This talk will consider the sufferings of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the faithful - and how that is related to ourselves, especially now, in our time.

I think one of the biggest sufferings that we have, especially in this busy era, is time itself; in waiting. God is teaching us all about the virtue of patience, because without it you will not be prepared sufficiently to endure it as easily as you might. Suffering at any time is not pleasant.

To be able to nurture the trials you need to be patient. As all of you know and probably experienced, patience is not the easiest of the virtues to acquire. That's why the trials are so many in number. In our walk through life God sends us many trials so we will resign ourselves to His Will. Sometimes, especially when we do not understand what God is doing with us, we must practice this virtue with greater intensity.

If you read Maria Valtorta's 'Poem of the Man-God' you will be given an insight into Saint Peter's nature. He, as you know, was not exactly a patient man. Jesus had to teach him this virtue through small trials which came his way. Saint Peter always wanted to have things done quickly - and this reminds me of many of the souls in our Community, and others elsewhere; even I, at times, desire things to move swiftly. In other words, we say to God: "Get on with it; it's taking too long" - as it has in past years, past months; as it does today. This in itself is a suffering because we become impatient with ourselves, impatient with our brothers and sisters, with our spouses and our children, because we desire to do have things done hastily. So God then has to slow us down - and he does this in various ways: through sickness, misfortune, situations in our lives that virtually take it out of our hands - and sometimes we lose control and can only say to God: "Well, it's in Your Hands now".

God teaches us by this method to accept His Will and learn to be patient in doing so. It's the same as when a child is trying to walk: a parent watches very carefully it struggles up to take its first steps. Inevitably, the child will fall down. So you pick it up - but sometimes the child becomes impatient because it can't walk when it wants to. We are like that with God - so He, in His Wisdom, slows us down.

How does this relate to the Sufferings of Jesus and Mary? - because Jesus and Mary are our Heavenly Parents. They watch us grow - and they see how many times we fall down, too! They come and pick us up again; stand us up and keep telling us: "Be patient. It will happen; it will come". To be able to understand better the Sufferings of Our Lord and Our Lady you need to read the Scriptures and the many books which have been written about Jesus and Mary.

Our Lord has given us many examples of how much dedication is involved so one may carry the Cross and be a Disciple of Our Lord. Father Broussard has spoken of it in his talks; it is also mentioned in the readings of Scripture and in the Messages. Our Lord truly tested Saint Paul, to extract from him that act of faith in which he would say: "Not my will, but Yours". He had to suffer very much to follow Our Lord - and remember: at first, Saint Paul persecuted Our Lord, through His followers.

But, the Sufferings of Jesus and Mary are clearly seen in the lives of God's people. I have been privileged myself, as you know, to personally witness the Sufferings of Jesus. Our Lord Himself took me to witness His Own Passion, many years ago, and to see the Way of the Cross. He allowed me to be amongst the crowds, although the crowd was not aware that I was there. I was permitted to see, to feel and to experience. I wanted so much to help Jesus - and I could see my own sins reflected in Our Lord's Passion. I wanted to run out to help Our Lord lift-up that Cross. Jesus only looked at me and smiled - because He knew that I, too, was a sinner and desired to be saved by He Who carried my sins and my cross.

I won't go into the details of Our Lord's and Our Lady's Suffering individually because all of you know the stories quite well. But if you want to see some semblance of the Suffering of Our Lord and Our Lady, look at your families; look at your lives; look at the Communities; look at the world. How do we suffer? Is it Christ Who is Suffering in us? Are we allowing Christ to live within us? Is Christ manifesting Himself to others through you?

Suffering is a very important element of salvation; without it we cannot be saved. There are many types of suffering, as you know - and not only in the flesh but also in the mind; in the soul; in the spirit; in your everyday life. So - through our daily lives, when God calls us to submit to His Will, do we freely submit ourselves to Him so He can share His Cross in our being?

As examples of suffering, most often mentioned are the lives of the great Saints, like Saint Paul, Padre Pio, Teresa Neumann, Catherine Emmerich, Theresa of Avila, some of whom carried the Stigmata - the visible signs - of Our Lord's Physical Suffering. What about the other hundred thousand Saints who have been Canonised by Holy Mother Church? They, too, became visible signs of the Suffering of Our Lord within them.

Remember the Beatitudes: "Blessed are they who are persecuted for My sake". Persecution is a very strong suffering that we receive, because Christ was persecuted. All those who are persecuted in His Name are as another Christ in the world.

Many souls do not know the intimate Sufferings of Jesus. Remember that Jesus was God - but He was humiliated, to an extraordinary degree. When you read in Maria Valtorta's works about His Secret Sufferings you would have to be hard-hearted to avoid weeping. There are fifteen Secret Sufferings of Jesus! Some of you do not know them. Jesus was forced to sit on nails, while naked; a thorn was driven into His Tongue; His tormentors plucked-out His Beard and ripped-out His Hair. These are some of the Secret Sufferings of Our Lord. They placed impurities in His Mouth and on His Face; spat upon Him! These are the terrible things that happened to Jesus when He was imprisoned - and they tied Him up so tightly, the rope around His Wrists bit-in so deeply it caused Him to Bleed.

Remember that Jesus, even though He is God, suffered interiorly because these souls created by His Father were the ones who were causing this terrible pain. Everything that happened to Jesus also happened to the Virgin Mary because She was Mystically bound with Our Lord. Many people - or most of them, I should say - do not know that the Virgin Mary carried the Wounds of Our Lord in Her Sacred Body, though They were not visible to man. The Virgin Mary was the first to carry the Stigmata of Jesus. When Jesus was Crucified on the Cross, so was the Virgin Mary, interiorly. When Our Lady held Jesus in Her Arms beneath the Cross after Jesus was taken-down, She took the Crown of Thorns from Our Lord's Head - and one of them pierced Our Lady's Hand, going straight through it. Many people do not know that. Can you imagine the pain of that Wound?

We can speak a lot about the different Pains and Sufferings that Jesus and Mary had. Most people believe that it was on the Cross alone that He Suffered, but it was not. In reality the greatest and deepest Suffering that Our Lord endured was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus was tormented by spirits who invaded His Mind. You know, agony of the mind can be a greater affliction than any physical suffering. The torment of doubt is one of the greatest trials that a man or woman can have in this world because it affects the intellect. Jesus, as God, knew all things - past, present and future. In the Garden of Gethsemane, at the Rock, you and I were before His Eyes.

In an instant He could see what choices we would make during every stage of our lives. In other words, whether we would choose what is good, rather than something evil - or choose evil over good, despite all the Gifts and Graces we will have been given. He could see all the souls who would be condemned, despite the Precious Blood Which He gave on the Cross, and before that - at the very beginning, with the Circumcision; during His early Life He hurt Himself, several times, in the kitchen, and with the carpentry tools of Saint Joseph; someone hit Him with a stone, on His right Hand. Every time Our Lord Shed Blood it was Shed for us; it was all to do with redemption. Mary, Who pondered upon all these things, received the same treatment because She is and always will be co-Redeemer with Our Lord. Without the Virgin Mary, we would not have salvation. So the Virgin Mary had to give all; in return She received all.

The Suffering of Our Lord in the Garden was terrible - mental Suffering - because He could see everything which was to come, in an instant of time! He could see how few of those whom God Created would be saved by His Sacrificed Blood. Think of it: countless trillions of souls being Created, from the time of Adam and Eve to the end of the world - and only a small number of them will benefit from the Precious Blood of Our Lord.

Put yourselves in Our Lord's place, in the Garden. Imagine that you could see your children as adults - and had, say, fifteen children with whom you were Graced though God's Blessing - and were being shown the future of each of your children, discovering that out of those fifteen children only three - or fewer - would be saved. And you saw the portals of Hell open before your eyes - and your children were in those fires, for eternity! How would you feel? That would be the most devastating suffering that any soul could ever imagine - and Jesus saw that; Mary saw that, in Christ. For a moment forget the Cross, the floggings, the betrayal. Christ saw that because you and I are His children; the children of the Eternal Father and the Holy Ghost. Jesus could see all this.

The intensity of His Pain would be beyond all comprehension because the pain of a parent when a child is lost - or even physically hurt, for that matter - is immense! Now - Mary had to give-up Her Son to be placed on the Cross, knowing very well that this was the Plan of God so salvation could occur. You who are parents: think of your own children on a human basis now. Your own child, your own offspring - be they child or adult - are flesh of your flesh. The Eternal Father demands of you that the child be nailed to a cross, in front of your eyes. Why? - so He can save someone else's child, from down the road; it should be a vivid picture in your mind. Just think of it - your own little child! Someone grabs that child - no matter what age it is - beats it half to death and then puts nails into that child so it can be hung on a couple of pieces of wood!! How would you feel? Would you say "Yes" to God - the One Who asked this of you? What if He asked it of you today; could you do it? Would you say "Yes"? Well, Mary did!

Here's something to ponder: do you know why Joseph wasn't alive at the time when Jesus was preaching? Because Saint Joseph would have stopped the Crucifixion, that's why. In spite of knowing God's Will, Saint Joseph - the foster-father of Jesus - would have interfered with God's Plan; that's why he had to be taken - it happened when Jesus was about to start His Preaching travels, and Joseph was not informed of that Plan. But think of the anguish which Mary endured, because She knew God's Plan beforehand - so She had time to contemplate It, and it was uppermost in Her Mind. Do you think it would have been easy, despite the fact that She knew that He was the Son of God? She also knew that this was the way in which the Eternal Father desired salvation to be offered to all. God could have chosen another way - but He did not. He chose a terrible way to save the world. It included His Pain, Suffering, Persecution, Humiliation, Degradation - and it was mostly within Himself - not that inflicted by the Romans or the Jews or any other Earthly beings - including some of His close companions!! To me that sounds very familiar.

So think - and it is not often that the average person does - of the terrible Suffering that Christ and the Virgin Mary had to undergo. Not only They, but also those who accompanied Jesus and Mary. When you see your loved-ones - spouse, children or parents - suffering, don't you suffer also? Sometimes you suffer just as much! Saint John - the Apostle - Mary Magdala and the other holy women and some of the holy men and children who accompanied Our Lord towards the Cross also shared partially in that terrible, terrible, moment. And yet, it is by that very sacrifice that not only are we saved, but Heaven is opened and we receive the eternal reward through the Merits of Our Lord, the Virgin Mary and the Saints. How does God reward this wonderful and extraordinary moment? - with the Resurrection, of course.

How does this suffering relate to us as members of an Order, as members of the Catholic Church and members of the human race, especially right now: Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, saw you sitting here at this very moment, listening to this talk. It was already planned by God for all time that you would be here today; God, Who is all Wise, has mapped out your lives; already knows the decisions you are going to make after this weekend. Some will say "Yes"; some will still sit on the fence, swaying back and forth, back and forth. They'll say to themselves: "Huh, the 'Little Pebble' said the Passion is going to come to him today". Well, as far as you could see it didn't. In actual fact it did! - but it wasn't obvious to you; you didn't know about it. Therefore you're still swaying from side to side - yet God has opened-up a thousand doors for you so far; opened-up avenues for you to believe and understand. I know that most of you do believe, otherwise you would not be here.

God has a Plan - an infinite Plan - for each and everyone of you. You are not here just for the sake of being here. You were created by God out of Pure Love - and you were created for God out of Pure Love. Only for God; for nobody else - just for God. God has placed you on this vast 'chessboard' of the world. Some of you, in your vocations, are bishops, some are queens, knights or rooks, and others are pawns - the little souls - but all have a role to play on that chessboard. The Angels hover over this 'board' and whisper to these little souls to "Go this way". But something else is saying: "No - go that way, it's easier" - and the sad fact is that ninety-nine percent of souls choose the easy way out simply because the majority are going along that path! But I'll tell you what is a secret to some: the first inspiration is from God; the second is from Satan. Think about that!

The Holy Guardian Angels are your first source of inspiration - then Satan, who is extremely clever, comes quickly to give an alternative. He, too, whispers in your ear. What you are told by him is usually very similar to the first nudge, because Satan apes God. He does everything that God does because he is not clever enough to do anything which his own idea. He mocks God by doing that. So be attentive when you hear that little voice speak within you. Our road, like Our Lord's, is made-up of the way of the Cross. That Cross on the wall here is a very important sign for all Christians: as you can see, the upright beam is pointing to Heaven. That's where our eyes must always be. The cross-beam represents the world and life itself, because each day becomes a crossroad of choices. Do we choose for God, or do we choose for ourselves? That also is painful because it is not always easy to make the right choice. Usually the proper choice has suffering attached to it. These are all the little 'frills' which are attached to the large 'carpet of life'. You and I are also on this road which is called 'suffering'; an extraordinary road with many potholes, thorns and thistles but it is the only road that truly leads to Paradise. We must reflect often on Our Lord's Passion - and that of Our Lady - because that reflection keeps us humble in the realisation of how good God was to give His Life for us, and what a superlative sacrifice was made by the Virgin Mary.

Sufferings that we have each day are bound together with Our Lord's. I have already spoken to you about merits and demerits. What you are given - merit or demerit - all depends upon how deep your commitment and free will is in accepting that which God sends you. Now, picture a sketch of the Plan which God has made out for you. You'll find it in a book called "Your Life". Each one of you has a similar book with your name on it; some will be thicker than others. At the end of your life, this book will be handed to you, wrapped in gift-paper, by your Guardian Angel. In that book will be shown every event that occurred in your life, from the moment that you were conceived to the moment that you died. On each page there are two columns; one is headed 'Merits' and the other 'Demerits' - the pluses and the minuses of your score-card.

James mentioned to you how many sins a person can commit in a day, in a month - and even in many years. You think about it. It says in Scripture: a Saint commits sin seven times a day. Have you asked yourself: "How is it possible that a Saint can sin so much"? - it is because the Saint isn't perfect; he is holy, but not perfect. To not sin he has to be Perfect like his Heavenly Father. Now, can you tell me who is as perfect as God the Father? If you are, you are doing much better than anybody else! No, we are not perfect. Therefore, even without you realising it, to able to reach the Perfection of God - because that's what you must strive to do - you are called 'the sons and daughters of God'; the 'latter day' saints. That means that you have to try very hard capture the essence of being like unto God; so that you can say, as Saint Paul said: "It is Christ that lives within me" - and boast about it, because you are not boasting about yourself; you would be boasting about the Christ Who Lives inside you!!

How does a holy man sin? The level of perfection in such a person is so great and intense that we do not even think about it. That's why God raised up so many Saints; why we have such great theologians and doctors - like Saint Thomas Aquinas, who wrote volumes on it. Even he sinned seven times a day! Of course you would not be aware of it because the perfection-level in him is so great; it is a requirement of God for such a man. Even without you realising it, you could be thinking about something and a tiny lack of charity may eventuate. I'll give you an example: you may think in your mind; "That person has a terrible-looking face". You have thought that in a flash. Well, he might have a terrible looking face - but is it his fault? You have already committed a venial sin without you realising it! The good thing about it, of course, is that you can quickly resume your previous course to perfection because venial sins can be forgiven and erased in the time it takes you to say: "I love You, Jesus"; it is cancelled-out. As soon as you are in Confession, you are confessed and your sins are gone; you are perfect, by one million percent. If you died the instant you stood-up to exit the Confessional, you'd go straight to Heaven - or, of course, to Purgatory if you hadn't confessed all your sins. At that instant in time you are perfect. A baby, once baptised, is perfect; sinless. Does a baby sin seven times a day? No - it's perfect. So you, too, can be perfect.

The secret of perfection is in the acceptance of God's Will, freely; in accepting the trials and the sufferings that Our Lord sends to each soul each day. The book of life is very important - I've already seen them, by the way, and it's not my book that I'm speaking about!! I've seen the way the book of each life is presented to souls at the moment when they pass away. In that book will be things that you have totally forgotten about! That's why you must be careful to live by the virtues; to accept the sufferings that God sends you; to accept all that God desires of you. Each thing that you do; each thing that you say; each thing that you think - is recorded in that book. Even when God wipes away the sins, there may be atonement still called for - but you have the opportunity to either atone for it now or pay for it later. Suffering plays a very important role in this; the suffering that we receive on a daily basis - whether it is through our work, through our family or friends, through the Church, or any other means. It is the means by which God gives a chance to expiate our sins. In other words, to atone for our sins; to make reparation for our sins; to pay the price for our sins. Your slate will be clean if you make it your life-style; suffering so as to atone - because that is the life you should embrace.

You all have been given a wonderful, wonderful, gift by God: the Faith of Catholicism - the greatest gift that God can give you while you are on this Earth. But Faith without any works - good works at that - is useless: it's like trying to feed a corpse - it has no value. To many of you here, God has revealed a Divine Plan. It was preordained even before you were conceived, for God, in His Mind, already had His Plan for you. Now what if you were permitted to see that plan? To some of you God has said: "You My son, you My daughter, are going to be My Disciple. This is the road I am going to send you upon", so you already know that you are on your way. God will slowly reveal what that whole road is going to be - He knows all things, of course - but we are given the occasional sign post as a clue. The ultimate effect of that long road will be salvation, sanctity - of course - saintliness and eternity with God, Who has revealed to many of you already, today and in years gone by, the path that He expects you to take. He's even told some of you personally. On that particular road are potholes, barricades, wolves, snakes - and, of course, we are talking about demons!!

The key to avoiding those terrible distractions?: God has the plan already laid out for you; has already told you what you must do and how you must go about doing it. With that He's also going to throw at you, in good measure - weighed out very carefully - the Cross, suffering, trials, sorrows, disappointments. They will be all along that long road. If you can picture that in your mind and go back to some of the personal Messages that Our Lady Herself has given to you, you already have God's Plan in your heart and in your mind. To know that by saying "Yes" to God you are given ammunition to persevere and make it to the end is marvellous consolation for the difficult bits of the journey! God is going to make you carry that cross from which - as Father has mentioned - come many little splinters. There are enough of them for the whole of mankind, for the Cross of Our Lord was big enough to supply enough splinters for the entire population of Earth. Each little splinter is your share of the Redemptive Cross - and you must carry your own cross with Christ so you may reach the end of your road, where you'll find the Kingdom of Heaven. Living today, more than in any other time, is living in such a precious era; just think about it!

We are now recalling the Life and times of Our Lord when He was on Earth. We are re-enacting His Life in our celebrations, now, over Easter - but for the faithful, right around the world, who are really in tune with God's Spirit, what a glorious time we live in, preparing for the promised event: the Second Coming of Christ - and it will be in a glorious way. The Apostles and Disciples were being prepared by Christ Himself as He walked the Earth with them; with Mary. Today is no different, for Christ and the Virgin Mary are walking amongst us, preparing us for the same, but this time it is the Second Coming; the Second Advent. With that comes another event - it's called the Crucifixion! Each moment of our lives - while we live in the Communities; while we live in the world - is part of that Crucifixion; part of that trial and suffering that Christ is demanding of us so we can truly say that we are His followers, with Christ and in Christ; so that He can truly Live in us and allow us to become the symbols of our Lord in a world that is in darkness. We must become the 'light' of the world. You know about the Words of Our Lord and Our Lady about us being such a 'light'.

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Last modified: January 25, 2001