Tag: Sister Josefa Menendez

Unfinished Business, 2023

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

This post was first published on another site, which closed down some years ago.  When I moved to Return to Fatima in 2012-2013, I re-edited it and republished it 2017, and again in 2021. I bring it back again as it is a portion of a series I intend to post before I must quit.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The demands of God do not expire simply because mankind ignores them. Indeed, they gather in magnitude and now, in momentum as well.

The point of this essay is simple: The battle is over the Mass. Yes, I have been saying this for longer than Bergoglio has been in office. That is because the message of Fatima began with the Eucharistic revelations of the Angel, indeed, the Mass and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are inseparable from the Message of Fatima.

It is a tragic fact that the majority of faithful ignore or misunderstand Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Christ the King, and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are all of a piece and in no way are separate, disparate, or contradictory. And they are inseparably linked to the Mass and Holy Eucharist.

The requests of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as relayed by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1689, still stand today, 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.Our Lord Jesus Christ made His request of the King of France  because of the importance of the French Monarchy, as a worldly force established by the will of God for the glory and protection of Christ’s Church. I refer you to the writings of Solange Hertz as previously cited.

St. Pius X tells us in Vehementer nos, “The Creator of mankind is also the Founder of human societies, and He preserves them just as He maintains individuals in existence.”  God sent Joan of Arc to make this clear. Her mission was precisely to establish the fact that France was a nation constituted by God under a king who was Jesus Christ’s designated lieutenant. Thus, we see that God first sent St. Joan to aid France, then sent St. Margaret Mary with a message from His Sacred Heart. The engineer of destruction for the latter message was the deceitful Jesuit superior who refused to comply. I will not expand on this now, but it is documented by Hertz in Utopia Nowhere.

If only …

If only Pope Pius XI had obeyed the request of the Immaculate Mother of God at Fatima, instead of separating that requested devotion from devotion to the Sacred Heart and Christ the King, he would have been able to fulfill both the requests of the Immaculate Heart and of her Divine Son. Instead of the ever-expanding reign of satanic marxism, we could have had the glorious reign of Christ the King, through the Immaculata, as Our Lord Himself had so desired.

And what are we to think of France?

The Kingdom of France, established by King Clovis was consecrated by him to  Christ’s Kingship forever by constitutional law. The document’s preamble begins with, “The illustrious Nation of the Franks, having God for Founder,” and closes by praying that, “the Lord Jesus Christ direct those who govern in the way of piety.”  When France’s king failed to submit to the request of its true ruler, Christ the King, it fell to apostasy. Of this, Pope St. Pius X prophesied: “she who had made an alliance with God,” would one day repent and “bear My Name before all peoples and all the kings of the earth.”  

God’s gifts being without repentance, we may believe that the return to natural law will begin with the conversion of regicide France. (Solange Hertz, “Utopia Nowhere“)

Hertz believed strongly that France would return to the faith:

“She will begin by restoring the kingdom of France, and by God’s grace, the rest of the nations will rise and follow France back to their Lord and ruler Jesus Christ. In a discourse to the French cardinals in 1911, St. Pius X predicted: “The nation which made an alliance with God at the baptismal fonts of Reims will repent and return to her first vocation.”  (op cit, loc 1667-1669)

God’s requests still stand: France must be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Russia must be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  These two are inseparable Divine requests and until they are obeyed, suffering will continue to gather in violent intensity throughout the world. Our Lord has assured us, through St. Margaret Mary that He will reign despite all opposition and in the same manner, Our Lady and Our Lord have both asserted to Sister Lucia that in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph. If only the faithful today would grasp that this triumph will be either with us or despite us. If despite, there will be much greater chastisement.

How?

That said, how will this happen?  Since devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is Eucharistic, let us see what the Apocalypse tells us of the victory of the Eucharistic Lamb – that is, the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“The judgments executed by the Eucharistic Lamb upon Satan shall involve the whole world not to destroy but to chasten it and wrest it from the hands of Satan liberating the human race from his sordid servitude.” (Fr. Herman Bernard Kramer, “The Book of Destiny” [introduction], Tan Books.)

From an earlier post: The Holy Eucharist makes every church a temple and every tabernacle a throne of God. Thus, the vision of Knock points us to Apocalypse, Chapter 5, v. 5, which in turn points us to Isaias 11, 1-5, all of which emphasize the importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus, symbolized for us by devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prisoner of Love in the Eucharist.

The Eucharistic Mystery

From Father Kramer:
“The temple of Christ is every Catholic Church, where He dwells in the Eucharistic Mystery. The Sacrifice of the Mass is the sacred mystery, in which Christ is “as if sacrificed”, is truly and mystically slain or immolated. The sacrifice is inseparably united with the bloody sacrifice of the Cross, because it represents and renews it. Through the Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ becomes present, establishes His throne in the Church and extends the effects of His death on the Cross and carries the purposes of God to completion. To outward appearance He is dead in the Eucharist, so there He rests “as if immolated”. But the Holy Eucharist is the throne of God through the inseparable union of Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  …

Fr. Kramer tells us,

“The Real Presence of Christ has been …  the standard for the armies of Christ. His soldiers, the martyrs, confessors and virgins have ever fought and bled for the altar and the cross.” And we know that Christ the King demands that the standards of the French King bear the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thus we understand that Christ intends to reign through Eucharistic devotion, through the true sacrifice of the Mass.

This Battle Is Over the Mass

To be as clear as possible, this battle is over the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is over the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.  The revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary concern the most Holy Eucharist. And do take note of the fact that the message of Fatima was introduced by St. Michael in a very triumphant tableau of – what? What was St. Michael telling us? He was stating the grounds of the battle: the Mass, the Eucharist and urging the weapons for the laity: Make of everything a sacrifice! Pray and sacrifice!

The silent tableau of Knock took place in inclement weather just outside the Church, thus pointing to the institutional Church forcing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass outside. The apparition of Knock displayed on a desolate night thus foretold a period in which the conciliar Church would attempt to stifle the true Sacrifice of the Mass and replace it with a protestantised fellowship service, to serve ecumenism and the prince of this world. This is the agenda of the present occupant as we shall see before the year ends. In this battle, there will be no safe haven, no order will escape this blight.

At Knock, the Little Lamb on the altar stood with two powerful representatives of the priesthood, St. Joseph, chaste guardian of the Holy Family and Patron of the Church, and St. John the Beloved, to whom Christ entrusted His Mother and to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the mysteries of the Apocalypse. St. John pointed to the Scriptures, begging the question, “To which scriptures?” The vision itself answers:  The Lamb on the altar indicates Apocalypse 5. The two patrons of the priesthood, St. Joseph and St. John, indicate the importance of priests in these times. Our Lady of Knock, in this vision, never took her eyes from heaven, never wavered in her intercession for the Church.

Considered in the context of the other Marian apparitions, Knock is a warning against the silencing of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrilege of the Holy Eucharist, the corruption of the faith. Our Lady’s appearances at La Salette and Knock were followed by the revelation of Fatima. The Angel of Fatima, Michael, the great Archangel warrior who battles Satan gave us a warning about the abuses of the sacrifice of the Mass and desecration of the Eucharist. And now, 100 years later, the onslaught of sacrileges, outrages, and indifference  continues.

We must understand that Satan is at war with the Little Lamb, our Eucharistic Lord. Unfortunately, most Catholics are indifferent to this battle. But it is real. Satan knows that the Eucharist is Emmanuel, God with us. Although so many Catholics have forgotten this truth, or are indifferent, the devil knows that Christ the King reigns through the Eucharist. And that is why he is striving with all his immense power to extirpate the true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to eliminate the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ on our altars. By their perversion of mercy, in giving the the Body of Christ to unrepentant sinners, modernists debase Our Lord’s sacrament of love and attempt to drive Jesus from His own Church.

La Salette, Knock, Fatima, and Akita, all warn us of this time. This is a spiritual battle of never before seen proportions. Although we know Who will win it, we cannot afford to lose any time, for with knowledge comes responsibility. We must live our Consecrations, moment by tedious moment. Just because our lives are ordinary does not mean that they are not very, very precious to Jesus.

Because of the indifference of so many, and the errors of self-appointed Catholic leaders, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will indeed seem to disappear. Our Lady has graciously given us, in her true message of Fatima, the spiritual weapons to defend ourselves and those entrusted to us. They are spiritual Holy Communion (as foretold by the apparitions of the Angel in 1916)  and the Holy Rosary (as requested in all six visits of Our Lady at Fatima). Combined, they will sustain us. (Note: The spiritual weapons sustain our souls; however, at this late date, they will not protect us from great suffering.)

Discuss the Message of Fatima with your own priests – the First Saturdays are vital and even though most of us can not make it to Mass daily, we can make our Spiritual Mass and Holy Communion every day and keep every Saturday as a special day of reparation. Also, Our Lady asked for 15 minutes of our time on those days of reparation – but most of us gladly give her 15 – or more – minutes each day, for such is our delight in her! Please help spread the message of Our Lady of the Rosary.

LOVE: SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

Our Lord’s words to Sister Josefa Menendez:

“I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action itself which is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. … I have many hidden souls who in their humble labors are very useful workers in My vineyard, … My love goes so far that My souls can draw great treasure out of mere nothing. When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to Me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls … when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment … how great is the treasure they amass in one day!

“I will reveal My love to them more and more … it is inexhaustible, and how easy it is for a loving soul to let itself be guided by love.” (Sister Josefa Menendez and the Way of Divine Love.)

Ed. note For a deeper understanding of this profound concept, I recommend “The Courage of be Afraid” by Father Marie-Dominique Molinié, O. P., translated by Fr. Alexander Wiseman, SSPX, Angelus Press, and, in the same vein, “Only Jesus”, by Archbishop Luis M. Martínez, D.D., translated by Sister Mary St. Daniel, B.V.M., Cluny Media. It is a great blessing that these books have become available at this particular time – I will try to write more on this soon.

No matter that others say,  I must continue to assert, with every means at my disposal, the importance of following obediently, the true message of Fatima, in prayer and penance, in faith and charity and especially in confident hope!

For, in these times, Our Lady has given us, through God’s immense, unfathomable mercy, a profusion of graces through her holy Rosary. Please pray your Rosary with confidence in our Mother’s intercession for us.  Our Lady of Fatima will not fail. In the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph!

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!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

The Eucharistic Vision of Our Lady of Knock, 2023

~ evensong ~ 2 Comments

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” →

Sister Josefa Menendez on Purgatory, 2022

~ evensong

For November, we offer a few excerpts from a true saint for our times, Sister Josefa Menendez, the author of  “The Way of Divine Love”, a treasure of a book that I love dearly. These few quotes give a quite an insight into purgatory. There is much to think on in them.

An Abyss of Woe

In Lent 1922, God put Sister Josefa  in touch with an abyss of woe, Purgatory. Many souls came to solicit her suffrages and sacrifices in terms of very great humility. At first she was frightened, but by degrees she became accustomed to their confidences. She listened to them, asked them their names, encouraged them, and very humbly recommended herself to their intercession. The lessons they inculcated are worth remembering. One of them came to announce her deliverance and said: “The important thing is not entrance into religion, but entrance into the next world.” “If religious souls but realized the heavy price to be paid for concessions to the body …” said another, while asking for prayers.

“My exile is at an end and I am going to my eternal home….” A priest-soul said to her: “How great is the mercy of God, when He deigns to make use of the sufferings of other souls to repair our infidelities; what a degree of glory I might have acquired had my life been different.” A nun who, on her entrance into Heaven, confided to Josefa: “How different the things of earth appear when one passes into eternity. What are charges and offices in the sight of God? All He counts is the purity of our intention when exercising them, even in the smallest acts. How little is the earth and all it contains, and yet, how loved…. Ah, what comparison is there between life, however prolonged, and eternity! If only it were realized how in Purgatory the soul is wearied and consumed with desire to see God.”

There were also some poor souls, who having escaped through God’s mercy from a still greater peril, came to beg Josefa to hasten their deliverance. “I am here by God’s great mercy,” one of them said, “for my excessive pride had brought me to the gates of Hell. I influenced a great number of other people, and now I would gladly throw myself at the feet of the most abject pauper. “Have compassion on me and do acts of humility to make reparation for my pride, thus you will be able to deliver me from this abyss.”

“I spent seven years in mortal sin,” another confessed, “and three years ill in bed, and I always refused to go to Confession. I was ripe for hell-fire and would have fallen into it if by your present sufferings you had not obtained for me the grace of repentance. I am now in Purgatory, and I entreat you, since you were able to save me … draw me out of this dreary prison.” “I am in Purgatory because of my infidelity, for I would not correspond with God’s call,” said another. “For twelve years I held out against my vocation and was in the greatest peril of damnation, because in order to stifle my conscience I gave myself up to a life of sin. Thanks to the divine goodness, which deigned to make use of your sufferings, I took courage to come back to God … and now, of your charity, get me out of this gloomy prison.”

 

THE VOICES OF PURGATORY

Josefa never went down into Purgatory, but she saw and spoke with a number of souls who came to solicit her prayers, and some told her that, thanks to her sufferings, they had escaped Hell. These souls, as a rule, humbly accused themselves of the faults for which they were in Purgatory (see Ch. V. of Biography). A few facts are here added. “ … I had a vocation, but lost it by reading bad books; I also had discarded my scapular, out of contempt” (July 27th, 1921).

“ … I was given up to a great deal of vanity and on the point of marrying. Our Lord made use of very severe measures to prevent my falling into Hell.” (April 10th, 1921). “My religious life was wanting in fervor….” “I had a long religious life, but I spent my last years rather in taking care of my health than in loving Our Lord. Thanks to the merits of a sacrifice you made, I was able to make a fervent death, and I owe it to you that I escaped the long years in Purgatory I had deserved. The important thing is not so much entrance into religion … as entrance into eternity.” (April 7th, 1922).

“… I have been a year and three months in Purgatory, and were it not for your little acts I should have remained there long years. A woman of the world has less responsibility than a religious, for how great are the graces the latter receives, and what liabilities she incurs if she does not profit by them…. How little nuns suspect the way their faults are expiated here … a tongue horribly tortured expiates faults against silence … a dried-up throat, those against charity … and the constraints of this prison, the repugnance in obeying! In my Order, pleasures were few and comforts still fewer, but one can always manage to secure some … and the smallest immortifications have to be expiated here. To restrain one’s eyes, to refuse oneself the gratification of a little curiosity may at times cost a big effort … and here … the eyes are tormented by the impossibility of seeing God.” (April 10th, 1922).

“Another nun accused herself of failings against charity, and of having murmured at the election of one of her Superiors.” (April 12th, 1922). “… I have been in Purgatory till now … because during my religious life I talked a great deal and with little prudence. I often communicated my impressions and complaints, and these indiscretions were the cause of faults against charity which my Sisters then committed.”

“Let all learn from this,” commented Our Lady, who was present at the apparition, “for many souls fall into this danger.” Our Lord stressed this grave warning by these words: “That soul is in Purgatory because of her faults against silence, for this kind of fault leads to many others: first, the Rule is broken; secondly, there often occur in such failings sins against charity or religious spirit, personal satisfaction, outpourings of heart that are ill-placed among religious, and all this, without a feeling of responsibility not only for oneself but for one or many others who are led into the same faults. That is why this soul is in Purgatory, and burning with desire to see My face.” (February 22nd, 1923).

“I am in Purgatory because I did not care enough about the souls confided to me, and because I did not sufficiently realize their value and the devotedness called for by so precious a charge.” (August 1922). … I was in Purgatory a little under an hour and a half to expiate a certain want of confidence in God. True, I always loved Him very much, but not without fear. It is true also that the judgments of religious are severe and rigorous, for we are judged not by our Spouse, but by our God. Nevertheless, during life our confidence in His mercy ought to be boundless, and we should trust His goodness. How many graces are lost by religious who have not enough trust in God.” (September 1922).

“… I am in Purgatory because I did not treat the souls that Jesus entrusted to me with the care they deserved…. I allowed myself to be influenced by human motives and natural likes, not seeing in them God, as I should have, and as all Superiors must. For if it is true that all religious should see in their Superior the Person of God Our Lord, the Superior also ought to see Him in her daughters….” “Thanks be to you who have helped to free me from Purgatory…. O! if nuns realized how far they can be led by unruly feelings … how vigorously they would strive to conquer themselves and master their nature and passions.” (April 1923).

“My Purgatory will be a long one, for I did not accept God’s Will for me, nor make the sacrifice of my life generously enough during my illness. Illness is a great grace of purification, it is true, but unless one is careful, it may cause one to stray away from religious spirit … to forget that one has made vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, and that one is consecrated to God as a victim. Our Lord is all love, certainly, but also all justice.” (November 1923). (Menendez, Sr. Josefa. The Way of Divine Love (with Supplemental Reading: Devotion to the Sacred Heart)  TAN Books. Kindle Edition.)

As I was reading Sister Josefa yesterday, the following passage struck me most poignantly. It occurred when Josefa made her vows:

A few hours later Josefa, still deep in glad recollection, noted, so that she might never forget it, what Our Lord had been pleased to do for her.

“After the sermon, I went up to the altar rails to receive my crucifix of vows and black veil. Then suddenly I saw Our Lady present, O! so ravishingly lovely, all bathed in light. She held a veil in her hands, and when I returned to my prie-dieu, she herself put it on my head. All round her and framing her person were a number of radiant little faces which looked like those of tiny children, lit up with joy. With ineffable sweetness she said to me: ‘While you, beloved daughter, were suffering, these souls were weaving this veil for you. All those you prayed for have left Purgatory and are safe in Heaven for all eternity.  There they will protect you.’ “

Do you see? We do suffer greatly now, but we should thank Our Lord for this opportunity to gain much merit for poor souls and for consolation for Him whom we love!

Recommended:

Prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory
by St. Gertrude the Great

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus Christ, in union with the holy Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Poor Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.

 

All things are passing…God never changes…Patient endurance attains all things…
Alone God suffices.

Pray the Rosary for poor souls!

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.

†  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.

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

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

~ evensong ~ 1 Comment
From 2017

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” →

Sister Josefa Menendez on Purgatory, 2021

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

For November, we offer a few excerpts from a true saint for our times, Sister Josefa Menendez, the author of  “The Way of Divine Love”, a treasure of a book that I love dearly. These few quotes give a quite an insight into purgatory. There is much to think on in them.

The Abyss of Woe

In Lent 1922, God put Sister Josefa  in touch with an abyss of woe, Purgatory. Many souls came to solicit her suffrages and sacrifices in terms of very great humility. At first she was frightened, but by degrees she became accustomed to their confidences. She listened to them, asked them their names, encouraged them, and very humbly recommended herself to their intercession. The lessons they inculcated are worth remembering. One of them came to announce her deliverance and said: “The important thing is not entrance into religion, but entrance into the next world.” “If religious souls but realized the heavy price to be paid for concessions to the body …” said another, while asking for prayers.

“My exile is at an end and I am going to my eternal home….” A priest-soul said to her: “How great is the mercy of God, when He deigns to make use of the sufferings of other souls to repair our infidelities; what a degree of glory I might have acquired had my life been different.” A nun who, on her entrance into Heaven, confided to Josefa: “How different the things of earth appear when one passes into eternity. What are charges and offices in the sight of God? All He counts is the purity of our intention when exercising them, even in the smallest acts. How little is the earth and all it contains, and yet, how loved…. Ah, what comparison is there between life, however prolonged, and eternity! If only it were realized how in Purgatory the soul is wearied and consumed with desire to see God.”

There were also some poor souls, who having escaped through God’s mercy from a still greater peril, came to beg Josefa to hasten their deliverance. “I am here by God’s great mercy,” one of them said, “for my excessive pride had brought me to the gates of Hell. I influenced a great number of other people, and now I would gladly throw myself at the feet of the most abject pauper. “Have compassion on me and do acts of humility to make reparation for my pride, thus you will be able to deliver me from this abyss.”

Continue reading “Sister Josefa Menendez on Purgatory, 2021” →

Dross into Gold, 2019

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

 ‘Gold is purified in the fire.’ So tribulation purifies and fortifies the soul, and the time of temptation is of great profit
both to you and to souls.’
(Our Lord to Sister Josefa Menendez)

Today, December 29, we mark the 95th anniversary of the death of Sister Josefa Menendez, the humble nun who wrote “The Way of Divine Love” in obedience to her superiors.  In paperback from TAN, or on Kindle. We’ve written about the beautiful Way of Divine Love before (here) and about Sister Josefa’s deep devotion to the Divine Infant (here). 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 arrogant self-centeredness which prevails in the world today.

Tragically, this selfishness 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 it is common in our culture to despise the “poor in spirit” as lacking in self esteem, and to care not a whit for the “Kingdom of Heaven”.

It is true that the Message of Divine Love is Christ’s plea for our love but it is also a valuable reminder that we must become truly as a little child, poor in spirit, meek and pure of heart in order to be able to receive His love,  Otherwise we risk succumbing to the darkness that cannot grasp the light. The worldly are unable to grasp Our Lord’s words to St. Margaret Mary:

“If I had been able to find a creature more miserable than you,” He said to Saint Margaret Mary, “I should have chosen her….”

And to Sister Josefa:

“If I could have found a more wretched creature, I should have chosen her for my special love, and through her revealed the longings of My Heart. But I have not found one, and so I have chosen you.” (June 7th, 1923).

Why does Our Lord speak so?  Think on it. The devil draws us after him with sweetness, flattery, for he knows that hides his poison best.  And we are so easily lured away from Christ! Do we really think that Christ will try to out-flatter the devil in order to lure us to His side with sweet words? God forbid!

Our Lord Jesus Christ loves us despite the ingrained sins and weakness which so distort the beauty of our souls. He knows that flattering and praising us will not free us from these deep sins; in fact, will only confirm us in them. Through devotion to His Sacred Heart, He offers us the flame of His Divine love which consumes in us all these weaknesses and impurities to strengthen us against the false promises of the ancient deceiver, if we allow it.

It is with those few who have kept His grace in their hearts, who seek His “hard sayings” that we share the truth of the Way of Divine Love.

The  message of Divine Love was given to Sister Josefa in the period immediately after the Message of Fatima. This message does not contradict but rather serves to illustrate the essential unity of the two devotions. In Our Lady’s words to Sister Josefa, we seem to hear the echo of her interactions with the three seers of Fatima and also with the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Sister Josefa  at times felt overwhelmed by the effort to discharge her duties of state and the demands of Our Lord for reparation for souls, and she spoke of this with our Blessed Mother. To this, Our Lady responded:

“What does anything matter, if He takes care of you?’ … My child, why be afraid? The work of Jesus must be founded on much pain and love … banish fear; Jesus is almighty and it is He who acts. He is strong and He will sustain you. He is merciful and He loves you.”

Then she warned her of further tribulations to be encountered:

“He reads the depths of all hearts and  it is He who permits circumstances to be as they are. If His plans often seem to you to be hindered, it is because He wants to keep you very humble and very lowly.”

Sister Josefa told her that she feared herself to be an obstacle to His plans.

“It is true that you are a very wretched little being,” Our Lady said with compassion, “but that is just why Jesus has pity on you and why He hides you in the depths of His Heart so that nothing can possibly harm you. Humble yourself in your littleness and misery, my child. Trust Him, for He loves you and will never forsake you. Let your only ambition be to win many souls for Him, to give Him much glory and much love.”

When Sister Josefa told Our Lady how sad it made her that she sometimes failed in her tasks, Our Lady offered her Our Lord’s Crown of Thorns. “Fix your mind on the Passion and sufferings of Jesus.” Then placing the Crown of Thorns on her head: “Take it,” she added, as she blessed her; “it will keep you in His presence.”

‘Do not be afraid, my child,’ Our Lady said in tender pity. ‘He will never ask anything of you without giving you grace. Then try to overcome your repugnance by remembering that all His commissions are given you because of His goodness and love for souls.

“You must not be afraid, for every time Jesus allows you to endure those torments He means you to draw from them a three-fold fruit:

First: Great love and deep gratitude to the Divine Majesty who in spite of your faults prevents you from falling eternally into Hell.

Secondly: Boundless generosity and ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, with the desire of saving many for Him by your sacrifices and even your tiniest acts, for you know how much these please Him.

Thirdly: The sight of such innumerable crowds of souls lost forever … of souls, of which not one can so much as make an act of love, ought to make you who can love, send up unceasingly to Him echoes of love’s clamor to drown the blasphemous vociferations of that impious abode.“ [Note: this was told to Sister regarding the visions of Hell she was given.]

‘Therefore, great generosity for the salvation of souls, daughter, and much love…. Let my Son use you as He wills…. Let Him finish His work.’ “

Once, Sister Josefa confided in Our Lady her sorrow at failing Our Lord by what she believed was ingratitude.  Our Lady responded,

“But, my child, surely you know that His Heart is a blazing furnace, and its fire exists only to consume our miseries. As soon as you have owned them to Jesus, He remembers them no more. 

“He has already granted you so many graces, He is prepared to grant you others greater still. His Heart is an inexhaustible Fountain”

“Jesus has forgiven and forgotten all your failings and all your strivings against His Will, but He never forgets your good resolutions and He takes pleasure in them. His Heart is an abyss of mercy, and it will never fail you. It is, too, an abyss of riches which will never diminish, however largely distributed.

“Love Him as much as you can. He cares for nothing else. Acknowledge your littleness, and be submissive and ready to surrender to His Will in all things.“

So many of us who attempt to live our Consecrations are plagued with scruples and get disheartened, but we should keep our focus on the words of Our Lady: “He has forgiven and forgotten all your failings!” It is we who persist in focusing on our failings instead of on Our Lord; He asks for our love, not for our endless ruminations on our faults.

In closing, we offer you a most useful quote from Our Blessed Mother to help us understand this path we follow:

“Let Him rest in you and do you rest in Him. When you receive His graces, then you repose in Him; when He tries you in one way or another, then He reposes in you.”

When we think on these words, we are able to understand that the beautiful periods of peace given to us in prayer, especially after receiving Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, are when He has drawn us into His Heart. These moments if responded to properly, nourish us and prepare us for the trials to come. But in this sacred dance wherein we move, little by little towards Heaven with our Beloved, we also have the periods when Jesus reposes in our hearts. These are times of darkness, desolation and very great suffering. But they are precisely the most fruitful times, if we maintain our trust in Him.

It was during one of these dark times that Sister Josefa asked Our Lord why He allowed her to struggle in such darkness of soul, He replied,

“It seems to you that you see nothing and that you are about to fall into the precipice. But need you see, if you are guided? … What you need is to forget self, to abandon your own will and offer no resistance to My plans. Thanks to the acts done in the midst of your sufferings, several of the souls that you will see later have come nearer to My Heart.’

Josefa then complained to Him that when she is struggling against temptations and loneliness, she fails to find Him.

“ ‘When you cannot find Me, look for Me in your Mother. Follow her directions implicitly, for she will guide you to Me. I gave her to you for that very purpose; and know, Josefa, that if you do what she tells you, you are giving Me as much satisfaction as if you were obeying Me personally.

“Love, suffer, and obey. So doing you will enable Me to carry out My plans in you.’ ”

Let us resolve never to waste a single unjust, unreasonable humiliation, a single opportunity to lift our hearts joyfully to God for He alone transforms our sufferings into pure gold, eternal gold that never fails. As Our Lord Himself said to Sister Josefa,

” ‘Ponder this word: “Gold is purified in the fire.” So tribulation purifies and fortifies the soul, and the time of temptation is of great profit both to you and to souls.’ ”

We must bear in mind that this time is a time of spiritual chastening; a precious time for us to gain souls for Christ by our faithfulness to His requests through Our Lady of Fatima. As we follow the Immaculata, and stand with her at the Cross, adoring Him, making of everything a sacrifice of purest love, we serve Him best and bring much grace back into this dark world – this we must do! Hold fast to this!

Thank you for reading. I pray for you always!

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

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.

†  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!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

The Eucharistic Vision of Our Lady of Knock

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

The Eucharistic Vision of Our Lady of Knock

WARNING AGAINST SUPPRESSION OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE

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.

Although the revelations contained in the Apocalypse may be fruitfully applied to each generation, the various major apparitions help to draw us into St. John’s mystical scenario as appropriate for our own time. In 17th century Ecuador, Our Lady of Good Success gave us prophecies which remained largely silent until the 20th century, for which they were intended. Our Lord’s tender pleas to St. Margaret Mary, also in the 17th century, contained both promises of blessings for obedience and warnings of danger for disobedience to His requests to honor His Sacred Heart publicly. This message was dishonored by the Jesuits to whom it was entrusted and betrayed by the French monarchs to their own destruction and that of France, but we were only able to grasp this in hindsight, as was the case with the Quito revelations, centuries later, as the apocalyptic visions  unfolded. We must not forget however, that the demands of Our Lord for devotion to His Sacred Heart have never been rescinded and no amount of devotion to false revelations will satisfy the command for true devotion to the image of His Most Sacred Heart.

Our Lady then intervened offering mercies to her children through devotion to her Immaculate Conception, that is through the Miraculous Medal and the miraculous spring at Lourdes. Both of those apparitions carried both warnings and blessings. Between these two, Rue du Bac and Lourdes, came Our Lady’s sad visit to La Salette wherein she warned of the increasing incursion of the ancient enemy, “Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.” As proof of the strength which the enemy had gained in the Church, this message was opposed and silenced. To this day, Melanie Calvat’s legacy is obscured by the thick fabric of false accusations against her.

The mystical vision of Knock is essential to our understanding of the mystical vision given to  Sister Lucia at Tuy fifty years later; and through it, we are able to understand the pertinent passages of the Apocalypse for today.

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven,
as it were for half an hour.” (Apoc. 8, 1)

This verse appears to be indicated by the silence of Knock. But the mystical visions of the Apocalypse are much deeper and the vision of Knock also must be seen in relation to the earlier chapter 5, as we shall show.

First, we look at  Apocalypse 5, especially verse 5.

From The Apocalypse of St. John:

[1] And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals. [2] And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? [3] And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it. [4] And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it. [5] And one of the ancients said to me: Weep not; behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

[6] And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. [7] And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat on the throne. [8] And when He had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints: [9] And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. [10] And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

[11] And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the ancients; and the number of them was thousands of thousands, [12] Saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction.” (Apocalypse 5, 5)

Commentary:

We here rely on The Book of Destiny. Fr. Kramer points out that St. John uses a different word for Lamb in the Apocalypse than the word Lamb used in the Old Testament and in the Gospels. I cannot reproduce the Greek word here, but Father shows that it indicates “Little Lamb” rather than “Lamb”, and he interprets that as meaning that it refers to Jesus in the Sacred Host, the Eucharistic Presence sanctifying Catholic tabernacles throughout the world. What Blessed Jacinta and Francisco referred to as, “the Hidden Jesus”.

“The word translated is “the Little Lamb” and is used 29 times in 12 chapters. This is very significant. It appears to be intentionally used to attach a totally different meaning to the title “lamb” in the Apocalypse than in the Old Testament or elsewhere in the New.”

Father Kramer then shows that verse 5 by referring to the “root of David” is pointing to Isaias 11, which foreshadows the Eucharist by which Christ reigns in every Catholic tabernacle in the world.

[1] And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. [2] And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. [3] And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. [4] But He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. [5] And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins. (Isaias 11, 1-5)

You may recognise verses 1 and 2; they are used by the Church at Christmastide and are especially familiar to those of us who recite Our Lady’s Little Office.

The Holy Eucharist makes every church a temple and every tabernacle a throne of God. Thus, the vision of Knock points us to Apocalypse, Chapter 5, v. 5, which in turn points us to Isaias 11, 1-5, all of which emphasize the importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus, symbolized for us by devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prisoner of Love in the Eucharist.

From Father Kramer:

“The temple of Christ is every Catholic Church, where He dwells in the Eucharistic Mystery. The Sacrifice of the Mass is the sacred mystery, in which Christ is “as if sacrificed”, is truly and mystically slain or immolated. The sacrifice is inseparably united with the bloody sacrifice of the Cross, because it represents and renews it. Through the Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ becomes present, establishes His throne in the Church and extends the effects of His death on the Cross and carries the purposes of God to completion. To outward appearance He is dead in the Eucharist, so there He rests “as if immolated”. But the Holy Eucharist is the throne of God through the inseparable union of Christ with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  …

“The Real Presence of Christ has been …  the standard for the armies of Christ. His soldiers, the martyrs, confessors and virgins have ever fought and bled for the altar and the cross. The prediction of Isaias is fulfilled in Christ’s place of rest, His Eucharistic Presence. The reason then why St. John chose the word, “Little Lamb”, for the sacrificial Lamb of the Apocalypse appears evident, to distinguish this mystery from the mystery of the Incarnation.”  (Kramer, Fr. Herman B., The Book Of Destiny, TAN Books. Kindle Edition)

The silent tableau of Knock took place in inclement weather just outside the Church, thus pointing to the institutional Church forcing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass outside. The apparition of Knock displayed on a desolate night thus foretold a period in which the post-conciliar Church would attempt to eclipse the true Sacrifice of the Mass with a protestantised fellowship service, to serve ecumenism and the prince of this world.

At Knock,on August 21, 1879,  the Little Lamb on the altar stood with two powerful representatives of the priesthood, St. Joseph, chaste guardian of the Holy Family and Patron of the Church, and St. John the Beloved, to whom Christ entrusted His Mother and to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the mysteries of the Apocalypse. St. John pointed to the Scriptures, begging the question, “To which scriptures?” The vision itself answers:  The Lamb on the altar indicates Apocalypse 5. The two patrons of the priesthood, St. Joseph and St. John, indicate the importance of priests in these times. Our Lady of Knock, in this vision, never took her eyes from heaven, never wavered in her intercession for the Church.

Considered in the context of the other Marian apparitions, Knock is a warning against the silencing of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrilege of the Holy Eucharist, the corruption of the faith. Our Lady’s appearances at La Salette and Knock were followed by the revelation of Fatima. The Angel of Fatima, Michael, the great Archangel warrior who battles Satan gave us a warning about the abuses of the sacrifice of the Mass and desecration of the Eucharist. And now, 100 years later, the onslaught of sacrileges, outrages and indifferences continues.

It is urgent that Catholics understand that Satan is at war with the Little Lamb, our Eucharistic Lord. Unfortunately, most Catholics are indifferent to this battle. But it is real. Satan knows that the Eucharist is Emmanuel, God with us. Although so many Catholics have forgotten this truth, or are indifferent, the devil knows that Christ the King reigns through the Eucharist. And that is why he is striving with all his immense power to extirpate the true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to eliminate the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ on our altars. By their perversion of mercy, in giving the the Body of Christ to unrepentant sinners, modernists debase Our Lord’s sacrament of love and attempt to drive Jesus from His Church.

La Salette, Knock, Fatima, and Akita, all warn us of this time. This is a spiritual battle of never before seen proportions. Although we know Who will win it, we cannot afford to lose any time, for with knowledge comes responsibility. We must live our Consecrations, moment by tedious moment. Just because our lives are ordinary does not mean that they are not very, very precious to Jesus.

Our Lord’s words to Sister Josefa Menendez:

“I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action itself which is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. … I have many hidden souls who in their humble labors are very useful workers in My vineyard, … My love goes so far that My souls can draw great treasure out of mere nothing. When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to Me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls … when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment … how great is the treasure they amass in one day!

“I will reveal My love to them more and more … it is inexhaustible, and how easy it is for a loving soul to let itself be guided by love.” (Sister Josefa Menendez and the Way of Divine Love.)

In these times, Our Lady has given us, through God’s immense, unfathomable mercy for us, a profusion of graces through her holy Rosary. Please pray your Rosary with confidence in our Mother’s providence for us.  Our Lady of Fatima will not fail. In the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph!

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection in every tabernacle of the world, at every moment, even unto the end of time. Blessed be God forever.

 “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the same Son Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the sacrileges, outrages and indifferences by which He Himself is offended.  And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee 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.

† . Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.
† . Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
† . Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.
† . Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
† . St. Joseph, protect our families, protect our priests.
† . St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Thanks for reading. For related articles, you might like these:

Please also read: “The Message of Our Lady of Knock“.

Posts on the Eucharist: (Not restored yet, check back later)

Please, Pray the Rosary and confound satan and those who serve him!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

The Way of Divine Love and the Message of Fatima

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

The Way of Divine Love and the Message of Fatima

Posted on  by evensong

From the archives of evensong’s writings, a previously unpublished article.

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 (here) and about Sister Josefa’s deep devotion to the Divine Infant (here). But now and for the next few months, 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”.

It is true that the Message of Divine Love is Christ’s plea for our love but it is also a valuable reminder that we must become truly as a little child, poor in spirit, meek and pure of heart in order to be able to receive His love,  Otherwise we risk becoming the darkness that cannot grasp the light. The worldly are unable to grasp Our Lord’s words to St. Margaret Mary:

“If I had been able to find a creature more miserable than you,” He said to Saint Margaret Mary, “I should have chosen her….”

And to Sister Josefa:

“If I could have found a more wretched creature, I should have chosen her for my special love, and through her revealed the longings of My Heart. But I have not found one, and so I have chosen you.” (June 7th, 1923).

Like the followers of Christ who rejected His teaching on the Eucharist, many today reject these “hard sayings”.  But to those very few who have kept His grace in their hearts, we share the truth of the Way of Divine Love with you.

‘Our Lord is so good, so kind when we do all we can…He takes charge of the rest; it matters so little whether we feel we are getting better or not.’

The  message of Divine Love was given to Sister Josefa  in the period immediately after the Message of Fatima. It in no way contradicts but rather serves to illustrate the essential unity of the two devotions. In Our Lady’s words to Sister Josefa, we seem to hear the echo of her interactions with the three seers of Fatima and with the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (here).

Sister Josefa  at times felt overwhelmed by the effort to discharge her duties of state and the demands of Our Lord for reparation for souls and she spoke with our Blessed Mother. Our Lady then told her:

“What does anything matter, if He takes care of you?’ … My child, why be afraid? The work of Jesus must be founded on much pain and love … banish fear; Jesus is almighty and it is He who acts. He is strong and He will sustain you. He is merciful and He loves you.”

Then she warned her of further tribulations to be encountered:

“He reads the depths of all hearts and  it is He who permits circumstances to be as they are. If His plans often seem to you to be hindered, it is because He wants to keep you very humble and very lowly.”

Sister Josefa told her that she feared herself to be an obstacle to His plans.

“It is true that you are a very wretched little being,” Our Lady said with compassion, “but that is just why Jesus has pity on you and why He hides you in the depths of His Heart so that nothing can possibly harm you. Humble yourself in your littleness and misery, my child. Trust Him, for He loves you and will never forsake you. Let your only ambition be to win many souls for Him, to give Him much glory and much love.”

When Sister Josefa told Our Lady how sad it made her that she sometimes failed in her tasks, Our Lady offered her Our Lord’s Crown of Thorns. “Fix your mind on the Passion and sufferings of Jesus.” Then placing the Crown of Thorns on her head: “Take it,” she added, as she blessed her; “it will keep you in His presence.”

‘Do not be afraid, my child,’ Our Lady said in tender pity. ‘He will never ask anything of you without giving you grace. Then try to overcome your repugnance by remembering that all His commissions are given you because of His goodness and love for souls.

“You must not be afraid, for every time Jesus allows you to endure those torments He means you to draw from them a three-fold fruit:

First: Great love and deep gratitude to the Divine Majesty who in spite of your faults prevents you from falling eternally into Hell.

Secondly: Boundless generosity and ardent zeal for the salvation of souls, with the desire of saving many for Him by your sacrifices and even your tiniest acts, for you know how much these please Him.

Thirdly: The sight of such innumerable crowds of souls lost forever … of souls, of which not one can so much as make an act of love, ought to make you who can love, send up unceasingly to Him echoes of love’s clamor to drown the blasphemous vociferations of that impious abode. “ [Note: this was told to Sister regarding the visions of Hell she was given.]

‘Therefore, great generosity for the salvation of souls, daughter, and much love…. Let my Son use you as He wills…. Let Him finish His work.’ “

Once, Sister Josefa confided in Our Lady her sorrow at failing Our Lord by what she believed was ingratitude.  Our Lady responded,

“But, my child, surely you know that His Heart is a blazing furnace, and its fire exists only to consume our miseries. As soon as you have owned them to Jesus, He remembers them no more. 

“He has already granted you so many graces, He is prepared to grant you others greater still. His Heart is an inexhaustible Fountain”

“Jesus has forgiven and forgotten all your failings and all your strivings against His Will, but He never forgets your good resolutions and He takes pleasure in them. His Heart is an abyss of mercy, and it will never fail you. It is, too, an abyss of riches which will never diminish, however largely distributed.

“Love Him as much as you can. He cares for nothing else. Acknowledge your littleness, and be submissive and ready to surrender to His Will in all things. “

So many of us who attempt to live our Consecrations are plagued with scruples and get disheartened, but we should keep our focus on the words of Our Lady: “He has forgiven and forgotten all your failings!” It is we who persist in focusing on our failings instead of on Our Lord; He asks for our love, not for our endless ruminations on our faults.

In closing, we offer you a most useful quote from Our Blessed Mother to help us understand this path we follow:

“Let Him rest in you and do you rest in Him. When you receive His graces, then you repose in Him; when He tries you in one way or another, then He reposes in you.”

When we think on these words, we are able to understand that the beautiful periods of peace given to us in prayer, especially after receiving Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, are when He has drawn us into His Heart. These moments if responded to properly, nourish us and prepare us for the trials to come. But in this sacred dance wherein we move, little by little towards Heaven with our Beloved, we also have the periods when Jesus reposes in our hearts. These are times of darkness, desolation and very great suffering. But they are precisely the most fruitful times, if we maintain our trust in Him.

It was during one of these dark times that Sister Josefa asked Our Lord why He allowed her to struggle in such darknesss of soul, He replied,

“It seems to you that you see nothing and that you are about to fall into the precipice. But need you see, if you are guided? … What you need is to forget self, to abandon your own will and offer no resistance to My plans. Thanks to the acts done in the midst of your sufferings, several of the souls that you will see later have come nearer to My Heart.’

Josefa then complained to Him that when she is struggling against temptations and loneliness, she fails to find Him.

“ ‘When you cannot find Me, look for Me in your Mother. Follow her directions implicitly, for she will guide you to Me. I gave her to you for that very purpose; and know, Josefa, that if you do what she tells you, you are giving Me as much satisfaction as if you were obeying Me personally.

“Love, suffer, and obey. So doing you will enable Me to carry out My plans in you.’ ”

I was about to write, “If there is interest, I will write more on this.” But now, I have given up on there being much interest and will just say, whether there is interest or not, this needs to be said! And we will follow up with more very soon, God willing.

In the meantime, resolve never to waste a single unjust, unreasonable humiliation, a single opportunity to lift your heart joyfully to God for He alone transforms our sufferings into pure gold, eternal gold that never fails. As Our Lord Himself said to Sister Josefa,

‘Ponder this word: “Gold is purified in the fire.” So tribulation purifies and fortifies the soul, and the time of temptation is of great profit both to you and to souls.’ ”

Thank you for reading! I pray for you always!

Remember, Pray the Rosary and confound satan and those who serve him!

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

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!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

Sister Josefa Menendez and the Way of Divine Love

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is an essential part of the message of Fatima, and this devotion is inseparable from devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus;  these two hearts are one. Just a few years after Our Lady of the Rosary’s apparitions at Fatima, Our Lord Himself began appearing to Sister Josefa Menendez in the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Poitiers, France from 1920 through 1923 when she died. Sister Josefa’s compilation of these visits is a very beneficial addition to our spiritual arsenal.

Sister Josefa’s book, “The Way of Divine Love”   has an endorsement by Pope Pius XII. Here is a good excerpt from it, although almost any page would have yielded a similar result, it is that packed with beautiful inspirations! From pages 213-215:

“Write for My souls…The soul who constantly unites her life with Mine glorifies Me and does a great work for souls. Thus, if engaged on work of no value in itself…if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly benefit souls … more perhaps, than if she had preached to the whole world … and that, whether she studies, speaks or writes … whether she sews, sweeps or rests … provided first that the act is sanctioned by obedience or duty and not done from mere caprice; and secondly that it is done in intimate union with Me, with great purity of intention and covered with My Blood.

“I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action itself which is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. … I have many hidden souls who in their humble labors are very useful workers in My vineyard, for they are moved by love, and they know how to cover their deeds with supernatural gold by bathing them in My Blood. My love goes so far that My souls can draw great treasure out of mere nothing. When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to Me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls … when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment … how great is the treasure they amass in one day!

“I will reveal My love to them more and more … it is inexhaustible, and how easy it is for a loving soul to let itself be guided by love.”

The following day, Our Lord told Sister Josefa:

“I would like them to know how much I desire their perfection, and that it consists in doing their ordinary actions in intimate union with Me. If they once grasped this, they could divinize their life and all their activities by this close union with My Heart … and how great is the value of a divinized day! … When a soul is burnt up with desire to love, nothing is a burden to her, but if she feels cold and spiritless everything becomes hard and difficult … let her then come to My Heart to revive her courage … Let her offer Me her dejection and unite it to My fervor; then she may rest content, for her day will be of incomparable value to souls. All human miseries are known to My Heart, and My compassion for them is great. …

“But I desire souls to unite themselves to Me not only in a general way. I long for this union to be constant and intimate as it is between friends who live together, for even if they are not talking all the time, at least they look at each other, and their mutual affectionate little kindnesses are the fruit of their love.

“… But if she (soul) is in the throes of desolation and anguish, she need not fear. I am content with a glance, I understand and this mere look will draw down on her special proofs of My tenderness. I will repeat again to souls how My Heart loves them for I want them to know Me thoroughly that they may make me known to those I place in their care.

“I ardently desire My chosen souls to fix their eyes on Me and never turn them away .. and among them there should be no mediocrity, which usually is the result of a misunderstanding of My love. No! It is neither difficult nor hard to love My Heart, but on the contrary, it is sweet and easy. They need do nothing extraordinary to attain a high degree of love: purity of intention, be the action great or small … intimate union with My Heart and love will do the rest.”

Once I discovered, by God’s grace, Our Lady of Fatima’s true message, I struggled mightily with the task of offering my daily duties as reparation, but quickly became discouraged due to my easily distracted nature. And then, once again by praying to Sister Lucia to help me, I discovered Sister Josefa’s marvelously simple “Way of Divine Love” and it has profited me immensely! I wish I could express to you how valuable this book is and hope that by reading the above excerpt you will be inclined to obtain a copy. It is also available as a Kindle download. Both versions are reasonably priced.

Now here is a neat coincidence: Sister Josefa was Spanish and her sister Angela entered the Carmel of Coimbra and I have read that she was Mistress of Novices when Sister Lucia entered the Carmel! Wouldn’t you love to have been able to be a “fly on the wall” at their meetings!

The message of The Way of Divine Love  is balanced between its sacrificial nature and the peace and joy of total oblation to the will of God; the diabolical attacks, the descents into Hell itself, the great suffering, but also the peace and joy that came from total oblation to the will of God, total union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thus, Sister Josefa’s messages comply perfectly with Sister Lucia’s. And isn’t that what we all want – to progress towards total Consecration, total oblation of ourselves to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

We are now going through such challenging times and I believe that Pope Francis has yet more misery in store for us in his “Year of Mercy”; but we have been given such tremendous blessings! We know that the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus will sustain us and our loved ones and that they have provided us with a safe passage through the chaos and the shortest path to union with them.

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.

†  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.

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!