BLESSING OF FEBRUARY  4^TH   2006. FIRST SATURDAY OF MONTH.

AT PRADO NUEVO OF EL ESCORIAL (MADRID)

OUR LADY:

I bless you, my children, as the Father blesses you, through the Son and with the Holy Spirit.

Raise all your objects; all will be blessed with special blessings against satan`s traps.

COMMENTARY UPON MESSAGES

November 6^th 1982

Luz Amparo tells, “ it was about ten in the morning, I was in my bedroom offering my works of that day  when I heard Our Lord’s voice saying, “ My child, offer this sacrifice for the clergy”.(she has never said what kind of sacrifice Our Lord asked her) Then, he told me to take a pen and write the message”.

The messages of Prado Nuevo constantly invite us to pray and sacrifice for consecrated souls, especially for priests and the Holy Father in particular. It is well known Luz Amparo´s affection for priests and, above all, for the Pope; she frequently showed her respects for John Paul II and she is doing the same for Benedict XVI.  Indeed, she has said, “three things are the love of my life: Jesus in the Eucharist, the and Holy Father, and The Virgin Mary”; “Priests of Jesus Christ, look for God  his glory in your duties; if your eyes are fixed upon God earthly powers will be useless and evil will be weak”.

            You may hardly find a message where penance and sacrifice is not asked for, or penances and sacrifices in plural. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish these concepts because an act can be any  of them at the same time; doing penance as a virtue is not doing penances, which means sacrifices. Sacrifice in singular means offering something to God to show his supremacy and our submission to Him; this implies refraining from something we have: money, goods, a candle, etc…this should lead to self denial, as Jesus says in the Gospel, “If you want follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” (1). The virtue of penance makes us repent from our past sins, deplore them “with the intention of removing its result, the anger of God, and the debt of punishment”(2). The Compendium of the Catechism of the Church talks about “interior penance” as “the dynamism of the “ contrite heart”( Psalm 51, 19), moved by divine grace to answer to the merciful love of God. It means grief and repugnance of past sins, the resolution to change our life, with hope in God’s help and divine mercy” (n. 300)

            Anyway, the greatest sacrifice is the Holy Mass because it brings up to date the sacrifice of the Cross: we can offer it (sacrifice) and it can expiate our sins (penance). One of the reasons why the Mass is not so valued nowadays is that its sacrificial dimension has been forgotten; it is now considered a brotherly meeting, a feast, and its sacred part, its mysterious side is set apart. However, the Church’s teaching is clear; indeed, the catechism of the Catholic Church talks about the Eucharist as The memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection and It teaches, “The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, "sacrifice of praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.” (1330)

            After bringing to our minds the presence of the cross in our lives, Our Lord reveals,

                        “I’ll join you to Theresa; you have to fulfil another mission”

Later Luz Amparo explained the meaning of this sentence as well as other messages will enlighten this. Now we know that He referred to Saint Theresa of Jesus; in fact, Our Lady will confirm  this mission in two other messages ( June 24th 1983, June 25th 1983) and She will refer to the Saint of Avila three more times ( January 20^th 1983, July 24^th 1984, August 15^th 1984). In private revelations, Luz Amparo will discover the role of the Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta as a model for the Foundation of El Escorial; therefore, the result is a unique and attractive binomial referred to by Luz Amparo in these emblematic words, “the spirit of saint Theresa of Jesus and the works of Mother Theresa of Calcutta” summarizing the double dimension of the Foundation of El Escorial, which is inspired in the spirituality of the doctor of the church and the active life of the blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

            The next lines are warnings against possible deceits and harms, even serious ones, she could suffer at that time, and they remind us of the gospel, “Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be clever as snakes and innocent as doves” (Mt 10, 16)

            “I warn you, my daughter, you’ll go to that appointment, although those people will try to destroy the knowledge of the supernatural. I warn you, my daughter, don’t let anyone enter your house, only those of close relationship (…) don’t accept food or drinks which don’t belong to your house. Go with your relatives or very close people; they mustn’t let you alone. Don’t let them inject anything into you or your body being scrutinized; be clever, my child, because some pretend to be children of God and are children of evil and pleasure”

            In another moment, Luz Amparo said, “ When the message finished Our Lord appeared surrounded by light, I could see perfectly the upper part of his body with his heart full of thorns and He told me again to be clever in my answers. I asked him why he had so many thorns in his Heart and He said that all those thorns were caused by his consecrated souls. I insisted, “All of them?” Our Lord said yes with a movement of his head, expressing sorrow with his countenance. Then, after blessing me and doing the sign of the cross on my forehead, He disappeared.”

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