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The Way of Divine Love From the writings of Sister Josefa Menendez...
Our Lord's words with regard to His Passion (Lent)
LETTER WRITTEN BY THE CARDINAL PROTECTOR H.E CARDINAL E. PACELLI[Became H.H. Pope Pius X11] April 1938. VERY REVEREND MOTHER, "I have no doubt whatever that the publication of these pages, filled as they are with great love which His Grace inspired in His very humble servant, Maria Josefa Menendez, will be agreeable to His Sacred Heart. "May they efficaciously contribute to develop in many souls a confidence ever more complete and loving in the infinite mercy of this Divine Heart towards poor sinners as we all are."These are good wishes which, with my blessing, I send you and all the Society of The Sacred Heart."E. Card. Pacelli.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD: We are going to speak of My Passion, that your soul may constantly feed on the remembrance of it, and that My souls may find in it food for their hunger and drink for their thirst.And now, Josefa, I will begin by disclosing to you the thoughts that filled My Heart, while I was washing the feet of My disciples.Mark how the whole twelve were gathered together, none excepted: John the beloved was there, and Judas who was so soon to deliver Me to My enemies. I will tell you why I willed to have them all assembled together and why I began by washing their feet.I gathered them altogether because the moment had come for My Church to be manifested to the world, and for all the sheep to have but one shepherd. It was My intention also, to show souls that I never refuse grace even to those who are guilty of grave sin; nor do I separate them from the good whom I Love with predilection. I keep them all in My Heart, that all may receive the help required by their state of soul....But how great was my sorrow to see in the person of My unhappy disciple Judas the throng of those who, though often gathered at My feet and washed in My Blood, would hasten to their eternal perdition.I would have these to understand that it is not the fact of being in sin that ought to keep them from Me. They must never think that there is no remedy for them, nor that they have forfeited for ever the love that once was theirs....No, poor souls, the God who has shed all His Blood for you has no such feelings for you! Come all of you to Me and fear not, for I Love you all... I will wash you in My Blood and you shall be made whiter than snow. All of your offences will be submerged in the waters in which I myself shall wash you, nor shall anything whatsoever be able to tear from My Heart its Love for you.Josefa, let your soul be seized today by an ardent desire to see all souls, especially sinners, come and purify themselves in the waters of repentance. Let them give themselves up to thoughts of confidence, not fear, for I am a God of pity, ever ready to receive them into My Heart.
25th February 1923 "Kiss the ground and write, for we are going on with Love's Secrets. I will tell you My reasons for washing the feet of My apostles at the Last Supper.In the first place I would teach souls how pure they must be to receive Me in Holy Communion. I also wished to remind those who would have the misfortune to sin that they can always recover their innocence through the Sacrament of Penance.And I washed the feet of My apostles with My own hands, so that those who have consecrated themselves to apostolic work may follow My example, and treat sinners with humility and gentleness, as also all others that are entrusted to their care.I girded Myself with a while linen cloth to remind them that apostles need to be girded with abnegation and mortification, if they hope to exert any real influence on souls.I wished also to teach them that mutual charity, which is ever ready to excuse the faults of others, to conceal them and extenuate them, and never to reveal them.Lastly, the water poured on the feet of My apostles denotes the zeal burned in My Heart for the salvation of the world. The hour of Redemption was at hand. My Heart could no longer restrain its Love for mankind nor bear the thought of leaving them orphans.So to prove My tender love for them and till time has ceased to be, I resolved to become their food, their support, their life, their all. Could I but make known to all souls the loving sentiments with which My Heart overflowed at My Last Supper, when I instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist....My glance ranged across the ages, and I saw the multitudes who would receive My Body and Blood, and all the good it would effect.. how many hearts I saw that from its contact would bind forth virginity! and how many others that It would awaken to deeds of charity and zeal! How many martyrs of love did I see. How many souls who had been enfeebled by sin and violence of passion would come back to their allegiance and recover their spiritual energy by partaking of this Bread of the strong!Who can describe the overwhelming emotions that filled My soul? Joy, love, tenderness...but alas, bitter sorrow also...Later I shall continue, Josefa. Go now in My Peace.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus Appeals to the World I am your
God and your Father, your Creator and your Saviour.
You are My creatures, My sons, bought at the price of My
life and Heart's Blood, which I shed to free you from slavery and
the tyranny of sin. You have
souls great and immortal, destined for eternal happiness, wills
capable of all good, hearts made both to give and receive
affection. The thirst for
contentment and love can never be appeased by earthly and fleeting
gains, which will always leave you hungry and unsatisfied.
Perpetual conflict, sadness, anxiety, and affliction will
still be your portion. If you are
poor and have to earn a living by work, the miseries of life will
embitter you; you will be hostile to your employers, and may even
wish them ill, that like yourselves they may experience the hard
grind of daily toil. Fatigue,
disgust, even despair will weigh heavily on your spirits, for the
way is rough and in the end comes death!... O! how great are these calamities when viewed from a
human standpoint. But
I come to show you life under a different aspect. All you who are deprived of this world's goods and
obliged to labour for your daily bread under a master, reflect
that you are not slaves, but created for the freedom of
eternity...All you whose craving for affection is unsatisfied,
remember that you were made to love that which is eternal, not
that which passes with time. You who love your homes and labour to support your
families and provide them with comforts and happiness, do not
forget that though death will one day sever every tie, this is
only for a time.... You who serve a master, and owe him respect, love, care
for his interests, hard work and fidelity, forget not that he is
your master only for the short span of a lifetime.
How soon this will pass away and give place to an eternity,
where you will no longer be workers but reign as kings for ever
and ever. Your souls, created by a loving Father who bears you a
limitless and eternal affection, will find one day in the bliss of
heaven prepared for you a final answer to all your aspirations. There, every labour will be rewarded... There, you will find your family for whom you worked so
hard on earth. There, you will live eternally, for earth is but a
passing shadow, Heaven will never pass away. There, you will be united to your God and Father.... O!
if you but knew how great is the beatitude that awaits you... Perhaps you will answer Me; 'I have no faith, nor do I
believe in a future happiness.' Have you no faith?
Then how is it that you persecute Me?... why do you rebel
against My laws, and war against those who love Me?
And since you desire freedom for yourselves, why not grant
it to others? You say you do not believe in a future life?...Tell Me,
are you perfectly contented here and do you never feel a yearning
for that which it is not possible to obtain here below? If after seeking for enjoyment, you succeed in
obtaining it, does it satisfy your cravings? If after pursuing riches, you at last possess them,
have you ever enough?... If you feel the need of affection, and
one day find it, are you not soon tired of it?... None of these things is what you long for, and here
below you will never obtain all that your heart desires.
Your craving is peace, not the peace of this world, but
that of the children of God; and how do you expect to find it in
the midst of rebellion? That is why I have come to show you where true peace
and happiness are to be found, and where you can slake the thirst
that for so long has consumed you. Do not rebel when I tell you that all these things are
to be found in accomplishing My law.
Do not fear this word law, for My law is no tyranny but a
law of love, because I am your God and your Father. You know that in a well-regulated army discipline must
be maintained, just as in a household there must be established
customs. So in the great family of Jesus Christ there must be law,
albeit a law of love. In the order of nature sons are not recognized as such
unless they bear their father's name; so My sons bear the name of
Christian given them at their birth in Baptism.
All you who bear this name are My sons, and as such have a
right to your Father's estate. I realize that you do not know Me or love Me, but
rather detest and persecute Me.
On My part, I love you with an infinite tenderness, and I
want you to know this heritage which is yours by right, and know
also the means to acquire it: Believe in My love and My mercy. You have sinned against Me; I forgive you. You have persecuted Me; I love you. You have wounded Me both by word and deed; still I wish
to do you good and to let you share all My treasures. Do not
imagine that I am ignorant of your state of soul.
I know that you have despised my grace, perhaps even
profaned My Sacraments. Yet you have from Me a full pardon. If then you would be happy in this world and at the
same time secure your eternal salvation, do as I tell you: If you are poor, do the work that necessity forces on
you with submission, and remember that I, too, lived for thirty
years in subjection to the self-same law, for I was needy and
poor. Do not consider your masters as tyrants.
Banish all hatred from your hearts... Never wish them ill,
but further their interests and be faithful to them. If, however, you possess this world's goods and employ
workers and servants, be fair to them in all your dealings; pay
them a just wage, and show them both gentleness and kindness. If you have an immortal soul, so too have they, and if you
abound in wealth, it is not for your sole comfort and enjoyment,
but that you may administer it wisely and practise charity to your
neighbour. Both
employer and employed must accept the law of labour with
submission, acknowledging a Supreme Being over all created things,
who is both your God and your Father. As God, He demands of you the accomplishment of His
Divine Law. As your Father, He asks you to accept His Commandments
in a spirit of filial piety. Thus, when you have spent a week in the pursuit of
work, business or sport, He claims but one half-hour, that you may
fulfil your Sunday duty. Is this excessive? Go then to your Father's House, where day and night He
awaits your coming, and as Sundays and Holidays recur, give Him
the homage of this half hour by assisting at the Mystery of Love
and Mercy that is Holy Mass. Tell Him about everything: about your families, your
children, your business, your desires... Lay at His feet your
sorrows, difficulties and sufferings... believe in the interest
and love with which He listens to your prayer. You may perhaps say to Me: 'I have not entered a church
for so many years that I have forgotten how to hear Mass.'
Do not be afraid on that account ... Come, spend this
half-hour with Me; your conscience will tell you what to do, and
be docile to its voice... Open your soul wide to grace, and it
will inspire you... Gradually it will teach you how to act in a
given circumstance, how to treat with your family, what to do in
regard to your business... how to bring up your children, love
those who depend on you, and honour those in authority over you...
It may make you feel that such and such a concern must be given
up, such a friendship relinquished, or such a meeting avoided...
Again, it may tell you that you are hating a certain person quite
unreasonably; or it may put it into your mind to sever your
connection with some person you feel drawn to and whose advice is
doing you harm. Only
give grace a chance, and gradually its power will grow stronger in
you, for just as evil increases insensibly, once it is given in
to, so will each new grace prepare your soul for a still greater
one. If to-day you
listen to My voice and let grace act, to-morrow its influence will
be stronger and so steadily increase as time goes on; light will
grow in your soul, peace envelop you, and the reward will be
eternal bliss. Man was not created to live for ever here below.
He was made for eternity... If then he is immortal, he
hould live, not for the passing things of time, but for that which
will never die. Youth, wealth, wisdom, human glory, all that is
nothing, it will all end with this life; God only will endure for
ever. The world is full of hate, races are in perpetual
conflict with one another, so are nations, and even individuals,
and all this is due to the decay of faith. Only let faith reign
once more over the world and peace and charity will return to it. Faith in no way impedes civilization and progress.The
more it is rooted in individuals and peoples, the more wisdom and
learning increase, for God is infinite in wisdom and knowledge. But whenever faith is completely lacking, peace, civilization
and true progress likewise vanish... for God is not in war... and
in their place come enmities, clash of opinions, class wars, and
within man himself, rebellion of passions against duty. All that is noble in humanity is exchanged for revolt,
insubordination and warfare... Let yourselves be convinced by faith, and you will be
great. Let yourselves
be ruled by faith, and you will be free; live by faith, and you
will escape eternal death. Words of Our Lord to Sister Josefa Menendez 1923
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Eucharistic
Apostles