The following
paragraphs are taken from the book The Way of Divine Love by Sister
Josefa Menéndez, Reprinted by arrangement with the copyright holder: Sands & Co. (Publishers), Ltd., 79 Larmans Road, Enfield, Middlesex,
England 1949. Copyright © 1972 by TAN
Books & Publishers, Inc. (Pocketbook Edition).
On March 24, 1923,
Jesus came to Sister Josefa and continued to relate the story of His passion. Jesus continued at the point when “. . . finding
Barabbas preferred to Me, and how, at seeing Myself so scorned, I felt cut to
the quick by the cries of the crowd urging My death.” . . .
“. . .After the
betrayal in the Garden of Olives, Judas wandered away, a fugitive, a prey to
the reproaches of his conscience which taxed him with the most execrable of
sacrileges. And when he heard that I was
condemned to death, he gave himself up to despair and hanged himself.
“Who can measure the
deep and intense grief of My Heart when I saw this soul so long taught by love
. . . the recipient of My doctrine, one who had so often heard from My lips
words of forgiveness for the most heinous crimes, finally throw himself into hell
. . .?
“Ah! Judas, why not
throw yourself at My feet that I may forgive you too? If you are afraid to come near Me because of
the raging mob that surrounds Me, at least look at Me. . . . My eyes will meet yours, for even now they are
lovingly intent upon you.
“O all you who are
steeped in sin, and who for a time more or less long have lived as wanderers
and fugitives because of your crimes . . . if the offences of which you have
been guilty have hardened and blinded your hearts . . . if to grant
satisfaction to one or other of your passions you have sunk into evil ways . .
. Ah! when the motives or accomplices of
your sin have forsaken you, and you realize the state of your soul, O then, do not
yield to despair! For as long as a
breath of life remains a man may have recourse to mercy and ask for pardon.
“If you are still
young, if already the scandals of your life have lowered you in the eyes of the
world, do not be afraid. . . . Even if there is reason to treat you as a
criminal, to insult and cast you off . . . your God has no wish to see you fall
into . . . hell. . . . On the contrary He ardently desires you to
come to Him so that He may forgive you.
If you dare not speak to Him, at least look at Him and let the sighs of
your heart reach Him, and at once you will find His kind and fatherly hand
stretched out to lead you to the springs of pardon and life.
“Should it happen
that you have spent the greater part of your life in impiety and indifference,
and that the sudden approach of the hour of death fills you with blinding despair
. . . Ah! do not let yourself be deceived, for there is still time for
pardon. If only one second of life
remains to you, in that one second you can buy back eternal life!
“If your whole life
has been spent in ignorance and error . . . if you have been a cause of great
evil to other men, to society at large, or to religion, and if through some set
of circumstances you have come to realize that you have been deceived . . . do
not allow yourself to be crushed by the weight of your sins and of the evil of
which you have been the instrument; but with a soul penetrated with deep
contrition throw yourself into an abyss of confidence, and hasten to Him who
awaits your return only to pardon you.
“The case is the
same for a soul that has been faithful in the observance of My law from
childhood, but who has gradually cooled off into the tepid and unspiritual ways
of an easy life. She has so to say
forgotten her soul and its higher aspirations.
God was asking of her greater efforts, but blinded by habitual failings,
she has fallen into tepidity worse than actual sin, for her deaf and drowsy
conscience neither feels remorse nor hears the voice of God.
“Then, perhaps, that
soul awakens with a shock of realization:
life appears to have been a failure, empty and useless . . .. . . . She has lost innumerable graces, and . . . plunges . . . into discouragement,
sadness and dejection . . . and finally . . . into fear and despair.
“O soul whom I love,
pay no heed to this ruthless enemy . . . but as soon as possible have recourse
to Me, and filled with deepest contrition implore My mercy and have no
fear. I will forgive you. Take up again your life of fervour, and you
will have back your lost merits, and My grace will never fail you.
“”Finally, shall I
speak to My chosen souls? Supposing that
one has spent long years in the constant practice of the Rule and of her
religious duties . . . a soul that I have favoured with My grace and instructed
by My counsels . . . a soul long faithful to My voice and to the inspirations
of grace . . . and now this soul has cooled in her fervour on account of some
petty passion . . . occasions of faults not avoided . . . some yielding to the
claims of nature and a general relaxation of effort . . . and in consequence
has fallen to a lower level . . . to a commonplace kind of life . . . then
lastly, to give it its true name, tepidity.
If, for one cause or another, you awake from this torpid state, . . .
“. . .listen rather
to My voice, and let Me tell you how to act:
As soon as your soul is touched by grace, and before the struggle has
even begun, hasten to My Heart; beg of Me to let a drop of My Blood fall on
your soul. . . . Ah! hasten to My Heart
. . . and be without fear for the past; all has been swallowed up in the abyss
of My mercy, and My love is preparing new graces for you. The memory of your lapses will be an
incentive to humility and a source of merit, and you cannot give Me a greater
proof of affection than to count on My full pardon and to believe that your
sins will never be as great as My mercy, which is infinite.”
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