The Mystery of Suffering: Fasting, Sacrifice, and Penance

17.15 Mary, we must always be steps so that other people may ascend to God. It does not matter if they tread on us, providing they are successful in reaching the Cross. It is the new tree that has the knowledge of Good and Evil, because it tells man what is good and what is evil, so that he may choose and live, and at the same time it is a medicine that cures those who are intoxicated by the evil they wanted to taste. Let our hearts be under the feet of men, that the number of the redeemed may increase and the Blood of My Jesus not be shed fruitlessly. That is the destiny of the maids of God. But then we deserve to receive the holy Host in our hearts and to say at the foot of the Cross drenched with His Blood and our tears: “Here is, o Father, the immaculate Host which we offer to You for the salvation of the world. Look at us, Father, melted with It and give us Your blessing for Its infinite merits”.

• Apostolate - Evangelism
• Master of souls
• Pain and suffering
• Sacrifice and immolation
• The fruitfulness of suffering

But now, how could I tell him that I was a Mother? I endeavoured to find suitable words to give him the news. A difficult task, as I did not want to boast of God’s gift and on the other hand there was no way of justifying My maternity without saying: “The Lord has loved Me amongst all women and has made Me, His servant, His Bride”. Neither did I wish to deceive him by concealing My condition from him.

And while I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse”. When? How? I did not ask. I had always relied upon God, and I had always allowed Myself to be led by Him exactly as a flower is led away by running water. The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now.

18.9 O My daughter, how beautiful and comforting is faith in our Eternal Good God! He holds us in His arms as in a cradle, like a boat He steers us into the bright harbour of Goodness, He warms our hearts, comforts and nourishes us, He bestows rest and happiness, light and guidance on us. Reliance in God is everything, and God grants everything to those who trust in Him: He gives Himself.

That evening I elevated to perfection My reliance as a creature. Now I was able to do so, because God was in Me. Before I had the confidence of a poor creature, such as I was: a mere nothing, even if I was so much loved as to be the Faultless One. But now I had a divine confidence, because God was Mine: My Spouse, My Son! Oh! What a joy! To be One with God. Not for My own glory, but to love Him with a total union and say to Him: “You, only You are in Me: please assist Me with Your Divine perfection in everything I do”.

If He had not said to Me: “Be silent!”, I would probably have dared say to Joseph, with My face bowed to the ground: “The Spirit has penetrated Me and now the Embryo of God is in Me”, and he would have believed Me, because he held Me in high esteem and because like those who never lie, he could not believe that others lied. Yes, to avoid hurting his feelings in the future, I would have overcome My reluctance to praise Myself. But I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.

It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it to repair and to give you guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you in relation to those who love you.

18.10 Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God’s protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you and will cause the truth to be known.

Now rest, My dear, and be more and more My dear daughter.»

• Annunciation
• Confidence in the Virgin Mary
• Holy Spirit
• Humility of the Virgin Mary
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Motherhood of the Virgin Mary
• Obedience to the Virgin Mary
• Passion of the Virgin Mary and Joseph
• Suffering and pain of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary - Co-Redemptrix

While I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse”. When? How? I did not ask. I had always relied upon God, and I had always allowed Myself to be led by Him exactly as a flower is led away by running water. The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far.

(...) I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.

It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it to repair and to give you guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you in relation to those who love you.

18.10 Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God’s protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you and will cause the truth to be known.

• Pain and suffering
• Sacrifice and immolation
• Silence

My daughter, how beautiful and comforting is faith in our Eternal Good God! He holds us in His arms as in a cradle, like a boat He steers us into the bright harbour of Goodness, He warms our hearts, comforts and nourishes us, He bestows rest and happiness, light and guidance on us. Reliance in God is everything, and God grants everything to those who trust in Him: He gives Himself.

• Abandon
• Comfort - Relief
• Faith
• Trust in God

You cannot believe how much peace it gives me to have Her near me. I think that to die seeing Her must be as sweet and even sweeter than the sweetest hour of one’s lifetime.

• Death
• Marian devotion
• The Virgin Mary

I only wish to draw your attention and the attention of readers to the constant habit of Joseph and Mine of giving priority to prayer. Tiredness, haste, worries, troubles never hindered our prayer, on the contrary they helped it. It was always the queen of our troubles, our relief, our light, our hope. If in sad moments it was a consolation, in happy ones it was a song. But it was always the constant friend of our souls. It detached us from the earth, from our exile, and it raised us up towards Heaven, our Fatherland.

• Comfort - Relief

The world needs a shower of prayers to be purified from the sins that draw punishments from God. And since only few people pray, those few must pray as if they were many. They must multiply their living prayers to make up the necessary amount to obtain graces. Prayers are living when they are flavoured with true love and sacrifice.

• God's punishment
• Love
• Prayer
• Sacrifice and immolation
• Thanks
• Words of wisdom

20.8 My dear daughter, it is a good thing, pleasing to God and praiseworthy, that you should suffer because of the sufferings of My Jesus and Mine, in addition to your own. Your sympathetic love is so dear to Me. But do you want to kiss Me? Kiss the wounds of My Son. Dress them with the balm of your love. I suffered spiritually the pangs of the scourges, of the thorns and the torture of the nails and of the cross. And likewise I feel spiritually all the caresses given to my Jesus, as they are as many kisses given to Me. And then come. I am the Queen of Heaven. But I am always the Mother…»

And I am happy.

• Loving God
• Loving the Virgin Mary
• Maria Valtorta's state of victim-soul
• Pain and suffering
• Passion of Jesus Christ
• Sacrifice and immolation
• The fruitfulness of suffering

«What a beautiful name! The name of the Son of God, of Our Redeemer!»

«Oh! Elizabeth!» Mary becomes sad and She seizes the hands of Her relative who had laid them across her enlarged abdomen. «Tell Me, since you were illuminated by the Spirit of the Lord, when I came here, and you prophesied what the world does not know, tell Me: what will My Creature have to suffer to save the world? The Prophets… Oh! What do the Prophets say of the Saviour? Isaiah… Do you remember Isaiah? “He is the Man of sorrows. Through His wounds we are healed. He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. Yahweh has been pleased to crush Him with suffering. After being condemned He was lifted up…” What lifting is he referring to? They call Him the Lamb and I cannot help thinking of the lamb of the Passover, of the lamb of Moses, and I associate it with the serpent elevated by Moses on a cross. Elizabeth! ay…Elizabeth!…What will they do to My Creature? What will He have to suffer to save the world?» Mary is crying.

Elizabeth comforts Her. «Mary, don’t cry. He is Your Son, but He is also the Son of God. God will see to His Son, and will look after You, His Mother. And if so many will be cruel to Him, so many will love Him. So many!… Forever and ever. The world will look at Your Son and will bless You with Him. They will bless You, for You are the Spring from which redemption gushes out. The destiny of Your Son! He will be raised to the rank of King of the whole creation. Just think of that, Mary. King, because He will redeem the whole creation, and as such, He will be universal King. And He will be loved also in the world, in its lifetime. My son will precede Yours and will love Him. The angel told Zacharias. And he wrote it down for me…»

• Character prophecies in the EMV
• Jean-Baptiste
• Lamb of God
• Prescience of the Virgin Mary
• Redeemer
• Redemption
• Sauveur
• Suffering and pain of the Virgin Mary

When one has a pain or a joy, one needs to be understood, not criticised.

• Chat
• Joy
• Libel - Slander
• Pain and suffering
• Review
• Understanding
• Words of wisdom