Thanks from Anne

In a recent email from Direction For Our Times and the Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King, Anne a lay apostle sends her thanks to all who prayed for her during her recent illness.  Anne writes:

I am so grateful to each of you for your prayers and good wishes. I especially thank you for your prayers for my family. Through God’s goodness, I am recovering nicely from an unexpected illness and with rest should be fine.

Anne also mentions,

During my convalescence, I am quite happily writing about marriage as well as praying for all of you, all of your apostolic endeavors and all of your families.

I look forward to reading Anne’s new work, and would like to extend my thanks as well to all of you who sent up prayers for Anne’s recovery.

I have posted the August Message from Jesus at Consecrated to Mary, as well as Anne’s talk from June 2010; of her many insights I have highlighted one concerning the Divine Mercy which will stay with me always.

Prayers Requested for Anne

 

Direction For Our Times (DFOT) and the Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King sent out an email yesterday to let us know that Anne is very ill, and has had to withdraw from certain engagements scheduled for July and August.

They write: “We are thankful to all of you who continue to keep Anne’s health and this mission in your prayers.”

Direction For Our Times YouTube Channel to hear The Messages, followed by discussions with Anne and Dr. Mark Miravalle.

I thank you for your prayers as well.

Edited to add:  If you would like to hear the Message for July 1, 2010 I have posted it here at Consecrated to Mary.

Healing

Tremendous healing is necessary at this time for victims of abuse, for their family members, for the perpetrators of abuse, and for the Church and Catholics world-wide. 

Healing is necessary and possible.  As a resource for victims of abuse and their family members, and for those of you who are struggling to find the words/ways in which to help ease the suffering of others and aid/accompany them on their path of healing, I urge you to read these two of the many “Heaven Speaks” booklets available from Direction For Our Times, the official website for the Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King:

• Heaven Speaks to Victims of Clerical Abuse
• Heaven Speaks to Those Who Struggle to Forgive

They can be read online, printed (for free) in PDF format, or purchased at a very low cost.

In Heaven Speaks to Victims of Clerical Abuse you will find a Message from Jesus, one from the Blessed Mother and four from St. John the Apostle.  In Heaven Speaks to Those Who Struggle to Forgive you will find a Message from Jesus, one from the Blessed Mother and three from St. Faustina.

…when a soul claims to serve heaven and exploits those around him for selfish purposes, the wounds go very deep.  I know this.  You were betrayed, dear soul, and what happened to you was also a betrayal of Me.  I take both betrayals seriously.  For this reason, I am allotting unlimited graces for your healing.  Come to Me and let Me remove your pain.  I will do this for you.  And you will serve the Kingdom in great joy, and together, you and I will have destroyed the bitter plan of the enemy.  [Jesus:  Heaven Speaks to Victims of Clerical Abuse]

You need bring nothing to this process but willingness.  Tell Jesus that you are willing and He will begin His work.  If you are not willing, I understand that, also.  In that case you must ask Jesus to give you willingness.  Jesus loves this prayer.  Do not think it makes you unworthy of the process.  You say, “Jesus, I am too angry, too hurt.  You will have to heal me enough so that I can even allow such a process to begin.”  The heart of Jesus rejoices in this and He tells the Father that truly, this is a soul in which He can work.  In other words, I am telling you that there is no reason to persist in bitterness.  It is time to let it go.  We will support you and sustain you.  [St. Faustina:  Heaven Speaks to Those Who Struggle to Forgive]

Try To Remember

Of course I cannot find the relevant post at the moment, but not too long ago Lightborrower of Less Darkness, More Candle reflected on the fact that she couldn’t help but think/hope that somehow, some way, we were with the angel in the Garden of Olives, helping that beautiful being of light to comfort our Jesus.  This is not a new reflection for Lightborrower, but one that she has written of several times over the years, in various blog incarnations…and always, I felt deep within myself, that she was correct.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. [Jeremiah 1:5]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world… [Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1:3-4]

In Volume I of The Messages, Anne the lay apostle writes:

…there were good and holy souls who accompanied Him. He [Jesus] told me that my soul, along with countless other little souls, accompanied Him to Calvary. He drew strength from us and from our presence in His Passion. We consoled Him. It’s some sort of backwards in time sort of thing and we cannot understand it from our position on earth. At least I am struggling with it in a logistical sense. We were with Him. We flocked around Him in a great multitude and stayed with Him until the end. He said, “Can you see why I persevered? The love that surrounded me? This love surrounds you and all just souls.” [Vol. 1, pgs. 71-71]

Does this not bring us great comfort and joy, even in our own pain united to Christ’s, to know that somehow, some way, we were there with Him, supporting Him, consoling Him. So the next time you hear this hymn, or sit weeping through it on Good Friday, weep with joy, for you can answer clearly and with profound gratitude, “Yes, I was there.”

No Other Way To Say It

This evening, Canadians who watched the horrific fate of Haiti on their televisions were also met with the face of an extremely emotional Michaelle Jean, our Governor General who was born in Haiti, sobbing and breaking down in a press conference. I could not help but ask myself, where was her compassion, where were her tears, where was this display of emotionalism for the thousands and thousands of murdered babies when she smilingly bestowed the Order of Canada on our most (in)famous abortionist?

It is time for each and every one of us to become aware of, and take responsibility for, the repercussions on both the earthly and spiritual planes of our decisions and actions. I am not saying our Governor General is solely responsible for the devastation in Haiti. I am saying that she, and millions of people the world over, appear to be asleep.  They do not seem to realize that there are universal principles at work here – that light attracts light, love attracts love, darkness and negativity attract darkness and negativity, violence, murder and death attract the same, that all of life is interconnected.  Sin has repercussions, and these repercussions have to be taken squarely on our own shoulders and not blamed on our loving God, as many are wont to do.

The Messages (Volume 1, page 136) Jesus says: 

“Abortion is murder, dear ones.  Do not be fooled…Your generation is suffering untold calamities because of this grave, grave sin.”  

The Messages (Volume 1, pg. 92) Mary says:

“We must help souls to realize that it is time to come back to Jesus now.  Time is short.  There is no other way to say that.”

Let us pray now for the people of Haiti, for the eternal salvation of the souls who may have died unprepared spiritually, for the success of the rescue efforts, for strength for the families and friends of the victims, and in gratitude for the global outpouring of relief:

Prayer for All People

O Lord, we bring before You the distress and dangers of peoples and nations, the pleas of the imprisoned and the captive, the sorrows of the grief-stricken, the needs of the refugees, the impotence of the weak, the weariness of the despondent, and the weaknesses of the aging.  O Lord, stay close to all of them. [Catholic Book of Prayers]

Feast of Christ the King

As a lay apostle of Jesus Christ the Returning King, today’s feastday has taken on an even greater significance for me.  Over the past fourteen months of studying the Messages in the Volumes and the Heaven Speaks booklets, of reading Anne’s works and watching the DFOT YouTubes, one of the many things I have come to appreciate and benefit from are Jesus’ clear instructions on how we can be more effective servants of our King.  (I don’t know about you, but I have always been like that.  I need clear instructions for everything, in English and French if possible, with diagrams.  )

During this time of preparation for His return, the beautiful simplicity of His plan of service has affected my life to such a degree that only my consecration to Mary might be comparable.  There are many Messages in which we are given details as to how to serve in this time, and I would like to share one with you today, from Volume Four, Part One (Jesus the King, Message dated January 17, 2004):

My brothers and sisters must remain where I have placed them, in all calm, and in all trust.  It is through you that I return, at least in this initial phase.  You are listening to My words, you are experiencing My spirit within you, and you are preparing to assist heaven.  This is good.  I would like you to also do one other thing.  I would like you to begin walking with Me in earnest.  My beloved servants, I have told you that I am with you.  I have told you that I will never leave you.  If I am at all welcomed by you, I reside within you.  But I am also beside you.  I am in every conversation where someone asks Me to participate.  Do you want to know how to please Me?  Allow Me to speak through you.  Allow Me to act through you.  Allow Me to love through you.  You have noticed changes since you began to follow Me with decision.  You have noticed that as the world attempts to pull you away from peace, I draw you back to peace.  You have noticed that it is easier to love those around you.  You have noticed more patience, more joy, and a deeper contemplation of the world as I see it.  Now, little souls, I want you to begin practicing something different.  I want you to calmly bring Me with you in everything you do and everything you say.  In each part of each day, understand that I, the King of heaven and earth, am working through you.  You must notice that I often use the word calm.  I refer to calmness and the spirit of calm.  Why do I do this?  Because often My children get excited and that is not from Me.  How will you change because I work through you?  You will be quieter, more thoughtful; you will smile more and frown less.  You will overlook the flaws of your brothers and sisters as I overlook yours.  I will align your priorities so that your priorities are directly influenced by My priorities.  My beloved soul, try for a moment to imagine a world populated by souls such as yours. This is going to occur.  My Father has willed this and it will come about, gradually at first, and then more quickly.  You, My soul whom I have watched so closely, are a part of this.  You have a role to play.  I need you and you are Mine.  Do not think that this will be difficult for you.  It will be the most natural, most comfortable, and most wonderful state of being you have ever experienced.  My true followers, who have aligned their will to Mine, already understand this state of being and they are at peace.  You, too, will have such a peace.  Be joyful, now, dear ones.  All is well and God is firmly directing all.

A Language For Our Times

In my post of May 15, 2009 “Seek Only The Divine Will“, I shared one of the DFOT videos (Segment 15, Message dated October 8/04, Vol. 10). About three-quarters of the way through, Anne says:

…and if you’re very quiet you can start to hear this beating of the Sacred Heart, this rhythmic beating constantly in your day, and then when you become used to the silence in your soul and this presence of the Lord, this beating of the Lord’s Heart, that’s all you hear, and nothing else really makes sense. And if you pull away from this rhythmic beating you get lonesome, you get anxious, you get frightened, and you’ll see those symptoms and immediately you’ll run back to Christ, and then you’ll get back into the rhythm of the beating of the Sacred Heart. Once you learn to move through your days accompanied by that rhythmic beating of the Lord’s Sacred Heart, you really find yourself freezing when you lose it.

I was listening to this again not long ago, and as I was reflecting on it, I felt compelled to go and get “The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus“, by Father John Croiset, S.J., off my bookshelf.  After reading several pages from different chapters, I fell upon these lines [emphasis is mine]:

What St. Gertrude has written on this subject has been frequently quoted; a few words will suffice to recall it. Her historian relates that the beloved Disciple, St. John, appeared to her on one occasion, and that she asked her heavenly visitor how it was that he, whose head had reposed on the breast of the Saviour at the Last Supper, kept complete silence about the throbbing of the adorable Heart of his Master; and she expressed regret to him that he had said nothing about it for our instruction. The saint replied to her: “My mission was to write for the Church, still in its infancy, something about the uncreated Word of God the Father, something which of itself alone would give exercise to every human intellect to the end of time, something that no one would ever succeed in fully understanding. As for the language of these blessed beats of the Heart of Jesus, it is reserved for the last ages when the world, grown old and become cold in the love of God, will need to be warmed again by the revelation of these mysteries.

[The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Father John Croiset, S.J., pages 83-84]

Direction For Our Times (DFOT) and Divine Mercy

I would like to share some thoughts regarding several points raised by a reader, Frankie, in the combox of my introductory post about Direction For Our Times and the Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King. It will probably take a few posts to do so, and from that point on, I will concentrate solely on sharing the Messages and the work of the Apostolate in my DFOT posts, with any of you who care to read here.  

 I will begin with some of the history of the image of Jesus Christ the Returning King, and a bit about the relationship of the image and the Apostolate’s mission to the Divine Mercy mission of St. Faustina.

In Anne’s book “Climbing the Mountain. Discovering Your Path to Holiness”, there is a section about the image [pgs. 244-245]. In October 2005, a month after Anne had received a series of locutions from St. Faustina, she traveled on pilgrimage, upon the invitation of Sr. Briege McKenna and Fr. Kevin Scallon, to the International Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow, Poland. The three met with the Mother Superior of St. Faustina’s order, The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. They spoke with the Mother Superior about Anne’s experiences and her mission to spread the message of Jesus Christ the Returning King, and the Mother Superior responded by telling them of an unusual experience of her own the previous day. An artist friend had just presented her with a painting, which she had understood was supposed to be that of her patron saint, but was in fact an image of Jesus Christ the Returning King. When Mother Superior showed it to Anne, Sr. Briege and Fr. Scallon, “all of us in the room were amazed and recognized that this painting was to be the authentic image for the apostolate…” Mother Superior told them that she was, “certain that it was really meant for Anne.”  In a locution to Anne on October 28, 2005 St. Faustina said, “The image of Jesus Christ the Returning King should be spread throughout the world.  There are many graces attached to this image.  Like the Divine Mercy image, this image will be widely recognized as a source of goodness and healing.  All who venerate this image will be blessed…Such joy flows from heaven.  Bask in the joy, dear apostles, because your King is returning.”  In the DFOT Newsletter of April 2009 (Issue 13), there is a wonderful article about the image, and an interview with the artist, Janusz Antosz.

In his comments, Frankie expresses his fears and concerns that both the image and the Apostolate are “distracting” people from the Divine Mercy image, as well as from St. Faustina’s mission and her suffering. I do not know if anything I can say will help to alleviate his or anyone else’s concerns, but I will certainly try. As I recounted above, the image itself was given to the Apostolate by the Mother Superior of St. Faustina’s order. In the back of all the Volumes, as well as in the two books I have by Anne, “Climbing the Mountain” and “The Mist of Mercy”, there is a section entitled, “How to Recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy”. The April 09 newsletter, as mentioned, has not only an article about the image but three messages from St. Faustina. As another commentor, Kevin, told us: “Many lay apostles have a strong devotion to Divine Mercy; they are encouraged to. The staff at the Direction For Our Times offices in both the U.S. and Ireland are generally gathered at 3:00 each afternoon to recite the Divine Mercy Chaplet.” In the audio recording of the monthly meeting of the Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King (May 2009), we hear a guest speaker, Mother Theresa (may not be the correct spelling), a Cistercian sister from Denmark. She tells us she is giving thanks to the Lord for what is happening because of the Apostolate, that graces are pouring down, that all are being blessed, and that the work of the Apostolate, which is Jesus’ work, should be respected and defended, not by speaking much, but by giving the glory to the Lord. She tells the audience that she and her contemplative sisters in different countries are all praying for the Apostolate, and refers to the Apostolate as an “act of mercy” from the Lord.

From my own perspective, I believe that the majority of us who have been devoted to the Divine Mercy message and St. Faustina’s mission for many, many years now will only find our devotion strengthened through the Messages and work of the Apostolate, and those who may have never heard of the Divine Mercy message will certainly be led to it through the Apostolate. Just as the saints all work together joyfully, we are called to do so as well, because we are all working for Jesus, our Returning King.