Shepherds

Taken from the Book of Heaven:

Ah, daughter, do you think that it will be the secular who will be the first to persecute my Church? Ah, no, it will be the religious, the very leaders who, pretending now to be sons, shepherds, while in reality they are poisonous snakes that poison themselves and others, will begin among themselves to lacerate this good mother; and then the secular will follow.”  Aug. 7, 1904

“My beloved daughter, who came to visit me in the grotto of my birth? Only shepherds were my first visitors – the only ones who kept coming and going, offering Me gifts and their little things. They were the first to receive the knowledge of my coming into the world and, as a consequence, the first favorites to be filled with my grace. This is why I always choose poor, ignorant, abject people, and I make of them portents of grace – because they are always the ones to be more disposed, the ones who more easily listen to Me and believe Me without raising so many difficulties, so many quibbles as, on the contrary, learned people do.

Then came the Magi, but no priest showed up, while they should have been the first to form my cortege. In fact, more than anyone else, according to the Scriptures which they studied, they knew the time and the place, and it was easier for them to come to visit me. But no one – no one moved; rather, while they indicated the place to the Magi, they did not move, nor did they trouble to take one step to follow the traces of my coming. This was a most bitter sorrow for Me at my birth, because in those priests the attachment to riches, to interest, to families and to exterior things was so great as to blind their sight like a glare, harden their hearts, and render their intelligence dazed to the knowledge of the most sacrosanct and most certain truths. They were so engulfed in the low things of the earth, as to never be able to believe that a God could come upon earth in the midst of so much poverty and so much humiliation. And this, not only at my birth, but also during the course of my life. When I performed the most sensational miracles, no one followed me; on the contrary, they plotted my death, and killed Me on the cross. And after using all of my art in order to draw them to Myself, I put them into oblivion and chose poor and ignorant people as my apostles, forming my Church in them. I segregated them from their families, I released them from any bond of riches, I filled them with the treasures of my graces, and I rendered them capable of governing my Church and souls.

However, you must know that this sorrow of mine is still lasting, because the priests of these times have banded together with the priests of those times. They have been holding hands in their attachments to families, to interest, to exterior things, and they care very little, or not at all, about that which is interior. Even more, some have degraded themselves so much as to make even secular people understand how unhappy they are with their state, lowering their dignity down to the bottom, and below the secular themselves. Ah! my daughter, what prestige can their word still have among the peoples? Even more, because of them, the peoples keep deteriorating in the faith and into abysses of worse evils, groping their way in darkness, because they see no more light in priests.  December 25, 1910

My adorable Jesus told me: “The mission I will give is high and sublime, in a special way, for priests. Faith is almost extinguished among the peoples, and if there is any spark left, it is as though hidden under ashes. The life of priests, which is almost completely secularized, and maybe worse than that, as well as their examples, which are not good, lend a hand to extinguish this spark. And what will happen to them and to the peoples?

Tell the bishops and the leaders that if they want to save the flock, this is the only means. It is up to them to save the shepherds, and up to the shepherds to save the flock; and if the bishops do not place the shepherds in safety, how can the flock ever be saved?” January 8, 1910

The New Heavens and the New Earth - updated

THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH

Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD:

Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

 “My daughter, what is not enjoyed today, will be enjoyed tomorrow; what now seems darkness because it finds blind minds, will turn into Sun tomorrow for those who have eyes. How much good they will do. So, let's keep doing what we've done. Let's do what is needed from our side so that nothing may be missing of help, light, good and surprising truth to make my Will known and to make It reign. I will use every means of love, grace and chastisement. I will touch all sides of creatures in order to have my Will reign. When it will seem that the true good is about to die, then, it will rise again more beautiful and majestic."  Book of Heaven, Vol. 36, Sept. 18, 1938

“The acts done in my Will, carrying the Creative Power within themselves, will be the new salvation of man; and descending from Heaven, they will bring all goods upon earth.  They will bring the New Era, and the triumph over human iniquity.”  Book of Heaven, Volume 12 - April 26, 1921

“The world is exactly at the same point as when I was about to come upon earth.  All were awaiting a great event, a new era, as indeed occurred.  The same now; since the great event, the new era in which the Will of God may be done on earth as It is in Heaven, is coming – everyone is awaiting this new era, tired of the present one, but without knowing what this new thing, this change is about, just as they did not know it when I came upon earth.”  Book of Heaven, Volume 15 - July 14, 1923

“The glorious reign of Christ will be above all established in hearts and souls.”  “The glorious reign of Christ will correspond to a general flowering of holiness and purity, of love and justice, of joy and peace.  For the hearts of men will be transformed by the powerful force of the Holy Spirit…”  “The glorious reign of Christ will be established after the complete defeat of satan and all the spirits of evil and the destruction of satans diabolical power.  “The glorious reign of Christ will coincide with the triumph of the Eucharistic reign of Jesus…”  “Your heavenly Mother is leading you on toward these new heavens and this new earth, the Mother who is gathering you today from every part of the world to prepare you to receive the Lord who is coming.”  MMP, #505, Nov. 21, 1993

“The new era, which I announce to you, coincides with the complete fulfillment of the Divine Will, so that at last there is coming about that which Jesus taught you to ask for from the Heavenly Father: ‘Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’”  From the perfect fulfillment of the Divine Will, the whole world is becoming renewed because God finds there, as it were, His new garden of Eden where He can dwell in loving companionship with His creatures.”  MMP, #453, Aug. 15, 1991

“Sufferings never before experienced are awaiting you, because the moment of a universal renewal is drawing close.  Satan will be defeated; the power of evil will be destroyed; Jesus will restore His glorious reign among you, and in this way the new heavens and the new earth will be formed.  Without an extraordinary intervention of my motherly love, you would not be able to support the pain of the great trial which has now come for all.”  MMP #536, Jan. 1, 1995

CCC #671 Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Marana tha! "Our Lord, come!"

Isaiah 46:9-11 Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is no one like me: Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things which have not been done, saying: My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”

	Revelations 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
	Revelations 21:5 And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.

“Await with a penitent soul the coming of the great age which is getting closer and closer with each day!”  Victorious Queen of the World

An experience I had during Adoration, Wed. 10/16/96:

The Holy Spirit had inspired a prayer in me that went something like this: Come Lord and water this parched desert with your heavenly dew. Let the fountains of water flow from your heart as rivers across the dry land watering it so that the seeds sprout and grow into beautiful flowers nourished by the Sun.

 I immediately understood that the New Heavens and New Earth spoken of Revelations was to come into our own hearts, and that our hearts would become as flowers springing up and growing into blossoms nourished by the Sun. When I got home from the chapel and was reading "True Life in God" (Vassula). Jesus said, "The New Heavens and the New Earth will be when I will set My throne in you." "Allow my Holy Spirit to come to you as a roaring fire and purify you by burning all the dry plants (bad habits, sins) remaining in you and replace them with celestial seedlings and delightful vineyards," "winter is past, and the flowers (virtues) appear on your soil - the vineyard is forming its first flowers giving out their fragrance - this is Our Paradise... " "all the fruits are the virtues that are agreeable in Our Eyes...

L. Bauer, Feb. 2016

Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of La Salette is a Marian apparition reported by two children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat ^[1] to have occurred at La Salette-Fallavaux, France, in 1846.

On 19 September 1851, Pope Pius IX formally approved the public devotion and prayers to Our Lady of La Salette, referring to its messages of apparition as "secrets". On 24 August 1852, Pope Pius IX once again mentioned the construction of the altar to La Salette. The same papal bull granted the foundation of the Association of Our Lady of La Salette, formalized on 7 September.

On 21 August 1879, Pope Leo XIII formally granted a Canonical Coronation to the image at the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette. A Russian style tiara was granted to the image, instead of the solar-type tiara used in its traditional depictions of Virgin Mary during her apparitions.

According to the children's account, the Virgin invited people to respect the repose of the seventh day, and to respect the name of God. She sorrowfully threatened punishment, in particular a scarcity of potatoes, which would rot. The context of these punishments places the warning just prior to the winter of 1846–1847, which was in Europe, and especially in France and in Ireland, a period of famine in the months which followed the apparition. This was one of the factors of the apparition's popular appeal.

The message of the visionaries of La Salette focuses on the conversion of all humanity to Christ. John Vianney, John Bosco, and writer Joris-Karl Huysmans were all influenced by La Salette. The spirit of La Salette is said to be one of prayer, conversion, and commitment.  Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. of the La Salette Missionaries of North America says, "The whole purpose of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette was reconciliation."

Pope John Paul II stated: "As I wrote on the occasion of the 150th anniversary, 'La Salette is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of mankind."  (Source – Wikipedia)

Saint Annibale di Francia (Founder of the Rogationists and Daughters of the Divine Zeal) who was the Extraordinary Confessor to Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,  and where Melanie Calvat stayed at his Institute (Daughters of the Divine Zeal) for a year, wrote to Luisa on April 27, 1927 saying, “When Melanie was staying with us, this elect creature had the gift of performing miracles, and she bestowed several healings.

L. Bauer April 21, 2018

How to be perfect as our Heavenly Father

“Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48

How is it possible to be perfect in this world?  There is only one way, and that is through offering everything to our Heavenly Father through the Sacred Heart of His Son, Jesus, and to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  It is only in this way that our actions become perfect in the eyes of God and we become perfect as our “heavenly Father is perfect.”

On May 7, 2010, Jesus told a Benedictine Monk, “I do not ask for perfection from those whom I have chosen to be My friends; I ask only that they give Me their imperfection and the burden of their sins, and allow Me to do for them what, of themselves, they are incapable of doing.”  He goes on to say, “Did I not say to My Apostles on the night before I suffered, “Without Me, you can do nothing?”  Why is this word of Mine so often forgotten?  It is a word of immense power for the healing and liberation of souls because, understood rightly, it obliges them to run to Me in every necessity of body, mind, or spirit, and to allow Me to be their Savior, their Physician, and their God.”  (“In Sinu Jesu – When Heart Speaks to Heart”)

And through Luisa Piccarreta in the Book of Heaven, Jesus tells us, “It is said in the Holy Gospel: ‘Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect’ - no less; it is also added that no one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven if he is not similar to the image** of the Son of God; and many other things. About all these, no one says that they have been exalted too much, and that these are things not conforming to truths spoken by my very mouth. Only because to you I said that I wanted to compare you to the Virgin - to make you Her faithful copy, I have exalted you too much? So, comparing those to Me was not exalting them, nor did anyone raise any doubt or difficulty; but then, comparing to the Virgin – that’s too much exaltation. This means that they have not understood well the mission of the knowledge of my Will. Indeed, I repeat to you that I not only place you near Her as Her little daughter, on Her maternal lap, that She may guide you, instruct you on how you must imitate Her, to become Her faithful copy by always doing the Divine Will; so that, from Her lap, you may pass onto the lap of the Divinity. In fact, the mission of my Will is eternal, and it is precisely the mission of Our Celestial Father, who wants, commands, expects nothing else but that His Will be known and loved, that It be done on earth as It is in Heaven. So you, making this eternal mission your own and imitating the Celestial Father, must want nothing else for yourself and for all but that my Will be known, loved and fulfilled. And besides, when it is the creature who exalts herself, one should think about it; but when she remains at her place and I exalt her, all is permissible to Me – making one reach wherever I want, and the way I want. Therefore, trust Me and do not be concerned.”

**Oct. 12, 2014:  I had a dream that I was looking at a beautiful picture of Jesus and said to someone standing near me, “What a beautiful picture of Jesus.”  Then I heard said, “There is a difference between a picture and an image. A picture is not an image – an image is a reflection.”

L. Bauer, April 19, 2018

How to Live and Pray in the Divine Will

HOW TO LIVE AND PRAY IN THE DIVINE WILL

How to begin to live in the Divine Will

Do we ask Jesus to pray with us?  Are we praying in the Divine Will at all times by calling the Divine Will into all of our actions, thoughts and words?

 Is the first thing we do upon waking in the morning to thank God for the new day, and make our first act of the day an act of love in the Divine Will?

Are we making the Rounds of Creation  (example: thanking God in all His creation, taking this love as our own and offering it back to Him as acts of homage, blessings and praise)?

- the Rounds of Redemption (example: partaking in all the acts of Jesus: His Conception, Birth, etc. , making all His acts our own and returning them to the Holy Trinity, following the acts of Our Lady, or doing the acts of the  Apostles supplementing all they did with the fullness of the Divine Sanctity of the Divine Will as if they had lived in the Divine Will.  Also for all the Popes, Priests, or saints past, present and future, each of the Sacraments, reparations to God for all the lack of obedience, reverence, etc.);    

- and the Rounds of Sanctification of man (example: giving our I Love You to the Holy Spirit in all the Sacraments of the Church; following the life of Luisa and the other saints who lived in the Divine Will on earth, re-giving to God the Glory that these souls did in their activities and rounds in the Divine Will.)

Do we ask, “What would Jesus or Mother Mary do in this or that situation?”

Are we always keeping Jesus company in all that we do saying, “Jesus wants to go to work, shop, eat, etc. now.”  (Jesus says, “This is to live in the Divine Will, keeping your Creator company at all times.”)

Are we receiving the Holy Eucharist in the Divine Will?  Jesus told Luisa,  “When I instituted the Eucharistic Sacrament and communicated the Apostles, I communicated Myself in the Will of the Father.  And with this, not only did I repair all, but finding in the Divine Will the Immensity and the All-Seeingness of everything and of everyone, I therefore embraced all and communicated all.  And seeing that many would not have taken part in the Sacrament, and the Father offended because they did not want to receive Life, I gave to the Father the satisfaction and the Glory as if all had received Holy Communion, giving to the Father for each one, the satisfaction and the Glory of a Divine Life.  You also: receive Communion in My Will, repeat that which I did, and thus not only will you repair all, but you will give Me to all as I intended to give Myself to all and you will give Me the Glory as if all had communicated.  My Heart is moved upon seeing that the creature – unable to give Me anything of itself that is worthy of Me – takes the things that are Mine, makes them its own, imitates the manner in which I did them, and to please Me gives them to Me.”

Are we making our confession in the Divine Will?  (Making reparation for our sins and the sins of all!)

Before we go the bed at night, do we bring all creatures to Jesus to make reparation for all who do not rest in Him?  Do we invite all the angels and saints and our Guardian Angels to pray while we sleep so that our heartbeats and breaths will be as prayers united to theirs (this will keep us in unceasing prayer even through the night)?

 Are we giving to God, in the name of everyone all the Glory they should give Him praying, excusing them, making reparation for each one in particular, descending into their minds, intelligence’s, glances, words, movements, hands, hearts, footsteps, uniting them to the Humanity of Jesus to satisfy the Father. 

Do we “pay attention” to Jesus when reading or hearing His words or do we allow our minds to wander?  Jesus says, “Be more attentive…and follow the Will of your Jesus, because watchfulness will show you where you are and what you are doing”  “…attention is the path to knowledge”  “…..be attentive, because it is important; it is about the most important thing that exists in Heaven and on earth..”

Are we reading the Volumes to learn from Jesus so we may gain in the knowledge He wants to give us?  Regarding knowledge Jesus tells us, “This knowledge will be like fertilizer to a tree, enabling the fruit to mature upon which creatures will feed.” “  Knowledge will make you appreciate and esteem more highly the Divine palace of My  Will .”  “…vigilance is the path of knowledge.  Knowledge changes the person and things disposing him to receive great gifts”  “Knowledge is the eye of the soul; the soul without knowledge is blind concerning those goods and truths.  In my Will there are no blind souls; rather, each new acquisition of knowledge leads them to a broader perspective.  Enter often, therefore into my Will, Broaden your horizons in My Will and, as I see this, I will return to tell you more about My Will.” “Knowledge prepares the way.  Knowledge is as the contract that I want to make for the gift which I wish to give, and for however much knowledge enters into the soul, so much more is she stimulated to desire the gift….”

Are we thinking more of our brothers and sisters rather than ourselves?  Luisa:  “He also taught me how to love creatures without ever separating myself from Him by seeing each person as an image of God.  If some good came to me, I was to recognize that He used the creature to lavish that good upon me.  If, on the other hand, it happened that I receive evil or harm, I was to think that God permitted it for my spiritual or bodily good.”  When I saw Him and His image in creatures, I could not loose esteem for them.  If they mortified me, I felt obliged to love them in God’s image and believe that they would acquire merits for my soul.”

Do we ask Our Lady to do everything with us - to give us her heart to love Jesus more, to give us her arms to hold Him, to give us the words to say to Him, etc?  (Prayer of Our Holy Father)

Are we accepting all that Jesus gives us - sufferings, trials, etc?  with a smile and joy in our hearts that He allows us to be like Him?  Do we way “Fiat” to everything and mean it?

Are we willing to change at a moments notice if Jesus asks us to do something else?

Do we recognize our nothingness?   From Vol. 1:  “So that I can pour my graces into your heart, it is necessary for you to convince yourself that by yourself you are nothing and are capable of nothing.  I look with much approval and bestow gifts and graces on souls that are wary of attributing to themselves the good effects that result from their own works made in correspondence to My graces.

How much do we desire and want to possess the Divine Will in us?  Jesus:  “…first I want to see that the soul truly wants to do My Will and never her own, that she is ready to sacrifice anything to do Mine, and that in all she does she asks Me always, even on loan, the Gift of My Volition.”

Are we taking time for adoration and meditation each day?   If  we wanted to know someone with whom we were living, we would observe his acts, his gestures; we would listen to his words; we would keep our eyes constantly focused on him and watch everything he does; we would examine his works; we would put ourselves as much as possible in contact with him.   Meditation attracts God to converse with the soul.  Luisa meditated on the Passion constantly.  She says regarding meditation on the Passion, “All the good I have received has come from this source of good and love.”  (On the Hours of the Passion, Jesus says: “How attentively and respectfully must the soul do these Hours, thanking that the Angels hang from their lips in order to repeat that which she says right after her.”  “…whoever always thinks on my Passion forms a fountain in his heart and the more he thinks on It, the more this fountain flows. In vol. 3 Jesus says, “Oral prayer serves to maintain correspondence, Interior meditation must serve as food to maintain the conversation between God and the soul.”

Are we asking Jesus, Our Blessed Mother, and Luisa to pray with us to the Father begging for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, for all mankind?

Are we praying for the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our souls in the attainment of the gifts of the virtues? 

Are we aware of and recognize the gifts we receive each day and immediately thank God for them?  (Example:  You have a question about something regarding the Divine Will and are answered immediately)

Are we obedient to the teachings of our Holy Catholic Church, our Holy Father and our superiors?  In vol. 8 Jesus tells us: “Obedience is the space of my dwelling within the soul.  Where there isn’t this space of obedience, I could say that there is no place for Me inside of that soul; and I am forced to remain outside.”  “ The Will of God makes one take possession of the Divine, but obedience is the key to open the door and enter this possession.

Are we saying our Consecration daily or as much as possible?  Are we praying for the Beatification of Luisa?

PRAYING IN THE DIVINE WILL

When asked the way she used to enter into the Divine Will, Luisa responded briefly:  “To enter into the Divine Will, above all it is necessary for me to forget myself, my will, my interests – which for me no longer exist, and to preoccupy myself only with the interests of Jesus; that my everything disappear, and that in the Will of Jesus – the Love, the Prayers, the Reparations of Jesus Himself become mine.  Thus, everything that is His becomes mine: His Will too is mine;  and since in the Divine Will there are all goods past, present and future, thus all these goods, too, become mine.  To live in the Divine Will is to live on all that Jesus possesses.  But the “all” does not consist in a formula.  It was told to me that the soul must enter into the Divine Will at the cost of whatever sacrifice, when God asks it; and the greater the sacrifices to enter into the Divine Will, the more perfect will become the transformation and the acquisition that it will make.  To practice entering into the Divine Will with repeated formulas and with repeated intentions in all acts, even minimal, in so far as one can, is acceptable to God, and is a setting out toward this Divine Transformation, whereby the creature acts and operates in the Divine Will.”

JESUS SPEAKS TO US OF OUR NOTHINGNESS,

HUMILITY, AND HOW TO PRAY

(Volume 1)

On our nothingness:  “So that I can pour my graces into your heart, it is necessary for you to convince yourself that by yourself you are nothing and are capable of nothing.  I look with much approval, and bestow gifts and graces on souls that are wary of attributing to themselves the good effects that result from their own works made in correspondence to my graces.  The souls that consider my gifts and graces given to them by my Love - to have been acquired by themselves, are committing many thefts.” (Also in Vol. 19, pg. 46-46)

On humility:  Jesus says to Luisa, “If you had been more humble and closer to Me you would not have done that work so poorly.  But because you thought you could begin, continue and end the work without Me, you succeeded - despite your regret - but not according to my wish.  Therefore, ask for my assistance at the start of everything you undertake.  Always have Me present to work with you and it will be completed with perfection.  Know that if you always do this you will acquire the greatest humility.  If you do the opposite, pride will reenter you and choke the seed of the beautiful virtue of humility that has been sown in you.

Jesus says, “Say to me often, ‘Lord, give me the grace to do well, from beginning to end, all that I want to undertake solely for You.  I no longer want to be a slave to creatures.’  Do this so that when you walk, speak, work, or do any other thing, you will do it solely for my satisfaction and pleasure.  When you experience mortification’s, hurts and contradictions, I want you to have your eyes fixed on Me and believe that it all comes from Me and not from creatures.”  (From Vol. 1)

 On dryness in prayer (when unable to pray or meditate):  “At prayer, when you do not feel recollected, think of nothing and be at peace.  Do not think about why your prayer is unsuccessful, because this causes more distraction.  Instead, humble yourself, believe in the merits of suffering and remain tranquil.  Offer to Me your disappointments, boredom and distress as a sacrifice of praise, satisfaction, and reparation for the offenses done to Me.  Your prayer will then rise like fragrant incense to My throne.

Prayer of Pope John Paul II

Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother,

Live in me, act in me, speak in and through me,

Think your thoughts in my mind,

Love through my heart,

Give me your dispositions and feelings,

Teach, lead, and guide me to Jesus,

Correct, enlighten, and expand my thoughts and behavior,

Possess my soul,

Take over my entire personality and life,

Replace it with Yourself,

Incline me to constant

adoration and thanksgiving.

Pray in me and through me. 

Let me live in you, and keep me

in this union always.  Amen.