatest freedom. He added that the past times had long been in pain but that the future would be longer in joy than in pain.”

Do you understand?”

I realized, good saint, that the test now would be short and that the joy would be long, perhaps not for me but for my dear brothers.” (I.e. the Friends of the Cross, they would suffer tests and persecutions?)

The thought was right and was justified by God. Have you contemplated the Blessed Virgin?”

Good saint, I do not see her but in the morning, not at night, or only for a moment when I go out of the way of love.”

The Blessed Virgin, she spoke to you?”

Yes, good Saint, She spoke tenderly.”

How did the conversation start?”

This is what she said: 'Courage, my children, your tears and your pain have such a price in the eyes of My Divine Son that He is now preparing the light and the light will be an exit from captivity and pain.'

Do you understand?”

Yes, captivity is our neglect and sorrow, they are our pains, either internal or external, that is what I understood.”

That is beautiful, this thought. Then what did the Blessed Virgin say to you?”

She said she would soon come to see us. When we were together to hear her beloved language and tender.”

And then?”

She then told me that the love and tenderness of His Heart have been preparing us for a long time great joys and a love elevated in rejoicing and in tranquil repose but (while) still on the earth.”

What did you understand by that?”

Well Saint, I realized after our deliverance, we would still have some time together to rejoice.”

Yes it is the sure word of the Blessed Virgin. Did she speak to you about the children of the Cross?”

Yes, good Saint. The Blessed Virgin told me that for the victims and for the servants of the Cross, she and her Divine Son, increase tenderness everyday and that they prepare for us while (we are) still on Earth a protection greater and more wonderful in their beauty. That is what she said.”


Did she speak about the return of the victims?”


Yes, She told me that we would meet again with all the greatest joy and we still talk on all the beautiful subjects and on the beautiful words of Heaven. That is what she said.”


*****
Note: The “Friends of Marie-Julie” simply list this saint as St. Lucien, martyr. Without any more details than that, since Marie-Julie was visited by many Doctors of the Church, we propose an educated guess this is St. Lucian of Antioch, (died 312 AD, feast day January 7.) A native of Edessa, he became distinguished as a scriptural scholar. He travelled to Antioch and then to Nicomedia, where he was martyred either by starvation, or beheading according to other accounts, after suffering many tortures while nine years in prison. Other traditions say he died by drowning and a dolphin returned his body. He was highly praised by St. John Chrysostom and St. Jerome. Image above depicts the imprisonment and drowning of St. Lucian.

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Previous Post #73 Our Lord, Our Lady and an Unidentified Saint – an INTERIOR WARNING Will be Given (Note: the "Unidentified Saint" obviously is St. Lucian as we discovered above.)  Click post #73 to read the rest of the warnings attached to this vision.)
 
Next Post #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


What is the "Novitiate of the Cross"? How to Love Your Cross

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