Thursday, March 23, 2017

Revelations to Sister Josefa Menéndez


After Judas surrendered Me in the Garden of Olives, he wandered off and ran away as a fugitive without being able to silence the shouts of his conscience, which accused him of the most horrible sacrilege. When the news of My death sentence reached his ears, he gave in to the most terrible despair and hung himself.

Who will be able to understand the intense pain in My Heart when I saw that soul throw himself to eternal damnation? He who had spent three years in the School of My Love learning My doctrine, receiving My teaching, and many times hearing My lips forgive the greatest sinners.

(Editor's Note: Before the hanging of Judas, Jesus exclaims :)

"Ah, Judas, why do not you come and throw yourself at my feet so that I may forgive you? If you do not dare to approach Me for fear of those who surround Me, that mistreat me with so much fury, at least look at Me, and you will see how soon My eyes will look at you!..."

(Editor’s Note: But it is late, Jesus points out that this treacherous soul cast itself into eternal perdition by not repenting and committing suicide moved by despair and a lack of confidence in the divine mercy)

"Souls who are entangled in the greatest sins... if you have lived wandering as fugitives because of your crimes, if the sins of which you are guilty have blinded and hardened your heart, if by following some passion you have fallen into terrible disorders; Ah! Do not let desperation take hold of you, when the accomplices of your sins set you free, or when your soul becomes aware of its guilt... As long as man has an instant of life, you still have time to turn to mercy and beg for forgiveness!”

“If you are young and the scandals of your past life have degraded you before men, do not be afraid! Even when the world despises you, treats you as evildoers, insults you and forsakes you, be assured that your God does not want your soul to feed the flames of hell. He wants you to come to Him so He can forgive you. If you do not dare to speak to Him, direct your gaze and sighs of your heart at Him and soon you will see that His kind and paternal hand leads you to the source of forgiveness and life.”

"If out of malice you have perhaps spent a great part of your life in disorder or indifference, and close to eternity, despair wants to blindfold your eyes, do not let it deceive you; it is still time for forgiveness, and listen carefully! If you have but a second of life, take advantage of it, because in it you could gain eternal life...” (Editor’s Note: Making an Act of Perfect Contrition moved by love of God).

"If you have lived in ignorance and error, if you have caused great damage to men, society, and even to Religion and by any circumstance you perceive your mistake, do not let yourself be brought down by the weight of faults or the damage for which you have been an instrument. But on the contrary, allow your soul to be penetrated by the deepest sorrow, plunge yourself in trust and turn to the One who is always waiting for you to forgive all the mistakes of your life.”

***

"The same thing happens to a soul that has spent the first years of its life in the faithful observance of My Commandments, but that has gradually declined from fervor, moving to a lukewarm and comfortable life...”

"But one day receives a strong jolt that awakens it, and then its useless life appears empty, without a single merit for eternity. The devil, with hellish envy, attacks it in a thousand ways, filling it with discouragement and sadness, and driving it finally to fear and despair.

"Souls that belong to Me, do not listen to this cruel enemy!... As soon as you feel the movement of grace and before the fight is stronger, come to My Heart, ask it to pour a drop of its Blood on your soul. Come to Me! You know where I am, in the fatherly arms of your Superiors*. There I am under the veil of faith. Lift up that veil and tell me with complete confidence your sorrows, your miseries, your falls... Listen to My words and don not be afraid of your past. My heart has submerged it in the abyss of my mercy, and my love prepares new graces for you. Your past life will give you the humility that will fill you with merit, and if you want to give Me the best proof of love, trust in Me and count on My forgiveness. Believe that your sins will never be greater than My mercy, for it is infinite. "

***

"Josefa, remain submerged in the abyss of My love and tell souls to let themselves be penetrated by those feelings!".

March 26, 1923, Holy Monday

*Our superiors are the priests who, through the sacrament of Penance, judge and forgive our sins.
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Sister Josefa Menéndez 1890 - 1923
Coadjutor Religious of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She received messages dictated by Our Lord in the convent of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Les Feuillants, in Poitiers, France, between 1920 and 1923. In 1938, with the permission of the then Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli (future Pius XII ), the Publishing House of the Toulouse Apostolate of Prayer published Un Appel à L'Amour (A Call to Love), the biography of Josefa Menéndez, which includes her own records of visions, from which this text has been taken.