TALK GIVEN BY THE ‘LITTLE PEBBLE’ IN THE CHAPEL ON SUNDAY THE 5^TH JANUARY, 2003

I wish you all a very Blessed 2003!

I wanted to preach to you today because last year was a very, very difficult year for everyone, and I came across a beautiful reading from Maria Valtorta, from the Angel, Azariah – something to do with the topic of the last Words spoken by Our Lord on the Cross. The Words were: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” For us this would seem that the Son of God was complaining to the Eternal Father, and was upset with the Eternal Father because it would seem as if He had forgotten the Son of God. But in actual fact, this was not so.

I am going to read to you the reasons why, because you and I are giving up the same words to Christ, because you and I, also, are moaning in our hearts, as if to say: “Lord, when will it end? Lord, when will we have the promised reward? Lord, how much longer must we carry this cross?”

Through the writings of Maria Valtorta it is clearly seen that this is not a complaint to God – it is because we are the children of God that the Spirit of God moans and groans in us, to bring forth the completion of God’s Infinite Plans for the human race. We see through all the trials that God sends us, and has sent us over a long time, that there is a purpose in God’s Infinite Plan, not always clearly seen by us humans. But when we are lifting up our hearts to God in this moment of great trial, it is not a complaint to God, but rather that we seek that Our Lord will fulfil all that He has asked of us, and that His triumphant Coming to the Earth, through His children, will be completed, and we will see the Victory of God, and triumph over evil, the flesh, over sin, and that the world will come into a life of peace and tranquillity of heart. And even if within his heart, the believer - oppressed by the cross’s moans; for how long? Will you forget me forever? When will you turn your face to Me? It is not indeed with rage that this lament rises to God, but with a loving anxiousness of a son towards his father, just as Christ felt in the most painful hours.

There is no reproach - but hope in this cry! There is no rebellion over the delay - but expectation; serene expectation in the certainty that a time will come when the pain will cease, and faith will be rewarded. Faith, for the truth must be bold – heroically bold - against all the things that are created to deride it, depose it and demolish it. The world and the flesh, in addition to Satan, constitute the enemies of faith against which one must be eternally bold.

The Goodness of God is such that He grants the glory of martyrdom – not only to the actual martyrs who die in their blood for the faith, but also to those who, against everything and everyone, are able to remain faithful – intrinsically faithful to the Lord.

How many battles are waged against faith? How many clever manoeuvres Satan uses to diminish it, to cover it up with ridicule – to show it to be impossible to be followed. But this is where the justice of the Three Theological Virtues is seen: Faith, supported by Hope, and above all supported by Charity, does not collapse for any reason – and triumph. Faith is knowledge, which comes from Love. The stronger the Love is, the stronger the Faith is, for Love brings God to be known.

When we deal with the matter of these last hours - so to say for this generation, for this end of time - you and I, too, open up our hearts to God, and pray: “May Thy Kingdom come, Lord, swiftly, so that our hearts will be peaceful, and that our brotherly love to one another, as true brothers and sisters, will come to its completion.”

In the writings from the Church, it has already been said, many times – a thousand times – in the Gospel about the word “Charity” and “Love Thy Neighbour”. It is the virtue of all virtues, and it is embedded with the highest degree of virtue – and that is called “Humility”. Without Humility you cannot exercise Love. Love is not a four-letter word - it is an action. Many souls speak the word “love”, very frequently, but it has no depth because it does not come from the heart. It is just a natural reaction.

Christian self-love, which grows out of a grateful love of God, and blossoms into unselfish love of neighbour, is supported by certain indispensable virtues. The first of these is “Humility” – one of the most distinctive of Christian virtues - and this will lead him to knowledge of his true state. In other words, it is by acts of humility that one recognises oneself in the real depth of our being as to what we are made of – whether we are open to the truth of ourselves. The greatest demonstration of this is by acknowledging our failures – not only before God, but before man – simply by saying: “I have done wrong; I am sorry” – not only in words but in deeds.

It is not the many words that we say or give to mankind that will help us to inherit the reward of God’s Promise, but our deeds. That is why in the teachings of the Catechism, relating to the virtues of Holy Mother Church, it states very clearly: “Humility does not require pretence, or sham, rather it recognises and is grateful for God’s Gifts of every sort – even extraordinary talents one may happen to possess. Christ, ceaselessly, taught humility by Words and by example. The two go hand in and. “Learn from Me”, he said, “for I am gentle and lowly in Heart!’

Humility liberates us from the folly of Pride! And as you know when you look at the ladder or the tree of anti-virtues, the greatest of these is Pride - for in every sin there is an element of Pride, and Pride was the downfall of the angels who fell, and the downfall of all those souls who have lost the Kingdom of God because they could not bring themselves to simply say: “I have done wrong, and I am sorry!” Even Judas who betrayed Our Lord, only had to say that, and he would have been saved.

So in the light of what I have said in the beginning when we, as little children of God, in our very heavy burdens of today – and more yet to come – it is in our longing that we want to be with God for eternity, and that we long to live in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters. But it requires action from us, not words – action! Because, although we are already at the very forefront of the reward that God will offer to us at the very end of this road, we still must maintain our stability in the virtues that God has asked us to lead. Because our life is not at an end, yet – not until the moment that God Himself says: “It is time!”

So for the New Year I will ask all of you to reflect upon your lives, very seriously – and I have said it several times before. In spite of God’s Promises of the New Holy Era; in spite of God’s Promises to all of us who are called to special dignified lives, and high calling. In spite of all of this, what if God were to call you in this last hour. Let us say within an hour from today: what if God called you in one instant, and said: “It is your time to appear before My Throne!” Are you honest with yourselves – and can you be honest with yourselves – that you will be clear in your conscience before God, that you will go straight to Heaven? Are you really clear in your conscience before your brothers and sisters that you have made your peace with them before the hour arrives? No-one – although there are a few exceptions - will ever know the hour when they will pass away. Can you honestly say that you have done all that you can to make up with your brothers and sisters – that you forgive them, that you embrace them with a true love? And I am not talking about words, I am talking about real love. Are you able to place your differences aside, so if God did call you now, how would you stand before Him? What would you explain to Him? Would you say to Him: “Lord, I didn’t have time!”

In spite of God’s Promise to all of us, God Promised most of us here that we would go into the New Era. But with that promise comes a condition – the condition is the Gospel in its entirety – to live the virtues to their perfection; not on the basic level that most people live, but higher than that. You are called to be the Latter Day Saints. The Latter Day Saints are not ordinary souls – and yet they are, because God chose them from ordinary life. But what makes a Saint? It is not how much he preaches, or even how much he prays, but rather what he does, combined with the prayer of his heart.

So yes, we are in that stage where we are calling out to God to: “Please, Lord, bring forth all things that You Promised, and lift up my burdens!” For Our Lord says to give the burdens to Him, so He can lighten them with the yoke of His Love.

So, dear souls, we are embarking upon a very, very important year - probably more important that all our years gone by. And we ask ourselves why? Well, what was the most important hour of Christ? In His immolation upon the Cross, so He could obtain the opening of Heaven and the salvation of the human race. It was on that very hour when He cried out to Our Lord: “Into Thy Hands, Lord, I commend My Spirit!”

In these final moments that God has given to all of us: in the Message that Our Lady gave to ‘Little Arrow’, a few months ago, Our Lady said: “Do not waste time, for there is very little time!” We are at the pinnacle, and the crossroad of our destiny, our salvation, and our future. The choice is yours! If you truly wish and desire to be in the completion of God’s Plan, in the fulfilment of His Promises to us, it requires two things: “Humility” and “Charity”. Those are the ‘keys’ to our future - our present - and without that none of us will enter the Promised Land – not one!

Let us not be like in the time of Moses where only two of the original choices of God entered the Promised Land, out of one million people. For forty years Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother have preached throughout the Globe, preparing the Remnant Church – forty years! In that forty years you and I have seen a whole generation pass away, who were given the Word of God in their time. Many have passed away since, and many more will, before the end of the era.

If you truly believe that you desire – and it must be a strong desire to do the Will of God in its perfection – that you desire to be there at the end of the race, then you must work for it, because this truly is our final calling for a holy life in the Order of Saint Charbel, as a true example of the virtues that Christ Speaks of in the Gospel.

"In order for Grace to fill your soul, always take care to keep everything from eroding your spirit. Acts of unfaithfulness to Grace are all attacks on the safety of the Mystical cistern on which I [the Lord], unceasingly, pour the water flowing from the Spring of Eternal Life, which gives Eternal Life; great care, and great faithfulness, then, and great humility. The green plants, which grow - thanks to the moisture of the soil - and serve to keep the water fresh by preventing its evaporation by the sun, are “Humility” in a soul able to cultivate Grace. And with its lush growth, keeping the sun of haughtiness from consuming most precious water; and in addition to this, “Charity”."

So, dear souls, Jesus and Mary, and Holy Mother Church, give us the ‘keys’ to inherit the Promise of Our Father in Heaven. You and I have the ‘keys’ given to us here, in the Order of Saint Charbel, and in our private callings, whether it be a single life, a married life, or a Religious life. Combined within the Order of Saint Charbel this is our calling, and many of you here have also received another calling to the special privileges of God’s beautiful Gifts that He hands out. And with these talents, we must bear fruit, and this fruit can only be borne through acts of great humility, placing self aside - and through works of charity to one another in God, through God, and for God.

So let us live in hope in this coming year which Our Lady so aptly calls: “The year when God’s Word is fulfilled.”

So we, with Christ, have much expectation that the heavy cross and burden laid upon the Church and upon all of us – the Body of Christ – will soon be lifted, and the Glory of God will shine in all of his works, in you and I.

Have hope, and live in trust, and forgive one another and work together. This is my prayer; this is my hope for this year. And I know there is much yet to be done with all of us. A lot of pruning is being done at this time; the pruning is called "self" - to get rid of that self – so God’s Glory can shine in your souls, so all souls can say in and out of our Community: “Is that not a follower of Christ? Is he not one of them that followed Jesus?”

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Last modified: January 31, 2003