Reflection II
#9 The Cross, New Life and the LC Mission
My daughter, My Cross without Me is nothing but agony; My Cross with Me is new life.
I came, My little one, to bring you new life. Your life without the saving grace of My Precious Blood is death and darkness. I came to restore you to your original state of grace as a daughter of the Father, a daughter who is pure and holy as God is pure and holy, a daughter created for Love and to be love, a daughter to reflect and radiate the beauty of God Himself.
The Lord begins by telling us why He came.
Reflection:
- Am I being restored?
- In what specific ways have I become a new man or woman? What changes do I see in myself from the time I began in LC? Since last year?
-If I do not see any changes in myself, why not?
The Cross is your sole wealth and happiness on earth because it is your path to new life. It is the place of encounter between a creature and the Trinity. Yes, My daughter, that place of encounter with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You enter the Cross through the gate of My Mother. She accompanies you to the foot of the Cross to kiss My pierced and wounded feet. This first encounter is the awakening of your soul. It is through this act of humble love, in imitation of My Mother, in which you receive the gift of knowledge, therefore, receiving the gold of precious repentance.
#31 p. 96 - By allowing all suffering to draw you into My sufferings and sorrows, you will
come to know Love.
The Lord now explains to us the means to this "new life" – the Cross.
Reflection:
- Since coming to the Cross with Mary, the beginning of living this Path, how have I encountered Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Father?Is there a Person of the Trinity I feel I have not come to know yet?
- The Lord’s ways are simple – literally kiss my feet and ASK for the GIFT of knowledge & repentance. We are the ones that complicate it with our analyzing and intelligence. Do I literally do this simple humble act every day? If not, why?
- Do I have the humility & docility to RECEIVE self-knowledge from my spouse, accompanier, friend, brother, sister, community member? Is there a certain person or persons I find myself reluctant to receive from? Have I ever asked the people I live with if they find me open to receive healthy criticism?
- How do I block the gift of self-knowledge – justify – "it's wrong"?
- What have I learned this past year about myself? Lies, wounds, disordered tendencies, anger,
- What have I repented from that I am working very hard to correct?
My feet represent My desire to bring My Gospel to the ends of the world. On earth, they were continuously walking, moving forward in love of my Father's mission, which was My mission because We are One with the Holy Spirit.
As you kiss My feet ask: How far are you willing to go to proclaim My mission that I have placed in your heart? Will your feet reach the summit of Golgotha? Will you continue to love and be faithful to My mission when you are persecuted and misunderstood, many times by those closest to you? How far are you willing to walk for Me? Are you willing to remain at My feet and wash them with the perfume of your tears and sacrifices as Mary Magdalene did?
(2/24/11)
- "Know who you are." Living out your consecration is the fulfillment of the mission. "Bring me victim souls."
- Duplicity. We do not want to share what we think people do not want to hear. (ex. Donato’s house)
- It’s not enough to have just a personal attraction to these teachings; to be in the community is a vocation to make these teachings our way of life and to live the mission.
LC Consecration
Heavenly Father, moved by Your love and Your grace,
in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary, my Mother,
and the family of Love Crucified,
I, (name), resolve to deny myself, to take up my cross daily,
and to follow Jesus, Love Crucified.
Through the immaculate hands of Mary, receive my blood,
united to the Precious Blood of Jesus,
as a sacrifice of love for You, for Your priests, families,
the most hardened hearts, and for the salvation of the world.
Transform my heart into Your living chalice
so that I become Your companion of love.
Inspired by Venerable Conchita and our patron saints,
I offer myself as a victim united to Jesus the Victim of love.
I surrender my entire heart, will, plans, desires, sacrifices, sufferings, joys, prayers, works, every thought and action, uniting all to Christ's sacrificial love on the Cross,
so that no longer I live but Christ, Love Crucified, lives in me.
My Lord, I surrender myself to the Holy Spirit
and vow to be attentive to His promptings and movements in my soul,
that I may come to a deeper knowledge of Christ and of myself,
to learn from Him love, tenderness, mercy, humility, docility, obedience, purity, silence, service and all the virtues.
I promise full assent and obedience
to all the Catholic Church teaches
and to treasure the Eucharist, the Word, Reconciliation
and all the Lord provides for our sanctification.
I enter into a covenant of love
with my brothers and sisters of the Love Crucified Community
and commit to its way of life.
My words and actions shall reflect my love for all,
so that we can help each other live the Path to Union
and be witnesses to the world.
All for the glory of God and the renewal of the Church through a new Pentecost.
Every movement of my soul shall say with Christ:
"Suffer all with Me, no longer two but ONE, in My sacrifice of love."
-Amen.