Atonement Newsletter Num. 20

In a very sorrowful tone of complaint Our Lord said:

"The world, My daughter, is traveling toward the abyss by the iniquity of its works. The

day of Final Judgment and its eternal sentence is near. I desire to save many and, if they

wish, I would save all.

"I speak to many souls as I do to you, and I reveal to them the intimate agonies of My

love. I reveal things to many souls, and they prophesy for Me the disaster that the works

of the world will bring on itself, as well as the love of My Heart that wants to defend

everyone. I show Myself to many souls as I do to you, I give My messages to them for

the world, and many do not believe Me.

"Satan, on the other hand, has shown himself under feigned apparitions to seduce many

and him, indeed, they have believed.

"You, believe Me, and tell it to those you can, and affirm that it is I Who speak to you,

although you may have much to suffer for it.

"Tell them that, very soon, I will give Mexico an era of peace and the re-establishment

of religious liberty, and I will make the punishment of universal misery cease, if, on their

part, My children give Me what I ask of them.

"I want mothers of families to take care, with zeal for My glory, in the formation of their

children, bringing them up in religion, not for the world, but for Heaven.

"I want the fathers of families to be an example to their children and the support of their

wives in the pious formation of their home.

"I want young people to curb their passions ceasing to lead a life so similar to that of the

impious, as they do at present. Let women not dress immodestly. Let men concern

themselves with God and their work, and not go about inebriated with amusements and vices.

"Let ambition for material goods be replaced by humble submission to My designs.

Luxury and fashion will be their perdition!

"I want the poor to be more humble, and the rich more merciful.

"I want from everyone more reverence toward Me and toward all holy things. I want

obedience to all My precepts and those of My Holy Church. I want the words of My

representatives on earth to be venerated as Mine.

"I want My consecrated souls to be more pure, to put more effort into virtue, to be more

loyal in trials, more given up to prayer, more poor and mortified.

"I want my priests more zealous in divine worship, more withdrawn from the low things

of the world, and more given up to prayer.

"And finally, I want all the bishops and archbishops of Mexico to approve the things I

asked of the Archbishop of Mexico in honor of My Blessed Mother and for the

satisfaction of My Heart. I want the approval of the Offering of Victims to Divine

Justice that I inspired you to make."

(Here Our Lord refers to the same thing that, at present, we are still battling to obtain.)

"If My children of Mexico give Me all this, very soon they will see the works of My

merciful love. If they do not pay attention to this desire of Mine, if neither the one nor

the other satisfies Me, then, My daughter. . .peace will be a long time coming to these

lands, until another generation, more docile to My pleadings, fulfills these things.

"Punishment will continue to afflict them in justice for their works, and if it does not

break out in greater proportions, it is because My Victim Heart in the Holy Eucharist is

restraining it, as I have shown you on another occasion."

(Here Our Lord alludes to the Image of the Sun of Divine Justice, which has already been published.)

"If poverty is encountered everywhere, it is because ambitions have degenerated men,

who no longer seek My Justice nor My Kingdom, but all the ‘added’ material things I

would give them, if they fulfilled their duty.

"If My children enfolded in the bosom of My Church suffer from the oppression of their

enemies, it is because their works are not sufficiently pure, to achieve liberty and

triumph.

"There are some just souls, My daughter, but they do not compensate for the impure.

There is a lack of works of sanctity that would make Divine Justice pour out a copious

shower of blessings on My children and on My enemies, to reconcile both in the love of

My Heart. That is why I want victim souls! I want the Work so longed-for by My

Heart!

"Very soon, My daughter, I will give you liberty to work on My behalf. All that is

necessary is a final sifting in the test My love requires of you. Trust in Me, My beloved.

Enclose yourself in Mary as I have taught you. My grace will be with you.

"Enough for now. Go and tell all this to your superiors. It is necessary. I have not told

you this for you alone, but for your Homeland. The sign that I give you that it is I Who

is speaking to you, the love I make you feel suffices for you. Now, for your superiors,

you will give them this sign."

(I add a parenthetical statement here to refer in passing simply that the sign God Our Lord deigned to

give me was to reveal to me some secret things that my Superiors indeed were aware of and thus they

knew that only God could have revealed them to me. At that time His Excellency D. Pascual Díaz y

Barreto was Archbishop, Primate of Mexico, and he listened docilely to the desire of Our Lord.) On

that occasion Jesus added to this message these other words:

"Nations will not be saved by the destructive sword, but by the redemptive cross."

(Note that Jesus was insisting even since then, why they should take paths of peace, and not of war or

violence.)

"My spirit is one of love, of sacrifice and of pardon. The devil has the opposite spirit, of

revenge and of hatred and of sensuality. Every triumph of the sword is like the spirit

presiding over it: false. It brings with it disorder, evil and a greater push towards its own

collapse.

"The triumph of the cross will be lasting and firm. It will bring peace of soul, because

the blessing of My spirit presides over it. The enemies of the Church will be converted,

and the obstinate will be overthrown and annihilated by My Justice. And My children

will enjoy triumph! This is the triumph I want to give to Mexico, and I will give it, if

Mexico gives what I ask of it."

I must explain here the meaning of these last expressions of God Our Lord, of "Mexico" and of the

"Homeland." He has always deigned to speak to me of this sense of patriotic responsibility and, in a

special way, He has referred to our Mexican homeland.

On one occasion He emphasized it in this way:

"Mexico and Rome will be closely united. Behold the link: My Immaculate Mother."

(Referring to the Virgin Mary.)

On another occasion He even said to me precisely these words:

"She wants to reign in holy Rome and in holy Mexico."

That is, there is a certain divine predilection for our Mexican homeland and an intimate point of union

with the Eternal City, Rome.

Concerning these words I just transcribed from the 24th of August of that year of 1932, we must now

consider the years that have elapsed, and how His Divine Majesty still continues exhorting us and

waiting for us to realize our erroneous ways, and to correct ourselves and give Him what He asks of us.

MESSAGE OF NOVEMBER 11, 1932

Now I am going to copy, too, some notes of that same year of 1932, on the 11th of November. This

time it was something so deeply felt by me, because it was at midnight (To be continued)

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A great luminous cross appeared in the heavens over Golgotha

A great sign appeared during the first year of St. Cyril's (315-386 A.D.) episcopate in Jerusalem, in the year 351, at nine o'clock in the morning of May 7. This was in the era of the Arian heresy, in which the relationship of Christ to God the Father had been placed in question.

In a letter to the Roman Emperor Constantine, St. Cyril wrote; "On the nones of May, about the third hour, a great luminous cross appeared in the heavens, just over Golgotha, reaching as far as the holy mount of Olivet, seen, not by one or two persons, but clearly and evidently by the whole city. This was not, as might be thought, a fancy-bred and transient appearance: but it continued several hours together, visible to our eyes and brighter than the sun. The whole city, penetrated alike with awe and with joy at this portent, ran immediately to the church, all with one voice giving praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God."

St. Cyrus continued; "Everyone saw that the pious Christian faith consisted not in the disputable words of human wisdom." Church historians Socrates, Sozomen, and others also wrote of this apparition. St. Cyril died in peace in 386, leaving behind his Catechetical Lectures, which are a precious monument of Christian antiquity.

Redemptive Suffering

Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another. In Christianity, it is a tenet of Catholic theology, based on the doctrine of the communion of saints, that some members of the body of Christ can help other members, by means of their prayers, works, and sufferings.

Pope John Paul II stated, "Each man, in his sufferings, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ". (cf Colossians 1:24) Like an indulgence, redemptive suffering does not gain the individual forgiveness for their sin; forgiveness results from God’s grace, freely given through Christ, which cannot be earned.(See Romans 4:3-5) After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's suffering can reduce the penalty due for sin.

Life presents the ordinary human being with ample unasked-for occasions to practice redemptive suffering. However, religious practitioners in various traditions have found spiritual benefits from voluntarily bringing upon themselves additional pain and discomfort through corporal mortification. One extreme example of redemptive suffering, which existed in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe, was the Flagellant movement. As a partial response to the Black Death, these radicals engaged in body mortification, usually by whipping themselves, to repent for their sins, which they believed led to the Black Death.(cf 2 Samuel 24:10-15) The Flagellants quickly developed a large following throughout Central Europe, as they undertook militant pilgrimages across parts of the continent.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following concerning redemptive suffering:

Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases." But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the "sin of the world," of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross, Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him, and unite us with his redemptive Passion.

Thérèse of Lisieux wrote the following about her own redemptive suffering from her deathbed:

O Mother, it’s very easy to write beautiful things about suffering, but writing is nothing, nothing! One must suffer in order to know! I really feel now that what I’ve said and written is true about everything ... It’s true that I wanted to suffer much for God’s sake, and it’s true that I still desire this ... All I wrote about my desires for suffering. Oh! it’s true just the same! And I am not sorry for delivering myself up to Love. Oh! no, I’m not sorry; on the contrary!

Likewise, Padre Pio said the following about the purification brought about through redemptive suffering:

“I want your soul to be purified and tried by a daily hidden martyrdom. How many times,” Jesus said to me a little while ago, “would you have abandoned me, my son, if I had not crucified you.”

It is good for me that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy justifications. -- Psalm 118: 71

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Revelations of Saint Gertrude

Chapter 17.

Of the garments with which we should clothe Jesus and His Mother.

I give Thee thanks, Creator of the firmament, Fashioner of its celestial lights and of the flowers of spring, because, although Thou needest not my goods, Thou, for my instruction, didst order me to clothe Thee with the garments of an infant on the day of Thy Purification, before Thou wert carried into the Temple. And this is the manner in which Thou dost desire me to draw from the hidden treasures of Thy love—namely, to extol with all my powers the innocence of Thy Holy Humanity, but with such faithfulness and devotion, that if I could receive in my own person all the glory due to Thy blessed innocence, I would, nevertheless, freely renounce it, in order to enhance thereby the praise of Thy innocence. It seemed to me that this pure intention clothed Thee with a White robe, such as infants wear: Thou whose omnipotence "called those things that are not as those that are" (Romans iv. 17).

So also, when I endeavoured to penetrate devoutly into they abyss of Thy humility, I saw thee clothed in a green tunic, as a sign that Thy grace is ever flourishing, and that it never withers in the valley of humility. Then contemplating the fire of Thy love, which has made Thee produce all which Thou hast produced, I beheld Thee clothed in purple, to indicate that charity is truly a royal mantle, without which none can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

As I admired the same virtues in Thy glorious Mother, she appeared to me clothed in the same manner; and as this Blessed Virgin flourishes like a rose without thorns, and a lily without spot, being adorned with the flowers of all virtues, I besought this most benign Mother to intercede continually with Thee for our necessities.

Chapter 18.

How God bears with our defects.

-- Instruction on humility.

One day, after I had washed my hands, and was standing round the table with the community, perplexed in mind, considering the brightness of the sun, which was in its full strength, I said within myself: "If the Lord, who has created the sun, and whose beauty is said to be the admiration of the sun and moon --if He, who is a consuming fire, is as truly in me as He shows Himself frequently before me, how is it possible that my heart continues like ice, and that I lead so evil a life?"

Then Thou, whose words, though always sweet, were now much sweeter, and therefore the more necessary for my heart in its state of agitation, --Thou, I say, didst reply thus to me: "In what should My omnipotence be extolled, if I could not contain Myself within Myself wherever I am, so that I am only felt or seen as is most suitable for the time, place, and person? For since the creation of heaven and earth I have worked for the redemption of all, more by the wisdom of My benignity than by the power of My majesty. And this benignity of wisdom shines most in My tolerance towards the imperfect, leading them, even by their own free will, into the way of perfection." Seeing also, on a certain feast-day, that many who had recommended themselves to my prayers were going to Communion, and that I was deprived of It by sickness --or rather, prevented on account of my unworthiness --and reflecting in my mind on the numerous benefits I had received from God, I began to fear the wind of vain-glory, which might dry up the waters of Divine grace; and I desired to have some reflection in my mind that might prevent its recurrence. Then Thy paternal goodness instructed me thus: that I should consider Thy affection towards me under the similitude of a father of a family, who, being delighted at seeing so many beautiful children receiving admiration from his neighbors and servants, had, among others, a little one who was not so beautiful as his companions, whom he, nevertheless, often took in his bosom, moved by paternal tenderness, and consoled him by gentle words and kind gifts; and Thou didst add, that if I had this humble esteem of myself, so as to believe myself the most imperfect of all, the torrents of Thy celestial sweetness would never cease to flow into my soul.

I give thanks to Thee, most loving God, Lover of men, by the merit of the reciprocal gratitude of the adorable Trinity, for this and for many other salutary instructions by which Thou hast instructed my ignorance so many times as the best of masters, --I offer my sighs to Thee through the bitter Passion of Jesus Christ Thy Son; I offer to thee His pains and tears and dolors, in expiation of all the negligences by which I have so often stifled the Spirit of God in my heart. I beseech Thee, in union with the efficacious prayer of this Thy beloved Son, and by the grace of the Holy Ghost, to amend my life, and to supply for my deficiencies. This I beseech Thee to grant by that love which arrested Thine anger when Thy only Son, the object of Thy complacence, was reputed a criminal.

Chapter 19.

How God is pleased to condescend to His creatures;

and what glory God derives thence from the blessed.

I give thanks to Thy loving mercy and to Thy merciful love, most loving Lord, for the revelation by which Thy goodness satisfied my weak and wavering soul, when I so ardently desired to be released from the chains of the flesh: not that I might suffer less, but that I might release Thy goodness from the debt which Thy exceeding love has undertaken for my salvation; although Thy Divine omnipotence and eternal wisdom were not obliged to grant me this favor, --but Thou didst bestow it on my unworthiness and ingratitude of Thy superabounding liberality.

When, therefore, I desired to be dissolved, Thou, my God, who art the honor and glory of heaven, didst appear to me, descending from the royal throne of Thy majesty, and approaching to sinners by a most obliging and favorable condescension; and then certain streams of precious liquor seemed to flow through heaven, before which all the saints prostrated themselves in thanksgiving; and having satisfied their thirst with joy in this torrent of delights, broke forth in canticles of praise for all Thy mercy toward sinners. While these things happened, I heard these words: "Consider how agreeable this concert of praise is, not only to My ears, but even to My most loving Heart; and beware for the future how you desire so importunately to be separated from the body, merely for the sake of being delivered from the flesh, in which I pour forth so freely the g-ifts of My grace; for the more unworthy they are to whom I condescend, the more I merit to be glorified for it by all creatures."

As thou didst give this consolation at the moment when I approached Thy life-giving Sacrament, as soon as I had recollected myself and formed my intention, as I was bound to do, Thou didst make known to me further in what manner, and with what intention, each one should approach to unite themselves to Thy sacred Body and Blood; so that, even if this Sacrament served for our condemnation, were it possible, the love of Thy love and of Thy glory would cause us to think nothing of this, provided that thereby Thy mercy shone forth still more in not refusing to give Thyself to those who are so utterly unworthy. Then I inquired concerning those who, from a consciousness of their unworthiness, abstain from Communion, fearing to profane by a presumptuous irreverence the sanctity of this Sacrament; and I received this blessed answer from Thee: "He who communicates from a pure desire of My glory, as I have said, can never communicate with irreverence." For which may eternal praise and glory be given to Thee for endless ages!

Chapter 20.

Of some considerable privileges which God granted to this virgin,

and of the grace which He promised to her clients. (To be continued)

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