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2/2 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

2/2 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

 

Presentation of Our Lord

On February 2, 1996 photocopies of the Thirty-Six Volumes of the Writings
of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta were made.
The Archbishop of Trani, Monsignor Cassati, had permission from
the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to make the photocopies.

***

The Blessed Mother to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will
Day Twenty-three

My dear daughter, do not move from My side; follow Me everywhere. Forty days from the Birth of Little King Jesus are about to sound when the Divine Fiat calls us (the Holy Family) to the Temple in order to fulfill the law of the Presentation of My Son (Jesus). So we went to the Temple. It was the first time that we went out together with My Sweet Baby. A vein of Sorrow opened in My Heart: I was going to offer Him as Victim for the Salvation of all. We (the Holy Family) entered the Temple, and first we Adored the Divine Majesty; then we called the priest, and having placed Him in his arms, I made the Offering of the Celestial Baby to the Eternal Father—Offering Him (Jesus) in Sacrifice for the Salvation of all. The priest was Simeon, and as I placed Him in his arms, he recognized that He was the Divine Word and exulted with immense joy; and after the offering, assuming the attitude of prophet, he prophesied all My Sorrows. O! How the Supreme Fiat sounded over My Maternal Heart—thoroughly, with vibrating sound, the Mournful Tragedy of all the Pains of My Baby Son. But what pierced Me the most were the words that the holy prophet spoke to Me: “This Dear Baby will be the Salvation and the ruin of many, and will be the Target of contradictions.”

If the Divine Will had not sustained Me, I would have died instantly of pure Pain. But It gave Me Life, and used it to form in Me the Kingdom of Sorrows, within the Kingdom of Its very Will. So, in addition to the Right of Mother that I had over all, I acquired the Right of Mother and Queen of all Sorrows. Ah! Yes, with My Sorrows I acquired the Little Coin to pay the debts of My children, and also of the ungrateful children.

Now, My daughter, you must know that in the Light of the Divine Will I already knew all the Sorrows I was to suffer—and even more than that which the holy prophet told Me. But in that Act, so Solemn, of Offering My Son, in hearing it being repeated to Me, I felt so pierced that My Heart bled, and deep gashes opened in My Soul.

Now, listen to your Mama: in your pains, in the sorrowful encounters which are not lacking for you, never lose heart; but with Heroic Love let the Divine Will take Its Royal Place in your pains, that It may convert them for you into Little Coins of Infinite Value, with which you will be able to pay the debts of your brothers, to ransom them from the slavery of the human will, so as to make them enter again, as free children, into the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat.

The soul:

Holy Mama, in Your Pierced Heart do I place all my pains; and You know how they pierce my heart. O please! Be my Mama, and pour into my heart the Balm of Your Sorrows, that I may share in Your same Destiny of using my pains as little coins in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Divine Will.

Little Sacrifice:

Today, to honor Me, you will come into My arms, that I may pour in you the First Blood that the Celestial Baby shed in order to heal the wounds that your human will did to you; and you will recite three acts of love in order to mitigate the Spasm of the Wound of Baby Jesus.

Ejaculatory Prayer:

My Mama, pour Your Sorrow into my soul, and convert all my pains into Will of God.

***

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will
Meditation 3

The soul to her Celestial Mother:

Holy Mama, here I am close to You, to accompany You to the Temple, where You go to make the Greatest of sacrifices—that is, to place the Life of the Celestial Infant at the mercy of each creature, that they may use it to reach safety and to be sanctified. But, ah! What Sorrow—many will use it to offend Him, and even to become lost. O please! My Mama, place Little Jesus in my heart, and I promise You, and I swear, to love Him always, and to keep Him as the Life of my poor heart.

Lesson of the Queen of Heaven:

Dearest daughter, how happy I am to have you close to Me. My Maternal Heart feels the need to pour out My Love and to confide to you My Secrets. Be attentive to My Lessons, and listen to Me. You must know that for forty days now, we have been in this grotto of Bethlehem, the first home of My Son down here; but, how many Wonders in this grotto! The Celestial Infant, in an Ardor of Love, descended from Heaven to earth; He was Conceived, and was Born, and felt the need to pour out this Love; so, each Tear, Wail, and Moan, was an Outpouring of Love that He made. Each Tear, Wail and Moan, was an Outpouring of Love. Even His feeling numb with cold, His tiny little lips, livid and shivering—were all Outpourings of Love that He made; and He looked for His Mama in whom to deposit this Love, which He could no longer contain; and I was Prey to His Love. So, I felt Myself being Wounded continuously, and I felt My Dear Little One Palpitating, Breathing, Moving within My Maternal Heart. I felt Him Crying, Moaning and Wailing, and I remained inundated by the Flames of His Love. The circumcision had already opened deep gashes in Me, into which He poured so much Love that I felt Queen and Mother of Love. I felt Enraptured in seeing that in each Pain, Tear and Motion that My Sweet Jesus made, He looked for and called upon His Mama, as Dear Refuge of His Acts and of His Life. Who can tell you, My daughter, what passed between Me and the Celestial Baby during these forty days? The repetition of His Acts together with Me, His Tears, His Pains, His Love, were as though Transfused together, and whatever He did, I did.

Now, after the completion of the forty days, the Dear Baby, drowned more than ever in His Love, wanted to Obey the law and present Himself to the Temple to offer Himself for the Salvation of each one. It was the Divine Will that called us to the Great Sacrifice, and we promptly Obeyed. My daughter, this Divine Fiat, when It finds promptness in doing what It wants, places at the creature’s disposal Its Divine Strength, Its Sanctity, Its Creative Power to Multiply that act, that sacrifice, for all and for each one. In that sacrifice It places the Little Coin of Infinite Value, with which one can pay and satisfy for all.

It was the first time that your Mama and Saint Joseph went out together with the Little Child Jesus. All Creation recognized Its Creator, and felt honored at having Him in their midst; and assuming the attitude of Feast, they accompanied us along the way. As we arrived at the Temple, we prostrated ourselves and Adored the Supreme Majesty; and then we placed Him in the arms of the priest, who was Simeon, who made of Him an Offering to the Eternal Father—offering Him for the Salvation of all. And while he offered Him, inspired by God, he recognized the Divine Word, and exulting with Immense Joy, he adored and thanked the dear Baby. After the offering, he assumed the attitude of prophet, and predicted all My

Sorrows. O! How the Supreme Fiat, painfully, made My Maternal Heart feel, with vibrating sound, the Mournful Tragedy of all the Pains which My Divine Son was to suffer. Each word was a sharp sword that Pierced Me. But what Pierced My Heart the most was to hear that this Celestial Infant would be not only the Salvation, but also the ruin of many, and the Target of contradictions. What Pain! What Sorrow! If the Divine Will had not sustained Me, I would have died instantly of Pure Pain. But It gave Me Life, to begin to form in Me the Kingdom of Sorrows within the Kingdom of Its very Divine Will. So, with the Right of Mother that I (Blessed Mother) had over all, I acquired also the Right of Mother and Queen of all Sorrows. O! Yes, with My Sorrows, I acquired the Little Coin with which to pay the debts of My children, and also those of the ungrateful children.

Now, My daughter, you must know that through the Light of the Divine Will that Reigned in Me, I already knew all the Sorrows I was to suffer—and even more than those which the holy prophet told me. Rather, I can say that he prophesied to Me the sorrows which were to come to Me from the outside, but he said not a word about My Interior Pains which would Pierce Me more, and the Interior Pains between Me and My Son. But in spite of this, in that Act, so Solemn, of the Offering of My Son, in hearing them being repeated to Me, I felt so Pierced that My Heart Bled, and New Veins of Sorrow and deep gashes opened in My Soul.

Now, listen to your Mama: in your pains, in the sorrowful encounters which are not lacking for you either, when you know that the Divine Will wants some sacrifice of you—be ready, do not lose heart, but rather, repeat quickly the Dear and Sweet Fiat—that is: “Whatever You (God) want, I (the soul) want.” And with Heroic Love, let the Divine Will take Its Royal Place in your pains, that It may convert them for you into the Little Coin of Infinite Value, with which you will be able to pay your debts, and also those of your brothers, to ransom them from the slavery of the human will, so as to make them enter, as free children, into the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat. In fact, you must know that the Divine Will is so pleased by the sacrifice wanted by It from the creature, that It gives her Its Divine Rights, and constitutes her queen of the Sacrifice and of the Good that will arise in the midst of creatures.

The soul to her Celestial Mother:

Holy Mama, in Your Pierced Heart I place all my pains; and You know how much they afflict me. O please! Be my Mama, and pour the Balm of Your Sorrows into my heart, that I may share Your same Destiny of using my pains as the cortege of Jesus, to keep Him defended and sheltered from all offenses, and as the sure means to conquer the Kingdom of the Divine Will, and make It come to Reign upon earth. 

Little Sacrifice:

Today, to honor Me, you will come into My arms, that I may offer you, together with My Son, to the Celestial Father, in order to obtain the Kingdom of the Divine Will. 

Ejaculatory Prayer:

Holy Mama, pour Your Sorrow into my soul, and convert all my Pains into Will of God.

 

2/2 Feast Day of Our Lady of Good Success

Our Lady of Good  Success
Quito, Ecuador

 by Marian Theresa Horvat

Question: I have never heard of the prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success. Is this a new apparition? Has it been approved by the Church?

Answer: This is not a new apparition. It took place in the early 17th century. The revelations of Our Lady of Good Success and devotion to Her miraculous Statue have been approved by the Catholic Church since the beginning. It was the 9th Bishop of Quito, Salvador de Ribera, who attested in official documents to the miraculous completion of the Statue by St. Francis of Assisi and the three Archangels – St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael – and presided over the anointing of the solemn consecration of the Statue in the Church of the Royal Convent of the Immaculate Conception on February 2, 1611. The devotion and apparitions were also authorized and promoted by the next Bishop of Quito, Pedro de Oviedo, who governed the Diocese from 1630 to 1646. Thus this devotion has enjoyed the support and approval of the Church since its very beginning.

Question: What do these revelations talk about?

Answer: Many of the prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success have already been fulfilled. She predicted the proclamation of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility, the consecration of that country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the martyrdom of a Catholic president of Ecuador by Masons (President Gabriel Garcia Moreno, assassinated in 1875), and many others things that have come to pass. (Msgr. Luis E. Cadena Y Almeida, postulator of the cause for beatification of the Servant of God, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, has written a book in Spanish on the many prophetic messages that have already taken place. Mrs. Horvath translated his book into English, under the title “Our Lady of Good Success: Prophecies for Our Times.”)

The most important prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success, however, spoke of the worldwide crisis in the Church and society that would begin in the 19th century and extend throughout the 20th century. During that time, She warned, there would be an almost total corruption of customs and Satan would rule almost completely by means of the Masonic sects. In the Catholic Church the Sacraments would be profaned and abused, and the light of Faith would be almost completely extinguished in souls. Truly religious souls would be reduced to a small number and many vocations would perish. Great impurity would reign and people would be without any care for spiritual matters.

Question: Who was Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, the sister who received those revelations?

Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres

Answer: Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (1563-1635) was a Spanish Conceptionist sister who traveled from her country to the New World to help to found the Royal Convent. The life of Mother Mariana was truly extraordinary. The number of visions and mystical favors granted to her as well as the miracles worked through her intercession are numerous. During her live, she was the superior of the Convent three times. During her first term as Abbess, she suffered persecutions from a group of rebellious nuns who wanted to relax the Rule. The rebellion grew, and the “inobservant” sisters put Mother Mariana and the other Spanish Founding Mothers in the Convent prison. Mother Mariana accepted all this and agreed to Our Lord’s condition to suffer the torments of Hell for five years in order to obtain the conversion of the leader of those rebellious sisters.

One of the most extraordinary facts of her life was a mystical-physical phenomenon: her several deaths and resurrections. Documented records from the Convent and Diocesan archives show that this truly holy religious died three times. Her first death was in 1582. Standing before the Judgment Seat, she was judged blameless and given a choice: to remain in celestial glory in Heaven or to return to earth to suffer as an expiatory victim for the sins of the 20th century. She chose the latter. Her second death was on Good Friday of 1588 after an apparition where she was shown the horrible abuses and heresies that would exist in the Church in our times. She was resurrected two days later on Easter Sunday morning. She finally died on January 16, 1635. Miracles worked through her intercession immediately followed.

The body of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, along with the incorrupt body of another Founding Mother, is preserved in the lower level of the cloistered Convent. In 1906 during the remodeling of the Convent, the sarcophagus in which she had been buried in 1635 was opened and her body was discovered, whole and incorrupt. Today it is preserved in the lower level of the cloistered Convent.

Question: Why haven’t I heard of these apparitions until recently?

Answer: It can seem strange that such an important devotion has been almost unknown outside of Ecuador for so long a time. But there is a supernatural explanation for this. The Mother of God told Mother Mariana various times that only after three centuries of mysterious silence would the message of the apparitions become known. Our Lady linked the spread of this devotion to a miraculous and extraordinary intervention she would make for the restoration of the Catholic Church when the crisis would be so great that almost all would seem lost. Our Lady also promised to give her good success to those who had recourse to her under this invocation during these difficult times. Thus, in a very special way, this prophecy is for our days.

Question: What is the origin of the invocation?

Answer: In 1607 Pope Paul V gave the name Virgin of Good Success to a statue miraculously found by two Spanish Brothers of the Order of Minims for the Service of the Sick. After the death of Brother Bernandine de Obregón, its founder, Gabriel de Fontaned was elected his successor. Accompanied by Guillermo de Rigosa, the new Superior set off for Rome to plead the case for official approval of their Order before the Roman Pontiff. As they were passing through the town of Traigueras (in Catalonia), they were caught in a storm so severe it made them fear for their lives.

In their fear, they prayed to Our Lady for shelter and succor. Seeing a soft light in the distant mountains, they left the path and climbed toward it. They found a cave carved like a polished stone and fragrant with flowers that enshrined a very beautiful statue of Holy Mary carrying Her Divine Son in Her left arm, a scepter in Her right, and a precious crown on Her head. The dress was simple but elegant. They fell to their knees to venerate the beautiful statue, and wondered how She came to be in this distant place.

The next day they traveled to the closest hamlets to make inquiries. None of the inhabitants, not even the eldest who knew the history of everyone and everything in the area, had every heard of the cave or the statue. Thus, the Brothers became the owners of the holy statue, offering Her their warmest thanks and choosing Her as their special patroness. With this amiable and powerful companion, they continued on their journey to Rome.

Arriving there, they told the Sovereign Pontiff what had happened, and Pope Paul V not only acknowledged the supernatural nature of that discovery, but upon confirming the new Order, he placed it under the protection of the same Virgin, whom he gave the name of the Virgin of Good Success.

The statue was placed in the Royal Hospital of Madrid, and soon became famous for the numerous favors granted by Heaven through it. In 1641 King Philip III ordered the construction of the splendid sanctuary in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. With the passing of time as the devotion spread, the statue was copied and placed in various places, sometimes under a different invocation. Today there are a number of localities in Spain where this image is venerated: Orduña, La Puebla de Gordon, Tudela, Abla, among others.

The invocation was not long in making its way across the ocean to the New World. The Blessed Virgin deigned to favor the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Quito in a very special way by means of this particular avocation. In an apparition to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, the Blessed Virgin appeared and asked that a statue be made of Her under the title of Good Success. She should be made just as she appeared to Her there, with the Child Jesus in her right arm, and the Abbess’ crozier and the keys of the Convent in her right hand. She should be placed above the Abbess chair in the upper choir because She desired to be Abbess of that Convent until the end of time. And so the Virgin of Good Success of Quito appears with the crosier in Her right hand, instead of the scepter that She carries in Madrid.

The Sisters of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception of Quito have always had a great love for their heavenly Abbess. The Statue of the Virgin of Good Success has been loved and venerated by the people of Quito for almost three centuries.

Question: How is the devotion spreading today?

Answer: Today the fame of this apparition is extending far beyond Quito. Our Lady of Good Success told Mother Mariana that She wanted to be known and loved throughout the world, and that the devotion would begin to spread only in the 20th century. This is, in fact, what has happened. She reserved this devotion for these times because the Church would be so embattled and suffering that only the divine power and love of the Blessed Virgin would sustain the faithful.

Question: What is meant by the words “good success”? In English, it can give the impression that one is asking for material success.

Answer: That is not the original Spanish connotation. The invocation of “good success” refers to the happy development of the gestation of Christ from the Conception to Birth. The invocation of “good success” was understood by the faithful in its first meaning as a simple plea for safe childbirth. This easily extended to the invocation of Mary’s meditation and intercession in times of personal need (sickness, travel, marriage).

The expression later broadened further to be understood in the sense of good success in various undertakings. For example, its popularity in the seafaring regions of Catalonia, Isle of Gomera, and Granada indicates a connection with maritime travel. Sailors would ask Mary for a safe return to port. The extended meaning can also be that of a holy death. In short, sucesso, meaning success or luck, refers to well-being and safety where strictly human means find no issue.

Question: When can the public see the miraculous Statue of Our Lady of Good Success?

Answer: The miraculous Statue of Our Lady of Good Success is taken from the cloistered upper choir three times a year and placed above the main altar of the Convent Church, so that it can be venerated by the people of Quito. It can be seen by the public at the following times:

1. During a nine-day novena in commemoration of the Feast Day of the Purification of Our Lady (February 2) – from around January 24 to February 4;

2. During the month of May;

3. During the month of October.

Mother Mariana: victim for the 20th century

Mariana Francisca was born in Spain the province of Viscaya in 1563, the first-born child of Diego Cadiz and Maria Berriochoa Alvarez. On the day of her First Communion, at age 9, Our Lady appeared to her and told her she was destined to be a religious of Her Immaculate Conception in the New World. In 1577, when Marianna was only 13 years old, she left Spain in the company of her aunt, Mother Maria de Jesus Taboada, and four other sisters, to found a branch of the Order of the Immaculate Conception in San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.

In 1582, when Mother Mariana was praying before the Blessed Sacrament, for the first time she was given to see the heresy, blasphemy and impurity that would inundate the world as punishment in the 20th century. Our Lady asked her: “My daughter, will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time?” Mother Mariana replied, “I am willing.” From the violence of the shock of previewing the horrors of our day, Mother Mariana fell dead.

Historic and documented evidence record that this holy religious truly died in 1582 and resurrected. Before the divine tribunal, she was given the choice to remain in heaven or return to suffer in the world. Following the example of Our Lady, who left the glories of heaven to protect her children during those difficult first years of the fledgling Church, Mother Mariana chose to return to life to expiate for the great sins of our times. (A second death and resurrection happened on Easter Sunday of 1588.)

The Existence of Hell

The First Secret of Fatima breaks the myth, the lie of 20th century, that hell does not exist. On July 13, 1917, Our Lady told three children, ages 10, 8,7, to “pray, pray very much because many souls go to Hell. Then She opened Her hands and showed the three children a hole in the ground, a place. That hole, said Lucy, was like a sea of fire in which we saw the souls of human forms, men and women, burning, shouting, and crying in despair.” Mary said to the children: “You have seen Hell where sinners go when they do not repent.” A Roman Catholic dogma: The existence of Hell.

During her life, Mother Mariana begged Our Lord to save the soul of an insubordinate sister in the convent. He agreed that this rebellious sister would be saved, although she would be required to remain in purgatory until the end of the world. In recompense, Mother Mariana had to suffer five years on earth the pains of hell. For five years, she suffered all the tortures of the senses reserved for souls in that terrible place and the most intense suffering of the sense of the loss of God.

It seems very clear that Our Lady wanted 20th century man to realize that hell exists: it is a place, and it is not empty.

The breakdown of morals and customs

During Jacinta’s stay at the orphanage of Our Lady of Miracles in Lisbon in 1920, Our Lady told her, “The sins that lead more souls to hell are the sins of the flesh.” There were other prophecies She revealed to the little girl: “Styles will come that will offend Our Lord very much. Persons who serve God should not follow the styles. The Church does not have styles. Our Lord is always the same.” She said that the sins of impurity would be so great there would be almost no virgin souls. She said that many marriages are not good, that they do not please Our Lord and are not of God. Finally, Jacinta repeated continually to Lucia and Mother Godinho:“Pray much for priests and religious. Priests should be pure, very pure!”

Three centuries before, in Quito, Ecuador, on Jan. 20, 1610, Our Lady appeared carrying a crozier in Her right hand and her Divine Son in her left arm so that “all will know that I am merciful and understanding. Let them come to me, for I will lead them to Him.” She told Mother Mariana that in the twentieth century “the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects. They will focus particularly on the children in order to achieve this general corruption. Woe to the children of these times.” Obviously she is speaking of the secular humanist revolution about which so much has been written that has completely invaded the secular as well as religious institutions of our times.

Our Lady continued, describing the abuses that would attack each of the Sacraments: “Woe to the children of these times because it will be difficult to receive the Sacrament of Baptism and also that of Confirmation.” She warned that the devil would assiduously try to destroy the sacrament of Confession and Holy Communion. She lamented the many sacrileges and abuses of the Blessed Sacrament that would occur. The Sacrament of Extreme Unction would be little esteemed and many people would die without receiving it, thus denied assistance they would need for that “great leap from time to Eternity.”

The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders would be ridiculed, oppressed and despised. The demon would labor unceasingly to corrupt the clergy and would succeed with many of them. And these “depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings upon the good pastors of the Church.”

About the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, she said this: “Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin.  The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. In these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury that would conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent.”

Our Lady told Mother Mariana, the religious Conceptionist who received the revelations, that the souls who would remain faithful in those difficult times would need great strength of will, constancy, valor and confidence in God. Moments would come when everything would seem to be lost and paralyzed, but that would be the moment, she promised, of the “happy beginning of the complete restoration.” “My hour will arrive” she foretold, “when I, in an amazing manner, will overthrow proud Satan, crushing him under my feet, chaining him in the infernal abyss, leaving the Church and the land free of this cruel tyranny.”

Thus, while the message of Our Lady of Good Success is quite sad and serious, it is also one of great hope. It is the promise echoed by Our Lady at Fatima in 1917: “In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.”

“May the Divine Will always be blessed!”

Newsletter No. 177–- February 2 A.D. 2017

Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

‘And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.’ (Luke 2 34:35)

Christmas season concludes with the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Candlemas

According to Mosaic Law, a mother who had given birth to a son remained unclean for 40 days after birth, in which time she completed her purification in blood. After the 40 days, the new mother was to “bring to the temple a lamb for a holocaust and a young pigeon or turtle dove for sin” (Leviticus 12), where a priest prayed for her and she was cleansed. Mary complied with this precept of the Mosaic Law, and redeemed Our Lord from the temple according to the law established by God, “Whatsoever is firstborn of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the firstborn of man thou shalt take a price, and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed…” (Numbers 18) In this act, Mary’s Immaculate Heart is pierced with a sword of sorrow by the prophecy of Simeon.

The celebration of the Purification of Mary is known to have been celebrated from the times of persecution, for we see its celebration in the Church at Jerusalem in the time of Constantine’s conversion. At first celebrated 40 days after Epiphany, when Epiphany celebrated the Nativity of Our Lord, the Feast settled on February 2 after the Feast of the Nativity was established on December 25. In the Eastern Church it was called Hypapante tou Kyriou, the meeting of the Lord and His mother with Simeon and Anna.

During the Feast today, the priest offers five prescribed orations before he blesses beeswax candles by sprinkling and incensing. The candles are then distributed while the Canticle of Simeon is sung with the antiphon “Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel,” “A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel,” repeated after every verse. Then follows the procession, and at which all the partakers carry lighted candles in their hands, the choir sings the antiphon “Adorna thalamum tuum, Sion”, composed by St. John of Damascus.

The solemn procession represents the entry of Christ, the Light of the World, into the Temple.

Book of Heaven – September 8 A.D. 1927

Meaning of the forty days in the desert

… I was following the Holy Divine Volition in the act in which my sweet Jesus separated from the Sovereign Queen to go into the desert; and while compassionating both one and the other, I thought to myself: ‘How could the Sovereign Queen separate from Her dear Son for as many as forty days? She who loved Him so much – how could She endure being without Him? I, who do not have Her love, suffer so much for a few days that He deprives me of Himself; what must it have been for my Mama?’ Now, while I was thinking of this, my adored Jesus moved in my interior and told me:

“My daughter, We both suffered in separating from each other, but Our sorrow was suffered in a divine way, not in a human way, and therefore it did not separate either from happiness or from imperturbable peace. Happy, I departed for the desert – happy, the height of my Celestial Mama stayed. In fact, the sorrow suffered in a divine way has no virtue of shading even slightly the divine happiness, which contains endless seas of joys and of peace. Sorrows suffered in a divine way are like little drops of water in the immense sea, the power of whose waves has the virtue of changing them into happiness. The sorrow suffered in a human way has the virtue of breaking true happiness and of disturbing the peace; the divine way – never. More so, since my Queen Mama possessed the Sun of my Will by grace, and I possessed It by nature. So, the Sun remained in Her and remained in Me, but Its rays did not separate, because light is indivisible; therefore, in that same light She remained in Me and followed my acts, and I remained in Her as Her center of life. So, the separation, while true, was apparent; in substance We were fused together and inseparable, because the light of the Divine Will placed Our acts in common as if they were one alone. And besides, I went to the desert to call back that same Divine Will of Mine which, for forty centuries, creatures had deserted from their midst; and I, for forty days, wanted to remain alone, to repair for the forty centuries of human will during which Mine had not possessed Its Kingdom in the midst of the human family; and with my very Divine Will I wanted to call It back again into their midst, so that It might reign. Upon returning from the desert, I deposited It in my Mama, with all those acts of Divine Will which creatures had rejected and had kept as though in a desert, so that She might be the faithful depository, the repairer and the impetrator of the Kingdom of my Will. Only the Sovereign Lady could possess this deposit so great, because She possessed within Herself the very Divine Will which could contain the Will  eserted by creatures. How could We occupy Ourselves with Our sorrow of being separated for forty days, when it was about reintegrating – about calling back Our Divine Will to reign in the midst of creatures? In Our sorrow We were more  than happy, because We wanted to place the Kingdom of the Supreme Fiat in safety, and the Celestial Queen was waiting with yearnings for my return, in order to receive the deposit of the new Sun, so as to requite with Her love all of Its acts, which the human ingratitude had rejected. She acted as true Mama to my Divine Will, acting as true Mother also for creatures, impetrating for all the life, the happiness, the joy of possessing the Kingdom of the Eternal

Fiat.

My daughter, the number of forty days is symbolic and significant in my life down here. When I was born, for forty days I wanted to remain in the grotto of Bethlehem – symbol of my Divine Will which, while being present in the midst of creatures, was as though hidden and outside of the city of their souls. And I, in order to repair for the forty centuries of human will, wanted to remain outside of the city for forty days, in a miserable hut, crying, moaning and praying, to call back my Divine Will into the city of souls, so as to give It Its dominion. And after forty days I went out to present Myself to the temple, and reveal Myself to the holy old Simeon. He was the first city I was calling to the knowledge of my Kingdom; and his joy was so great, that he closed his eyes to the earth to open them to eternity. Forty days I spent in the desert, and then, immediately, I did my public life, to give them the remedies and the means in order to reach the Kingdom of my Will. For forty days I wanted to remain on earth after my Resurrection, to confirm the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat and Its forty centuries of Kingdom which It was to possess. So, in everything I did down here, the first act was the restoration of the Kingdom; all other things entered into the secondary order, but the first link of connection between Me and creatures was the Kingdom of my Will. Therefore, when it is about my Will, I hold nothing back, neither light, nor sacrifices, nor manifestations, nor happiness – they are seas that I release from Myself so as to make It known, to make It reign, and to make It loved.”

 

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