Part 1: Translations of the “Offering of Past Crosses” Prayer to Share Worldwide!
Do you or does anyone you know speak any of the following languages? If so, pray the Holy Spirit for the gift of Spiritual Discernment and Holy Boldness, to share one or more of the following images with them, Lord-willing! They can be easily copied and pasted to be texted and email to family and friends, as well as posted on various social media platforms! Note: To print English prayer cards of this powerful prayer, to spread/leave in churches, adoration chapels, restaurants (especially to workers/waiters), schools, hospitals, nursing homes…(even staple them to telephone poles if the Spirit so calls! For as Our Lord told ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’: “Use My words, dear little apostles. Spread them everywhere.”*), click here:
Offering of Past Crosses Prayer Card (English)
Remember, this prayer is SO IMPORTANT to help save so many souls, marriages, and vocations in this time of so much sin and confusion! Thus, let us endeavor to unite our holy and heavenly efforts and fight back against the great tide of evil surging through the internet, for the glory of the God we will one day see Face-to-face in awe and all humility, and the salvation of struggling, suffering souls we may never meet until eternity!
After all, as Our Lord has stated on November 5th, 2006:
“As more and more souls relinquish to Me all their past crosses–great and small–I am opening wide the First Chamber of Our United Hearts, the Heart of My Mother, which is Holy Love.” “As more and more souls turn to Me by merit of the powerful force of this offering of past crosses, Satan’s attacks upon this Mission of Our United Hearts will be more easily discerned and readily thwarted.”
PER MARIAM ET JOSEPH AD JESUM!
English:
Video: “The Inestimable Value of Even the Slightest Suffering…” Feel free to share!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTrUvSx_lYc&t=10s
Spanish:
Nota: Para mi página web en español, haga clic aquí: https://liveandliveon.com/hola-oraciones-citas-y-estampitas-en-espanol/
Offering of Past Crosses Prayer Cards (Spanish)
French:
Polish:
German:
Portuguese:
Russian:
Vietnamese:
Korean:
And finally, Chinese!
(The following is a translation in Chinese of one of my favorite Messages on the power of a Single Hail Mary! Here it is with the English translation! I hope it motivates many souls in China to take up the powerful weapon of the Holy Rosary!
The following are translations I simply ran through Google Translate, without yet having a native speaker proofread/edit them. Thus, feel free to let me know if you see the need for any corrections! (My email is gpstar100@gmail.com) 🙂
Italian:
Greek:
Croatian:
Yoruba:
Igbo:
Dutch:
Arabic:
Miscellaneous:
Offering of Past Crosse Prayer Card (English Older Version)
*emphasis added. To learn more about spreading prayers, quotes, videos, and more for the salvation of souls, click here: https://liveandliveon.com/project-mercy/
Part 2: Book Excerpt (On the Spirituality of Suffering and the Science of Sacrifice)
Love Endures All Things: Having a Grateful “YES” to Everything
“Transform any disagreeable thing you meet in your daily walk into a bouquet of flowers. Gather them with love, and offer them to Me with love. Gifts? This is how I appreciate them: when they are given with all possible love. This is how even your most insignificant actions become precious.”
How else will other hearts catch fire to Love unless my own heart becomes a little more enflamed with the burning Love of God Himself, Love’s Source? For the more my heart draws near to Christ’s irresistible Heart of endless fire, the more other hearts will be irresistibly drawn along by Love’s outgoing, ongoing, perpetual, perpetuating force.
Christianity is not a religion of pain; it is a religion of love. Christ Himself assured us of this fact in His words to Sister Consolata on September 24th, 1936: “Remember, Consolata, that I am kind; do not distort this fact! You see, the world likes to represent sanctity by pictures of austerities, flagellations, chains… But it is not like that. If sacrifice and penance do enter into the life of a saint, they are not on that account the whole of his life. The saint, or the soul who gives herself to Me with generosity, is the most fortunate being on earth, for I am kind, altogether kind.” It is true that the holier we become, more the Our Lord “spoils us” so to speak, lavishing us with His gifts and graces, as He relates to St. Margaret of Cortona: “All the time I was on earth, My body had not one completely happy day, nevertheless while My friends are here below I intoxicate them with the joys of Heaven and give them rest and peace.” Yet by the same token, Jesus has also revealed in Volume 2: Conversations with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, that from a heavenly perspective, the words “love” and “sacrifice” are nearly interchangeable… How is this so?
Well, for one thing, sacrifice enables the human heart to be emptied of self-love and expands it to encompass the divine love of God. Every opportunity to lovingly sacrifice in thought, word, and deed- that is, to die to self- is really a golden opportunity to love and thus win all the more grace for one’s self and others. In other words, every time one willingly chooses to die to self- that is, to one’s own will- to do the Will of God, that person is really effecting a new birth of grace into the world, for at least one other soul that her or she may never meet until eternity. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat,” Jesus tells us in John 12:24, “but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” No wonder religious sisters and priests are known and understood as spiritual mothers and spiritual fathers! For by denying, depriving, and disciplining their bodies, minds, and wills, through prayer, penitence, and penance, they are really bolstering, burgeoning, and blossoming their hearts, souls, and spirits, and with them, all their many other “spiritual children” whose lives have been benefited in some major or even slight way by their sacrificial love. Think, for example of the great spiritual Father, St. Padre Pio, who in Volume 5: Jesus the Redeemer, tells us that he is the “saint of heavenly service,” because he not only said “yes” to everything the Lord sent him, but would actually actively search out more ways to suffer and sacrifice for God and souls: “During my time on earth I had the greatest of love for the will of Jesus Christ in my life. I tried to embrace His will in everything, even the smallest of things. There were times when Jesus would tell me that I was being granted a respite, and truly, I tell you, I would feel disappointment. I took the greatest of comfort to think I was suffering, both to console Jesus, and to save the souls of my fellow men who would otherwise be lost. I focused so completely on accomplishing these things that I experienced joy in suffering. This concerned me at times because I wondered if suffering could be called suffering when one enjoyed it. But let me clarify and say that I did not enjoy it in my humanity, but in my spirituality, which had been blessed with the greatest of gifts from Jesus Christ, my God and my all….Come to me and ask for my help as this pleases God. I send you my very best wishes and every heavenly blessing that is within my power to obtain…. I am available to you and wish to help, so do not waste my offer.”
This, however, does not imply that we should seek to harm ourselves or jeopardize our health with severe mortifications and strict fasts, which are often done out of self-will and are thus outside of the Divine Will. Rather, it consists in simply and lovingly accepting all the Good God sends our way, on each and every day, trusting that He has our best interest at heart. “The nicest prayers are the prayers of humble acceptance,” Our Lady tells us in Volume 1: Thoughts on Spirituality, “Acceptance moves you closer to God in a swift and beautiful manner.” This acceptance, of course, may sound easy enough in theory, but in practice it means bearing the good, the bad, and the ugly in the people around us and the situations involving us, “first with patience, then willingly, without raising any difficulties and finally with joy” as St. Maximilian Kolbe proposes.
“When I think that, for a sorrow borne with joy, I shall be able to love You more for all eternity, I understand clearly that if You gave me the entire universe, with all its treasures, it would be nothing in comparison to the slightest suffering.” These words of little St. Therese remind us that no matter how difficult it may be in this passing present moment, immediately upon our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, we will truly rejoice in every last little suffering that we tried to secretly and silently yet eagerly and enthusiastically accept from, for, and with Jesus! Still, how many of us fail to see the many the crosses we may come across daily as true treasures of grace which hold incomparable richness for our soul’s holiness and perfection, and our heart’s happiness and peace! The following prayer, given by St. Martin de Porres, encompasses a variety of these everyday hardships, annoyances, and seemingly “unfair” circumstances, which are really the greatest of all gifts from Heaven! He promises that if prayed in the morning, the great and small sacrifices that one may have forgotten to offer the Lord have already been given to Him:
“Dear Jesus, Divine and Beloved Savior, today I surrender to You every pain—physical, spiritual or emotional. I will not complain about inconveniences, demands upon my time, breaches of privacy or the rudeness of those You put in my life today. With Your help, I will accept each present moment with Holy Love. Amen.”
Similarly, Our Lord reveals the following short and simple but penetrating and potent prayer as a sure means for helping Him claim more and more souls for the Heavenly Father and helping us become more and more confirmed to Him, the Suffering Servant: “If My children, even just My chosen ones, would accept their small crosses and say, ‘I accept this cross in the name of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners,’ I could save countless souls. Countless. The value of even a small thing offered to God is inestimable. You must understand that suffering will occur in every life. Use it for your holiness and for the good of your brothers and sisters.” Likewise, in other messages to ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King,’ Jesus tell us that, “…suffering saves souls,” that, “You must begin to equate even your smallest crosses to so many souls rescued from darkness,” that, “All of your crosses, each one, obtain merit for your soul and salvation for others. The more unpleasant the cross, the more merit and salvation obtained,” and that, “You will not regret your sufferings. You will only regret the times you failed to love.”
On earth, we truly have no idea how unconceivably powerful our sufferings are before God. Imagine a mother who is forced to watch her newborn baby receiving a lifesaving yet painful shot, such as a vaccine. Though she knows that this child of hers would immediately forget and even eventually thank her for the injection, would the sound of her precious little one’s heartbreaking cries in that difficult moment not bring her to tears herself? In the same way, though the experience of suffering might last a lifetime, it is truly short in the long run and grand scheme: the drop of a pin, the blink of an eye, the shot of a needle and then we’re Home, safe and sound in the embrace of our loving family, never to struggle, strain, or sorrow ever again, for all eternity!
And yet, Our Blessed Mother, Whose love for us is infinitely greater than the love of all other mothers throughout human history combined, can barely stand to see us undergo suffering of any kind. Her heart breaks, melts, and nearly stops at the sight of it, just like it did during the excruciating hours at the foot of the Cross, when Her Son, Her Baby, Who despite being pure Love and Innocence Incarnate, willingly took on the human guilt of us all and underwent the divine justice of God. Yet despite Her agony, She was sustained by God’s grace, and with His help, was able to submit Her will to His and even fully forgive those killing Her Lord and Her Love, believing with all Her Heart that God’s Plan was infinitely greater and grander than She could ever fathom or foresee. “Behold the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross.” Jesus once told Sister Consolata, “She suffers, yes; but what dignity in her suffering! Can you see her? …in a sea of anguish, not one lament! She does not become despondent or discouraged; nothing of the kind! …She accepts and suffers, she offers it all up with calmness and strength, even to the ‘consummatum est.’ That is the way I wish you to be in the days of sorrow; the virginal purity of your love will help you to be so!”
Christ Himself, with Arms outstretched and Blood outpoured suffering and suffocating, on the Cross, also looks upon us in our moments of sadness and loneliness, heartbreak and dejection, gloom and grief. And if He sees us looking back at Him, doing our best to carry our own cross, His Heart is immensely consoled and comforted, for He is no longer alone. Our pain becomes joined to His and, through the Immaculate Hands and Heart of Mary, is offered to the Father as an eternal currency, by which we can purchase the restoration of sick bodies, the consolation of troubled minds, and ultimately, the salvation of lost souls. “Whenever a soul receives with faith and love any occasion of suffering,” Jesus once revealed to Sister Benigna Consolata Ferrero, “it is as if she received Me in her arms when taken down from the Cross; the two arms with which the soul receives Me are resignation and love for My divine Will.” This unfathomable closeness, indeed Oneness, with Our Lord, and thus Our Lady at the Foot of the Cross, is truly only made possible by refusing to complain about suffering, and instead intimately sharing it with Them alone, as Jesus explains in God’s Blue Book 3: “Life is a bittersweet symphony, My child. You have a mixture of suffering and pleasure. The way to Me is the cross, to relinquish your life here and live it totally for Me. Suffering suffered for Me lasts forever. It is the crown I wore that won your salvation. It is in your suffering you will help to save souls. You are not here for momentary pleasures. I ask you to carry crosses, to carry the burdens that I place on you. It is through these burdens you are drawn closer to Me. Accept your suffering with joy. It is in this joy that you will find the true joy of everlasting happiness…. Such sorrow, such joy, joy to be united, sorrow to suffer the pain. It is in sweet surrender you are joined to Our Hearts. You accept all I have given you, you consecrate yourselves to our hearts, a total surrender of yourself to the Hearts of Mary and Jesus.”
In her locutions to ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King,’ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque explains the potential that physical, emotional, and spiritual affliction can have in allowing us to become co-creators with the Father, co-redeemers with the Son, and co-sanctifiers with the Holy Spirit. To all those who suffer, even to the point of being tempted to end their life, she promises: “If your situation requires a miracle from Heaven, you should ask for one. Miracles are not impossible when you keep company with saints. Saints, indeed, are all about obtaining miracles from God. God gives us these things, these miracles, because we suffered with Him while we were on earth. You will be a saint if you suffer with Jesus. And then you will be able to obtain powerful graces, also. You will say, ‘God, please help this person.’ God will do so when He sees that you are making the smallest effort to accept your suffering with Jesus.” Indeed, though it is true that pain is God’s megaphone to us, as C.S. Lewis points out, if offered back to Him in a spirit of acceptance and love, pain can also be our megaphone to God, utterly disarming Him to withhold the Arm of His justice, deeply moving Him to unleash the torrents of His grace, and practically forcing His Paternal Heart to grant the innermost intentions of our hearts, on behalf of those we love. “Remember, sacrifice is what strengthens your prayers,” God the Father reveals in the Messages of Holy and Divine Love, “When you offer Me sacrifices, I see your efforts and am moved to answer your prayers. Sacrifice brings you deeper into My Heart.”
Yet while the topic of suffering and sacrifice can sound daunting and downright dismaying, let us not be afraid! For if Our Lord will never assign to us anything beyond our capabilities or devoid of His help, as Saint John of the Cross explains in “Heaven Speaks to Those Who Have Rejected God”: “Possibly you are fearful of what God will ask of you. This is short-sighted because anything that God asks of you becomes easy when you embark upon it with Him.” Besides, if He didn’t require anything extraordinary of His victim soul, He certainly will not require it of us…save of course, extraordinary love! “No, Consolata no! Jesus does not demand heroic acts from you, but merely trifles,” He once told her, “only they must be offered with all your heart!” Indeed, as followers of Christ, the First and Greatest of all, Who made Himself the least and littlest of all, we must dare to dream big, but remember to think small. “It takes so little to make you climb one degree higher,” Jesus encourages us through His words to Bl. Gabrielle Bossis in He and I, “And degree by degree you come to a deeper knowledge of God. You climb for others as well as yourself.” In the spiritual life, one degree can really make a world of difference! For St. Faustina once said that she would suffer all the torments of the martyrs combined if only to attain but one more degree of glory with, knowledge of, and resemblance to Christ in Heaven…and I’m sure all of the saints, who now fully see, know, and enjoy God in all His greatness, goodness, and grandeur would easily say the same! After all, listen to how St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Messages of Holy and Divine Love, describes the most sublime and sweet, perfect and pleasing, happiest and highest level in Heaven, the Sixth Chamber of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary- the very Heart of God the Father- reserved for the greatest saints: “The saints in the Sixth Chamber earned this coveted place while on earth. It is such a jewel of a Chamber that not even every saint is admitted to its sanctuary. There are martyrs and other saints who are in the highest place in the Fifth Chamber–for there are certain priority levels within each Chamber–all according to merit. Yet, these saints, while standing very close to the Sixth Chamber, are not allowed entrance. You cannot understand this unless you comprehend that every present moment counts towards your eternal reward. In God’s Mercy, which is one with His Love, sins are forgiven when the heart is contrite. Punishment is also obliterated through certain plenary indulgences. However, it is how deeply the soul immerses his heart and becomes one with the Divine Will while on earth, that determines admission to the Sixth Chamber.”
In order to receive all from Jesus, we must truly give Him everything. Yet even the weakest effort we exert to overcome ourselves can merit the necessary grace for raising the degree of our soul’s eternal brightness, beauty, and bliss. “I, who find all My joy in you,” Our Lord once told Saint Gertrude, “do not intend to allow even your least thought, nor a single movement of your finger, which you have done for love of Me, to pass by without using it for My glory and your eternal welfare.” Additionally, the littlest things can go the longest of ways when it comes to rescuing, ransoming, and releasing other souls from the clutches of the enemy, as ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ reminds us of this in her book Mist of Mercy, wherein the Lord made her understand that, “our prayers, our offering of our day to Jesus, and then our little teeny sacrifices accepted for Christ, as well as our greatest pain and sufferings offered for Christ, can actually help make the difference between a soul choosing Christ or casting himself away from Him into hell.” “A word here, a smile there, a kindness there, an act of humility when pride would be tempting,” God the Father assures us in Volume 3: God the Father Speaks to His Children, “these small acts bring souls back to the family and I can then bring them to heaven.”
In case one still might be skeptical of the surprising salvific power of even our smallest, slightest prayers, the following is a story told by Maria Simma (1915-2004), from Austria who was able to see souls in purgatory. She relates… “One day, I was on a train and in my compartment there was a man who didn’t stop speaking evil of the Church, of priests, even of God. I said to him: ‘Listen, you don’t have the right to say all that, it’s not good.’ He was furious at me. Afterwards, I arrived at my station, I got down from the train, and said to God: ‘Lord, do not let this soul be lost.’ Years later, the soul of this man came to visit me; he told me that he had come very close to Hell, but he was saved simply by this prayer I had said at that moment!”
The interviewer of Maria goes on to write, “Yes, it’s extraordinary to see that just one thought, one impulse of the heart, a simple prayer for someone can prevent them from falling into Hell. It is pride which leads to Hell. Hell is to stubbornly say “NO” against God. Our prayers can elicit an act of humility in the dying, a single instant of humility, however small, which can help them to avoid Hell.”
WOW! Just think of how many souls are at death’s door in every present moment, unprepared to face their judgement and unwilling to repent of their sins… Their guardian angels stop at nothing to petition heaven and earth for the prayers and sacrifices necessary to obtain a deathbed conversion for the soul they’ve been assigned to and entrusted with by God from all eternity! No wonder St. Therese didn’t fear entering Purgatory, as she was far too focused on obtaining Heaven for others, whose fate was weighing in the balance: “If I had been rich, I could not have seen a poor person hungry without giving him something to eat. That is what I do in my spiritual life: as soon as I acquire something, knowing that there are souls on the point of falling into Hell, I give them my treasures and I have not yet had a minute to say, ‘Now I am going to work for myself…’ I do not know whether I shall go to Purgatory. Nor am I worried.” “If I do go to Purgatory, then I shall be very content to do so; I shall do like the three young men, sing the song of love as I am being transformed in the furnace. How happy I should be if by these means I could save other souls, and suffer in their place.”
Indeed, the Little Flower, who used to make thousands of small sacrifices during her days on earth continues offer us guidance and instruction concerning her “Little Way” from Heaven! The following are a few excerpts of her various messages as given to Maureen Sweeney-Kyle of Holy Love Ministries: “My little way is a fortress against evil. Begin at once to offer many small sacrifices daily. You will be given deeper insight between good and evil in your moment-to-moment decisions.” “Every present moment holds a bounty of sacrifices to be offered to God. These little sacrifices combine to become great graces for the soul and for humanity in general. Ask me and I will help you to discover these small sacrifices. Offer them with love.” “Many little, humble sacrifices amount to much in God’s Eyes. Never allow Satan to convince you otherwise. Each sacrifice is as valuable as the depth of Holy Love in the heart when it is offered. That is what God looks at, not the cost of the sacrifice to the soul.”
Sister Consolata, who was so inspired by St. Therese’s life and writings, aimed not to miss a single sacrifice she felt compelled to make, from one Communion to another! Yet this third point of the “Littlest Way” is only made possible through the internal unceasing act of love itself: “Consider St. Peter: alone, he had fished all night and hadn’t caught a thing; with Me, he had barely thrown in the nets before they were full of fish. In the same way, if you remain in Me, with each inspiration for mortification that I send you, you will throw in the nets and I will pull them in, full of souls which you will only know in Paradise.” Of course, Jesus made it very clear to her that external acts, devoid of a spirit of love toward and union with Him, no matter how costly or impressive are worth nothing in His Eyes and have no efficacy for saving souls: “When the heart is very sick, it makes even a robust person inactive. Thus, if the heart does not belong to Me, I do not know what to make of the soul, no matter how much she is adorned with virtues.” On the other hand, when a soul is first saturated, submerged, indeed “supercharged” with supernatural love from spending time sincerely, silently, and secretly sitting, soaking, and even snuggling in Christ’s Presence, everything, including the most seemingly strong, scary, and sophisticated struggles, sufferings, and sacrifices become surmountable, simple, and somehow, even sweet! For as Jesus Himself revealed to Sr. Josefa Menendez, “I would like them to know how much I desire their perfection, and that it consists in doing their ordinary actions in intimate union with Me. If they once grasped this, they could divinize their life and all their activities by this close union with My Heart… When a soul is burnt up with desire to love, nothing is a burden to her, but if she feels cold and spiritless everything becomes hard and difficult.”
Because grace builds on nature, it may be very profitable for the “Littlest Ones” to study the “science of sacrifice,” so as to learn about and be on the lookout for all the thousands of hidden opportunities for self-denial during the day, each of which, like splinters to a flame, add intensity and immensity to the ongoing, outgoing yet intimate, inner song of one’s love for the Lord. “Be ingenious in mortifying yourself and in breaking your own will,” the religious soul in Purgatory exhorts her fellow sister on earth in An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory. And in the more recent words from God the Father Himself in the Messages of Holy and Divine Love, “The soul who is completely converted looks for ways to sacrifice in order to please Me. With a wise heart he asks for My assistance in discovering ways to sacrifice, in carrying out each sacrifice and in keeping each sacrifice between Me and himself. Every sacrifice given with a sincere heart strengthens the soul’s conversion and his relationship with Me.” Thus, the following tables give a list of different ideas for small sacrifices, as well as some of the benefits and blessings, both seen and unseen, that may come with each one!
Little Physical Sacrifices
| Practical Examples | Spiritual Effects |
| Sleep Rising earlier than necessary to pray in the morning; getting up right away instead of going back to bed. | “You could help Jesus save somebody’s soul by getting out of bed the moment your alarm goes off… You’re saying no to the senses and becoming a free person. You are listening to the Holy Spirit. and you are worshipping God by offering this sacrifice and you are redeeming the world by uniting that moment of sliding out of bed to the Cross of Jesus Christ.” -Fr. Mike Schmittz |
| Food Fasting (on bread and water, for instance) 1-2 days a week; choosing healthier, leftover, or less desirable foods and drinks; only eating during set or scheduled mealtimes; eating slowly or interspersing prayers or conversation between bites; finishing meal slightly hungry; forgoing desserts. | “…a servant of God performed eight acts of mortification in eating an egg, and it was afterwards revealed to her that, as the reward of her self-denial, eight degrees of grace and as many degrees of glory were bestowed upon her.” -St. Alphonsus Liguori “Fasting is the support of our soul: it gives us wings to ascend on high, and to enjoy the highest contemplation!” -St. John Chrysostom “Besides the ordinary effect of fasting in raising the mind, subduing the flesh, confirming goodness, and obtaining a heavenly reward, it is also a great matter to be able to control greediness, and to keep the sensual appetites and the whole body subject to the law of the Spirit; and although we may be able to do but little, the enemy nevertheless stands more in awe of those whom he knows can fast.” -St. Francis De Sales |
| Health If undergoing sickness, seeking help and allowing Jesus to work through the medicine and doctors, but accepting as God’s Will a cure or no cure. | “If you are ill, particularly, spend your days with Me and I can show you heights of holiness that will leave you breathless. I work with great energy in the soul of someone who suffers physically. Trust Me, please, with everything, for I am caring for you lovingly.” -Jesus via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ “Do not be too preoccupied about your health. God will always give you sufficient strength to serve Him properly.” –Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory |
| Posture Sitting or standing up straighter; kneeling or even prostrating oneself during private prayer. | “When you kneel before an altar, do it in such a way that others may be able to recognize that you know before whom you kneel.” -St. Maximillian Kolbe “A Christian can see more when he’s on his knees than he can when he’s on his feet.” -John Hagee |
Little Social Sacrifices
“The Lord may ask us when we see Him, ‘Do you remember this person who was standing next to you for an hour…for thirty minutes…for five minutes? This person needed your love and your prayers. Did you notice her, or was she another passing shadow? Did she mean nothing to you because you were so into yourself?’” -Marino Restrepo (a revert to the faith, hailed as a St. Paul of our century, who actually met the Lord face-to-face an illumination of conscience experience and shocking life review).
| Practical Examples | Spiritual Effects |
| Kindness Viewing opportunities to serve, assist, or console others as requests directly from the Throne of God and responding graciously and immediately; being generous with one’s time, talent, or treasure; showing gratitude and affection; gifting kind notes and compliments. | “It usually costs little to bring joy to another’s heart. All it takes is a little good will, a trifling exertion for the sake of your neighbor, a cheering gift, a few words, and sometimes just a smile.” “When you have entered into eternity, you will be amazed on realizing what a wonderful kingdom of joy you might have set up around you on earth by means of mere trifles.” -Fr. Lawrence Lovasik “When someone knocks at our door, or when we are rung for, we must practice mortification and refrain from doing even another stitch before answering. I have practiced this myself, and I assure you that it is a source of peace.” -St. Therese of Lisieux “What you do for yourself will perish miserably. What you do for others, for the love of Me, will go on re-echoing throughout all eternity.” -Jesus to Bl. Gabrielle Bossis |
| Humility Remaining in the background as much as possible to commune with God, but reaching out to others in sincerity and simplicity; focusing on and discussing the positive qualities of others and any shared commonalities. | “If there is a disagreement and you make peace, even if you are not at fault, all of Heaven will applaud you. Blessed are the peacemakers, my children… Bring peace everywhere with you and you will be a faithful apostle of my beautiful son, Jesus.” -Blessed Mother via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ “If you are a sign of humble love in the world, people will be drawn to you. Always affirm the good in people and let your demeanor preach Holy Love for you. In this example of Holy Love, people can be convicted in their hearts of their errors, rather than you preaching to them. Always defend the Truth, however, even in the face of opposition.” -Blessed Mother via holylove.org |
| Meekness Being a good and attentive listener; giving others’ opinions or preferences primacy; giving no resistance or reply when insulted or ignored; holding back an unnecessary or unkind word or joke. | “My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.” “It is better to leave each one in his own opinion than to enter into arguments.” -St. Therese of Lisieux “You must never take any notice of what will be said of you. The real merit of a person consists not in accepting with patience rebukes which she has merited more or less, but in accepting patiently those she has not merited, especially if she has done her utmost to do good and is then reproached for it.” -Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory |
| Courage Praying to have one’s spiritual eyes open so as to always be prepared to evangelize; speaking Jesus’ Name lovingly in conversation; standing up for the Church or the Truth, offering to pray together with someone. | “You are to speak freely of Me. If a soul rejects Me, hold no malice for that soul. Simply pray for them and move along, seeking out another. Often you are like a farmer sowing seeds. I, Myself, must reap the harvest.” -Jesus via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ “You will need to use the truth as a weapon. When someone speaks the truth, people listen. They may become angry, they may deny the truth, and they may then try to hide the truth, but they will hear you. And then they must make a choice.” -St Ignatius of Loyola via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ |
Little Mental Sacrifices
“Dearest little children, place your petitions in My Motherly Heart, which is your protection and trust in the provision of My Son’s Heart. Your every need is already in My Heart. Every concern must be your joy, for it helps to turn souls towards God.” -Our Lady of Mount Carmel, via Holy Love Ministries
| Practical Examples | Spiritual Effects |
| Joy Accepting trials, inconveniences, disappointments, and bad news with cheerful resignation to the Will of God; refusing to complain about one’s sufferings, so as confide them only to Jesus. | “…when something painful or disagreeable happens to me, instead of a melancholy look, I answer by a smile. At first I did not always succeed, but now it has become a habit which I am glad to have acquired.” -St. Therese of Lisieux “You are this light that shines in the darkened world. If I give you sufferings and you complain, your light does not shine… If you accept your cross, you should carry it, not give the burden to others… This develops intimacy with Me and our eyes meet and we know the suffering, as the suffering between My mother and Me!” -Jesus in God’s Blue Book 3 |
| Diligence Doing your daily duties thoroughly and promptly, despite any feelings of fatigue or boredom; avoiding procrastination or diversions; prioritizing and finishing necessary tasks before allowing one’s self a break; practicing being attentive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings to do the Will of God in the present moment. | “Watch your time. Write it down-how you spent it in useless ways!… Don’t rob Me of My time. I am telling you, you will be accountable for your time and how you use it. I lent it to you to do My work…to serve Me.” -Jesus in God’s Blue Book 1 “It matters – the disposition of the heart – in the very smallest of matters. If the smallest and most insignificant thing is given to Me with great love, it becomes great in My Eyes. This is how the boredom of routine can become a great vehicle of conversion for many. It is likewise how the smallest inconveniences can save souls and turn hearts back to Me.” -Jesus via holylove.org “Find Me in your soul in each moment you are questioning your role in the Kingdom. I will direct you.” -Jesus via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ “In every situation think more about loving than about working.” -St. Maximilian Kolbe |
| Holy Indifference Quickly replacing any vain, impure, selfish, judgmental, or useless thoughts with prayers; avoiding instantly and incessantly checking our mail or messages; mortifying curiosities about others’ affairs; peacefully entrusting any past regrets or future worries to Jesus’ infinitely merciful love. | “Focus! This is your focus, Jesus Christ! Constant union with Me in your thoughts. …. I must be so close to you that you wander not one second in your thoughts from our union.” -Jesus in God’s Blue Book 2 “What is left of all the earthbound thoughts you have cherished? And what would your treasure not be today if they had all been transformed into upsoarings to Me.” -Jesus to Bl Gabrielle Bossis “I permit this assailing battle of thoughts which oppresses you because it glorifies Me and gives Me souls. Offer Me these undesired thoughts at every instant with this ejaculation: ‘For You and for souls!’ I will transform these thoughts which come to you from morning to night, and which hinder your love, into graces and blessings for souls.” -Jesus to Sr. Consolata Betrone |
| Perseverance Persisting in prayer (especially the Rosary) when experiencing dryness or restlessness; seeking out a few more minutes of silence in the day; making visits to the Blessed Sacrament and Spiritual Communions. | “When you do not have peace in your heart, stop what you are doing and pray. I will restore peace to your soul and you will then be happier and more effective.” “…your own little priceless soul…becomes more and more beautiful through prayer and silence.” “In those prayer times when you feel less, you are gaining more, believe Me, please.” -Jesus via ‘Anne, apostle of the Returning King’ “Be prayerful and silent as often as possible. In this way we can help Jesus fill you with peace.” -St. Anthony via ‘Anne, apostle of the returning King.” |
It must be stated that the greatest of all sacrifices is an internal one of love. “Do not wonder what type of sacrifice to offer Me; for the greatest and most perfect of all sacrifices is to live in Holy Love in every present moment,” Jesus reassures us in the Messages of Holy and Divine Love. “To do so dictates a total dying to self. This is the sum total of all I ask.” Our Lord makes this especially clear to Sister Consolata in revealing to her His desire to be loved deeply and ardently. “Consolata, henceforth we must not merely strive to avoid defects,” He tells her, “but our efforts must aim at loving Jesus even to the extremes of folly!” His words in God’s Blue Books have the same effect: “I want an intimate, on-fire love relationship with each soul. My Heart is a burning fire. It is an abyss of fervent love, a furnace on fire for the love of you.” “Love is embracing, love is entwined, love is vibrant and forceful, love is burning, love is longing, love is wanting, love is thinking about the other and talking about that person at all times. Love is an active force. It is on fire.” “…My love within you should be a force mightier than any explosion. It is a force that can never be contained.”
Because “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), those throughout history who persisted in pursuing Him throguh prayer and the sacraments, namely, His saints, became like burning flames. Pope St. John Paul II, for example would immerse and exert himself so intensely and attentively during prayer that he was actually heard audibly groaning before and during Mass and was even called “the old lion” by Fr. Maciej Zieba and other of his contemporaries. St. Aloysius Gonzaga once appeared before Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta with a love so dazzling, flaming, and great that it seemed “to be able to burn the whole world to ashes.” Jesus then told her, “Look how beautiful Aloysius is; but the greatest thing in him, which distinguished him on earth, was the Love with which he operated. Everything was love in him- love occupied him interiorly, love surrounded him externally; so, one can say that even his breath was love. That is why it is said of him that he never suffered distraction- because Love inundated him everywhere, and with this love he will be inundated eternally, as you see.” St. Gemma Galgani experienced a mysteriously sweet yet burning sensation in her heart after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, and once cried out to the Him in ecstasy, “You are on fire, oh Lord, and I burn. Oh pain, oh infinitely happy love! Oh sweet fire! Oh sweet flames! And would You wish my heart to become a flame? …. Come then, Oh Jesus! Your heart is a flame and you wish mine to be turned into a flame as well…. Jesus, I feel I must die when you are throbbing so in my heart.”
Above all, Our Blessed Mother, the “Heavenly Phoenix,” loved God more intensely and intimately than all the seraphim and cherubim, virgins and martyrs combined. As the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Who overshadowed Her soul by Her Fiat at the Incarnation and enshrouded the whole Church by her intercession at Pentecost, how could She not be utterly and entirely forged and transfigured by and eventually and ultimately fused and transformed into the very Breath and Fire of the everlasting love and desire between the Father and Son? Indeed, by the end of her life on earth, She had become “a devouring flame and conflagration of immense activity” as Mary Agreda describes her in Mystical City of God. “…The flame of her most pure love, with irresistible flight, pressed upward to her proper sphere, that is, the Divinity.” Indeed, let us always remember that while Sister Consolata is the model for the “Littlest Way” of continual, pure, and intense love, Our Blessed Mother Mary is the Model “par excellence.”
“The true measure of loving God,” St. Bernard teaches, is to love Him without measure.” Indeed, we are commanded in the Holy Bible to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, and we are advised in An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory, to “have no other desire than to love God always more and more.” Still, since His desire for our love is truly infinite and eternal, no amount of love for God on our part could ever really be enough. Yet it is precisely because of true love’s infinite and eternal essence that, in loving God and thus uniting with Christ, we ourselves, and thus our every thought, word, and deed, become divinized. Yes! The more we love our Infinite and Eternal Lord and Savior, even to the point of folly, the more all our actions, even the littlest and least, become infinitely and eternally valuable! In other words, it is by repeatedly renewing, redirecting, and redoubling of one’s efforts toward internally burning up, beaming out, and blazing forth one’s love for Jesus that all our deeds, dispositions, and even desires become illuminated, invigorated, and immortalized, both in time on earth and throughout eternity in Heaven! As the soul in undergoing her purgation in An Unpublished Manuscript explains: “It is only recollected souls who will have any influence for good around them. Things done differently have no value.” “Try to be as recollected in your actions as you are during your thanksgiving after Holy Communion.” “There must be a little sacrifice in each one of them, something that costs you an effort. Without that there is no merit.”
Additionally, with love, suffering ceases to cause one suffer, and if this love is powerful and prodound enough, it can even turn and transform suffering into the joy and consolation of the mind, the peace and refreshment of the heart, and the life and “daily bread” of the soul. “…when Jesus really reigns over your will and you allow Him to be absolute master of your whole being, then, no matter how heavy the crosses are, you will not feel their weight,” we are told by this same soul of a religious sister in An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory. Indeed, “Love will absorb everything…” Sister Consolata herself attests that amazingly, “The unceasing act of love keeps the soul always in peace. I believe that it has a strong ascendency over suffering and helps one to suffer joyfully… The act of love is stronger than any pain.” Finally, this ever-intensifying inner flame within us is what ignites many other hearts with love and allows them to catch fire. Luisa Piccerreta proposes an inward examination, when in The Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion, she writes, “In all that we do – prayers, actions and other things – do we always have the intention of absorbing new love within ourselves, so as to give everything back to Him? We must absorb it in order to give it, so that everything we do may carry the seal of the works of Jesus. When the Lord gives us fervor, light and love, do we use them for the good of others? Do we try to enclose souls in this light and in this fervor, so as to move the Heart of Jesus to convert them; or do we selfishly keep His graces for ourselves alone?” And in God’s Blue Book 2 Jesus Himself warns us why continually fanning and fueling the fires of this love within ourselves, to shine on and warm up, and energize and thus evangelize all those we encounter is so crucial: “Souls are at stake. Their eternal life depends on the ardent love you are developing in your heart. You can only speak of My love with fire when you are on fire yourself. Be on fire with love of Me. Be about your love affair.”
It’s important to understand, however, that fervent love will not always be accompanied by warm, fuzzy feelings. In fact, as Fr. Lorenzo Sales explains, one can “love God with a perfect and intense love, even with an icy heart, even while experiencing disgust or aversion. To love God with an act of perfect love, it’s enough to want to love Him in that way. In these circumstances, the act of love can be even purer, more generous, and therefore more meritorious and agreeable to God.” These words are confirmed by those of Our Blessed Mother in Volume 1: Thoughts on Spirituality: “Do not think that the merit of your prayer is based on how you feel when you are praying. You may feel nothing on some days, but you must persevere and believe me when I tell you that on those days, when you feel nothing, you are saving as many souls through your smallest prayers as on the days when all of heaven seems open to you.” Yes, it is true! Though at times, it may seem, look, or feel like nothing, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength can cause the angels and saints to resound, the eternal reward that awaits us compound, and the glory of the King of the Universe to abound! After all, in one of my personal favorite Messages of Holy and Divine Love, Jesus promises that, truly, “…your smallest effort in prayer, sacrifice or fasting does not remain small but affects the entire cosmos–the whole universe; therefore, do not be discouraged in the least little effort, for I take it and make it great.”
“Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:11).
For the Love of God and the Life of Souls 
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