The reality of sin, grace and forgiveness

«It is true that to kill oneself is the same as killing other people. Both our own and other people’s lives are the gift of God and only God, Who gives life, has the authority to take it. Who kills himself, confesses his own pride, and pride is hated by God.»

«He confesses his pride? I would say his despair.»

«And what is despair but pride? Just think, Judas. Why does one despair? Either because misfortunes persistently perturb him and he wants to overcome them by himself, but is unable to do so. Or because he is guilty and he thinks that he cannot be forgiven by God. In both cases, is not pride the basic reason? The man who wants to do all by himself, is no longer humble enough to stretch out his hand to the Father and say to Him: “I am not able, but You are. Help me, because I hope and wait for everything from You”. The other man who says: “God cannot forgive me” says so, because measuring God by his own standards, he knows that another person could not forgive him, if that person had been offended, as he offended God. So here again it is pride. A humble man understands and forgives, even if he suffers for the offence received. A proud man does not forgive. He is proud also because he is not capable of lowering his head and saying: “Father, I have sinned, forgive Your poor guilty son”. But do you not know, Judas, that the Father will forgive everything, if one asks to be forgiven with a sincere, contrite, humble, heart willing to rise again to new life?»

«But certain crimes are not to be forgiven. They cannot be forgiven.»

«That is what you say. And it will be true only because man wants it to be true. But, oh! I solemnly tell you that even after the crime of crimes, if the guilty man should rush to the Father’s feet – He is called Father, Judas, just for that, and He is a Father of infinite perfection – and crying, implored Him to be forgiven, offering to expiate, without despairing, the Father would make it possible for him to expiate and thus deserve forgiveness and save his soul.»

69.3 «Well, then, You say that the men quoted by the Scriptures who killed themselves, did wrong.»

«It is not lawful to do violence to anybody, not even to oneself. They did wrong. In their limited knowledge of good, perhaps in certain cases, they had mercy from God. But after the Word has clarified the truth and has given strength to spirits with His Spirit, then he who dies in despair will no longer be forgiven. Neither in the instant of the personal judgement, nor after centuries of Gehenna, on Doomsday, never! Is that hardness by God? No: it is justice. God will say: “You, a creature gifted with reason and supernatural knowledge, created free by Me, you decided to follow the path you chose and you said: ‘God will not forgive me. I am separated from Him forever. I think I must apply the law by myself to my own crime. I am parting from life to evade remorse without considering that you would no longer have felt remorse if you had come to My faithful bosom. And let it be done to you, as you judged. I will not violate the freedom I gave you”.

That is what the Eternal Father will say to suicide. Meditate on it, Judas. Life is a gift, a gift to be loved. But what gift is it? A holy gift. So love it holily. Life lasts as long as the flesh holds out. Then the great Life, the eternal Life begins. A Life of blissful happiness for the just, of malediction for the unjust. Is life a purpose or a means? It is a means. It serves for a purpose which is eternity. Then let us give life what is required to make it last and serve the spirit in its conquest. Continence of the flesh in all its lusts, in all of them. Continence of the mind in all its desires, in all of them. Continence of the heart in all human passions. Infinite instead is to be the ardour for heavenly passions: love of God and the neighbour, obedience to the divine word, heroism in good and virtue.

• Atonement - Reparation
• Despair
• God's mercy and forgiveness
• Humility
• Lessons and Teachings for the Apostles
• Misfortunes
• Pride
• Remorse
• Suicide
• The guilty man

«(...) Certain crimes are not to be forgiven. They cannot be forgiven.»

«That is what you say. And it will be true only because man wants it to be true. But, oh! I solemnly tell you that even after the crime of crimes, if the guilty man should rush to the Father’s feet – He is called Father, Judas, just for that, and He is a Father of infinite perfection – and crying, implored Him to be forgiven, offering to expiate, without despairing, the Father would make it possible for him to expiate and thus deserve forgiveness and save his soul.»

• Crime
• God the Father
• Repentance and contrition
• Words of wisdom

“Father, I have sinned, forgive Your poor guilty son”.

• Prayer to obtain the Father's forgiveness
• Sin
• The guilty man

A humble man understands and forgives, even if he suffers for the offence received. A proud man does not forgive. He is proud also because he is not capable of lowering his head and saying: “Father, I have sinned, forgive Your poor guilty son”. But do you not know, (...), that the Father will forgive everything, if one asks to be forgiven with a sincere, contrite, humble, heart willing to rise again to new life?»

• Honesty and sincerity
• Mercy and forgiveness
• Repentance and contrition
• Words of wisdom

«Everyone can be tempted. Sinners are only those who want to be such.»

• Fighting temptation
• Sin
• Temptation
• Words of wisdom

Man can, if he wants, not sin.

• Fighting temptation
• Sin
• Temptation
• Words of wisdom

Judas, answer this question of Mine. Will one who is hungry, suffer more by saying: “I will now sit down at the table” or by saying: “There is no food for me”?»

«He suffers more in the latter case, because the simple thought that he is without food, will bring back to him the pleasant smell of food and his bowels will be tortured by biting desire.»

«Right: temptation is as biting as that desire, Judas. Satan makes it more intense, more real, more alluring than any accomplished act. Further, the act satisfies, and at times nauseates; whereas temptations do not subside, but like pruned trees, they grow stronger and stronger.»

• Fighting temptation
• Sin
• Temptation

All classes of people are worthy or unworthy. And without lacking in charity, but to avoid offending justice, I tell you that the unworthy, the mischievously unworthy, are often to be found amongst the great ones. It is not necessary and it is of no use being influential to be good or to hide sins from the eyes of God. Everything will be turned over under My Sign. And not he who is mighty will be great, but he who is humble and holy.

• Dignity
• Humility
• Indignity
• Malice
• Sin
• The poor man
• The powerful man
• The rich man
• The smallest and the biggest

It grieves Me only to notice how much man has been corrupted by Satan who perverts his thoughts. All men, you know! The thoughts of all of you have been misled by him! But the day will come, when you will have the Strength and the Grace of God, you will have Wisdom with His Spirit… you will then have everything to enable you to judge rightly.

• Disorder
• Force
• Holy Spirit
• Judging a soul
• Judgment
• Lucifer - Satan
• Thanks
• Wisdom

The dead do not suffer any longer when they have been just people. (...) And if the dead need our prayers, it is not necessary to be near their bones to pray for them.

Bones? What are they? A proof of the power of God Who made man with dust. But nothing else. Also animals have bones. But the skeletons of all animals are not so perfect as a man’s skeleton. Only man, the king of creation, has an upright position, as a king over his subjects, and his face looks forwards and upwards without having to twist his neck; man looks upwards, towards the Abode of the Father. But they are still bones. Dust that will return to dust. The eternal Bounty has decided to assemble them again on the eternal Day to give even a greater joy to the blessed souls. Just imagine: not only will the souls be reunited and will love one another as and even more than they did on the earth, but they will rejoice also seeing one another with the same features they had on the earth: dear curly-haired children, like yours, Elias, fathers and mothers with loving hearts and faces like yours Levi and Joseph. Indeed, in your case Joseph, it will be the day when at last you will see the faces for which you feel nostalgia. There are no more orphans, no widows among the just, up there…

Prayers for the dead can be said anywhere. It is the prayer of a soul for the soul of a relative to the Perfect Spirit, Who is God, Who is everywhere. Oh! holy freedom of what is spiritual! There are no distances, no exile, no prisons, no tombs… There is nothing that can divide or restrict in painful impotence what is outside and above the chains of the flesh. You will go, with your better part, towards your beloved ones. And they will come to you with their better part. And the whole effusion of loving souls will rotate around the Eternal Fulcrum, around God: the Most Perfect Spirit, the Creator of everything that was, is and will be, Love that loves you and teaches you how to love…

• Bones
• Communion of saints
• Death and loss of a loved one - Bereavement
• Deceased
• Limbo - Sheol
• Orphans
• Prayer and suffrage for the dead
• Purgatory
• Resurrection of the flesh
• Saints and blessed
• Souls in Purgatory
• Widow - Widower - Widow