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To those who might, at this point, be a bit squeamish about such a Heroic Act of Charity, fearing that one will arrive in Eternal Life with nothing to offer God, there are several consoling points to be made. One is taken from the life of Saint Gertrude the Great whose feast we celebrated this past Monday. She had made a complete donation of all her works of satisfaction in favor of the faithful departed, without reserving anything for herself. Being at the point of death, she saw on the one hand the number of her sins, and on the other hand, she remembered that she had fully donated all her works of satisfaction for the expiation of the sins of others. This sorely afflicted her, for the devil tempted her to consider that she would now, upon entering eternity, suffer the more. It was then that Our Lord appeared to her and said: "Be assured, My daughter, your charity towards the departed will be no detriment to you. Know that the generous donation you have made of all your works to the holy souls has been singularly pleasing to Me; and to give you a proof thereof, I declare to you that all the pains you would have had to endure in the other life are now remitted; moreover, in recompense for your generous charity, I will so enhance the value of the merits of your works as to give you a great increase of glory in Heaven." These were Jesus' Own words to be one of His saints. Why, then, should we be afraid?
Another great saint - Saint Theresa the Little Flower did the same thing, granting her satisfactory value to the souls in Purgatory. Please pray about what you should do. Search your heart carefully, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you and counsel you. Then, read the following Act of Heroic Charity, and discern if this is what God is asking of you. Knowing that we are in the end times of the two-thousand years period, that we are facing a darkness in our world both spiritually and, eventually, physically, we need to do all that we can to be prepared. Each sacrifice strengthens us in our faith, and moves us forward in our abandonment to the Will of God. And we must not forget that every Holy Soul whom we assist toward the Beatific Vision will spend their eternity interceding for us, working tirelessly for us that we, too, will be with them forever in Heaven in giving praise and adoration to the Triune Divinity.
This is also a wonderful preparation for Advent - just over a week away, and the coming feast of Christmas, where we can remold a true remodeling of our poor hearts into hearts like those of Jesus and Mary. By such a worthwhile prepartion, we can be assured that on Christmas Day our very hearts and souls will be worthy "stables" or "tabernacles," radiant with peace, joy and the grace of God dwelling in us.
The following prayer was imparted by Our Lady to the Hidden Flower in the early nineties. It is a formula for offering a Heroic Act of Charity.
This Heroic Act of Charity has been approved by Popes Benedict XIII, Pius VI and Pius XI. It includes the following indulgences and privileges:
2. The simple faithful can gain a plenary indulgence, applicable to the souls in Purgatory only, each time they receive Holy Communion, provided they visit a church or chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is present, and there pray for the intention of the Holy Father.
3. They may apply to the holy souls all those indulgences which are not otherwise applicable by virtue of concession, and which have been granted up to the present time, or which shall be granted in the future. (Pius IX, Papal Decree, 30 September 1852).1. To those priests who have made this act the indult of a privileged altar every day in the year.
In the next installment we shall complete this short series on The Heroic Act of Charity.
Dear children, satan's claws grip the world! He seeks to strangle your heart and he is able to do this because you do not pray from your heart. Each day the evil one squeezes you into himself, which is evil and filth, all that lacks goodness.
God alone is Good. God alone is Almighty. He, the Creator of all has shown mankind countless proofs of His Love, His Mercy and His Justice. Now the world chooses the evil one's path. Now is the Hour of Justice ready to strike.
I call all of my children to prepare. You cannot love God too much. You can never give too much of yourself to Him. But the evil one has seduced you. He scoffs at those whose lives are consecrated to God, and they have abandoned their holy ways to become secular, worldly ministers of apostasy and heresy wrapped in the evil one's mantle of social justice.
O! This is man's pride and I beg of all my children to surrender their pride and give their will to my Divine Son. He, the Savior of the world, will take your weaknesses and faults, and replace them with the Divine Will. In this way the time of Great Darkness shall be shortened and my heart shall triumph, crushing the serpent's head.
Pray! Convert your hearts. This is the Year of Tears, the Hour of Great Sorrow. I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!
I desire all of my children to understand that in all things their human will must be in accord with the Divine Will. This can only be accomplished through much prayer, fasting, penance and mortification. The Divine Will is Peace and Joy, but it is attained through renunciation and suffering.
I beseech all my children to be unafraid. God supports, protects and guides His faithful ones, and no sacrifice done for love of Him goes unanswered.
I solemnly tell you this, the Year of Tears, must be for all of my children a renewal of their commitment to my Divine Son. I am asking each of you daily to mortify yourselves in order to become detached from all worldly things. Your hope in God must be so strong that even to your loved ones you become detached, commending them to Jesus through my Immaculate Heart. This, my little ones, does not diminish human love. Rather it raises human love to the supernatural realm and frees the soul to be one with Almighty God.
This year is crucial in all I have said to you. There shall be abominations in every nation, and the people will seek only human solutions. These solutions will fail, for men have abandoned God and have before them false gods of countless kinds.
Pray! Pray! Be a living prayer and be at peace, for I, your Mother, am here to help you. Pray for unity, for now the divisions grow even deeper.
I love and bless you. Receive my Divine Son's Peace. Thank you for responding to my Call!
498 A.D.
Death of Pope Anastasius II, 50th successor of Peter, who had been elected on November 24, 496. During his two year pontificate he brought about the conversion of Clovis, King of the Franks, and of his people. It was the beginning of a long faith relationship with France. Unfortunately Anastasius was weak with the schismatics and was even accused of heresy. It was this Pope who the poet Dante Alighieri placed in hell in "Dante's Inferno" but it was unfair for Anastasius was a good man who the opposition painted as weak and incompetent.
1302 A.D.
Pope Boniface VIII issues his famous "Unam sanctam" Papal Bull on the supremacy of the spiritual over the temporal power. It would have had even more impact had it not been for Boniface's bitter fued with Charles IV, equally stubborn king of France.
1523 A.D.
Cardinal Giulio de' Medici is chosen 219th successor of Peter, taking the name Pope Clement VII. This Firenze-born pontiff would go on to reign for 11 years, but was unable to curb the bitter struggle between Catholics and the Lutherans of the Protestant Revolt. He would excommunicate King Henry VIII and the faith would be lost in England with the establishment of the State-run Anglican Church. Clement celebrated the 9th Jubilee in1525.
1544 A.D.
Pope Paul III, 220th successor of Peter, officially opens the landmark 19th Ecumenical Council, also known as the Council of Trent in the Tridentine mountain village in northern Italy.
