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.

Heavenly Father, I believe that in Your wisdom and justice You willed to purify all persons who die without having attained the state that they need for all eternity, all who have still to expiate completely the sins committed on earth. I also believe that You have mercifully arranged that this process of purification can be aided by the prayers of the living, especially the Eucharist.

Help me to pray for my brothers and sisters who have departed from this world. May their time of purification be short and they be quickly guided into that holy light promised by our Lord to Abraham and his descendents. I offer You sacrifices and prayers of praise. Accept them for all the souls of the faithful departed and admit them all to heavenly joy. Amen.

[From: The Catholic Book of Prayers]

Fun.

Recover for me, my God, the time I have lost by giving me grace in the present and in the future, so that I may appear before You with nuptial garments, for You can do this if You wish.

[Lingering with My Lord. Post-Communion Experiences of St. Teresa of Avila, Introduction and Translation by Michael D. Griffin, O.C.D., pg. 36]

O my Jesus, my Master and Director, strengthen and enlighten me in these difficult moments of my life.  I expect no help from people; all my hope is in You.  I feel alone in the face of Your demands, O Lord.  Despite the fears and qualms of my nature, I am fulfilling Your holy will and desire to fulfill it as faithfully as possible throughout my life and in my death.  Jesus, with You I can do all things.  Do with me as You please; only give me Your merciful Heart and that is enough for me.

[The Diary, Notebook II, # 650] 

One Sunday morning as I opened my missalette, a piece of paper fell out.  On it was written a prayer to St. Thérèse, with the instructions to say the prayer for nine days for your intention, and also to copy out the prayer eleven times and place it in other missalettes where people would eventually find them.

At the time I was not familiar with novenas, and the thought of copying it out eleven times for others struck me as absurd, like some sort of religious chain-letter.  But I prayed the prayer over and over, not just for nine days…

I don’t remember what my intention was, but the prayer has always stayed with me:

Petite Thérèse de l’enfant Jésus, toi qui nous a promis de faire du bien sur la terre, répand ta pluie de roses sur tous ceux qui t’invoque.  Accorde-nous la grace de ta bonté.  Amen.

I have not been able to find that exact prayer anywhere in books or online, but I believe it may have been based on the prayer I found here:

Well, as a matter of fact, I did sit down one night and wrote out eleven copies of the prayer.  After a few Sundays had passed, I had managed to slip it into eleven missalettes for others to find.

Thank you, St. Thérèse.  Merci pour ta pluie de roses dans nos vies.  May you have a festive day today in heaven, with the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin,  all the angels and saints, and our loved ones.

…few are the times when I manage to contemplate with my intellect.

Very often, what happens to me then is that when the continuous thought of God, of whom I am always aware, distances itself a bit from my mind, I suddenly feel myself touched by our Lord right at the center of my soul in such a soothing and penetrating way that, more often than not, I am forced to shed tears of sorrow for my infidelity and for the tender mercy of having a Father who is so good to call me back to His presence….

It seems to me that time flies by rapidly and I never have enough for prayer. I am very fond of good literature, but I read very little both because I am hindered by my infirmities and because, after opening a book and reading briefly, I find myself so profoundly absorbed my reading becomes prayer.

[From: Secrets of a Soul. Padre Pio's Letters to His Spiritual Directors, pgs. 55-57]

A continuous “celestial liturgy” dominated Hildegard’s artistic creations. According to her, this liturgy was sung in perfect unison (una voce) and would continue forever (sine fine) with voices alternating (alter ad alterum) in an eternal responsory. Humanity and the cosmos existed in unique musical concord, bringing all people’s hearts into consonance (anima symphonialis est) and serving not only as a guide to healthy living but as the basis of an effective system of healing and therapy. All the arts were divinely inspired, “and therefore it is only fitting that body and soul sing hymns of praise through the voice of God.” [page 19]

I will be posting more later on my thoughts surrounding Hildegard’s statement that music should serve “not only as a guide to healthy living but as the basis of an effective system of healing and therapy”, but for now I would like to leave you with this beautiful artistic performance, in which I’m sure Hildegard takes great delight:

Struggle ensues from this union of his love with us. For him alone, without us, there would be no struggle, for he loves the Father and human beings; he is Love. We, however, are not-love, with which his love burdens itself in order to overcome it. This overcoming does not take place in eternity; the battle is fought on earth, unto the death on the Cross, within the measurable time of the Son’s life that is depicted for us in Scripture, that we see as a limited period within our time, but that belongs so much to eternity that his years on earth cannot be subtracted from the eternity of the Son. Suffering in our time unto death, the Son makes known to us that the time of suffering is transitory, that his triumph in the Resurrection is a victory of heaven over earth, a proof of the Father’s power in the Son of Man, and that we share in this victory and our present time will be conquered by imperishable time.

[The Gates of Eternal Life, Adrienne von Speyr, pgs. 24-25]

One of the best days of my life.     ♥