BLESSING OF FEBRUARY 1^ST 2003, FIRST SATURDAY OF MONTH. AT PRADO NUEVO, EL ESCORIAL (MADRID)

THE VIRGIN:

I am going to give you a special blessing for all homes, families and dying people.
Raise all your objects ,my daughter.
I bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and with the Holy Spirit.

COMMENTARY UPON MESSAGES

October 16^th, 1981

"Tell them to keep on fulfilling, to fulfil the Commandments of My Son" (The Virgin)

Following Jesus Christ implies fulfilling the Commandments; He taught it himself: "If you love me, you will keep my Commandments (…) whoever keeps my Commandments is the one who loves me. If he loves me, he will also be loved by my Father; I shall love him tooand show myself clearly to him" (Jn 14, 15.21). the Commandments are ten; therefore, it is not enough to keep one of them but all of them. The path leading to Heaven seems like a ten arched-bridge; if only one of them collapses, it is impossible to cross to the other side of the river. Therefore, we have to fulfil the whole of God’s law. In order to deepen the meaning of these words, Jesus himself adds: "You will remain in my love if you keep my commandments (…) this is my commandment: love one another as I loved you" (Jn 15, 10.12). All of the Lord’s Commandments are summarized in the precept of charity; for this reason, Saint Paul says, " love fulfils the whole law" (Rm 13,10).

As it is frequently in the messages, there is also a calling for confessing our sins. Besides, the Virgin makes a promise: "Tell them that Christ has asked them to reconcile with God everyday; those who have not done it yet have to confess their sins and take Holy Communion on first Saturdays of month and also on first Fridays of month in honour of the Heart of My Son; those who do it, my Son will give them the eternal life and He will resurrect them in their last day".

How many thousands of pilgrims have reconciled with God and the Church thanks to the blessings received at Prado Nuevo! The Sacrament of Penance is an essential means to make progress in the path of conversion and the meeting with Christ. When the priest forgives our sins is the Lord who forgives through his minister. We all need to receive forgiveness, because we are sinners and we are not blameless. "If we say, "we have no sin" we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness". (1 Jn 1, 8-9)

"When you make a sacrifice, you should say " My Jesus, for your love, I offer everything to You for the conversion of sinners, for the conversion of Russia, and for the Immaculate Heart of your Blessed Mother Mary". Offer it, my children, do not let anyone know it, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does.

It is a simple and a deep means of offering sacrifices, which have to be done secretly, to be seen by God, "Because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your father who sees beyond appearances. And your father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you" (Mt 6,18)

"Look, notice that every heir son of God and heir with Christ has to suffer with Him to receive with Him His Glory. It is very important to save your souls"

Following Jesus Christ is trying to imitate Him; Therefore, what the Gospel says has to be fulfilled by every Christian: "A student is not above his teacher" (Mt 10, 24). This refers to the constant tribulations accompanying the faithful follower of Jesus; He advises us of it in this passage from Saint Mathew, infusing us courage and hope: " Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather be afraid of him who can destroy both body and soul in hell" (Mt 10,28). Now then, in a similar way to the evangelical quotation, the message points out: salvation is the most important thing! And we have to direct our daily tasks and prayers towards this aim because, though God saves us, it is true what Saint Augustine said "God, who created you without you, will not save you without you"1; In this sense, the holy doctor recommended: "If you want to be happy, take promptly the path of the Kingdom of Heaven; this is closed for those who want to set themselves apart from it".

After showing Luz Amparo some images of hell, the Virgin says: " No, my daughter, do not be horrified; those who fall in the bottom of this lake want to do it; for they can save their souls easily, but they do not want it, my daughter. You have to help the sinners, but notice that people is damned by their own will"

Human freedom is a great mystery, which can lead a soul to damnation, setting himself apart from God eternally because of his own will. These words are hard to hear, but they coincide entirely both with God’s word and also with Tradition and so many saints along the History of the Church; ignoring them or hiding them would be a deceit and a lack of truth. Of course, The Vatican Council does commit this omission when , referring to the Lord’s words, it preaches: "If we want to take part in the wedding feast with Him, we should deserve being among the chosen (cf. Mt 25, 31-46); lest we be thrown out into the dark where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt 22, 13 and 25, 30). In fact, before reigning with Christ we have to appear "before the tribunal of Christ for each one to receive what he deserves for his good or evil deeds in the present life" (2 Cor 5,10); and when the end of the world occurs "those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (Jn 5, 29; cf Mt 25, 46)"2

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1-Sermon 169

2-Lumen Gentium, 48