Saturday, July 26, 1997 4:30 p.m.
Thank you, Reverend Father and all this community which has retreated with docility and great fervor before the Lord’s throne.
Blessed be the Lord for He has beautiful souls, good souls, generous souls that comply with their superiors, souls that come to Holy Mass and give their own contribution by giving warmth and love to this community.
Communities are beautiful when they congregate united by the bond that link us to Jesus on the Cross, yes, as the Risen Christ who comes to save us; who came to save us. He comes to save us so we may truly love each other the way He loved us when He preached his Gospels.
Yes, brothers, love is so beautiful, fidelity to our Mother the Church, to our Holy Father the Pope of Rome, to all his priests, to all his shepherds, to all his bishops and so on, to all those who have consecrated themselves everyday with fervor in celebrating the Holy Mass, so the People of God may come and replenish their souls, their spirits, their hearts in the arms of the Lord who nourishes them.
Such a beautiful nourishment, it soothes us is such a way, it calms us, it inebriates us with love, with fidelity to our Church and with love for our priests with respect, due to the load of a people that yearns for social justice.
Yes, brothers, when we all truly understand the need to help the poorest who do not even have bread and live forsaken by society; when we may come to grow with the food of Jesus, we will be able to help our priests with the load of a people that yearns for social justice.
Yes, there is sadness in the hearts. There are so many people lacking everything and are truly in need of help in order to keep on going with fervor and awareness that the Lord’s aid will come to nourish their souls, their hearts, and their minds open to the grace of the Holy Spirit, living the Gospels.
We all must live the Gospels, we all must prepare and place our trust in Jesus through continuous Communion, our Lord’s daily food; and this is what can sustain us in this valley of tears; and I say valley of tears, because there is so much sorrow. Wherever we go there are so many problems, terrible social problems.
This is why we as Catholics must come together and unite as brothers faithful to our Mother the Church, to her self-giving priesthood, her priests in all the communities of the whole world, who are giving their contribution to lift us, the People of God, from our burdens.
And now, brothers, I will talk to you briefly about the meaning of Betania of the Holy Waters where our Blessed Mother presented herself on March 25th, 1976. Later she continued coming for all. Mary is coming to save us, to reaffirm our steps on the path of Christian virtues, to truly help us live the Gospels. She is appearing now in the grotto of Betania as Mary, Virgin and Mother Reconciler of Peoples and Nations. She is coming to gather the People of God, to soothe us, to help us walk better, to truly live the Gospels, to live together with our brothers of all classes, and specially with those who are most in need, collaborating with the priesthood, with the Church, with our Mother the Church, which is a Mother who opens her arms to everyone.
As we see our Holy Father going from one place to another spreading his Word, who is an example of Christ as the Pontiff, the teacher who comes to gather us, to lighten our burdens, and teach us the meaning of what it is to be a child of the Church, a child of a Mother Church. Therefore, let us follow into his footsteps, the footsteps of a Pontiff, John Paul II, who in these days, in these difficult times has traveled spreading the Word of the Lord, gathering his sheep, soothing their hearts, comforting them, strengthening his people, People of God, people who yearn to live according to the Gospels, those who feel Jesus Christ, He who gave of himself and continues giving of himself.
We see this in Saint Francis of Assisi who gave of himself, who surrendered himself, who gave the best of his life to Jesus to later live with him eternally in heaven. And we see Saint Claire following into his steps; she went to the convent and there she truly lived a life in the infinite love of a God in perfection, and founded the Claire Sisters, a beautiful congregation just as our Seraphic Father Saint Francis founded his beautiful order.
So, many souls have been saved and continue to be saved; we have seen this in his priests. I feel such devotion in my heart seeing this love, the call to the souls; this love flourishes in the heart as an innocent child. It is so beautiful to become an innocent child, to imitate children in their delicate nature, in their naivety, in their growth, how beautiful it is to become a child.
You see the children; some may ask themselves, “How does this family travel with those children?” Maybe some of the children are moving around – You know? But no, it is the Lord, it is my Mother who wants it to be this way.
I have seven children and eighteen grandchildren, they come with us whenever we go; and it is hard, yes. It is not that I am going to be in peace, no, there will always be little things to truly make me appreciate what it is to live with children. The environment teaches us to correct them, to be simple, humble, generous, and compassionate with all brothers.
We must learn to answer to the grace of the Lord, to the warmth of the children; children must be the warmth of their mothers, the relief of their fathers and the joy of their brothers. This is why, perhaps, this might seem a little strange to you; to me . . . Sometimes I wish not to disturb, I do not want anyone to feel uncomfortable because we are with the children, yet this has made many mothers and their children feel happier, for they have seen tolerance and the efforts that are made to share with them, so they can learn little by little, as they grow, that a life without children is not a life, except for the priests who consecrated their lives to Jesus, and who live with him continuously preaching and spreading his Word to all brothers who are most in need, to all the faithful.
Therefore, brothers, I think I am here because our Lord wanted it to be. Truly, I did not expect your invitation, but Jesus wanted it to be, and wherever He sends me, I go, and if I have to renounce to everything, I do; nothing stops me. The only thing that does stop me is Jesus Christ in the glory of the Father, the glory of the Holy Spirit, and the queenship of Mary; Mary, Virgin and Mother, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, Mary the Conqueror of the people here; Mary Conqueror, who gave me a message eight or ten days ago.
I did not know that this devotion, Mary the Conqueror, was here. It is unbelievable, but it happened. This has moved me so much; it came as divine rain from heaven which has inebriated me with love for all of you, a deep feeling.
We see Father filled with so much love as he spoke to each one with such dedication, such serenity, such authority, and such love that flows from his heart to all souls, for he surrendered his life to Christ. I pray very much for priestly and religious vocations. We need priestly vocations, we need religious vocations, we need souls, apostles, people who surrender themselves and spread the Word of the Lord. Yes, not only our Holy Father, who is doing this so beautifully – My God – with such serenity, even when he is feeling sick and sad, but he feels filled with human warmth.
How beautiful it is to feel the warmth the Father is instilling in our hearts, to feel his priests who touch our souls, to feel his people as a big family, the great family of God, our priests.
Let us be a great family united to our relatives, to our friends, to our beloved ones; all united enduring each other. The spirit of endurance is necessary in life. We must tolerate in order to be tolerated; we must lighten our burdens so that we may not become a burden to others, but we must be united, and soothe the sorrow of the souls who approach us with a word, a hand shake, a glance; we must give something of ourselves and that something is the Gospel.
Evangelization, teaching my people; and we, as People of God have the responsibility of spreading the Word of God. The coming times are turning harsher every day and we have to prepare ourselves. The end of this century is approaching, I may not be here, but perhaps you will all live those great moments, in order for all to be saved, and to unite forces so that all your brothers may live in peace and in harmony with all of you.
Thank you very much, Father. I truly feel touched and I see that you are working very, very much, but the Lord will give you the strength and will continue giving it to you with the will power that you have, with heavenly shades, I would say, to give shelter in your heart to all those souls that are part of Jesus as well, stretching out your hands to all those who approach you. Continue on, for because of this we may save many, many souls in life, especially you.
I know there are Indians here; that there are locals living in this area. I greet you and give you my hand, I give you a strong embrace and a kiss on your forehead asking the Lord to help you raise your families with the support of that Holy, mystic and perfect Church that helps us all survive every day, even when some are lukewarm or sad, to heal us and be able to say: Lord, Lord, we are living with you, Lord, because we are complying with our duties.
So, brothers, I will say goodbye by saying: Hail Mother Mary. And what is the greatest and most beautiful thing? The Father who created us in his image and likeness; his Divine Son Jesus Christ who with his Blood shed on the Cross bathed us, cleansed us, and purified us from all contamination with the world of sin; and the Holy Spirit Consoler who comes to save us with the gift of understanding to truly understand each one of us.
- What do you want from me, Lord? What do you want from me, Lord? Help me find the path, truth, and divine knowledge in order to work and help our community grow, help my brothers, soothe their pain, their sorrow, their grief. Help us, Lord, and give us the humility, patience, much patience, the holy fear of God of not offending You, and even more, much love in our hearts
What we need is love, much love. We all need love in life, the love that God gives us every day that makes us docile to the great truth we have before us, the Eucharist; his Mystical Body. Let us receive the Eucharist every day, brothers, so that one day, there in eternity, we may all meet in a brotherly and friendly embrace.
May God keep us all.
My respects, Father, to you and to your community.
I wanted to become a Franciscan; that was my greatest dream. The Lord called me and told me: “Battle with the world, daughter.” It is hard, yet it has been this way. I am happy, I have a good husband, beautiful children. My family is wonderful, I cannot complain. But God has especially given me great will power; that is what we need, will power, to grow and to truly discern what it is that God is asking from us.
I wish to thank all these ladies, all these madams, all these good and generous people who have had compassion with their brothers.
Please pray for me as well, especially when you pray the holy rosary.
May God bless you all.
(Applause.)
