A MISSA DO PADRE PIO.

Recebi há pouco esta entrevista do Padre Pio e não pude deixar de publicá-la, tamanha a grandeza do que ele viveu nessas missas que se tornaram famosas em todo o mundo. Que nossos fiéis e leitores amigos possam tirar dessas palavras um caminho para melhor assistir a sua missa. Queria acrescentar aqui um pequeno comentário: onde fica, depois de se ler esta pungente entrevista, a missa alegrinha dos carismáticos? Que distância entre esta descrição de um verdadeiro Sacrifício realizado no altar, e os shows mundanos, sentimentais e mediáticos dessa nova religião de Vaticano II.

Padre, o Sr. ama o Sacrifício da Missa?
Sim, porque Ela regenera o mundo.

Que glória dá a Deus a Missa?
Uma glória infinita.

Que devemos fazer durante a Missa?
Compadecer-nos e amar.

Padre, como devemos assistir à Santa Missa?
Como assistiram a Santíssima Virgem e as piedosas mulheres. Como assistiu S. João Evangelista ao Sacrifício Eucarístico e ao Sacrifício cruento da Cruz.

Padre, que benefícios recebemos ao assistir à Santa Missa?
Não se podem contar. Vê-lo-ás no céu. Quando assistires à Santa Missa, renova a tua fé e medita na Vítima que se imola por ti à Divina Justiça. Não te afastes do altar sem derramar lágrimas de dor e de amor a Jesus, Crucificado por tua salvação. A Virgem Dolorosa te acompanhará e será tua doce inspiração.

Padre, que é sua Missa?
Uma união sagrada com a Paixão de Jesus. Minha responsabilidade é única no mundo. (Dizia-o chorando.)

Que devo descobrir na sua Santa Missa?
Todo o Calvário.

Padre, diga-me tudo o que o senhor sofre durante a Santa Missa.
Sofro tudo o que Jesus sofreu na sua Paixão, embora sem proporção, só enquanto pode fazê-lo uma criatura humana. E isto, apesar de cada uma de minhas faltas e só por sua bondade.

Padre, durante o Sacrifício divino o senhor carrega os nossos pecados?
Não posso deixar de fazê-lo, já que é uma parte do Santo Sacrifício.

O senhor considera a si mesmo um pecador?
Não o sei, mas temo que assim seja.

Eu já vi o senhor tremer ao subir aos degraus do altar. Por quê? Pelo que tem de sofrer?
Não pelo que tenho de sofrer, mas pelo que tenho de oferecer.

Em que momento da Missa o senhor sofre mais?
Na Consagração e na Comunhão.

Padre, esta manhã na Missa, ao ler a história de Esaú, que vendeu os direitos de sua primogenitura, seus olhos se encheram de lágrimas.

Parece-te pouco desprezar o dom de Deus!?



Por que, ao ler o Evangelho, o senhor chorou quando leu estas palavras: “Quem come a minha carne e bebe o meu sangue...”

Chora comigo de ternura!

Padre, por que o senhor chora quase sempre que lê o Evangelho na Missa?
A nós nos parece que não tem importância que um Deus fale às suas criaturas e elas O contradigam e continuamente O ofendam com sua ingratidão e incredulidade.

Sua Missa, Padre, é um sacrifício cruento?
Herege!

Perdão, Padre, quis dizer que na Missa o Sacrifício de Jesus não é cruento, mas a sua participação em toda a Paixão o é. Engano-me?
Não, nisso não te enganas. Creio que tens toda a razão.

Quem lhe limpa o sangue durante a Missa?
Ninguém.

Padre, por que o senhor chora no Ofertório?
Queres saber o segredo? Pois bem: porque é o momento em que a alma se separa das coisas profanas.

Durante sua Missa, Padre, o povo faz um pouco de barulho...
Se estivesses no Calvário, não ouvirias gritos, blasfêmias, ruídos, e ameaças? Havia um alvoroço enorme.

Não o distraem os ruídos?
Em nada.

Padre, por que sofre tanto na Consagração?
Não sejas maldoso... (Não quero que me perguntes isso...)

Padre, diga-me: por que sofre tanto na Consagração?
Porque nesse momento se produz realmente uma nova e admirável destruição e criação.

Padre, por que chora no altar, e que significam as palavras que pronuncia na Elevação? Pergunto por curiosidade, mas também porque quero repeti-las com o senhor.

Os segredos do Rei Supremo não podem revelar-se nem profanar-se. Pergunta-mes por que choro, mas eu não queria derramar essas pobres lagrimazinhas, mas torrentes de lágrimas. Não meditas neste grandioso mistério?



Padre, o senhor sofre, durante a Missa, a amargura do fel?
Sim, muito freqüentemente...

Padre, como pode estar-se de pé no Altar?
Como estava Jesus na Cruz.

No altar, o senhor está pregado na Cruz, como Jesus no Calvário?
E ainda me perguntas?

Como se acha o senhor?
Como Jesus no Calvário.

Padre, os carrascos deitaram a Cruz no chão para pregar os cravos em Jesus?
Evidentemente.

Ao senhor também lhos pregam?
E de que maneira!

Também deitam a Cruz para o senhor?
Sim, mas não devemos ter medo.

Padre, durante a Missa o senhor pronuncia as Sete Palavras que Jesus disse na Cruz?
Sim, indignamente, mas também as pronuncio.

E a quem diz: “Mulher, eis aí teu filho”?
Digo para Ela: “Eis aqui os filhos de Teu Filho”.

O senhor sofre a sede e o abandono de Jesus?
Sim.

Em que momento?
Depois da Consagração.

Até que momento?
Costuma ser até a Comunhão.

O senhor diz que tem vergonha de dizer: “Procurei quem me consolasse e não achei”. Por quê?
Porque nossos sofrimentos de verdadeiros culpados não são nada em comparação com os de Jesus.

Diante de quem sente vergonha?
Diante de Deus e da minha consciência.

Os Anjos do Senhor o reconfortam no Altar em que o senhor se imola?
Pois... não o sinto.

Se não lhe vem o consolo até à alma durante o Santo Sacrifício, e o senhor sofre, como Jesus, o abandono total, nossa presença não serve para nada.

A utilidade é para vós. Por acaso foi inútil a presença da Virgem Dolorosa, de São João e das piedosas mulheres aos pés de Jesus agonizante?



Que é a Sagrada Comunhão?
É toda uma misericórdia interior e exterior, todo um abraço. Pede a Jesus que se deixe sentir sensivelmente.

Quando Jesus vem, visita somente a alma?
O ser inteiro.

Que faz Jesus na Comunhão?
Deleita-se na sua criatura.

Quando se une a Jesus na Santa Comunhão, que quer peçamos a Deus pelo senhor?
Que eu seja outro Jesus, todo Jesus e sempre Jesus.

O senhor sofre também na Comunhão?
É o ponto culminante.

Depois da Comunhão, continuam seus sofrimentos?
Sim, mas não sofrimentos de amor.

A quem se dirigiu o último olhar de Jesus agonizante?
À sua Mãe.

E o senhor para quem olha?
Para meus irmãos de exílio.

O senhor morre na Santa Missa?
Misticamente, na Sagrada Comunhão.

É por excesso de amor ou de dor?
Por ambas as coisas, porém mais por amor.

Se o senhor morre na Comunhão, continua a ficar no Altar? Por quê?
Jesus morto permanecia pendente da Cruz no Calvário.

Padre, o senhor disse que a vítima morre na Comunhão. Colocam o senhor nos braços de Nossa Senhora?

Nos de São Francisco.

Padre, Jesus desprega os braços da Cruz para descansar no Senhor?

Sou eu quem descansa n’Ele!

Quanto ama a Jesus?

Meu desejo é infinito, mas a verdade é que, infelizmente, tenho de dizer nada e me causa pena.



Padre, por que o senhor chora ao pronunciar a última palavra do Evangelho de São João: “E vimos sua glória como do Unigênito Pai, cheio de graça e de verdade”?

Parece-te pouco? Se os Apóstolos, com seus olhos de carne, viram essa glória, como será a que veremos no Filho de Deus, em Jesus, quando se manifestar no céu?

Que união teremos então com Jesus?
A Eucaristia nos dá uma idéia.

A Santíssima Virgem assiste à sua Missa?
Julgas que a Mãe não se interessa por seu Filho?

E os Anjos?
Em multidões.

Padre, quem está mais perto do Altar?
Todo o Paraíso.

O senhor gostaria de celebrar mais de uma Missa por dia?
Se eu pudesse, não quereria descer do Altar.

Disseram-me que traz com o senhor o seu próprio Altar...
Sim, porque se realizam estas palavras do Apóstolo: “Eu trago no meu corpo os estigmas de Jesus”. “Estou cravado com Cristo na Cruz.” “Castigo o meu corpo, e o reduzo à escravidão...”

Nesse caso, não me engano quando digo que estou vendo Jesus Crucificado!

(Nenhuma resposta)



Padre, o senhor se lembra de mim na Santa Missa?
Durante toda a Missa, desde o princípio até o fim, lembro-me de ti.

A Missa do Padre Pio, em seus primeiros anos, durava mais de duas horas. Sempre foi um êxtase de amor e de dor. Seu rosto estava inteiramente concentrado em Deus e cheio de lágrimas. Um dia, ao confessar-me, perguntei-lhe sobre este grande mistério:

Padre, quero fazer-lhe uma pergunta.
Dize-me, filho.

Padre, queria perguntar-lhe que é a Missa?

Por que me perguntas isto?
Para ouvi-la melhor, Padre.

Filho, posso dizer-te que é a minha Missa.

Pois é isso o que quero saber, Padre.

Meu filho, estamos na Cruz, e a Missa é uma contínua agonia.

Tirada de Tradition Catolica, nº 141, nov. 98 citando "Assim Falou o Padre Pio" (S. Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Itália, 1974) com o Imprimatur de D. Fanton, Bispo Auxiliar de Vicenza.

http://www.capela.org.br/Missa/padrepio.htm

Palavras de Jesus sobre as Suas Sacrossantas Chagas.

Rosário das Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo

Em lugar do Credo rezar:

Oh! Jesus, Divino redentor, tende misericórdia de nós e do mundo inteiro.
Deus forte, Deus Santo, Deus imortal, tende piedade de nós e do mundo inteiro.
Graça, misericórdia, meu Jesus; nos perigos presentes, cobri-nos com vosso preciosíssimo sangue.
Pai Eterno, tende misericórdia de nós pelo Sangue de Jesus Cristo, vosso Filho Unigênito, tende
misericórdia de nós, Vos suplicamos. Amém, Amém, Amém.

Em lugar do Pai Nosso:

Pai Eterno, eu Vos ofereço as santas Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo; Para curar as de nossas almas.

Em lugar de cada Ave-Maria:

Meu Jesus, perdão e misericórdia: Pelos méritos de vossas santas Chagas.
Terminando o Rosário, deve-se rezar três vezes:

Pai Eterno, eu Vos ofereço as santas Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo; Para curar as de nossas almas.
Amém.

Ouçamos o Divino Mestre:

"Minhas Chagas repararão as vossas. Os que a honrarem terão verdadeiro conhecimento de Jesus Cristo."
"Minhas Chagas cobrirão as vossas faltas.
Meditando nelas encontrareis sempre novo alimento de amor." "Concederei tudo quanto me pedirem com
a invocação de minhas Chagas." "É necessário propagar esta devoção. " "Obtereis tudo, porque o mérito
de meu Sangue é de um preço infinito. Com meu Coração e minhas Chagas podeis conseguir tudo."
"Este Rosário da Misericórdia faz contrapeso à minha justiça." "A cada palavra eu deixo cair uma gota de
meu Sangue, sobre a alma de um pecador."
Deveis repetir com freqüência, junto aos doentes esta inspiração:
"Meu Jesus, perdão e misericórdia, pelos méritos de vossas santas Chagas."
Esta oração aliviará a alma e o corpo. Muitas pessoas experimentarão a eficácia destas aspirações.
"Desejo
que os sacerdotes a dêem com freqüência aos penitentes no Santo Tribunal."
O pecador que disser a oração seguinte, alcançará perdão:
" Pai Eterno, eu Vos ofereço as Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, para curar as de nossas almas"
"Oferecei-me com freqüência estas duas aspirações para ganhar-me pecadores, porque tenho fome de
almas."
Uma alma, que em estado de graça, durante a vida honrar e aplicar as Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus
Cristo e oferecê-las a Deus Pai pelas Almas do Purgatório, será acompanhada no momento da morte pela
Santíssima Virgem, os Anjos e Nosso Senhor na Cruz, resplandecente de glória recebê-la-á e coroá-la-á.
"A devoção às minhas Chagas é o remédio para este tempo de iniqüidade", "Sou Eu quem o quer: deveis
fazer as vossas invocações com grande fervor."
" Tal como há um exército organizado pelo Mal, também há um exército organizado por Mim. Com esta
oração sois mais poderosas que um exército, para travar os meus inimigos. Vós sois muito felizes, vós a
quem ensinei a oração que Me desarma:
"Meu Jesus, perdão e misericórdia, pelos méritos das vossas santas Chagas".
As graças que recebeis são graças de fogo. Elas vêm do Céu, e para o Céu devem voltar." "Minha filha,
onde se fizeram os Santos, senão nas minhas Chagas? Todos os meus Santos são fruto das minhas Chagas.
"Quando as minhas santas Chagas foram abertas, houve um "engano" no homem, que julgou que elas
terminariam. Mas não, elas serão eternas, e serão eternamente vistas por todas as minhas criaturas. Digo-te
isto para que não as olhes por hábito, mas que as veneres com grande reverência e humildade."
Aparecendo um dia em toda a beleza da Sua Ressurreição, disse à Sua bem - amada:
"Minha filha, eu mendigo, como faria um pobre Chama os meus filhos um a um.
Olho-os com complacência quando vêm a Mim. Eu espero-os!" "Minha filha, nunca deveis ter medo de
exagerar na devoção às minhas Chagas, porque nunca sereis confundidos, ainda que as coisas pareçam
impossíveis. Concederei tudo o que Me pedirem pela invocação às santas Chagas.
É preciso espalhar esta devoção. Obtereis tudo, porque é o mérito do meu Sangue, que é de um preço
infinito. Com as minhas Chagas e com o meu Divino Coração podeis obter tudo!" "Encontras Chagas por
toda a parte no Corpo do teu Esposo! Quero que também, sejas assim !
Contempla-Me na Cruz : Quando Eu estava lá, não olhava nem para os carrascos, nem para os ultrajes
Olhava para meu Pai.
É assim que deveis cumprir o vosso dever, fazendo o que Eu quero, sem nenhum olhar para a criatura. Tal
como eu, que olhava unicamente para meu Pai! ".

Terço das Santas Chagas

No lugar do Pai-Nosso:

Eterno Pai, eu Vos ofereço as Chagas de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, para curar as chagas de nossas almas
e das almas do mundo inteiro.

No lugar da Ave-Maria:

Meu Jesus, perdão e misericórdia, pelos méritos de Vossas Santas Chagas.
Coroa em honra as Chagas de Jesus

Senhor Jesus Cristo, nós Vos amamos, honramos, adoramos, damos louvores e graças pela Chaga do
vosso Pé Esquerdo, pela dor e pelo Sangue que dela jorrou.

Senhor Jesus Cristo, nós Vos amamos, honramos, adoramos, damos louvores e graças pela Chaga do
vosso Pé Direito, pela dor e pelo Sangue que dela jorrou.

Senhor Jesus Cristo, nós Vos amamos, honramos, adoramos, damos louvores e graças pela Chaga da vossa
Mão Esquerda, pela dor e pelo Sangue que dela jorrou.

Senhor Jesus Cristo, nós Vos amamos, honramos, adoramos, damos louvores e graças pela Chaga da vossa
Mão Direita, pela dor e pelo Sangue que dela jorrou.

Senhor Jesus Cristo, nós Vos amamos, honramos, adoramos, damos louvores e graças pela Chaga do
vosso Sagrado Coração, pelo Sangue e Água que dela jorraram, e nesta Chaga escondemos nossas almas.
Amém.

Pornografia - um perigo para o católico.

sábado, 13 de fevereiro de 2010

O mal que a pornografia faz
Por Pe. Thomas Loya

1º de fevereiro de 2010

Mulheres, da próxima vez que forem à Igreja, olhem por um momento para todos os homens presentes ali, mesmo os melhores deles. Por favor, recite uma oração por eles, pois ao olhar ao seu redor, é seguro dizer que a maioria dos homens que você está vendo são viciados em pornografia, ou ao menos possuem algum contato com ela, ou têm algum problema com pornografia. Sim, mulheres, acreditem em mim, é sério assim mesmo. Eu me dirijo às mulheres porque elas sempre têm mais a perder quando as coisas não andam de acordo com a ordem da Teologia do Corpo. Os homens também têm muito a perder através desse vício da pornografia, mas o custo para as mulheres geralmente não é compreendido totalmente.

A pornografia, de certo modo, é pior que o adultério. Pelo menos no caso do adultério a esposa tem pessoas tangíveis para lidar, duas pessoas que pode confrontar. Mas a pornografia subsiste no mundo secreto e inalcançável das fantasias de um homem. O vício em pornografia tira o que pertence merecidamente à esposa e enterra isso em um abismo egoísta feito de fantasias. A sexualidade humana, e em particular a união em uma só carne entre marido e mulher fala a linguagem, a teologia, de um total dom de si mesmo, um para o outro. Um homem e uma mulher se doam completamente, um para o outro, precisamente através de seus corpos, que possuem um sexo masculino ou feminino. Mas com o vício da pornografia o homem se dá a si mesmo, ou se entrega a uma fantasia. Isso deixa sua mulher emocionalmente distante e debilitada. Ela não consegue alcançar nele o que lhe pertence de direito. Ela fica sozinha, fora do campo onde o marido se auto-absorve.

Ao contrário da alegação daqueles que usam a pornografia a fim de “melhorar” suas experiências de intimidade sexual, o que a pornografia faz é deixar o casal mais longe um do outro. Com o tempo o marido vai achando sua mulher cada vez menos atrativa, pois ela não consegue “concorrer” com as “fantásticas” imagens que a pornografia proporciona. Para compensar, o marido muitas vezes cria expectativas sobre suas relações conjugais que a mulher acha sem sentido. Ou simplesmente o marido inicia relacionamentos extra-conjugais.

Existem dimensões bioquímicas no vício em pornografia. Os cérebros dos homens são diferentes dos cérebros das mulheres em vários aspectos. Para os homens as imagens visuais têm o poder de se fixarem de modo definitivo no cérebro. Isso coloca a mulher ainda em pior posição. Durante a intimidade conjugal, as imagens presentes na mente do marido não são aquelas da sua esposa, que está logo ali em contato físico com ele, mas sim as imagens das estrelas pornográficas e das ações que viu nos filmes e que ficaram marcadas em seu cérebro. Os fatores bioquímicos ajudam a explicar porque o vício em pornografia é tão difícil de vencer. Ações e imagens repetidas ficam marcadas em canais neuronais permanentes no cérebro. E já que a finalidade da pornografia é a auto-estimulação, os novos caminhos neuronais criados pelo hábito da auto-estimulação fazem o desejo (eros) do marido se voltar para si mesmo, tornando-o incapaz de realizar um dom de si para sua mulher. Isso também torna os homens menos capazes de serem bons maridos.

Mulheres, antes de pensar em se casar com um rapaz, certifiquem-se de perguntar sobre seu histórico com pornografia. Tomara que ele não tenha nenhum.

Espero que esse artigo tenha servido como um alarme, a fim de motivar um compromisso de para com o que chamo de “assassino silencioso” de nossa cultura – a pornografia. No próximo artigo veremos como podemos matar esse “assassino silencioso” através da linguagem da Teologia do Corpo.

Traduzido de: http://tob.catholicexchange.com/2010/02/01/1571/

A manuscript of a soul in Purgatory

At the expressed desire of the Directors of the Bulletin "Notre Dame de la Bonne Mort," this pamphlet is published with all the reservations ordered by the Church in the decree of Urban VIII, and as a purely historical document.

It was sent to that periodical by a zealous and devout missionary and is a pious document based on alleged conversations between a nun and a soul in Purgatory.

No one can deny off-hand the possibility, or in fact, the reality of such apparitions of souls in Purgatory to persons still living. Such apparitions are not rare and there are many accounts of them. They are of frequent occurrence in the lives of the Saints. God allows these apparitions and manifestations both for the relief of the souls in question who thus arouse our pity, and to instruct us by showing us the rigor of divine justice when it comes to faults which we often treat lightly.

A nun, identified for us merely as Sister M. de L. C., of a convent at V., without warning began to hear prolonged sighs beside her. This was in November 1873. She cried out, "Oh, who are you, you frighten me. Whatever you do, don’t show yourself. Tell me, who are you?" No answer was forthcoming. The sighs continued and came even nearer. In vain did the poor Sister multiply her prayers, communions, ways of the cross, and rosaries. The sighs did not cease and remained unexplained until February 15, 1874, when a voice she recognized was heard saying: "Do not be afraid, you will not see me in my sufferings. I am Sister M.G." Sister M.G. was a nun who had died at V., a victim to devotion and duty, February 22, 1871, at the age of 36.

This is a testimonial about Sister M. de L. C. herself. Let us add that all witnesses of her life were agreed that Sister M. de L. C. was endowed with a sound judgment, and keen and cultured intellect, and possessed a great amount of common sense. In the spiritual life, she never sought the extraordinary. On the contrary, she avoided it.

Sister M. de. L. C. kept her director well informed of all that happened. He was the Reverend Father Prevel of the Fathers of Pontingy, who later became General of his congregation. Prominent priests have declared without hesitation that it contains nothing contrary to Faith, nothing that is not in accord with the true principles of the spiritual life, rather matter that will edify devout souls.

A suffering soul in Purgatory to Sister M.

If you could only know what I suffer! Pray for me, please. I suffer intensely everywhere. My God, how merciful You are! No one can imagine what Purgatory is like. Be kind and take pity on the poor souls.

May 1874. I have been in the second Purgatory since the Feast of the Annunciation. On that day I saw the Blessed Virgin for the first time. In the first stage, we never saw her. The sight of her encourages us and this beloved Mother speaks to us of Heaven. While we see her, our sufferings are greatly diminished.

You do well to pray to St. Michael and to urge others to do so. One is indeed happy at the hour of death when he has had confidence in some of the saints. They will be his protectors before God in that terrible moment.

Make it a practice to live in the presence of God with a pure intention. God seeks devoted souls who will love Him for His own sake. These are very few. He wants you to be one of His true friends. Many think they love God, but they love Him for their own sakes.

February 1875. Watch carefully over your interior life. Keep all your small troubles for Jesus alone. He is well able to make up to you for whatever He takes from you. Your life must be one of unceasing interior acts of love and of mortification, but God alone must know of it. Do nothing extraordinary. Lead a very hidden life, yet one closely united to Jesus.

Love God very much. How happy are the souls that do this. They possess a treasure! The great penance of your life will be, not the absence of your Jesus but great sorrow for all the pain you have given Him, by your failure to love Him as you desire, in return for the overwhelming number of graces which He has showered upon you and which He will continue to shower upon you.

Love everyone, but do not put your trust entirely in anyone, because Jesus wants to be your great confidant. Everything for Him and for Him alone. Perform all your actions in the presence of God as I have so often told you. Consult Him before all you do or say. Let your life be one of faith and love... Do nothing to distinguish yourself. Without offending anyone, avoid the company of those who are too unreserved and those who are uncharitable. As for yourself, be busy about your own affairs. Keep your opinions to yourself and never express them unless obliged to do so. Be preoccupied with only that one subject, the mainspring of your life, Jesus.

December 8, 1875. Love God intensely. Do not fear your own suffering. Trust in Him, never in yourself. Die to yourself from morning to night... Do not breathe or live except for Jesus Christ. God must be your only confidant. Complain to no one except for Him. Be quite hidden from the eyes of everyone else.

Feast of the Annunciation. When God wishes a soul to be entirely His, He begins by crushing it, very much as apples are crushed in the press—to extract its passions, its self-seeking, in a word, all its defects. When a soul is sufficiently broken, He reshapes it according to His will. If it is faithful, it is soon transformed. Only then does Jesus load it with His choicest graces and inundate it with His love.

Jesus wants you to deal with Him, as with an intimate friend, without any fear whatsoever. It is true that His Majesty is frightening and that you are not worthy to have such intimate converse with your Jesus, but is He not the Master that enriches whomsoever He wills? Ask Jesus to make you rich in every virtue, as He wishes you to be, but in the meantime, shape your life in accordance with His inspirations. Enlarge your heart because what Jesus desires above all things is to see in it His love. What wonderful graces you will receive if you are faithful, graces you have never even thought of.

May 12th. Mortify yourself corporally, but more especially spiritually. Forget yourself. Deny yourself in everything. Never look at what others are doing. God does not demand the same perfection from everyone. All are not enlightened in the same way, but you, whom Jesus Himself enlightens, look only to Him, let Him be your aim and object in everything.

Never grow weary in your work. Begin each day as if you had so far done nothing. This continual renouncement of one’s will and comfort and one’s own opinions is a long martyrdom, but it is most pleasing to God. God wants you to be something special, not as regards your exterior, but in your inner soul. He asks of you a union with Himself, so great that you never lose sight of Him, even amidst your absorbing occupations.

While on earth one truly cannot picture or imagine what God really is, but we (in Purgatory) know and understand Him for what He is, because our souls are freed from all the ties that fettered them and prevented them from realizing the holiness and majesty of God, and His great mercy. We are martyrs, consumed as it were by love. An irresistible force draws us towards God who is our center, but at the same time another force thrusts us back to our place of expiation. We are in the state of being unable to satisfy our longings. Oh, what a suffering that is, but we desire it and there is no murmuring against God here. We desire only what God wants. You on earth, however, cannot possibly understand what we have to endure.

Be ingenious in mortifying yourself and in breaking your own will. Be especially nice to those who are less agreeable to you than to others, no matter what wrong they may have done to you. This means renouncing yourself and pleasing Jesus. Nothing else matters. It is on these occasions that you must silence the human will, but you must do it because Jesus wills it. Do not allow self-love to get the upper hand, but do all blindly to please Jesus alone.

St. Michael

1879, Retreat in September. We see St. Michael as we see the angels. He has no body. He comes to get the souls that have finished their purification. It is he who conducts them to Heaven. He is among the Seraphim as Monsignor said. He is the highest angel in Heaven. Our own Guardian Angels come to see us but St. Michael is far more beautiful than they are. As to the Blessed Virgin, we see her in the body. She comes to Purgatory on her feasts and she goes back to Heaven with many souls. While she is with us we do not suffer. St. Michael accompanies her. When he comes alone, we suffer as usual. When I spoke to you of the great and the second Purgatory, it was to try and make you understand that there are different stages in Purgatory. Thus I call that stage of Purgatory great or worst where the most guilty souls are, and where I stayed for two years without being able to give a sign of the torments I was suffering. The year you heard me groaning, when I began to speak to you, I was still in the same place.

In the second Purgatory, which is still Purgatory but very different from the first, one suffers a great deal, but less than in the great place of expiation. Then there is the third stage, which is the Purgatory of desire, where there is no fire. The souls who did not desire Heaven ardently enough, who did not love God sufficiently, are there. It is there that I am at this moment. Further, in these three parts of purgatory, there are many degrees of variation. Little by little, as the soul becomes purified, her sufferings are changed.

The more a soul loves Jesus the more meritorious all its actions are in His sight. It is only love that will be rewarded in Heaven. All that is done for any other motive will count as nothing. Love Jesus truly, once and for all, as He wants you to. Then I also shall benefit in that I shall have great relief in all my sufferings.

Is God not more pleased with me these last few days? Yes, He is more pleased because you are striving more to give Him pleasure. Have you noticed His goodness and special watchfulness over you? Has He not also given you much joy these days? He will always act like that towards you. The more you do for Him the more He will do for you. I am so happy to see that you are really beginning to love God, who is so good, and to work seriously at your perfection. If by remaining a little longer in Purgatory I could obtain that you should arrive at perfection God demands of you to accomplish His designs, I would willingly bear that suffering. Never look back to examine your conduct in the past. Leave it entirely in the hands of God and go steadily forward. Your life must be summed up in two words: Love and Sacrifice. Sacrifice from morning to night, but always with Love. If only you knew what God is, there is no sacrifice that you would not be willing to make, no suffering that you would not endure for Him. If you could see Him for but one minute you would be perfectly satisfied and consoled... What then must it be to see Him for all eternity?

What is the best way of honoring St. Michael? The best and most efficacious way of glorifying him in Heaven and honoring him on earth is to spread devotion to the souls in Purgatory, and to make known the great mission he fulfills towards these suffering souls. It is he who is entrusted by God to lead the souls to the place of expiation and to bring them to their eternal home after purification. Each time a soul arrives to increase the number of the elect, God is glorified, and this glory in some way communicates itself also to the celestial minister. It is an honor for him to present to Our Lord the souls that will sing their thanks and His mercies through all eternity. I could never make you understand the intense love which the Heavenly Archangel has for his Divine Master, and the love which God in His turn has for St. Michael. Neither can I convey to you a true idea of the love and pity St. Michael has for us. He encourages us in our sufferings by speaking to us of Heaven.

How do they celebrate the feast of St. Michael in Purgatory? On that day St. Michael comes to Purgatory and returns to Heaven with a great number of souls, especially with those who had been devout to him in life.

Levels of Purgatory

I can tell you about the different degrees of Purgatory because I have passed through them. In the great Purgatory there are several stages. In the lowest and most painful, like a temporary hell, are the sinners who have committed terrible crimes during life and whose death surprised them in that state. It was almost a miracle that they were saved, and often by the prayers of holy parents or other pious persons. Sometimes they did not even have time to confess their sins and the world thought them lost, but God, whose mercy is infinite, gave them at the moment of death the contrition necessary for their salvation on account of one or more good actions which they performed during life. For such souls, Purgatory is terrible. It is a real hell with a difference, that in hell they curse God, whereas we bless Him and thank Him for having saved us.

Next to these come the souls, who though they did not commit great crimes like the others, were indifferent to God. They did not fulfill their Easter duties and were also converted at the point of death. Perhaps they were unable to receive Holy Communion. They are in Purgatory for the long years of indifference. They suffer unheard of pains and are abandoned either without prayers or if they are said for them, they are not allowed to profit by them. There are in this stage of Purgatory religious of both sexes, who were tepid, neglectful of their duties, indifferent towards Jesus, also priests who did not exercise their sacred ministry with the reverence due to the Sovereign Majesty and who did not instill the love of God sufficiently into the souls confided to their care. I was in this stage of Purgatory.

In the second Purgatory are the souls of those who died with venial sins not fully expiated before death, or with mortal sins that have been forgiven but for which they have not made entire satisfaction to the Divine Justice. In this part of Purgatory, there are also different degrees according to the merits of each soul. Thus the Purgatory of the consecrated souls or of those who have received more abundant graces, is longer and far more painful than that of ordinary people of the world.

Lastly there is the Purgatory of desire which is called the Threshold. Very few escape this. To avoid it altogether, one must ardently desire Heaven and the vision of God. That is rare, rarer than people think, because even pious people are afraid of God and have not, therefore, a sufficiently strong desire of going to Heaven. This Purgatory has its very painful martyrdom like the others. The deprivation of the sight of our loving Jesus adds to the intense suffering.

Where is Purgatory situated? It is in the center of the earth, close to Hell, as you saw one day after Holy Communion. The large number of souls there are confined to a limited space. There are thousands and thousands of souls there. But then what space does a soul occupy? Each day thousands of souls come to Purgatory and most of them remain thirty to forty years, some for longer periods, others for shorter. I tell you this in terms of earthly calculations because here it is quite different. Oh, if people only knew and understood what Purgatory is and what it means to know that we are here through our own fault. I have been here for eight years and it seems to me like ten thousand. Oh my God! Tell all this to the Father, so that he may learn from me what this place of suffering is like and may make it better known in the future. He will be able to find out for himself how profitable it is to have a great devotion to the holy souls in Purgatory. God often accords more graces through the intercession of these suffering souls than through prayers of the saints. Let the Father, when he wishes to be sure of obtaining what he wants, ask the souls who have loved Our Lady most. These, in consequence, she wishes most of all to release. He will see whether his prayer is heard or not.

The justice of God keeps us in Purgatory, and we deserve it, but His mercy and His Fatherly Heart does not leave us here bereft of consolation. We ardently desire complete union with Jesus, but He desires it almost as much as we do. On earth, He sometimes communicates Himself to certain souls in a most intimate manner (to few, because, so few will listen to Him) and He delights in revealing His secrets to them. The souls that receive these favors are those that seek to please Him in all their conduct and who live and breathe only for Jesus and try to please Him.

Then what happened to the prayers Father P. said for them? Those in Heaven for whom prayers are said on earth can apply those prayers to the souls they wish to benefit. It is a very consoling thought for those in the other world to know that their relatives and friends on earth do not forget them, even though they have no further need of prayers. In return, they are not ungrateful.

The judgments of God are very different from those of the world. He takes into account the temperament and character of each and what is done by carelessness or pure malice. To Him who knows the most secret recesses of the heart, it is not difficult to see what goes on there. Jesus is very good, but He is also most just.

Tell me what happens during the agony and after. Does the soul find itself in light or darkness? Under what form is the sentence pronounced? I had no agony as you know, but I can tell you this, that at the last decisive moment, the devil lets loose all his rage against the one that is dying. God permits souls to go through these last trials in order to increase their merits. Souls that are strong and generous, in order that they may have a more glorious place in Heaven, have often had, at the end of their lives and in the moment of death, terrible combats with the angel of darkness. You have been a witness to this. But they always come out victorious. God never allows a soul that has been devoted to Him during life to perish at the last moment. Those souls who have loved the Blessed Virgin and invoked her all their lives will receive from her many graces in their last struggles. It is the same for those who have been really devout to St. Joseph, to St. Michael, or to any of the saints. I have already said one is glad to have an intercessor with God in those dreadful moments. Some souls die quite tranquilly without experiencing any of those trials. God has His designs in everything. He does or permits all for the good of each particular soul.

Tell me, in what does true sanctity consist? You know that very well, but as you wish it I shall repeat it to you, though I have already told it to you many times. True sanctity consists in renouncing oneself from morning to night, in being a living sacrifice, in constantly putting aside the human self, in allowing God to work in and with you as He pleases, to receive the graces He sends you with profound humility, recognizing yourself quite unworthy of them, to live as constantly as possible in the Divine Presence, to perform all your actions under the eye of God, wanting Him to be the only witness of your efforts and your only reward. This is the sanctity wished for and demanded by Jesus of all those who desire to be His only and to live His life. All the rest is pure illusion.

Some souls have their Purgatory on earth by suffering, others by love, for love is a true martyrdom. The soul that really tries to love Jesus finds that notwithstanding all its efforts it does not Love Him as much as it wants to, and that is for that soul a perpetual martyrdom caused by a love which is not without great suffering. It is, as I told you, rather like the state of a soul in Purgatory, who continually leaps up towards Him who is its only desire, and who at the same time is hurled back because its expiation is not complete.

Very few souls get any prayers, the majority are totally abandoned and no thought or prayers are given to them on earth.



I have told you there are some souls who do their Purgatory at the foot of the altar. They are not there for faults they have committed in the church, because those faults which attack Jesus directly, Jesus present in the Tabernacle, are punished with terrible severity in Purgatory. The souls that are there in adoration are there as a reward for their reverent behavior in the Sacred Presence. They suffer less than if they were in Purgatory itself, and Jesus, whom they contemplate with the eyes of their soul and of faith, softens their pains by His invisible Presence.

Have you a more perfect knowledge of God than we have? What a question! Of course we know Him far better and love Him far more. Indeed, it is just that which causes our greatest suffering. On earth you simply do not know what God is. There, each one of you has an idea of what you think God is, according to your very limited knowledge, but when we leave our covering of clay and when nothing impedes the liberty of our souls, we at last begin to know God, His goodness, His mercy, His love. After this clearer view and the thirst for union, our souls yearn for God. This is our very life and we are forever repulsed because we are not sufficiently pure. This, in a word, is our worst suffering, the hardest, most bitter. Oh, if only we were allowed to come back to earth, after knowing what God really is, what a different life we would lead! But what useless regrets, and yet on earth you do not think of these things and live as if you were blind. Eternity is no account to you. The earth, which is only a journey and receives only the body which in itself turns to dust, is the sole object to which almost all of your desires tend and you do not even think of Heaven while Jesus and His love are entirely forgotten.

God loves simple souls. You must go to Him, therefore, with good will, always ready to sacrifice yourself to please Him. You must act with Jesus as a little child does with its mother, trusting in His goodness and placing all your spiritual and temporal interest with great confidence in His Divine Hands. Having done this, try to please Him in everything without troubling yourself about anything else. God does not regard great acts or heroic deeds as much as He does simple actions or small sacrifices, provided these are done with love for Him.

Sometimes even a tiny sacrifice, which was known only to God and to the soul, may be far more meritorious than a great one that was loudly applauded. One must be very interior on order not to take for oneself any of the praise given one. God seeks souls empty of self so as to fill them with His love. He finds but a few. Self-love leaves no place for Jesus. Do not let any opportunity to mortify self pass by, especially interior mortification. Jesus has many graces to give you during Lent. Therefore, prepare yourself by a redoubling of your fervor, but above all, love Jesus. He is so little loved by the world and so outraged by it.

The Blessed Virgin loves you very much. On your part love her with all your heart and do all you can to procure her the greatest possible glory.

France is indeed very guilty, but unfortunately she is not the only one. At this moment there is not a single Christian kingdom that is not openly or by underhanded means trying to expel God from its midst. The secret societies and their master, the devil, are formenting and stirring all this trouble.

This is now the hour of the prince of darkness. While he is in power he may do his worst, but God will show that He alone is Master. He may use severity to manifest His power, but even in His vengeance, Jesus is yet always merciful.

St. Michael will intervene in the personal struggle of the Church which is so terribly persecuted, but not so easily destroyed as the wicked think. It is he who is also the special patron of France and who will help her to take rank as the eldest daughter of the Church, because notwithstanding all the wickedness that is committed in France, there is still much good and so many devoted souls there. I do not know when St. Michael will intervene; you must pray very much for this intention. Invoke the Archangel, remind him of his titles and beseech him to intercede with Christ, over whose Heart he has such influence. But be sure that the Blessed Virgin is not forgotten. France is her kingdom, privileged over all others. She will save it. Those who promote the recitation of the Rosary everywhere deserve praise. It is this prayer that is the most efficacious in the present time of need.

What are the few moments we have to pass on earth compared to eternity? At the hour of death, you will not find that you have done too much. Be very generous, do not listen to yourself but always look at the goal to which Jesus calls you. That is sanctity, pure love. Then go forward and never look back. Great crosses, crosses that often break the heart, so to say, are the portion of God’s own friends.

October 16th. It is useless for you to worry about the souls entrusted to you, to reprove them or to try to make them a little more spiritually inclined. You will only succeed in as far as you yourself are spiritual. It is only through the overflow of your own piety that you can put it into their hearts. If you yourself are not what you ought to be, if you are not closely united with Jesus, your words will reach their ears but will not enter into their hearts, and so your effort will not be fruitful. Do you see how good it is to be united to Jesus? That is the only true happiness on earth.

September 1882. Jesus has done very much for you and He will do still more for you in the future, but you must correspond with His graces in a generous spirit. The souls that arrive at the height of perfection that He demands of them are mistresses of His Heart. He refuses them nothing. When you will have arrived at that stage, Jesus and yourself will be but one. Your sentiments, your thoughts and your desires will be the same. Be good, therefore, make haste to become a saint to procure great glory for your one Friend who waits for that moment to inundate your soul with His grace. You do not yet make sufficient effort in watching over your interior and in keeping before your mind the Divine Presence of Jesus. Try to take the trouble and you will be powerfully helped. Jesus is only waiting for a little good will on your part and He will do the rest. Say to yourself every day, "Since Jesus began to give me so many special graces, what have I become? What ought I to be? What would I be if I had always corresponded well?" These thoughts meditated on for a few minutes will do much good to your soul. Only reflect seriously on them, for it is the will of God that I have told you. He also desires that you work seriously at your perfection because upon it depends that of many others. Jesus has such an intense love for you that He desires to pour upon you His choice graces which He shares only with His intimate friends. Hasten by your prayers and sacrifices the happy moment which will witness the Divine union that Jesus wishes to form with your soul.

All things pass and pass quickly. Do not fret so much about things that will end one day. Aim at what will never end. By our holy actions united to Jesus, let us embellish our heavenly throne. Let us raise it up a few steps nearer to Him whom we shall contemplate and love throughout eternity.

I am going to try to make you understand, as far as you can upon earth, what Heaven is like. There are ever new Feasts which succeed each other without interruption. There is happiness, always new and such, it would seem, as has never been enjoyed. It is a torrent of joy which flows unceasingly over the elect. Heaven is above all and beyond all - GOD: God loved, God relished, God delighted in; in one word, it is to be satisfied with God without ever being satisfied!

The more a soul loves God on earth, the higher she advances in perfection, the more she will love and understand God in Heaven. Jesus is the true joy upon earth and the eternal felicity of Heaven.

A soul in Purgatory



http://www.michaeljournal.org/purgatory.htm

OFFERINGS TO BE MADE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, AND AT THE TIME OF THE HOLY MASS.

By a Brief of September 30, 1859, the Sovereign Pontiff Pius IX. granted -
The indulgence of 300 days to all faithful Christians, who shall with contrite hearts devoutly say in any language at the beginning of the day the following offering: O Lord God Almighty, &c. He granted also another indulgence of 300 days to any one who at the time of the holy Mass shall say the other offering printed below: Eternal Father, I offer to Thee, &c. Moreover to those who shall have said both the prayers every day for a month he granted -
The plenary indulgence, provided that, being truly penitent, having Confessed and Communicated, they visit their own parish church, or any other church, and pray according to the intention of his Holiness.
By another Brief, dated April 11, 1860, the same Sovereign Pontiff vouchsafed to extend the above-mentioned partial Indulgence of 300 days to three years.

THE OFFERING TO BE MADE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY.

O Lord God Almighty, behold me prostrate be fore Thee in order to appease Thee, and to honour Thy Divine Majesty, in the name of all creatures. But how can I do this who am myself but a poor sinner? Nay, but I both can and will, knowing that Thou dost make it Thy boast to be called Father of mercies, and for love of us hast given Thy very only-begotten Son, who sacrificed Himself upon the Cross, and for our sake doth continually renew that sacrifice of Himself upon our altars. And therefore do I - sinner, but penitent; poor, but rich in Jesus Christ - present myself before Thee, and, with the ardent love of angels and of all Thy saints, and with the tender affection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, offer to Thee in the name of all creatures the Masses which are now being celebrated, together with all those which have been celebrated, and which will be celebrated to the end of the world. Moreover, I intend to renew the offering of them every moment of this day and of all my life, that I may thereby render to Thy infinite Majesty an honour and a glory worthy of Thee, thus to appease Thy indignation, to satisfy Thy justice for so many sins of us thy children, to render Thee thanks proportioned to Thy benefits, and to implore Thy miseries upon myself and upon all sinners; upon all the faithful, living and dead, upon Thy whole Church, and principally upon its visible Head, the Sovereign Pontiff of Rome; and lastly upon all poor schismatics, heretics, and infidels, that they also may be all converted and save their souls.

THE OFFERING TO BE MADE AT THE TIME OF THE HOLY MASS.

Eternal Father, I offer to Thee the sacrifice which Thy beloved Son Jesus made of Himself upon the Cross, and now renews upon this altar; and I offer it to Thee in the name of all creatures, together with the Masses which have been celebrated, and which shall be celebrated, in the whole world, in order to adore Thee, and to give Thee the honour which Thou dost deserve; to render to Thee due thanks for Thy innumerable benefits, to appease Thy anger for our sins, and to give Thee due satisfaction for them; to entreat Thee also for myself, for the Church, for the whole world, and for the blessed souls in purgatory. Amen.

http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/ap/rac/almighty.htm#8