A very important lesson about the power of sacrificial love, straight from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Begin by joining Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane for a Holy Hour, then journey through the Sorrowful Mysteries during the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with our Savior always by your side.
God is so in love with us all!
God is so in love with us all!
SACRIFICIAL LOVE ILLUMINATES THE
MIND AND WARMS THE HEART
Begin the journey with Jesus along the Way of the Cross when
you step into the church prior to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Take your place and begin by joining Jesus in
the Garden. Pray with Him there and
prepare to become part of a Sacred Procession; prepare to be unified with a
Sacrifice and a mystery.
The First Sorrowful Mystery : The Agony in the Garden
Kneel next to our Savior in the
Garden of Gethsemane and pray with Him to God our Father. Unify your
heart with His Sacred Heart, as He prays with complete abandonment. Pray
with complete abandonment, too.
Our Father inspires you to
speak. Perhaps you say something like this:
“Lord, I am here to listen to You,
and to do what You say.”
Your prayer pleases the Lord a great deal in its breadth and in its simplicity. The Lord surprises you by asking what it is that you want. So you tell Him. What did you ask Him for?
What a beautiful experience, this mystery of becoming so closely united with God that His will becomes your
will, and when He asks you what you want, it is actually what He wants.
As you pray among the faithful in
church prior to Holy Mass, you look toward the altar and see the members of
your parish family before you and around you. In front of everyone is the
altar, and up behind the altar you see heaven. The gates of heaven are open wide in anticipation of the start of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as God’s children are welcomed into His house, as we greet Him, worship Him, love Him, submit to Him, seek His guidance, and petition Him for the needs and eternal welfare of others.
You see that while present in the
church, you are also present with Jesus in the Garden. As you pray with
Him, kneeling side by side, He shows you that when He prayed in the Garden that
Holy Thursday night, He also looked out into every congregation through all
time and prayed among us.
He saw the same things we see, including the
gates of heaven, which were soon to be opened wide.
See the candles illuminated by the
prayers of the faithful burning all around you and Jesus. When
we pray, make reparation, suffer patiently, and love heroically, we illuminate flames
that warm and comfort Jesus during His agony in the Garden. Jesus is greatly consoled when we pray with
Him for the salvation and sanctification of all souls through all time.
The 2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The
Scourging at the Pillar
Stand next to Jesus as He willingly
endures the terrible scourging to atone for our sins.
Remain by Jesus side the entire time
at the pillar. How can our hearts even bear the sight and the sounds, as our
Savior’s Sacred Heart is inflamed with love for us and on the verge of
rupturing from His tremendous desire to save every one of our precious,
immortal souls.
With every strike, Jesus' Sacred
Blood projects through the air, Blood which has first traveled the most
loving of Hearts. The warmth of His
Sacred Blood supernaturally projects out into time and space, sowing the seeds
of faith.
Candles which were lit by every
prayer, every compassionate glance, every act of mercy, and every kiss to His
Sacred Face surround the Pillar. Imagine
the scene, as Christ’s love is projected to all mankind while He suffers, for
us, and as He channels grace through us...
The countless lashes chastising His
Sacred Body intersect and create small crosses which cover Him everywhere; they even cover His Sacred Face.
You join the devout faithful through
all time standing there also, surrounding Jesus and warming His exposed and
torn Flesh with our open hearts.
The faithful unites our patient
suffering with His, and our love for humanity with His, and by the power of His
love and generosity, become channels of grace for the massive conversion of
sinners.
So many candles are seen burning all
around. We are fulfilling our mission to become eternal flames in
imitation of the Lord, always illuminating minds by the power of His Truth and
warming hearts that have become cold. We light candles with our prayers
and ignite flames that always burn, never stopping as we remain by each others' sides until the journey to heaven is complete for all.
As we join our Savior at the pillar
and submit our wills to God in imitation of Christ, see Jesus' wounds are emanating
brilliant light. The bridal chamber within His Sacred Heart is open wide,
radiating warmth which is absorbed by the devout faithful, and encourages them
to persevere.
Similarly, our wounds also emit light, His light. The tabernacles, the bridal chambers within each one of us are open and mirror Christ’s; within them we see our hearts resting on the sacred altars where we worship the Lord.
Our hearts emit warmth to others, the warmth of His love, and the amount that flows out depends upon our sanctity and the degree to which we submit our wills to God and love in imitation of Christ and Blessed Mother.
Similarly, our wounds also emit light, His light. The tabernacles, the bridal chambers within each one of us are open and mirror Christ’s; within them we see our hearts resting on the sacred altars where we worship the Lord.
Our hearts emit warmth to others, the warmth of His love, and the amount that flows out depends upon our sanctity and the degree to which we submit our wills to God and love in imitation of Christ and Blessed Mother.
The light from His wounds carries
graces to others, and the heat from His Sacred Heart warms hearts that have
grown cold. Jesus operates in a similar way through us, through our wounds
and warm hearts; we are the channels of
His love and His grace.
To combat the chill our Savior
suffered when stripped of His garments,
we warm Him with our love which, united with the sacrificial love of
Jesus, travels out through space and time to warm hearts that have become cold.
The 3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The
Crowning with Thorns
Bow reverently before our Savior who
has been crowned with thorns. Each one
of us there with Jesus holds a lit candle which symbolizes complete submission
to the will of God. This action of submitting
one’s will to God so perfectly and completely in imitation of Christ generates great
light and warmth, which travel out into time and space in search of minds that
have become dark, and hearts that have grown cold.
It is the selfless love within our
purpose, and not the appearances of what we do, that produces this action which projects light to many minds
and warmth to many hearts.
The 4th
Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the
Cross
As we stand next to Christ while He
embraces the Cross, the words we pray and sing during the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass project out into time and space and carry the warmth of sacrificial love
to precious, immortal souls through all time, as the words themselves provide
loving embraces to those in need.
O bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be
every adoration Thine!
Before you embrace the Cross, you
remove your heart from its tabernacle and use it to lovingly wipe the Sacred
Face of Jesus in imitation of Veronica.
The devout faithful through all time
also help Jesus carry the Cross, as the tabernacles holding all our hearts are
wide open in imitation of Christ’s and His most holy Mother’s.
Lining the Way of Sacrificial Love is the illumination of rows and rows of candles which were lit by the prayers, sacrifices, patient suffering, and heroic virtue of Christ's followers through all time. Their glow comforts those in the Sacred Procession while traveling out in search of minds needing to be illuminated by God's Truth, as the warmth of the flames seek out injured and sorrowful hearts in need of gentle melting.
Lining the Way of Sacrificial Love is the illumination of rows and rows of candles which were lit by the prayers, sacrifices, patient suffering, and heroic virtue of Christ's followers through all time. Their glow comforts those in the Sacred Procession while traveling out in search of minds needing to be illuminated by God's Truth, as the warmth of the flames seek out injured and sorrowful hearts in need of gentle melting.
As you
travel with Jesus toward Calvary, more candles are lit along the Way of
Sacrificial Love because of the continuing prayers, efforts, and perseverance
of the devout faithful.
The 5th Sorrowful
Mystery: The Crucifixion
During Holy Mass, we stand before
the Cross on Calvary. The hearts of those in the congregation are opened
wide as we join every congregations celebrating every Holy Mass through all
time.
The tabernacles holding our hearts
are opened as wide as our yearning for union with our Divine Bridegroom in the
Blessed Sacrament. We share in the sacrifice, have a role in it, and become
part of it. God's family in church is
unified on Calvary with all those who are, were, and are yet to come.
Christ is also present before us on
the Cross. The unfathomable love and
mercy of God along with immeasurable and superabundant graces radiate out from
our Lords suffering, wounded and crucified Sacred Body, as does the warmth of
sacrificial love from His wounded Sacred Heart, just as they did through Jesus
in the Garden, at the Pillar, during the crowning with thorns, and while
carrying the Cross.
We mirror Jesus on the Cross before
us, and as God’s illuminating light and warmth come from Him, God’s
illuminating light and warmth are also channeled through us.
"REMAIN"
After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
has concluded, you remain at the foot of the Cross to honor our crucified Lord
while unified with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Few people remain in church while unified
with their Lord, and few people remained on Calvary following His execution.
See how forsaken our Lord is
already, so soon after Jesus surrendered His life to save our immortal souls.
Our Savior’s beloved people just cannot
tear themselves away from His mystical embrace, "for wherever your
treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be" (Luke 12:34).
When Jesus’ longing to remain in your heart has been satisfied during this very intimate time of Divine union, you depart to tend to your other responsibilities. You promise to always serve God and to the best of your abilities, and to remain a channel for the illumination of minds and the warming of hearts while remaining before Him in the Blessed Sacrament in spirit.
THE POWER OF SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Sacrificial love is the most
powerful force in the universe. Sacrificial love is so strong that the
bonds formed by it cannot ever be broken and the gates of hell cannot prevail
against it. Allow sacrificial love to bind your soul to Christ, forever.
He is so in love with us all.
Discover and then keep rediscovering
the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and pro-life Church, and the majestic full
expression of Christianity as established by its very Founder, Jesus
Christ.
God is at work in you!
© Joseph Karl Publishing /Michele Bondi Bottesi
Images taken at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights, Michigan, U.S.A. Parish Website
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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: Work of Reparation Through the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus
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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: Work of Reparation Through the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus
Please share the information with others.
God is at work in you!!
