The Gardener, the Garden, the Seeds, and the Sowing

Live, love, serve, and sow in imitation of Christ. 

BEGIN IN THE GARDEN

"When you hear Mass, do you come in the same frame of mind as the Blessed Virgin at Calvary?  Because it is the same God, and the same Sacrifice." ~ St. John Vianney 

When you arrive in church prior to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, prepare your heart to enter into the mystery by intimately conversing with God through prayer.

Perhaps the Lord will have you begin by bringing you to the Garden of Sorrows (the Garden of Gethsemane).

Pray there next to Jesus, and unite yourself with His sacrifice.

Mystically shed your blood along with our Savior as He begins His Passion, and sweats Blood... 

Note that the Lord has you begin in a garden. 

PRAYING FOR OTHERS

During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, pray in place of all those who act against God's will and deny  themselves and others so much love and grace because they do not attend.

Pray in place of all those who do not believe.

Ask for the graces for them;  accept the graces for them. 

SPIRITUAL VISION ~ HOW WELL CAN YOU SEE?

"If you set out to meet God, He will come to meet you." ~ St. John Vianney

During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord re-presents His Passion and Crucifixion in the center isle.

During the Scourging at the Pillar, the congregation is mystically splattered with our Lord’s Sacred Flesh and Blood… as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass proceeds, Christ pours forth everything for each one of us, and holds back nothing…

He is on the ground following the brutal scourging at the pillar which shredded His Sacred Body, is crowned with thorns, carries the Cross to Calvary and as He does so, the crown of thorns shreds the top of His Sacred Head.

See His Sacred Blood all over the place, on the floor, on the pews, mystically covering everyone...

See the souls of everyone through time who lived and lives in imitation of Christ;  watch as they leave  the crowd to stand between Jesus and the lashes, and as they accept a crown of thorns, too.

Be there and see them encourage Jesus with their love as He carries the Cross, and join them as they launch Golden Arrow Prayers from their positions at His side.

Be there and encourage Jesus as He subjects Himself to our punishment, as He reconciles us to God, as He suffers for everyone, continues loving everyone, forgives everyone, remains humble, and constantly thinks not of Himself, but of us...

Witness the incredible violence, the hatred, the rejection, and the scorn directed at the most loving of all men;  remain with our Savior, and return His loyalty and His love.  Accept His magnificent offers of salvation and sanctification;  He is so in love with you!

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF ONE SOUL?

Each one of us cost Jesus everything, and if we are to participate in God's plan of redemption and become channels of grace for the massive conversion of sinners, doing so will also cost us everything.

EVERY PERSON MUST MAKE A CHOICE

During the Consecration, see two thieves flanking an innocent Man above the altar;  they hang on  crosses to the left and right of Jesus. 

As you pray the Holy Mass for the sake of others, in fact in their places, you are shown that every person has a choice to make: whether to believe or not believe, whether to repent or not repent. You are actually present during the re-presentation of the first sacramental confession, as the good thief accepts Christ's magnificent offers of salvation and sanctification and is absolved by Jesus Christ, our High Priest. 

The other thief does not...

THE MOST UNDENIABLE OF OUR NECESSITIES

"The Precious Blood, then, is the greatest, the most undeniable of our necessities. There is no true life without It."  ~ Father Frederick William Faber

Just as you are there at the foot of the Cross during the Holy Mass for the re-presentation of our Redemption, you are also there for every person's sacramental confession, and you are there as each person makes his/her choice.

This is shown to you because each one of us must pray that every person makes the right choice, and it is important for each one of us to continue doing so.

JESUS PRAYS FOR US DURING HIS PASSION AND CRUCIFIXION

As He hangs on the Cross, Jesus shows you His Holy Face up close, and He is praying for us all.  See Him speaking the words, understand what it is He is saying...  

Jesus shows you this so you will then do as He did, and as you go about fulfilling your mission (in church and also where ever you are) you are to pray for others, as our Lord did for us. We are to imitate Christ in this way, especially when God asks us to suffer...

SOWING TINY SEEDS OF BLOOD

"O my children, how beautiful will that soul be in eternity,
who makes frequent and good Communions! ~ St. John Vianney

Perhaps during Holy Communion, the Lord will have you see tiny seeds flying through the air;  they appear as handfuls of seeds thrown and scattered as if being planted in the fields.

These tiny seeds are the seeds of faith.

You see that they have a distinct shape, and understand that when a person receives the Eucharist in the state of grace and prays for others, this is what he/she is doing, sowing the seeds of faith.

You notice that the seeds have a shape and that shape is symbolic, each seed shares the shape of drops of blood.

These seeds are metaphors for Christ's saving Blood flying through the air, just as It did earlier in the Holy Mass as Christ was scourged at the pillar in the center isle, mystically splattering the congregation and also the church with the Sacred Blood of our Savior.

"Our prayer is an incense which God receives with extreme pleasure." ~ St. John Vianney

There is so much more that could be written about these seeds of Christ's shed Blood that are collected by the faithful and then sown, planted in every single human heart, throughout all time...

You saw so many seeds thrown after everyone had received Holy Communion; so many tiny seeds of faith flying through the air, being sown for precious, immortal souls...  

UNION WITH CHRIST IN THE TOMB

Immediately after returning to your place in church after being unified with the Love of your eternal life, you find yourself unified very profoundly, and completely, with Jesus in His tomb following His crucifixion.

Naturally, you will ask the Lord what is the meaning of such a powerful experience.  Jesus is so happy that you are so interested in knowing more, but He remains silent as if holding back a great secret.  He seems to take great delight in His silence as you become more curious!  Finally, just after Holy Mass ends, Jesus provides you with His answer.

THE LORD'S EXPLANATION

It has to do with what Jesus said regarding how much souls cost.  They cost Him everything, and so naturally they must cost us everything.

That explains the union of the soul with its Savior in the tomb:  to live in imitation of Christ is to journey unified with Him to the very end, His end and our end, which is actually the beginning.

© Joseph Karl Publishing/Michele Bondi Bottesi

Images taken at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church,
Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A. 

  

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   THE POWERFUL DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

To learn more about the Work of Reparation through the Devotion to the Holy Face,

which our Lord, Jesus Christ called "the most beautiful work under the sun," 

visit:  http://www.josephkarlpublishing.com/#!devotionholyface/c1n0f

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God is at work in you!! 

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