|
"And I wish you to know, My daughter, that, although
I have re-created and restored to the life of grace,
the human race, through the Blood of My only-begotten
Son, as I have said, men are not grateful, but, going
from bad to worse, and from guilt to guilt, even
persecuting Me with many injuries, taking so little
account of the graces which I have given them, and
continue to give them, that, not only do they not
attribute what they have received to grace, but seem
to themselves on occasion to receive injuries from
Me, as if I desired anything else than their
sanctification.
"I say to you that they will be more hard-hearted,
and worthy of more punishment, and will, indeed, be
punished more severely, now that they have received
redemption in the Blood of My Son, than they would
have been before that redemption took place -- that
is, before the stain of Adam's sin had been taken
away. It is right that he who receives more should
render more, and should be under great obligations to
Him from whom he receives more.
"Man, then, was closely bound to Me through his being
which I have given him, creating him in My own image
and similitude; for which reason, he was bound to
render Me glory, but he deprived Me of it, and wished
to give it to himself. Thus he came to transgress My
obedience imposed on him, and became My enemy. And I,
with My humility, destroyed his pride, humiliating
the divine nature, and taking your humanity, and,
freeing you from the service of the devil, I made you
free.
"And, not only did I give you liberty, but, if you
examine, you will see that man has become God, and
God has become man, through the union of the divine
with the human nature. This is the debt which they
have incurred -- that is to say, the treasure of the
Blood, by which they have been procreated to grace.
See, therefore, how much more they owe after the
redemption than before. For they are now obliged to
render Me glory and praise by following in the steps
of My Incarnate Word, My only-begotten Son, for then
they repay Me the debt of love both of Myself and of
their neighbor, with true and genuine virtue, as I
have said to you above, and if they do not do it, the
greater their debt, the greater will be the offense
they fall into, and therefore, by divine justice, the
greater their suffering in eternal damnation.
"A false Christian is punished more than a pagan, and
the deathless fire of divine justice consumes him
more, that is, afflicts him more, and, in his
affliction, he feels himself being consumed by the
worm of conscience, though, in truth, he is not
consumed, because the damned do not lose their being
through any torment which they receive. Wherefore I
say to you, that they ask for death and cannot have
it, for they cannot lose their being; the existence
of grace they lose, through their fault, but not
their natural existence.
"Therefore guilt is more gravely punished after the
Redemption of the Blood than before, because man
received more; but sinners neither seem to perceive
this, nor to pay any attention to their own sins, and
so become My enemies, though I have reconciled them,
by means of the Blood of My Son. But there is a
remedy with which I appease My wrath -- that is to
say, by means of My servants, if they are jealous to
constrain Me by their desire. You see, therefore,
that you have bound Me with this bond which I have
given you, because I wished to do mercy to the world.
"Therefore I give My servants hunger and desire for
My honor, and the salvation of souls, so that,
constrained by their tears, I may mitigate the fury
of My divine justice. Take, therefore, your tears and
your sweat, drawn from the fountain of My divine
love, and, with them, wash the face of My spouse.
"I promise you, that, by this means, her beauty will
be restored to her, not by the knife nor by cruelty,
but peacefully, by humble and continued prayer, by
the sweat and the tears shed by the fiery desire of
My servants, and thus will I fulfill your desire if
you, on your part, endure much, casting the light of
your patience into the darkness of perverse man, not
fearing the world's persecutions, for I will protect
you, and My Providence shall never fail you in the
slightest need."
|