BLESSING OF JULY 3RD, 2004, 1ST. SATURDAY OF MONTH.
AT PRADO NUEVO. EL ESCORIAL (MADRID)
OUR LADY
Raise all your objects; all will blessed for the unión of families.
I bless you as the Father blesses you, through the Son and with the Holy Spirit.
February 5th, 1982
Shortly after the beginning of the message, Our Lord shows Luz Amparo some scenes of his Passion, a mixture of Gospel’s Calvary images and unknown moments, insults, blasphemies, mockeries…Christ’s grief – which is more moral than physical-, his words on the Cross, his great love for the Humankind…
He insists again on the great value of suffering, its causes and its fruits: " Yes, my daughter, we suffer a lot for the salvation of all souls; there’re many ungrateful souls, but there’re also a lot of good souls who repent of their faults and ask their Merciful Father for his forgiveness. And their Merciful Father’s waiting for all of them to give them their inheritance, the celestial abodes. That’s the best inheritance; that inheritance lasts eternally. That’s why I repeat you it’s worth this suffering.
He reminds her that no disciple is above his teacher ( Mt 10, 24; Lk 6, 40): "You should think about the fact that you aren’t above Me, and they did it to Me: they persecuted Me, they calumniated Me, what won’t they do to you? All this will be done to you because of My Name" and He tells her one of his Beatitudes: "Fortunate are you, when people speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers, a great reward is kept for you in God".
Besides, He talks about consecrated souls, so beloved by the Sacred Hearts. He refers specially to priests expressing his deep sorrow caused by those who divert their lives from the Gospel’s right path. It must be mentioned the great responsibility of priests which is derived from their vocation and the commitments of the Sacrament of the Holy Order; this is the reason why their unfaithfulness hurts so much Christ’s Heart and its consequences are so destructive for the priest’s soul. The famous quotation "Corruptio optimi pessima" ( the corruption of the best is the worst of all) is very appropriate here because those who have been called to such an excellent vocation betray its essence if they live in disarray. How many times Jesus and Mary have complained in Prado Nuevo about their priests’ behaviour! In October 10th 1995, Our Lady exclaimed tenderly and sorrowfully: " Priests- so beloved of My heart and My Mother’s- have pity on Our poor Hearts that love you so much, because many of you, pay us with ungratefulness and indiference!".
In the message we are commenting on, Our Lord tells how his ministers should be: " For me, my true sons are those who truly imitate my Holy Church, they must feel they are God’s souls and they must have my most beloved virtues. Those virtues are: humbleness and love for their neighbour". In a latter message, He also says. " Priests of Christ! Turn to the Divine Majesty of God and he will give the grace to your spirit to work on his flock! There’s a lot of work to do, and there’re few workers (…) the priest…my daughter, the day a priest devotes his life to God, He gives him his grace in a divine radiance; look, my daughter…" ( April 6th, 1996)
He summons every soul inviting them to rely on God; they should not be afraid of anyone, they should offer their works to please the Lord: " I call those who have been humiliated and slandered because of My Name. Of those who slander you and those who humiliate you don’t be afraid, I’m with you, and if I’m with you, who can you be afraid of? You must be strong, and think that you have to come full- handed to your Celestial Father’s presence. Until that day comes, try to do good works; those good works are written"
Firstly, The Book of Sirah says, "for as gold is tested in fire, so those acceptable to God are tested in the crucible of humiliation ( Si2, 5). Besides, Our lord tells us in the Gospel, "For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great" ( Mt 23, 12). Saint Peter also refers clearly to this matter in his first letter: " All of you, be humble in your dealings with each other, because God opposes the proud but gives his grace to the humble. Bow down, then, before the power of God so that he will raise you up at the appointed time. Place all your worries on him since he takes care of you" ( 1 Pe 5, 5-7). This last advice inviting us to rely on God is similar to another one in this message when Our Lord asks us to get rid of fear and rely on him ( " I’m with you, and if I’m with you , who can you be afraid of?" ). Likewise, He tells his apostles that they are going to unfavourable places, " Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves" (Mt 10, 16). Faith in Providence does not depend on circumstances but on the certainty that God is with us and He does not abandon us. Saint John Climacus said that if we have fear of God, all fears will disappear.
Secondly, Saint James’ Letter deals with the importance of works joined to faith: " What good is it, my brothers and sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you (…) So it is faith without deeds: it is totally dead. Say to whoever challenges you, "You have faith and I have good deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will show you my faith in the way I act" (…) You foolish one, do you have to be convinced that faith without deeds is useless? Think of our father Abraham. Was he not justified by the act of offering his son Isaac on the altar? So you see, his faith was active along his deeds and became perfect by what he did. (…) So you see, a person is acknowledged by works and not by faith alone" ( Jm 2, 14, 17-18, 20-22, 24).
Similarly, saint John Crisostomus points out, " It would not be necessary explaining the doctrine if our life were so bright, it would not be necessary appealing to words if our works were themselves such a testimony. There would not be any pagan if we behaved like true Christians".
Finally, as the Spanish proverb sets, " obras son amores, que no buenas razones", which means that our love is measured by our actions and not by our words. Let us do good deeds, let us spread the Great Goodness by being good to our neighbour; there will be a lot of situations to measure our heart’s love; May our charity be increased a little everyday!