The Strength and Tenderness of Our Saviour’s Love for Us

Something Lovely from Rev. Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange to remind us of Christ’s unfailing love.

The Strength and Tenderness of Our Savior’s Love for Us

Christ’s love descends upon our souls from the summit of the beatific vision, and in Jesus’ love for us we find the same two qualities which are so different: the deepest tenderness and the most heroic strength. Our Lord’s tender mercy for souls did not lessen for a moment, in spite of all the ingratitude, the opposition, and the hatred that He met on His path.

We human beings find it easy to love with tender affection a few persons in our family or among our friends, but often this tenderness is entirely a matter of superficial feelings. . .

Our hearts are poor, miserly with their affection: the indifferent remain outside, and all the more so those who have offended or wounded us. Toward the latter we are even hard and sometimes pitiless. The supernatural tenderness of Christ for souls is deep, because its primary object is the soul and the desire for its eternal happiness. At the same time, it is universal, immense, and extends to everyone.

Jesus is, as He Himself says, the Shepherd of souls; all can become the sheep of His fold, and He knows each of them by name. He is concerned about those that are absent, He rushes forth to seek them and takes them up on His shoulders. He explains to them with kindness the doctrine of salvation, and He even waits upon them. He chooses His apostles among the poor and the humble. . . .

What does He say to sinners? “Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Matt. 11:28).

He is the father of the prodigal son, He embraces the child who is unhappy through his own fault. He forgives the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned. He receives repentant Mary Magdalen, and at once opens to her the mystery of His intimate life. He speaks of eternal life to the Samaritan woman in spite of her unsavory past. He promises prompt entry into heaven to the good thief.

“Christ died for all,” says St. Paul. Many turn from Him, but He drives no one away. And even when many have turned away from Him, He intercedes for the ingrates, as when He prayed for His executioners. This is the supreme degree of mercy, sweetness, and humility. He tells Peter that he must forgive “seventy times seven,” that is, always, and He is the first to do it.

He is the voluntary victim who offered Himself up to save us. “Greater love than this no man hath,” Jesus Himself has told us, “that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus bore the punishment that each of us should have borne. He suffered because of sin in the measure of His love for God whom sin offends, and in the measure of His love for our souls which sin ravages and kills.

The sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary was intimately associated with this heroic oblation, and helps us to fathom this mystery. . . .Jesus has consented to take for Himself the loathsome chalice of Gethsemane, so that He might give us the chalice of His precious blood which is raised up every morning on the altar. These two chalices represent the whole history of the world of souls. They are as it were the two pans of the scales of good and evil, and it is good that prevails. The precious blood of Christ can obliterate all crimes if their perpetrators beg forgiveness.

Jesus, by His victory over sin on the cross, is the source of life and of holiness, the source of all consolation, the salvation of those who hope in Him, the hope of the dying, the delight of the saints, as the Litany of the Sacred Heart reminds us.

Finally, He has left us the Eucharist so that He might remain with us until the end of the world and give Himself as food to each and every one of us.

To His privileged friends who follow His example, He says: “It is My love which keeps open the wound of My heart. I desire to prove to souls that My heart is never closed. On the contrary, My greatest wish is that souls may enter through My wounded heart, which is an abyss of charity and mercy. It is only in the heart of God that they will find solace for their sufferings and strength for their weakness. If they will but hold out their hands to Me, I will lead them to it Myself.”

We remain selfish because our love is too weak, too poor, too narrow, and because it is pitifully engrossed with our own selves. The heart of Jesus will dilate our hearts by teaching us to love above all else the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Why are we cowards? Because we do not love enough, because our hearts are cold, because we rely far too much on our own strength when our helplessness is obvious, and because we do not depend enough on the heart of Jesus, on His love for us. The heart of Jesus is able and desires to give us the saintly powers we need, confidence and love, which inspire adoration, thanksgiving, and atonement, by placing the glory of God above all else.

Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us!

(Reverend Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P. Collection [16 Books] . Aeterna Press. Kindle Edition)

The above thoughts are offered to you, as they were written, in love; for in the end, that is all we will have and the love with which we meet our dear Saviour is all the love we shall have for all eternity.

Now, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, we have entered into a time where there is a growing lack of love, an environment of darkness, confusion and acrimonious discord.

Harmony is becoming an undefinable concept in what passes for our society today. And part of our task is to maintain the entirely Christian concept from the early church, “See how these Christians love one another.” As St. John of the Cross enjoined us, “Where there is not love, put love in and you will draw love out.”

A lofty concept, to be sure, but within reach for those who put aside reliance on their own wills, their own reasoning, and trust with all their loving hearts, the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is just for this especial time that He has given us devotion to His Sacred Heart. These two hearts have designs of mercy on us, and so we take up our Rosaries and follow Our Most Blessed Mother, our sure path to Him and the joys He has prepared for us, which no one can take from us.

The coming trials can do nothing to take us from Our Saviour as long as we hold fast to the sure means He offers us from His Cross, that is, the Immaculate Heart, the perfectly pure and invincible will of the Blessed Virgin Mary who always protects those whom He entrusts to her.

. NOTE: It is only in His love that we shall be saved in the coming calamitous ordeal, only in His love! And the way to that love? Only in the sorrowful and immaculate Heart of the most loving Mother of God. By her Holy Rosary, we will be confirmed in love, taught to love her Divine Son, Our Savior as she herself loves Him.

This article is already too long and I have not come near to saying what I had hoped to tell you. I will write more soon, God willing. Until then,

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

✝︎  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.

The Eucharistic Vision of Our Lady of Knock, 2023

A WARNING AGAINST SUPPRESSION OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE

This post from 2017 originally; restored as part of ongoing efforts to rebuild the site and maintain it as a an archive when my task is over.  An update is posted on our “About Us” page. May Our Lady of the Rosary keep you all close to her Immaculate Heart this New Year of Our Lord, 2023. Thank you for reading.

Today, we commemorate the eloquently silent apparition of Our Lady at Knock, Ireland, August 21, 1879. By her silence, Our Lady emphasised at once her displeasure that her message at La Salette was being attacked, and as many believe, she was pointing to the silence recounted in chapter 8 of the Apocalypse.  But there is still another reason for the silence – it is a warning against silencing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and outrages against the Holy Eucharist and it beckons us with mysterious silence towards the visions of the Apocalypse.

The Holy Ghost inspired St. John’s vision in such a way that through it, God revealed to us a glimpse of His own vision, not a linear accounting of events, and each subsequent generation could learn from its warnings and be comforted in its victories. In addition to sacred scripture, Our Heavenly Father guides us by the revelations He grants us down the centuries. Knock is one of the major apparitions, which are: Our Lady of Good Success in Ecuador, The Sacred Heart of Jesus at Paray le Monial, France, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception at Rue du Bac, France, Our Lady of La Salette, France, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Lourdes, France, Our Lady at Knock, Ireland, Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima, Portugal,  and Our Lady of Akita, Japan.  Those apparitions provide a necessary complement to our understanding of the Apocalypse.

Continue reading “The Eucharistic Vision of Our Lady of Knock, 2023”

From Guadalupe to Fatima, 2022

Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe, Empress of America!
Keep forever under thy powerful patronage the purity and integrity of Our Holy Faith on the entire American continent. Amen. (Pope Pius XII)

I have repaired the link to my post Convergence yet again. It is here.

Pope Pius XII is reported to have said of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “For we are certain, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe.” Think about that as you survey the horrid wreckage of the faith and Christian culture throughout the countries of the entire Americas today. And then, consider how simply we could restore the glory of Holy Church by following the request of Our Lord Jesus Christ to return to His Sacred Heart by means of the sure path He has given us, devotion to the Immaculata, the Woman Clothed with the Sun.

THE AGE OF APOSTASY

The Age of Apostasy began with the disobedience of Luther, who was Lucifer’s own priest, and whose revolt ripped through Christendom in the sixteenth century and left in its wake an orphan people, bereft of grace, endlessly prating about the dignity of man while assiduously destroying any sign of man’s true dignity which is to be found  only  in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For our sole dignity is in Our Lord Jesus Christ who has first loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. (Apoc. 1,5)
Continue reading “From Guadalupe to Fatima, 2022”

For Saint Gertrude, with love

previously posted on : november 16, 2019 by : evensong 
And updated with additional material Nov. 17, 2022 by evensong

We’ve not desired to allow Saint Gertrudes’ feast day to go unhonored. And so with apologies for the poverty of our offering, we have the following quotes from the archives. Unfortunately, there has not been time or energy to properly edit them. The original sources for today’s offering are listed below the essay.

Prayer to Saint Gertrude on her Feast Day

I venerate and greet thee, O most blessed Saint Gertrude. in the sweetest Heart of Jesus Christ, and I congratulate thee with all my heart on that honour wherewith thou wast honoured by God and by all the court of Heaven on this the day of thine entrance to heaven. And for the increase of thy joy and thy glory I offer thee that same transcendently precious and worthy Heart of Jesus Christ, beseeching thee that thou wouldst deign to pray to God for me, and to assist me in the hour of my death. Amen.

 

Saint Gertrude and the Mother of God

The first great saint of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is St. Gertrude, the only female saint honored by the Church with the title, “Great”. In her writings and in her actions, Saint Gertrude provides us with the certainty that devotion to His Immaculate Mother is the devotion which pleases Him most of all. Indeed, as we shall see, Our Lord Himself states clearly what is most pleasing to Him:

Once, when conversing with Our Lord,  Gertrude inquired. “What dost Thou desire of me?” His answer: “Place thyself before My Mother, who reigns at My side, and endeavor to praise her.”

Gertrude then greeted the Heavenly Mother as the paradise of delights, the most beautiful habitation of God. She besought Mary to give her a heart so replete with virtues that God would take pleasure in dwelling therein. This good Mother adorned Gertrude with the rose of love, the lily of chastity, the violet of humility, and the heliotrope of obedience.

Our Lord Jesus, at the very beginning of His conversations with Gertrude told her, “I give thee My own Mother as thy protectress. I confide thee to her care.” Once, when Gertrude was being subjected to severe trials and suffering greatly, she cried out to Jesus to help her. In response she heard,

“I have given thee My own most merciful Mother for thine, and it is through her I will dispense My graces to thee. Have recourse to her in all thy necessities and thou wilt surely find strength and consolation.”

Our Lord assured Saint Gertrude that He wished her to write down all that He revealed to her:

“It is the love of My Heart which has inspired your writings; I wish them to be for later ages the evidence of My love, to draw souls to My Heart.”

One day, as St. Gertrude affectionately held and kissed her crucifix, Our Lord said to her: “Each time that a man does so, or merely looks upon a crucifix with devotion, the mercy of God looks down upon his soul. He ought then to think in his heart that these tender words are addressed to him:

‘Behold how for thy love I have willed to be attached to a cross, naked, disfigured, covered with wounds, and with all My members violently distended. My heart is so passionately enamoured of thee that, were it necessary in order to save thee, I would again willingly endure, for thee alone, all that I have suffered for the salvation of the whole world.’ ”

In view of this, how then can we ever sin again? How can we be so thick-headed as to continue on in our selfish way, ignoring this tremendous Love? May God have mercy on us all!

The Prayers of Saint Gertrude

Nearly every prayer of St. Gertrude contains salutation, adoration, praise, and thanksgiving, and at the end a short, humble petition. The predominant tone of all her prayers is to offer the sacrificial life of Jesus Christ, from His crib, where He weeps, bedded on the straw, to that hour when on the Cross He surrenders His Spirit into the hands of His Father. The immeasurable love of the Sacred Heart in the Holy Eucharist ravished Gertrude’s soul.

From this inexhaustible treasury, the holy virgin drew the excellence, power and unction of her prayers. Before the Sacrament of Love, her loving heart burst forth into songs of praise and joy, surpassing the understanding of men weighed down by earthly affections. The charm, love, and affection with which the blessed Gertrude knew how to unite herself with our Savior, with His prayers, His sufferings, His Death and merits, is beyond expression.

On one of Our Lady’s festivals, St. Gertrude chanted the office of this glorious Queen, in uniting herself to the Heart of Jesus. As she did so, she saw Him draw to that Divine Heart, the praises expressed in the psalms, and thence they flowed, like an impetuous current, towards the Blessed Virgin, His Mother. At the antiphon, “Thou art all fair,” Gertrude endeavored to sing these sweet words by the very Heart of Jesus, in memory of the loving appellations and childlike praises He must have bestowed upon her in similar terms, during His mortal life.

At this, stars of great brilliancy, symbolizing these praises, issued from the Heart of Jesus, and shed their luster on Our Lady. Some fell here and there upon the ground, and were collected by the citizens of Heaven, who presented them to Jesus with signs of inexpressible joy and admiration. Gertrude understood from this that the praises given to Our Lady by the Heart of Jesus are a source of unutterable glory and happiness to the Saints.

Meanwhile the Angels, uniting their voices to those of Gertrude’s Sisters, asked: “Quæ est ista”—Who is she?—and Jesus, with a powerful voice, answered: “The most beautiful of the daughters of Jerusalem.” This voice, issued from the Divine harp of His Sacred Heart, whose chords seemed touched by the Holy Spirit, and thus enabled to celebrate worthily the eminent glories of the Virgin Mother. Enraptured, as it were, with delight, Mary bent over the Heart of her most loving Son, and appeared to find therein the quiet of a peaceful sleep; but as the strophe, “O Gloriosa Domina,” was sung, she raised herself, as if about to respond to her daughters’ call, and extended her hand over them in token of motherly protection, and as if to assure them that, having all power over her Son’s Heart, she would efficaciously guard them from their enemies.

Once, St Gertrude said to Our Lord, “Teach me, my Lord, how I may show my devotion and love to Thy most blessed Mother.” Then, Our Lord taught her the following prayers and when she recited them, it seemed to her that she saw Our Lord offering His Sacred Heart, in the likeness of a gold vessel to His Mother. As our Most Blessed Lady drank from the golden vessel, St Gertrude understood that Our Lady delights in rewarding those who recite the prayers.

The following prayers are from the website, Archive.org.

St. Gertrude was taught the following prayer, containing three petitions by the Blessed Virgin Mary and she recalled that it seemed to her as though she were so clothed and adorned with her surpassing merits, that the Lord of Majesty took ineffable delight in her.

Saint Gertrude’s Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O most blessed Virgin Mary, I beseech thee, by the most spotless purity wherewith thou didst prepare in thy womb a still and glad abode for the Son of God, that by thy intercessions I may be cleansed from every stain. O most blessed Virgin Mary, I beseech thee by that thy most gentle, deep humility whereby thou didst merit to be raised high above all Angels and Saints, that by thy intercessions all my negligences may be forgiven and satisfied for.
O most blessed Virgin Mary, I implore thee by that unutterable love which united thee inseparably to God, that by thy intercessions I may receive an abundance of all merit. Amen.

And the prayer which is called:

The Golden Ave

Hail, Mary, in union with that sweet unction of the Holy Ghost, wherewith He so pervaded thee and made thee so full of grace, that everyone who through thee seeketh grace doth find it. Call to mind now that unspeakable operation wherewith the whole most Blessed Trinity wrought in thee, when human flesh taken from thy substance was so united to the Divine Nature that God was made man and man became God, and thy whole soul was suffused with a sweetness and a gladness which the heart of man cannot conceive. And therefore every creature with rapturous admiration doth acknowledge and confess that thou art blessed and incomparably exalted above all creatures in Heaven or on earth, and blessed the Fruit of thy womb, even Jesus, who quickens, sanctifies, and blesses all things for ever. Amen.

That prayer is reported to have been dictated to Saint Gertrude by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is especially helpful as an aid in our meditations on Our Lady and her Mysteries of the Rosary.

Prayer to Saint Gertrude on her Feast Day

I venerate and greet thee, O most blessed Saint Gertrude. in the sweetest Heart of Jesus Christ, and I congratulate thee with all my heart on that honour wherewith thou wast honoured by God and by all the court of Heaven on this the day of thine entrance to heaven. And for the increase of thy joy and thy glory I offer thee that same transcendently precious and worthy Heart of Jesus Christ, beseeching thee that thou wouldst deign to pray to God for me, and to assist me in the hour of my death. Amen.

Added Thursday, November 17, 2022:

In St. Gertrude’s Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary above, you may have noticed that she asked for “an abundance of merit”. Perhaps the following anecdote will explain why:

“St. Gertrude, having made a donation of all her merits and good works to the souls in Purgatory, the demon appeared to her at the moment of her death and mocked her, saying: ‘How vain thou art! and how cruel thou hast been to thyself! For what greater pride can there be than to wish to pay the debts of others without paying one’s own? Now—now we will see the result; when thou art dead thou wilt pay for thyself in the fires of Purgatory, and I will laugh at thy folly whilst thou weepest for thy pride.’ Then she beheld her Divine Spouse approaching her, who consoled her with these words: ‘In order that you may know how agreeable your charity for the souls of the departed has been to Me, I remit to you now all the pains of Purgatory which you might have suffered; and as I have promised to return you a hundred for one, I will further increase your celestial glory abundantly, giving you a special recompense for the charity which you have exercised toward My beloved souls in Purgatory, by renouncing in their favor your works of satisfaction.’”

While I’m at it,  and since there are so many good quotes available regarding St. Gertrude and purgatory, let’s add another:

“Once Gertrude prayed with particular fervor for the faithful departed. On asking Our Lord how many souls His mercy would deliver, she received this reply: “My love urges Me to release the poor souls. If a beneficent king leaves his guilty friend in prison for justice’s sake, he awaits with longing for one of his nobles to plead for the prisoner and to offer something for his release. Then the king joyfully, sets him free. Similarly, I accept with highest pleasure what is offered to Me for the poor souls, for I long inexpressibly to have near Me those for whom I paid so great a price. By the prayers of thy loving soul, I am induced to free a prisoner from purgatory as often as thou dost move thy tongue to utter a word of prayer!”

And so we see how generous Our Lord is to respond to our loving prayers for the poor souls – and now I ask you, what do you think – will He be any less generous to us who intercede for them?

Thank you for reading, I pray for you always – please pray for our priests!

 Sources

The Spirit of St. Gertrude or the Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to His Creatures by an Anonymous Author, Burns, Lambert and Oates, 1866 from archive.org.

The Exercises of Saint Gertrude, Virgin and Abbess, author not cited, Burns and Lambert 1863 with introduction by Dom Prosper Gueranger, also from archive.org.

Preces Gertrudianae, Prayers of Saint Gertrude and Saint Mechtilde, Burns and Lambert, 1861, also archive.org.

Saint Gertrude the Great, Herald of Divine Love, TAN Books, Kindle Edition, Amazon

Love, Peace and Joy, Devotion to the Sacred Heart by Fr. Andre Prevot, TAN Books, Kindle Edition, Amazon

Life and Revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great, TAN Books, Kindle Edition, Amazon.

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

“Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

The Strength and Tenderness of the Love of Jesus, 2022

From Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange we offer this thoughtful meditation on the love of Jesus.

The Strength and Tenderness of Our Savior’s Love for Us

Christ’s love descends upon our souls from the summit of the beatific vision, and in Jesus’ love for us we find the same two qualities which are so different: the deepest tenderness and the most heroic strength. Our Lord’s tender mercy for souls did not lessen for a moment, in spite of all the ingratitude, the opposition, and the hatred that He met on His path.

We human beings find it easy to love with tender affection a few persons in our family or among our friends, but often this tenderness is entirely a matter of superficial feelings. . .

Our hearts are poor, miserly with their affection: the indifferent remain outside, and all the more so those who have offended or wounded us. Toward the latter we are even hard and sometimes pitiless. The supernatural tenderness of Christ for souls is deep, because its primary object is the soul and the desire for its eternal happiness. At the same time, it is universal, immense, and extends to everyone.
Continue reading “The Strength and Tenderness of the Love of Jesus, 2022”

Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In His revelations to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673-1675, Our Lord Jesus Christ asked that He be “honored under the figure of His heart of flesh …  environed with flames, crowned with thorns, and surmounted by a cross”.  The Divine Mercy devotion removes the Sacred Heart from the image of Jesus.

It seems self-evident that there is a contradiction here. Did Jesus ever explain to Sister Faustina why He changed His mind? Let’s discuss this.

In His approved revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Our Lord specifically asked for devotion to the image of His Sacred Heart.

In the words of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

“One day, on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, after Holy Communion, the Heart of Jesus was represented to me as on a throne, formed of fire and flames, shedding rays on every side and brighter than the sun. The wound which He received upon the Cross was clearly visible; a crown of thorns encircled the Sacred Heart, and it was surmounted by a cross.

“Our divine Savior gave me to understand that those instruments of the Passion signified that the source of all His sufferings had been the boundless love of His Heart for men; that all those torments and insults had been placed before Him, from the first moment of His Incarnation; and that the Cross was, so to say, planted in His Heart, from that moment. And then, from that same moment, He accepted all the sorrows and humiliations which His sacred humanity was to suffer during the course of His mortal life, together with all the outrages to which He was to expose Himself to the end of time for the love of mankind by dwelling amongst them in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Continue reading “Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart of Jesus”

The Way of Divine Love and the Message of Fatima, 2021

Today, December 29, we mark the 94th anniversary of the death of Sister Josefa Menendez, the humble nun who wrote “The Way of Divine Love”.  In paperback from TAN, or in Kindle. We’ve written about the beautiful Way of Divine Love before and about Sister Josefa’s deep devotion to the Divine Infant.  But now we will focus on the most often overlooked or misunderstood concept in Josefa’s writings: true humility.

The writings of Sister Josefa echo in many ways the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and one can discern a hint of them in Sister Lucia’s writings as well. I strongly suspect that the true writings of Sister Lucia would bear even more resemblance to both of them were we to have access to them. This is because Our Lord Jesus Christ has been telling us in no uncertain terms, what is necessary to counter-act the spiritual terrorism of the arrogant pride prevailing in the world today.

Tragically, this diabolical pride has so captivated the souls of mankind that today among the vast majority of people, there is a rigid resistance to Our Lord’s plea for humility of heart. Mankind has developed a resistance to the grace of God much as some disease bacteria develop a resistance to antibiotics, and now they despise the “poor in spirit” as lacking in self esteem, and care not a whit for the “Kingdom of Heaven”.
Continue reading “The Way of Divine Love and the Message of Fatima, 2021”

From Guadalupe to Fatima, 2021

Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe, Empress of America!
Keep forever under thy powerful patronage the purity and integrity of Our Holy Faith on the entire American continent. Amen. (Pope Pius XII)

 

Pope Pius XII is reported to have said of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “For we are certain, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe.” Think about that as you survey the horrid wreckage of the faith and Christian culture throughout the countries of the entire Americas today. And then, consider how simply we could restore the glory of Holy Church by following the request of Our Lord Jesus Christ to return to His Sacred Heart by means of the sure path He has given us, devotion to the Immaculata, the Woman Clothed with the Sun.

THE AGE OF APOSTASY

The Age of Apostasy began with the disobedience of Luther, who was Lucifer’s own priest, and whose revolt ripped through Christendom in the sixteenth century and left in its wake an orphan people, bereft of grace, endlessly prating about the dignity of man while assiduously destroying any sign of man’s true dignity which is to be found  only  in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For our sole dignity is in Our Lord Jesus Christ who has first loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. (Apoc. 1,5)
Continue reading “From Guadalupe to Fatima, 2021”

If Today You Hear His Voice . . .

Repost
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” (Psalm 94, v8), (Heb. 3,15)

Wherein we reiterate that the requests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary still remain to be fulfilled. Indeed, they are more pressing now than ever.

The devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Christ the King, and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary are inseparable, They are in no way disparate, nor are they contradictory. And these are inseparable as well from the Mass and most especially, the Holy Eucharist.  Furthermore, the requests, demands really, of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as relayed by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1689, still stand today, more than three centuries after they were made known. Once God has uttered a request, it does not cease to be simply because centuries pass while Catholics turn an indifferent ear to them.

Continue reading “If Today You Hear His Voice . . .”

From Guadalupe to Fatima, 2020

Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe, Empress of America!
Keep forever under thy powerful patronage the purity and integrity of Our Holy Faith on the entire American continent. Amen. (Pope Pius XII)

 

Pope Pius XII is reported to have said of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “For we are certain, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe.” Think about that as you survey the horrid wreckage of the faith and Christian culture throughout the countries of the entire Americas today. And then, consider how simply we could restore the glory of Holy Church by following the request of Our Lord Jesus Christ to return to His Sacred Heart by means of the sure path He has given us, devotion to the Immaculata, the Woman Clothed with the Sun.

THE AGE OF APOSTASY

The Age of Apostasy began with the disobedience of Luther, who was Lucifer’s own priest, and whose revolt ripped through Christendom in the sixteenth century and left in its wake an orphan people, bereft of grace, endlessly prating about the dignity of man while assiduously destroying any sign of man’s true dignity which is to be found  only  in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For our sole dignity is in Our Lord Jesus Christ who has first loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. (Apoc. 1,5)

In response to this monumental affront, He Who is love sent the world His love! That is to say, Our Lord granted to us His own most beloved  Mother. Even as the foul-mouthed Luther was delivering his scatological “sermons”, Our Lord sent the Blessed Virgin to her children in the New World to grant them the favor of her image, miraculously imprinted on Juan Diego’s cactus cloth tilma. This image displays Our Lady as the “Woman clothed with the Sun” of Apocalypse 12.  Thus, we see Our Lord counter the hateful disobedience of Luther  with loving obedience, and counter what is foul and ugly with what is pure and beautiful, and counter deceit with Truth.

THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN

To this end, the magnificent work of the Mother of God began with her apparitions in Mexico in December, 1531, and followed in succession by her apparitions to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres in the Conceptionist Convent in Quito, Ecuador in the early 17th century, the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque of the Visitation Convent in Paray-le-Monial, France beginning  in December, 1673. These actions of the Divine Mercy were in turn followed by the apparitions at Rue du Bac, (1830) where Our Lady granted the Medal of the Immaculate Conception (Miraculous Medal) to her children through St. Catherine Labouré, a nun of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.  Our Lady’s appearance to Saint Catherine Labouré was quickly followed by three more  more divine interventions;  La Salette, (September, 1851), Lourdes from February until March 25, 1858 and at Knock (August, 1879).

The sequence of the interventions reveals a significant development. By Our Lady’s appearance at Guadalupe in the image of the Immaculata, clothed with the Sun, “she who crushes the serpent’s head”, the challenge of Lucifer’s Luther was met by God’s Virgin Mother. This intervention countered Luther’s attack on souls with the Virgin’s offering of salvation to whole nations who had never known the true God. By it, many millions of souls were saved and a message of obedient trust in Mary was given for her children.

In those days, Satan had  ripped away 5,000,000 souls from the bosom of the faith by Protestantism but their numbers were more than replaced in a few years by the intervention of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which gained for the Bride of Christ more than 9,000,000 Aztec converts (out of 10 million).

In her image, we are led to  Apocalypse 12; for in both images she is clothed with the sun and stands on the new moon.  This is significant for several reasons, but most relevant for the present time is its indication that she will come again to conquer the sect that has so persecuted Christians for centuries; and that this will usher in a period of peace.

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS

The apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success in the next century gave us a comforting prophecy for our times, the times of an almost total corruption of society; but which is paradoxically the beginning of the “Good Success” of the victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For just as Our Lord Jesus Christ conquered death by dying only to rise again, so by His will, His most Blessed Mother will conquer the sin infecting the Holy Church. This sin – which is slavery to satan – is being drawn out, to be seen by all, even the most recalcitrant, in all its horrid ugliness; and it will be soon cast from the Holy Church, by virtue of this Woman, clothed with the Sun, she who is “conceived without sin”.

THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

But that sign was not as widely known in those days, for it was meant for these days. Then came Our Lord Himself in the 17th century, Who promised us great graces for honoring Him in the image of His most Sacred Heart.  Although this most powerful devotion was declined by the Kings of France, Our Lord’s command  remains in force and when at last it is obeyed we shall see great progress in the restoration.  The Sacred Heart of Jesus is united with the Immaculate Heart of His Mother and so the following centuries saw an increase in Marian apparitions  which emphasized the Immaculate Conception and called the faithful to pray for sinners, to repent and offer penance.

OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

When Our Lady’s message to Melanie and Maximin was silenced by the powerful sect of satan both within and without the Church, Our Lady eloquently appeared in a silent tableau at Knock, Ireland to express the suppressed message (warning). Her sorrowful tears at La Salette replaced by a cold, driving rain. La Salette’s  warning of the apostasy of the Church, was enforced by the apocalyptic apparition occurring outside the church of a priest who refused to recognise it.  The altar at Knock was stripped bare, but the Sacrificial Lamb gives voice to the now suppressed Sacrifice.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

In between those visits, Our Lady intervened at Lourdes to offer us another sign of her mercy. There, she confirms that she is the Immaculate Conception, and requests penance after granting the faithful a miraculous spring of healing waters. See the progression: growing emphasis on devotion to her Immaculate Conception, coupled with signs of grace such as the Miraculous Medal and the Holy Water of Lourdes. She nourishes us and defends us while with her apparitions she urges us to preserve the faith.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY AT FATIMA

The divine interventions of the 19th century were crowned by the Queen of apparitions, that of Fatima, Portugal in 1917. These apparitions occurred in the bloodiest century in the history of the world, in the year which saw the resurgence of the great red dragon in direct contradiction to the most Blessed Virgin; and this bloody battle is quickly ascending to its terrifying climax. For the House of God has been almost thoroughly eclipsed by the one world church of man. Lucifer is enthroned in the Vatican and Luther appears to have supplanted the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross. See our post Convergence. (NOTE: This links should work now)

And now as we approach the height of the spiritual and material Chastisements, in her visits to Fatima, this same Woman clothed with the sun offers us her Rosary, her Scapular, and Total Consecration, that is, total Devotion to her Immaculate Heart as our surest, safest means through the darkness and chaos to eternal blessedness with Jesus our Savior in heaven. Without these means we shall be utterly lost in this dread battle.

For the Church is crucified today; it is the Passiontide of the Bride of Christ. During Our Lord’s Passion, it appeared that the foulness of the sinful world had covered His beautiful visage and now the foulness of the ancient enemy appears to obscure the beauty of the Church. However, we shall soon see her true splendor!

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE IS THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Note that Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Immaculate Conception. In this sign, she shall crush the serpent’s head. It is good to honor her today, preferably with the Mass, but also, very urgently, to pray all 15 decades of her Rosary, in reparation for the shameless  idolatry promoted under the auspices of Pope Bergoglio and accepted by the apostate church, and for the triumph of her Immaculate Heart. And we treasure in our hearts always her words to Saint Juan Diego,

“Hear me and understand well, my little son, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”

For a more complete exposition of the message of Guadalupe, including prayers, we recommend Mariana Bartold’s Guadalupe, Secrets of the Image.

 

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live our Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
  Most Precious Blood of Jesus, save us, save our priests.
  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come – Viva Cristo Rey!
  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
  Remember, pray the rosary and confound satan.

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!