June 5, 2020

 

Since Samantha shared her mystical experiences and prophetic visions in the book, Love is not Loved written by Fr. Lester Knoll, OFM Cap. in 2016, the messages for the Church and for the world have become ever more challenging (“Love is not Loved”, amazon.com).

 

These messages given today, echo those given over 100 years ago by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. Our Lady’s prophetic messages have been fully approved by the Catholic Church. “Repent! Turn back to the Lord Jesus” is the message. Severe trials will come: these are calls from the Father of all Mercy to catch our attention, to wake us up to what is really important: we are pilgrims and strangers here, destined for eternal happiness in the next life.

 

With the Corona virus pandemic, life came to a screeching halt in so many ways. The toys that many people are addicted to have been taken away - leaving a void. The sports stadiums are empty, concert tours are canceled, theaters are closed, and the economy is in tatters. From the void that is left, a haunting question is heard: “In your usual fast pace of life have you forgotten that Jesus is the Lord of the universe?”

 

Scripture puts it this way:

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find any faith on earth?”

(Lk. 18 : 8)

 

Jesus spoke clearly: “I am the way and the truth...If you live according to my teaching...you will know the truth... and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 14: 6 / 8:31-32). When a society eliminates the Ten Commandments and exchanges opinions for objective facts, confusion abounds and that society becomes like the Tower of Babel - unable to communicate )Gen. 11: 1-9). The Lord of the universe steps in with his merciful love in order to shake up and awaken people to what is happening.

 

In 2018 Jesus spoke to Samantha in prayer:

“There is an evil stronghold of silence. Too many priests are not preaching on the call to holiness and fail to proclaim the Ten Commandments boldly. They have exchanged the truth about God for a lie and serve the creatures rather than the Creator.”

 

Jesus continued: “If my people do not repent, persecution will come. The leaders of my Church will continue to lose credibility as they stray further from the light and the truth. No one will seek healing and reconciliation from a Church they do not trust.”

 

In dialogue with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Samantha wrote: “Many more churches will close...History dictates that anytime there is a decrease in the population of believers, something else takes its place. This “Something else” is the work of the devil, instilling disbelief into the hearts of God’s people. Whole nations that were once Catholic are now pagan and dominated by unbelievers.”

On another occasion Jesus said: “Come and see the state of my Church...”

 

“It was as though I was looking down on the church as a whole. I saw a church divided by closed doors. There were many people in the church - but there were many more people standing behind the closed doors, waiting to come in.

 

I sensed that the people behind the doors are the ones who have been baptized into my church, but have wandered away. They feel my church has rejected them. The closed doors represent priests who have failed to look past their sins and manifest my deep love and desire to heal and reconcile them into my love. The attitude of too many priests has been focused more on sin and words of condemnation rather than on my mercy and love. These people are the lepers of today, but their wounds are often hidden. Only the experience of my merciful love can turn their hearts back to me. The Son of Man did not come to condemn the world but to save it.

My church has become stagnant and does not reach out in mercy to those who have wandered off like the lost sheep” (Cf. Acts 20:28).

 

WHAT ARE WE, “THE LITTLE PEOPLE” TO DO?

 

In 1916, one year before Our Lady appeared at Fatima, an angel was sent to the three children in order to prepare them for their special work. He had this message for them: “Make everything you do as a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which He (Jesus) is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to your country in this way...above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings sent you by the Lord”. (The suffering they were asked to carry was in the form of sickness, (the Spanish Flu of 1918), persecution and questioning by the police and others. Two of the children died very young, with Lucy asked to stay on in order to witness for many years, living into her nineties).

“Come and see the state of my Church.”

 

THIS IS GOD’S PATTERN

 

Jesus, through his agonizing death on Calvary has totally won salvation for the whole world. But he asks us (friends, disciples) to be co-workers with him: to repent of our own sins, and to pray and to offer our sufferings with those of Jesus for the conversion of sinners. The ultimate healing is to be embraced in the Merciful love of the Father forever, seeing the Lord face to face.

 

The saints witness to this pattern...St. Paul put it this way: “Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the church” (Col. 1:24).

 

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) was so overwhelmed by the indifference of so many people to Jesus and his tremendous love for us shown on the cross. He would cry, “Love is not loved, Love is not Loved!”

 

St. Padre Pio said he felt like Simon of Cyrene (5th Station of the cross). He had been asked to help Jesus carry his cross. He was to do this through prayer and suffering, and be available in the Confessional for many hours. He bore the wounds of Jesus (stigmata) for 50 years.

 

This is the simple “down to earth” way to respond to the troubled times we live in.

 

 April 29, 2017

The Passion

 

            “If souls reflect on my Son’s passion, I will obtain for them many graces to repent and strengthen them in the hour of temptation. Each time a soul reflects on my Son’s passion it stands as a memorial offering made to him, and the soul will merit many treasures in heaven.” - Mary

 

            “Many of my people feel lent is a time of condemnation, yet I was the one who was condemned so that those who come to me will not be condemned. I do not condemn anyone who comes to me, for they will be in me, and I in them. Lent is a time for repentance, a call to return to me so that I may give the grace to reform their lives and be made new in me.”    

       

            “Many people do not contemplate my suffering or the cost of my cross. They have lost sight of the suffering I endured. If my people contemplate my sufferings I will grant them wisdom and understanding of the greatest mystery of suffering. Through my suffering, mercy and grace were poured out to a world that lost their way to the Father’s love. Through my suffering I restore friendship with my Father; restoring the friendship and fellowship that Adam and Eve once enjoyed as they walked in the garden in the cool of the evening, sharing in the intimacy and knowledge of I who am.” – Jesus

 

Mercy

 

            “The heart of my passion is mercy. When souls unite their sufferings to my passion I will show them mercy; but if they do not repent, my mercy will turn to judgment. I am both the suffering servant and the risen one; one and the same.

             What god is there who is like me? Tell him to come forth. I tell you there is none like me or that can compare with me. In my passion both suffering and healing come from my cross, but few perceive the power and beauty of the cross. The power of my cross fulfills the soul’s destiny for those who come to my nail-pierced feet. The cross is strength and power for those who seek eternal salvation in me. The promises of salvation are fulfilled in me.” – Jesus

 

Loving knowledge

 

            “If you want to know me more intimately, meditate on my passion. In it the fullness of my Father’s love was poured out. Just as I mourned and wept over Jerusalem, mourn and weep over those who reject me now. Those who come to the foot of the cross will be filled with immense love. The mystery of love is this: there is no greater love than my giving of my very life on the cross. Like me, all are called to be a sacrifice of love for others: to forgive offenses, instruct the ignorant and give sight to the blind. Love encourages the discouraged and heals the wounds of division, all the time pointing to the way of salvation that is in me. To really know me, love to dwell on my passion. Meditate on the mysteries of my suffering and you will be enlightened with its richness.” - Jesus

 

Penance and Love

 

            “The ashes, placed on the forehead are a symbol, a reminder to put to death the things of the flesh, those things that separate people from my grace. It is only by death to sin that we will rise to new life that I desire to give. How many choose to live in sin and darkness! Their hearts will become ever more hardened. Those who gaze upon the cross and embrace me shall live in the light of my love. To be crucified with me is to deny oneself and empty oneself so as to be able to totally receive my love and be perfected by me.”

 

 

            “My love pierces the soul like a flaming arrow, filling the soul with healing warmth. It fills up what is lacking in love. Only my love can penetrate the soul and set it on fire. The fire I desire to give is the fire of my love as revealed in my passion.” – Jesus

 

 November 18, 2016

For Priests

 

        “I am the great High Priest. I stand at the altar in heaven, and sprinkle my people with my blood, presenting them to my Father. I have called my priests by name. I require them to follow and learn after me. I desire them to be holy, with a humble heart, and to walk upright. They are to be a priesthood of light in a time of great darkness. If my priests do not walk in the light how will they see?

        I call my priests back to my most holy and loving heart so that I may rekindle the fire and light of my love. To those who hear and answer me, I will pour out my blessings upon them and there will be healing on the hearts and minds of the congregation. I desire repentance that brings renewal of the Church. Great darkness is coming, like no other. The apostasy has already begun; people do not hold fast to the teachings of my Church. These teachings bring light and life to the soul.” (Jesus)

 

The Value of Suffering

 

        “In the fullness of love, mercy was poured out. Mercy continues to flow from heaven to all those who ask. The pain and suffering you carry is not only used for those whom I choose to use it for. It is also used as a means for your purification and holiness. I am the Master Potter. Does not the clay move in the potter’s hand? The potter adds water to the clay to make it pliable. The potter’s hand forms the clay, creating the image he desires. Then the clay is placed in the fire to seal the vessel and burn off the impurities. So too are you like the clay in my hands. The water I use to mold you is my Spirit. The more pliable you are in my hands, the more you become a worthy vessel.

        Let go of the things that concern you. Fix your gaze upon my passion. I will take care of those people you are concerned about. Remember, the privilege of being called to suffer for me. There is no greater suffering than what I endured for you”. (Jesus)

        “My passion does not only consist of beatings and violence against me. Rather, my passion was birthed in love. It was love that moved me to do my Father’s will, as he sent me to be an offering for many. Many cups did I drink. You come to me to console me and I am pleased. What friend is there who does not seek consolation from another friend? I am greater than a friend to you; the Creator who seeks consolation from one he created! How many were there at the foot of my cross? There were few. Those who were called to make disciples of all nations fled and were nowhere to be found, except John, the Beloved. The few who stayed to adore and console me were such a consolation in my last hours.

 

       I came to love, but yet was not loved. I longed to be accepted, but I was despised and rejected.  I offered life-giving water, yet died of thirst.  (Jesus)

 

September 15, 2016

 

Source of Consolation

 

            “Jesus has heard your prayers. Continue to pray for the conversion of sinners, and be patient. Hide the things Jesus tells you; tell no one, only your director, who Jesus has appointed to know these things. Jesus does not tell you these things to point out the sinfulness of others; but rather so that you may know that Jesus is sad, and is seeking your intercession that he may be consoled. This is why Jesus shares his wounded heart with you: that you may unite your heart to his. Let your love for Him be a source of consolation for him as you unite your heart to his.”

 

My Priests

 

            “Sin is always at the door, seeking to gain entrance. God in his holiness and righteousness must judge sin; but in his mercy he forgives and renews. It is the clergy that have been given the authority and responsibility to hold fast to the truth, to live and spread the truth, and not to stray from it. When a priest falls from the truth, so does the flock. Even those who stand in the truth can find it easy to stray. Sometimes they are persecuted by their fellow priests for not being more lenient in interpreting today’s culture and way of life.  Many of the priests who stand in the truth have a devotion to my holy heart. It was granted to me (your Mother) that I should bear Jesus who is truth. I am consecrated in the truth. To be consecrated in the truth means one should daily recommit his life to living in the truth that is Jesus. In the early Church the apostles and disciples daily recommitted their lives to Jesus. They stood apart from the culture of their day. I was with the Church then as I am with the Church now."

      

 

            "Some priests have become lukewarm, not standing fully in the truth, yet not fully accepting falsehood either. These are the ones Satan targets the most, and who are in the most danger of falling into sin and becoming a hindrance to others. When a priest is not committed to the truth he is unable to lead others into the truth, repentance and conversion. God is calling his priests to be committed to the truth, to defend it, and renew and heal his people.”

 

Priests and Prayer

 

            “If my priests pray the rosary and meditate upon the life of Jesus, I will obtain many graces for them to enable them to stand in the truth and to withstand the onslaught of immorality in the world today. If those priests who are lukewarm pray and meditate on the life of Jesus, I will snatch them back from the devil’s snares and lies. I myself will present them to Jesus so that he may saturate them in his Spirit, which is pure truth. It is not repetitious prayers I ask for, but true meditation and contemplation on the word of God, the life of Jesus. This prayer is not empty words, but words that feed the soul and give life.”

 

The Church and Renewal

 

            “The Church is in need of renewal; you must prepare for what is to come. God is very much offended by this generation. There will be more churches that close and more priests will fall. Suffering together with the prayers of his faithful believers will obtain much from God. This prayer and penance has the power to change the course of a destructive path. If God’s people pray, fast and do penance, seeking God’s mercy, they will experience his mercy and love.  If they do none of these things, God will allow them to follow their own ways toward the darkness. It is important to pray, fast, receive the Sacraments regularly in order to find the strength to persevere.”

 

Mary’s Role

 

            “God comes to those who are poor: the wounded, the lowly, and the small and raises them up. I am Our Lady of All Nations.  Abraham, in faith and in obedience, was willing to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. God called him to be the Father of all nations, with descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky. So too, I was willing to offer my Son, the promised Messiah, standing beside the cross on Calvary. God granted to me the grace to be the Mother of all Nations, and my children are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

            The Catholic Church is the only denomination that fully accepts my role in the Body of Christ. I go where I am accepted. I call all people and nations to repentance, conversion, prayer and fasting. Notice that Jesus only goes where he is accepted - yet he calls all people to follow him. He never violates their free will. From the earliest times God has sent heavenly visitors in the form of visions and apparitions to get the attention of the people and to remind them of God’s love. In the present age so many have no fear of God and are deaf to his invitations of love.”

  Helping to save others

            “Those who reject the Gospel reject Jesus. People know right from wrong, but wish to follow their own desires. They do not want to take responsibility for their actions and block out any sense of guilt. They are choosing to stay in darkness. God is much offended by the many who refuse to repent and reform.”

            I responded, “What you say strikes fear in my heart.”

            Mary answered: “You are listening well. Sin should strike fear in the hearts of men. This is the fear of the Lord, a fear that is rooted in the rebellion of a creature to its Creator. Yet God in his love and mercy continues to call his people back to himself. God calls his faithful believers to intercede and offer sacrifice for those in darkness that they might be open to receive that love and mercy. His patience allows them more time to repent, but time is running out.”

Consoled with Jesus

            “A sword still pierces my heart. Be with me in that sorrow. When you suffer pain and misunderstanding and unite that to the sufferings of Jesus, he is consoled. When Jesus is consoled, I am consoled. Jesus continues to be the Man of Sorrows – rejected, mocked and ridiculed by many. My own heart breaks in sorrow when I see Jesus’ limitless love rejected. Can a mother stand by when her Son is in such suffering? I seek out families to console my son, to love him more deeply and who desire to ease his sufferings.”

 

The Tension

 

            I was feeling discouraged by the fact that much of what I experience cannot be shared with others. At the same time, there is much Jesus wants to make known through my witness.   

            “Jesus only gives such gifts to those he knows can handle them, with the help of his grace. With gifts come great graces to accept them. Jesus has hidden you in his heart, but now you must speak of the great treasures you have received with those Jesus places around you. It is Jesus who will give them the gift of faith to believe you and turn ever more deeply to Jesus.

 

           How hard it was for me to share Jesus as he began his public life, knowing he would be misunderstood and mistreated. Yet I revealed him to the world in my own quiet way. Jesus is now asking you to reveal him and his messages to the world through those around you. The demons try to place fears and doubts in your heart. Remember, it is not the person who receives the blessings that they will attack. Rather they will attack the messenger of his grace that Jesus has chosen. No harm will come to you. I am with you because Jesus sends me to you.”

Encouragement for Samantha

            “My dear one, Jesus knows your heart is heavy. If you knew the plans he has for you, you would be glad. Do not be reluctant in being open with my servant (the spiritual director). Jesus wants to reveal himself to him by your sharing the suffering you endure. On the road to heaven you will meet many travelers sent by God for a specific time and purpose in walking with you. Listen to them and they will lead you on a chosen path, for the Holy Spirit leads them. I am your Mother. I am with you and with those who guide you in your walk with Jesus. Place yourself in my hands and allow me to present you to Jesus, for you are chosen by him. I know the suffering my Son endured and I know what he asks of you. Who can bring comfort and consolations to a child like a mother? I know you suffered much in your life; your suffering will not go without its reward.”

Adoration

            It was near Christmas when I was experiencing the Passion of Jesus; the pain was intense.

            “My dear one, come to the manger and rest. Ponder my love. Look at the stars: see how they give light. They sparkle like diamonds that are precious and valuable. So too, is my Son – the true light, more precious than all the stars in the sky, more radiant in light. Jesus is pleased with your offering of love.

 

            He will use that love and purify it in order to shine light into the hearts of those who are in darkness. Come then, sit at the manger in adoration and wonder. In silence ponder his love. Soon he will call you to share more of the cross where you will mourn and weep. For now, simply pray in the silence of your heart for those who do not know his love, so that they too may come to the manger and experience the wonder of God’s gift. In silence reflect on Jesus’ journey from his birth through his resurrection, and may his peace rest within your heart.”