We all want to be loved, approved of and respected, an aspiration deeply set within man who was created by God through love and for love.
Fundamentally, the creation is an act of divine wisdom, mercy and love in which man is asked to participate willingly and lovingly in keeping God’s law and His commands :”Though shalt love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands, always. Teach them to your children, talking about them.” (Dt. XI, 1-2; 19). These are the recommendations given by God himself to help us respond to this gift of Love of God recounted in the Book of Creation.
Since the unfortunate refusal to obey by Adam, father of mankind, men tend to turn their hearts away from God. In drifting always further away from God, his Maker, man redirects the object of creation to his own transitory benefit. In doing so, man corrupts the purpose of life and creation which is to serve God. From this diverted aim, a new world emerges, free from the law of nature, stamped by a lack of respect for God and His gifts, rejecting the word of God in every aspect, be it that of the natural law, the Holy Scriptures, the Tradition, the Revelation, the Magisterial acts of the Church as well as the example of Jesus’s life and that of the saints. In this way, man hopes to find lasting happiness in life on earth. However, this is a hopeless quest inevitably bound to failure because everlasting happiness can only be reached on the condition that the human being follows God’s “Code of Conduct”.
But God, always lending a loving and compassionate eye onto his fallen creatures, does not forsake them. Indeed, all along history, God has constantly bestowed his immense mercy on to us, culminating by the Incarnation of the Word of God, Jesus-Christ through whom mankind is redeemed and the dignity of the children of God, restored.
How can we respond to the infinite love of God ?- Haven’t we gone too far? What does Our Lady tell us, particularly at Fatima when she spoke on behalf of the Holy Spirit?
In her memoirs, Sr. Lucy, describes to her confessor, Fr. Jose Bernardo Gonçalves, the vision she had of the Holy Trinity and the Holy Virgin in the chapel of her convent in Thuy, on 13th June 1929 :
“The only light was that of the sanctuary lamp. Suddenly the whole chapel was illuminated by supernatural light and above the altar appeared a cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light at the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a Man and his body as far as the waist; upon his breast was a dove of light; nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large host suspended in the air, onto which drops of blood were falling from the face of Jesus crucified and from the wound in His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart (it was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of the cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed the Words: ’Grace and Mercy’. I understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me and I received lights about this Mystery which I am not permitted to reveal. Then Our Lady said: ‘The moment has come when God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. So numerous are the souls which the justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray.’ Later, by means of an intimate communication, Our Lady said to me complaining:’They did not want to heed My request! Like the King of France they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church: the Holy Father will have much to suffer.’
The remedy to all the evils we see around us is the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Our Lady has always asked. We can prepare this consecration by a personal consecration. We offer to God our bodies and our souls. « We accept all the sufferings He may send us in reparation for all the sins that offend Him and for the conversion of poor sinners ». Our Lady, Fatima, 13th May 1917.
By participating in the Passion of Jesus Christ in a spirit of reparation, Our Lady can obtain the Divine Mercy for our conversion and for the conversion of poor sinners. We completely give ourselves up to Our Lady because Our Lord, while dying on the cross, said to St John : « Look ! there is your mother ». Our Lady, who was chosen by God to be His mother, becomes our mother.
During the celebration of the mass and especially at the Offertory, we offer to God our lives, symbolized by the offering of the bread, and we offer our works and sufferings, represented by the drop of water added to the chalice. Therefore, we take an active part in the mystery of redemption. And, as Jesus offered Himself to His Father for us and for a multitude of men and women, we also offer ourselves for the salvation of souls.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass shows us the infinite Love of God. It is the source of the divine life that we can find while living on earth. Each Mass contributes to the redemption of Humanity.
“ God’s thoughts about his people cannot change. He has blessed them with gifts and He has chosen them to belong to Him. In past times, you Gentiles did not obey God. But now God has been very kind to you, because Israel’s people refused to obey Him.They do not obey God now. As a result God has been very kind to you. That has happened so that God may now be very kind to them too. God says that everyone is guilty because they do not obey Him. He says that so that He can be kind and He can forgive everyone. Yes, God is very great ! He has everything ! He knows and He understands all things ! Nobody can completely understand the things that He decides. Nobody can explain the ways in which He works. The Bible says this : Nobody knows the thoughts of the Lord God. Nobody is able to tell him what He should do. Nobody has ever given anything to God, so that God had a debt to pay back to them. It is God who made all things. He also causes all things to continue. And all things are there to show how great He is. We praise him ! He is great for ever ! Amen.” (Romans, XI, 29-36)
Saint Paul continues and says :” My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have and that will please Him. That is the true way to worship God. Do not become like the people who belong to this world. But let God completely change the way that you think, so that you live differently. Then you will understand what God wants you to do. You will know what is good. You will know what pleases God. You will know what is completely right. ” (Romans, XII, 1-2).
« The consecration of oneself to the Eternal Wisdom, through Our Lady’s hands » composed by St Louis Grignion de Montfort, expresses the mystery of the offering of oneself to God through Mary. Through this consecration, Our Lady will ask Her Son to have mercy on us and on our families. She will ask Him to help us, so that we may sanctify ourselves and obtain eternal salvation.
This consecration leads us to love God’s Mercy even more, mercy that God grants us through the intercession of Our Lady. This magnificence of the Mercy of God was taught to us through the texts written by Sister Faustina.
On Good Friday, we encourage you to start the novena which will be a good preparation for the feast of the Divine Mercy, celebrated on the 1st Sunday after Easter.
May this Holy Week help us understand the immense love of God for us : « Then you will understand, with God’s people, how much Christ loves us. That love is very wide and long and high and deep. » (Ephesians, III, 18).