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9/19 FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

 

The Apparitions at
La Salette

 
 
 
 

La Salette Apparition – September 1846Statue of Our Lady of La Salette and children (Fr L de Pontbriand, Rector/La Salette Sanctuary)

Mélanie and Maximin, the two children privileged to see Mary in 1846, came from the town of Corps near Grenoble, in a poor part of south-eastern France. Maximin Giraud was eleven years old at the time and Mélanie Calvat fourteen. On Saturday 19 September, they were looking after their employer’s cattle, high up on the pasture above La Salette, a village near Corps, when they saw a wonderful apparition of Mary.

A globe of light opened to reveal a resplendent woman seated on a stone with her head in her hands. The children later described her as very tall and beautiful, wearing a long, white, pearl studded, sleeved dress, and a white shawl, with some sort of tiara or crown on her head. Hanging from her neck was a large crucifix adorned with a small hammer and pincers, with a brilliantly shining figure of Christ on it. The whole effect was as if she was made of light.

Speaking tearfully she told them that unless people repented she would be forced to let go the arm of her son because it had become so heavy. Mary went on to complain that she had to pray ceaselessly to her son for them, but the people still worked on Sundays and blasphemed. She also spoke of coming punishments for these sins, including crop blights and famine. She confided a secret to each of the children, which they were not to divulge, although eventually these secrets were made known to Pope Pius IXFinally she asked the children to spread her message before disappearing. When the children returned home they told their story, an account of which was taken down in writing the next day. They faced much opposition in making known Mary’s message, but they maintained their story with resolution. The local Bishop too faced quite a degree of opposition in investigating the apparition, and it was only after four years, and having set up two commissions of enquiry, that Mgr de Bruillard, as bishop of Grenoble, approved of devotion to Our Lady of Salette, in the following terms.

“We declare that the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two shepherds, on September 19, 1846, on a mountain in the Alps in the parish of La Salette, bears in itself all the marks of truth and that the faithful are justified in believing without question in its truth. And so, to mark our lively gratitude to God and the glorious Virgin Mary, we authorise the cult of Our Lady of La Salette.”

 

Saint Annibale Di Francia and Melanie Calvat

***

From:   THE KINGDOM OF THE DIVINE WILL
An Introduction to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
The Little Daughter of the Divine Will”

1897 – 1898

Saint Annibale and Melanie Calvat with Daughters of Divine Zeal

In the beginning, Saint Annibale entrusted the girls’ orphanage to a distinguished widow who had been converted to a life of piety through one of his sermons: Laura Jensen Bucca was a genuine help to him for several years, but then she resigned. The priest turned to various religious communities, only in vain. So he decided to found his own congregation of nuns whom he called Daughters of Divine Zeal, patterned after the inspiration of the Rogate – the expression of the zeal burning in the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.

The budding community was not without its headaches: tribulation goes hand in hand with all the works of God. Not only that, it is the bright badge of divine favor. In the light of a schism which occurred, the Institute was suppressed by Church authority. Thanks to the offices of a venerable Friar Minor, Fr. Bernard of Portosalvo, a one-year stay on the decree was given to the Fr. Annibale. The Institute was put on trial. During that year, he had as a cooperator for his work none other than Melanie Calvat, the famous young shepherdess to whom the Mother of God appeared on the mountain of La-Salette. Melanie remained at the Institute for one year, from September 1897 to September 1898 – a year which, in the words of Saint Annibale, was a year of blessing. The trial period was weathered successfully, having a healthy and vigorous effect on the community, and the women’s congregation was put on a safe footing.

Melanie died at the age of 72, alone and unattended, on December 14, 1904, at Altamura, near Bari, Italy. She is buried beneath a marble column with a bas-relief depiction of Our Lady welcoming her into heaven. In spite of her unapproved writings, Melanie was always faithful to her original account of the apparition and message of La Salette. She demonstrated this at the Shrine of La Salette during her last visit there September 8-19,1902.

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9/18 JESUS GAVE LUISA SIX ANGELS WITH JESUS AT THE HEAD OF THEM

Jesus Gave Luisa Six Angels With Jesus At The Head Of Them

 Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

VOLUME 29

April 16, 1931
Courage is of resolute souls. Six Angels with Jesus at the head of them.  How the acts done in the Divine Will are pledges of infinite value, eternal bonds, chains not subject to breaking.

 My life continues under the empire of the Eternal Fiat, that envelopes me, inside and outside of me, and makes me feel Its infinite weight; and I, like an atom, remain enveloped by this infinity that has no limits, and as much as I love It and long for It, I feel vividly the pain of my human will, crushed and almost dying under the empire of a Divine Will, immense and eternal. My Jesus, help me, and give me strength in the painful state I find myself in.  My poor heart bleeds and seeks a refuge in so many pains—You alone, my Jesus, can help me.  O please! help me, do not abandon me….  And while my poor soul was pouring itself out in sorrow, my sweet Jesus made Himself seen in my interior—crucified, with six Angels, three on the right and three on the left of His adorable Person. Each of these Angels held a crown in his hands, studded with most refulgent gems, in act of offering them to Our Lord.  

I remained surprised in seeing this, and my beloved Jesus told me: “Courage, My daughter (Luisa)—courage is of souls resolute to do good.  They are imperturbable under any storm; and while they hear the roaring of the thunders and lightnings to the point of trembling, and remain under the pouring rain that pours over them, they use the water to be washed and come out more beautiful; and heedless of the storm, they are more than ever resolute and courageous in not moving from the good they have started.  Discouragement is of irresolute souls, who never arrive at accomplishing a good.  Courage sets the way; courage puts to flight any storm; courage is the bread of the strong; courage is the warlike one that knows how to win any battle. Therefore, good daughter (Luisa), courage; do not fear.  And besides, what do you fear?  I gave you (Luisa) six Angels for your custody; each of them has the task to guide you (Luisa) through the interminable ways of My Eternal Volition, so that you (Luisa) may requite with your acts, with your love, what the Divine Will did by pronouncing six Fiats in Creation.  So, each Angel is entrusted one Fiat and what came out of this Fiat, to call you (Luisa) to requite each of these Fiats, even with the sacrifice of your life.  These Angels gather your acts and form with them a crown, and, prostrate, they offer it to the Divinity as requital for what Our Divine Will did, so that It may be known and form Its Kingdom upon earth.  But this is not all; I Myself am at the head of these Angels, guiding you (Luisa) and watching over you(Luisa) in everything, and forming in you (Luisa) the very acts and that love that is needed so that you (luisa) may have sufficient love to be able to requite so many great works of Our Supreme Volition.  Therefore, do not stop, you (Luisa) have much to do—you (Luisa) have to follow I who never stop; you(Luisa) have to follow the Angels, because they want to fulfill their task entrusted to them; you (Luisa) have to fulfill your mission of daughter of the Divine Will.”

After this, I was feeling concerned, and, fearing, I thought to myself: “The circumstances of my life are most painful, so much so, that often times I feel myself succumbing under so long a storm, that gives no sign of ending.  On the contrary, it often seems to rage more, and if Our Lord does not give me help and superabundant grace, my weakness is so great, that I feel as if I wanted to go out of the Divine Will; and if, may it never be, this happens—poor me, everything will be lost.” 

But while I was thinking this, my adorable Jesus, extending His arms toward me in act of sustaining me, told me: “My daughter (Luisa), you (Luisa) must know that the acts done in My Divine Will are everlasting and inseparable from God, and they leave the continuous memory that the soul had the good of operating together with a Divine Will, and that God had the creature with Himself to let her operate with His own Divine Will.  This happy, operative and holy memory makes us always keep our eyes over each other—God and the soul; in such a way that we remain unforgettable—one to the other; so much so, that if the creature had the misfortune of going out of Our Will, she will go wandering, she will wander far, but will feel the eye of her God over her, calling her sweetly, and her own eye toward He who is watching her continuously.  And even if she goes wandering, she feels the irresistible need, the strong chains that pull her into the arms of her Creator. 

“This happened to Adam, because the beginning of his life was lived in My Divine Will. Even though he sinned, was cast out of Eden, went wandering for all his life—yet, was he perhaps lost?  Ah no! because he felt over himself the power of Our Will in which he had operated; he felt Our eye watching him and drawing his eye to watch Us, as well as the dear memory that the first fruits of his acts had had life in Our Will.  You (Luisa) cannot comprehend all the good and what it means to operate in Our Will. By operating in It, the soul acquires as many pledges of infinite value for as many acts as she does in Our Fiat; and these pledges remain in God Himself, because the creature does not have the capacity or the place in which to keep them, so great is the value they contain.  And can you (Luisa) ever think that while We have these pledges of infinite value of the creature, We would permit that she to whom these pledges so precious belong, be lost?  Ah no! no!…  Therefore, do not fear, the acts done in Our Will are eternal bonds, chains not subject to breaking.  And suppose you (Luisa) went out of Our Divine Will—which will not be:  you (Luisa) can go out, but your acts remain, nor can they go out, because they were done in Our house, and the creature has her rights for as long as she remains in Our house—that is, in Our Will.  As soon as she goes out of It, she loses her rights; however, these acts will have such power as to call back she who was their possessor.  Therefore, do not want to trouble the peace of your heart; abandon yourself in Me, and do not fear.”

 

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9/18 THOUSANDS OF ANGELS ARE THE GUARDIANS AND CUSTODIANS OF THE ACTS DONE IN THE DIVINE WILL

 

‘The Kingdom of The Divine Will in the midst of creatures.  Book of Heaven.

The call of the creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose for which he was created by God’

 

PASSAGES ON THOUSANDS OF ANGELS ARE THE GUARDIANS AND CUSTODIANS OF THE ACTS DONE IN THE DIVINE WILL FROM THE BOOK OF HEAVEN\

Mama Luisa

 Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, The Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

  

VOLUME 14

 April 25, 1922

Thousands of Angels are the guardians and custodians of the acts done in the Divine Will.

Continuing in my usual state, I felt all immersed in the Divine Volition, and my sweet Jesus told me: “My daughter (Luisa), just as the Sun does not leave the plant, but caresses it with its light, fecundates it with its heat until it produces fruits and flowers; and then, jealous, it makes them mature, it keeps them with its light, and only then does it leave the fruit when the farmer picks it to make of it his food, the same for the acts done in my Will: my Love, my jealousy toward them is such that Grace caresses them, my Love conceives them, fecundates them and matures them. I place thousands of Angels as custodians of one single act done in my Will. In fact, since these acts done in my Will are seeds so that my Will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven, everyone is jealous of these acts. Their dew is my breath; their shadow is my Light. The Angels remain enraptured by them and, reverent, they adore them, because in these acts they see the Eternal Volition, which deserves all their adoration. Only then do they leave these acts, when I find souls who, picking them as divine fruits, make of them food for their own souls. Oh, fecundity and multiplicity of these acts! The creature herself who does them cannot count them.”

Then I was thinking to myself: ‘How is it possible that these acts be so great? And why do even Angels remain enraptured?’ And Jesus, squeezing me more tightly in His arms, added: “My daughter (Luisa), these acts are so great that, as the soul keeps doing them, there is nothing, both in Heaven and on earth, in which she does not take part. She remains in communication with all created things. All the good, the effects, the value of the heavens, of the Sun, of the stars, of water, of fire, etc., are not only in continuous relations with her, but they are her own things. She harmonizes with the whole Creation, and the whole of Creation harmonizes within her.

Why, then? Because those who live in my Will are the depositories, the preservers, the supporters, the defenders of my Will. They foresee what I want, and without Me commanding, they execute what I want; and comprehending the greatness, the Sanctity of my Will, they keep It and defend It jealously. How could everyone not remain enraptured in seeing these souls who form the support of their God, by virtue of the prodigy of my Will? Who can ever defend my rights if not one who lives in my Will? Who can ever really love Me, with love of disinterest similar to my Love, if not one who lives in my Will? I feel stronger in these souls, but strong of my own Strength. I am like a king surrounded by faithful ministers, who feels stronger, more glorious, more sustained, in the midst of his faithful ones than by himself alone. If he remains alone, he regrets not having his ministers, because he has no one with whom to pour himself out, and to whom to entrust the lot of his kingdom. So I am – and who could ever be more faithful to Me than one who lives in my Will? I feel my Will being duplicated, therefore I feel more glorious, I pour Myself out with them, and I trust them.”

 

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9/17 FATHER GABRIELE AMORTH, FAMED EXORCIST, DIES

 

Father Gabriele Amorth, Famed Exorcist, Dies

From the Moynihan Report:Image result for gabriele amorth

September 16, 2016, Friday — Adieu, Padre Amorth

“I, afraid of that beast? It is he who should be afraid of me: I work in the name of the Lord of the world. He is just the monkey of God.”

—Father Gabriele Amorth, the famous Italian exorcist who was the exorcist for the diocese of Rome for the last 30 years, since 1986, referring to the devil. Father Amorth died today in Rome at the age of 91

“Stefano Maria Paci: Father Amorth, Satanism is increasingly widespread. The new exorcism ritual makes it difficult to do exorcisms. Exorcists are prevented from attending an audience with the Pope in St. Peter’s Square. Tell me honestly: what is happening?

Father Gabriele Amorth: The smoke of Satan enters everywhere. Everywhere! Maybe we were excluded from the papal audience because they were afraid  so many exorcists would be able to chase out the legions of demons that have taken up residence in the Vatican.

Paci: You’re kidding, right?

Amorth: It may seem a joke, but I think it is no joke. I have no doubt that the devil tempts especially the leaders of the Church, as he tempts all leaders…

Paci: Are you saying that here, as in any war, Satan wants to conquer the opposing generals?

Amorth: It is a winning strategy. One always tries to implement it. Especially when the defenses of one’s opponents are weak. Satan also tries. But thankfully there is the Holy Spirit who governs the Church: ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail.’ Despite the defections. And despite the betrayals. Which should cause us no surprise. The first traitor was one of the apostles closest to Jesus, Judas Iscariot. But despite this, the Church continues on her way. She is held up by the Holy Spirit and therefore all the efforts of Satan can have only partial results. Of course, the devil can win some battles. Even important ones. But never the war.”

—from a 2001 interview between Italian journalist Stefano Maria Paci and Father Gabriele Amorth, published in the June 2001 issue of 30 Giorni magazine

=============

In September 2006, 10 years ago, I received several letters from readers asking me if the new, post-Vatican II ritual of exorcism was as valid and effective as the old, pre-Vatican II ritual. I replied that I knew little about the matter, but would try to talk about the issue with Father Gabriele Amorth, the exorcist of the city of Rome since 1986. Two of these readers flew to Rome to accompany me for the conversation.

We drove over to a section of Rome near the via Cristoforo Colombo and parked the car. As we walked up to the address, located on a city block filled with residential apartment buildings, the music to the song “YMCA” was blasting out over the street from one of the open windows.

Father Amorth (photo below) greeted us warmly and ushered us into his office, which had the appearance of a kitchen, with a sink and stove at one end of the room.

But, since he did not know who we were, having never met us before, he asked if we would agree to answer three questions, and then to allow him to pray over us, one by one, before we began our interview. We agreed.

I was the first to sit down on a chair at the end of the room.

He moved his stole so that half of it was over my neck and shoulder while half remained over his neck and shoulder. Then he asked me the questions.

“Do you attend Sunday Mass regularly, every Sunday?” he asked. “Do you pray the Rosary? Do you go regularly to confession?”

After I gave him my answers, he began to pray over me, reciting a series of prayers, while I sat there. After a time, my eyes slowly closed. He then tapped on my head and then, with his fingers, raised my eyelids to look deeply into my eyes. I still remember the intensity of his gaze, just a few inches from my face. Then he continued to pray and at a certain moment, he finished, and said to me: “I declare you free of any evil spirits.”

He asked the same questions and prayed the same prayers over my two companions, each of whom heard him say the same final words, declaring them free of evil spirits.

Only then did we begin a long conversation about the Church today, about his work as an exorcist, and related matters, that continued for almost two hours.

I asked him how the new rite compares to the old rite, and whether concerns about the new rite are legitimate.

He said the new rite is legitimate, but that its prayers are less precise and powerful against the devil than the prayers of the old rite, so he prefers to do exorcisms in the old rite, and does so.

He also said that whe he and one other exorcist went to the Vatican to try to gain a hearing for their concerns about the revisions in the rite, only one cardinal came to their assistance: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who defended their continued use of the old rite.

Though now he has passed away, I would like to express thanks to him for the hospitality he showed to me that day, and for the prayers that he prayed over us.

=====================

Gabriele Amorth was born in Modena, in northern Italy, on May 1, 1925. He died today in Rome at the age of 91.

He was a Catholic partisan soldier at the end of the Second World War, and active after the war in Catholic Action, the youth movement of the Christian Democratic Party

He was ordained a priest in 1954 at the age of 29. An excellent writer, he published many articles in Italy’s leading Catholic magazine, Famiglia Cristiana.

Passionate about Mariology, he became the editor of the Catholic monthly magazine Madre di Dio (“Mother of God”). He was a member of the Pontifical International Marian Academy.

In 1986, the Pope’s cardinal vicar for the diocese of Rome, Cardinal Ugo Poletti, named Amorth the exorcist for the diocese.

He was a student of Father Candido Amantini, who for many years was the exorcist at the Scala Santa (the Holy Stairs) in Rome (the stairs believed to be those which Christ walked up to his trial before Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the early 4th century, in about the year 326 A.D.). Today, many pilgrims go to those steps and walk up them on their knees, praying.

In various interviews, Amorth said he had carried out more than 50,000 exorcisms over the years, some taking him just a few minutes, others taking many hours of prayer.

Amorth also said that he had only been faced with about 100 cases of real demonic possession in all those tens of thousands of cases.

Most of the cases, he said, were either “disturbances” caused by the devil, or simple mental illnesses.

In an interview with Stefano Maria Paci of 30 Giorni in 2001, Amorth sharply criticized the post-Vatican II revision of the rite of exorcism.

“The old Ritual should have been amended, not entirely redone,” Amorth said. “There were prayers used for 12 centuries. Before canceling prayers so old which for centuries had proven effective, we should hesitate. But instead, no. All of us exorcists, using the prayers of the new interim Ritual, have experienced that they are totally ineffective… The new Book of Blessings has painstakingly removed any reference to the fact that the Lord must protect us from Satan, that the angels protect us from the assaults of the devil. They removed all the prayers that there were for the blessing of homes and schools. Everything should be blessed and protected, but today the protection from the devil does not exist anymore. There are no more defenses or even prayers against him. Jesus himself taught us a prayer of liberation, in the Our Father: ‘Deliver us from the Evil One. Deliver us from Satan.’ In Italian it has been translated incorrectly, and today we say: ‘Deliver us from evil.’ We speak of a generic evil, which we do not know the origin of, but the evil which our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to fight is a concrete person: Satan.”

Amorth tells Paci that the “greatest victory” of the devil is to persuade us that he does not exist.

In another interview (link), Amorth once said that he believed the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima in her apparitions to Sister Lucy, had not been done fully.

“The Consecration has not yet been made,” he said. “I was there on March 25 (1984) in St. Peter’s Square, I was in the front row, practically within touching distance of the Holy Father. John Paul II wanted to consecrate Russia, but his entourage did not, fearing that the Orthodox would be antagonized, and they almost thwarted him. Therefore, when His Holiness consecrated the world on his knees, he added a sentence, not included in the distributed version, that instead said to consecrate “especially those nations of which you yourself have asked for their consecration.” So, indirectly, this included Russia. However, a specific consecration has not yet been made. You can always do it. Indeed, it will certainly be done…”
Amorth died today in Rome after several days in the hospital of Santa Lucia.

May he rest in peace, and may eternal light shine upon him.

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What is the glory of God?

“The glory of God is man alive; but the life of man is the vision of God.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, in the territory of France, in his great work Against All Heresies, written c. 180 A.D.

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9/15 THE SEVEN DOLORS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

OUR LADY OF SORROW

The Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O God, come to my assistance;

O Lord, make hast to help me.

Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

  1. I grieve for you, O Mary, most sorrowful, in the affliction of your tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by your heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the holy fear of God. Hail Mary…..
  2. I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of your most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and your sojourn there. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety. Hail Mary….
  3. I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried your troubled heart at the loss of your dear Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge. Hail Mary….
  4. I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of your heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His cross. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude. Hail Mary…..

5.   I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the martyrdom which your generous heart endured in standing near Jesus in His agony. Dear Mother, by your afflicted heart, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel. Hail Mary….

  1. I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of your compassionate heart when the side of Jesus was struck by the lance before His Body was removed from the cross. Dear Mother, by your heart thus transfixed, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding. Hail Mary….
  2. I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched your most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom. Hail Mary….

Let Us Pray:

Let intercession be made for us, we beseech You, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the Hour of our death, before the throne of Your mercy, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Your Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Your bitter Passion. Through You, O Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

 

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