SO MANY interesting things we learn from the lives of saints. St. Jacinta Marto, one of the three children to whom the Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima starting 1917, died alone in a hospital. When St. Therese of Lisieux or St. Therese of the Little Flower was being buried, there were only five persons in attendance. Yet, hundreds of thousands if not millions now know and even venerate them all over the world.
Their lives give strength to those still coping with spiritual difficulties. And yes, messages conveyed to them from Heaven serve as most efficacious vitamins for every soul, spiritual soul.
This reminds me of what prolific Catholic writer Michael Brown wrote recently: “All spiritual progress, big or ‘small,’ is important. Don’t ever be discouraged. Remember always that we’re spiritual beings having a physical experience.”
Then he hit the spiritual nail: “Your spiritual nature is who you really are.”
It is that spirit, the person what you and I are, here and now, that survives the body and faces the consequences of worldly free will in the jump towards eternity.
And so to rev up the spirit and boost it with spiritual vitamins, we go on with quotes from the supernatural, mostly from the Blessed Mother:
Here are messages from the Blessed Mother as conveyed to St. Jacinta as she lay in her hospital bed in 1919 (she was to die in the next year):
“The sins which cause most souls to go to hell are the sins of the flesh.
“The world is perishing because the people do not meditate.
“Many marriages are not of God and do not please Our Lord. “Wars are punishment for sin.
“Priests must be very, very pure. “Confession is a Sacrament of Mercy, and we must confess with joy and trust. “The Mother of God wants more virgin souls bound by a vow of chastity.”
Jesus to Sister Mildred Neuzil, midwest USA, May 29, 1954: “My little white dove, do you know what I find most lacking in the world today? It is Faith. There are so few souls that believe in Me and My love. They profess their belief and their love, but they do not live this belief. Their hearts are cold, for without faith there can be no love. Pray and sacrifice yourself, My Child, that faith may once again find entrance into the hearts of man.”
Blessed Mother to teenagers in Kibeho, Rwanda, 1981-1989: “There are many lights in the world to follow, but there is only one True Light – that of God. Live with your Faith throughout your life. Don’t wear it like a coat that you put on and take off , since this won’t save you when you die.”
Blessed Mother to the visionaries of Medjugorje: “I know that many will not believe you, and that many who have an impassioned faith will cool off . You remain firm, and motivate people to instant prayer, penance, and conversion. At the end, you will be happier. When you suffer difficulties and need something, come to me.”
Blessed Mother to Ida Peerdman in Amsterdam, July 2, 1951: “The first and greatest commandment is Love. One who possesses love will honor one’s Lord and Creator in His creation. One who possesses love will do nothing dishonorable towards one’s neighbor. That is what this world lacks: Love of God, Love of neighbor.”
Jesus to Sister Mildred Neuzil, midwest USA, May 22, 1954: “My little white dove, if the world is dying, it is because it will not let Me give it life. I am the resurrection and the life, and unless souls seek their life in Me, they will fi nd only death and destruction. They fear man-made destroyers of life, yet destruction is in themselves. Man destroys himself through the evil that is in himself. Implements of war kill only that which is without. Man kills that within himself which none but he can kill. God is light; man is darkness, and unless he comes into the light, he will be forever darkness. The Voice of My Heart is the Voice of Mercy. If man will not listen, there is no more I can do, for he ties My hands.”
Blessed Mother to the visionaries of Medjugorje: “You should love your enemies. You should not judge, nor bear rancor, nor curse anyone, but bless and pray for them. I know that you are not able to love your enemies, but I beg you to pray every day at least five minutes to the Sacred Heart and to My Heart and we will give you the divine love with which you will be able to love even your enemies.”
Blessed Mother to Luz Amparo Cuevas, El Escorial, Spain, 1980-1992: ““Many souls err, are lost, waiting for somebody to save them. The sin of impurity greatly off ends Our Lord. A big part of the clergy – that is priests, bishops, and cardinals – are stepping on paths of perdition, and it is because of them that many souls are condemned.”
