There is more to the Catholic mass than most of us see. A visionary from South America, named
Catalina, was given the gift of seeing the Catholic Mass supernaturally. From our Guardian Angels traveling up the church
aisle with our offering from the week (some were empty-handed) to all of our
dead relatives at the altar during the consecration representing the church triumphant;
it is a fascinating look behind the scenes at a mass. The following is Catalina's real life account of
what you can't see at a Catholic Mass.
Introduction
This
is dictated in large part by Jesus and the Virgin Mary to Catalina (Katya)
Rivas. It reflects traditional Catholic teaching and spirituality and are
available at www.LoveAndMercy.org
for reading and printing at no cost. People are encouraged to copy these texts
without change and distribute them in support of the beloved Pope John Paul
II’s call to a New Evangelization.
THE
TESTIMONY OF CATALINA ON THE HOLY MASS
In
a marvelous catechesis, the Lord and the Virgin Mary have been instructing us,
in the first place, about the way to pray the Holy Rosary, to pray with our
hearts, meditating and enjoying the moments of our encounter with God and our
Blessed Mother. They have also taught us the way to make a good Confession, and
[in this testimony] they have shown us what takes place during the celebration
of the Holy Mass and the way to live it with our hearts.
This
is the testimony that I must and want to give to the whole world, for the
greater Glory of God and for the salvation of all those who want to open their
hearts to Him. It is given so that many souls who are consecrated to God may
rekindle the fire of their love for Christ; those who own the hands that have
the power to bring Christ to earth to be our nourishment [the priestly souls]
and the others [the religious souls] that they may break loose of the habit of
receiving Him as a “routine practice” and relive the amazement of the every day
encounter with Love. And it is given so
that my lay brothers and sisters the world over may live the greatest of
Miracles, the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist with their hearts.
It
was the vigil of the Annunciation and the members of our group and I had gone
to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some of the ladies of the prayer group were
not able to do it then, and they left their Confession for the next day before
Holy Mass.
When
I arrived to Church the next day, a little bit late, His Excellency, the Archbishop
and the priests were already coming out of the sacristy. With that gentle and
feminine voice that sweetens one’s soul, the Virgin Mary said:
“Today is a day of learning for you; and I want you to
pay close attention because all that you witness today, everything that you
experience on this day; you will have to share with all humanity.” I became awe
struck and did not understand [the meaning of Her words] but I tried to be very
attentive.
INTRODUCTORY
RITES
Processional Hymn
The
first thing I noticed was a choir of very beautiful voices that was singing as
if from far away. At times the music would draw closer and then move farther
away, like the sound of the wind.
Penitential Rite
His
Excellency started Mass, and when he reached the Penitential Rite the Blessed Virgin said:
“From the bottom of your heart ask the Lord’s
forgiveness for all your faults, for having offended Him. In this way you will
be able to participate worthily in this privilege that is, to attend Holy
Mass.”
I
must have thought for a split second: “But I am in the state of Grace. I just
went to confession last night.”
She
answered: “Do you think you have not offended the Lord since last night? Let Me
remind you of a few things. When you were leaving home to come here, the girl
who helps you approached you to ask for something, and since you were running
late, you answered her in a hurry and not in the best way. That was a lack of charity on your part, and
you say that you have not offended God...?
“On your way here a bus crossed into your lane and almost
hit you. You expressed yourself in an unfitting manner against that poor man,
instead of coming saying your prayers and preparing yourself for Mass. You
showed lack of charity and you lost your peace and patience. And you say that
you have not hurt the Lord…?
“You arrive at the last minute when the procession of
the celebrants to the Altar has begun… and you are going to participate in the
Mass without previous preparation...”
“All
right my Mother, say no more to me,” I replied. “You do not have to remind me
of more things because I am going to die of grief and shame.”
“Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should
arrive earlier so that you can say a prayer and ask the Lord to send His Holy
Spirit, that the Holy Spirit may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of
the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems and your distractions in
order that you may be able to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the
celebration is about to begin, and you participate in Mass as if it were an
ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why? This is the greatest of
Miracles. You are going to live the
moment when the Most High God gives His greatest gift and you do not appreciate
it.”
That
was enough. I felt so bad that I had more than enough to ask for forgiveness
from God. Not only for the offenses of that day, but also for all the times
that, like so many other people, I had waited for the priest to finish his
homily before I entered the Church. I asked forgiveness for the times when I
did not know or refused to understand what it meant to be there, and for the
times perhaps, when having my soul full of more serious sin, I had dared to
participate in the Holy Mass.
Gloria
It
was a Feast day and the Gloria was to be recited. Our Lady said: “Glorify
and bless the Most Holy Trinity with all your love, in your acknowledgement of
being the Trinity’s creature.”
How
different was that Gloria! Suddenly I saw myself in a far off place full of
light, before the Majestic Presence of the Throne of God. With how much love I
went on thanking Him, as I repeated: “For your immense Glory we praise You, we
bless You, we worship You, we glorify You, we give You thanks, Lord, God,
Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.” And I evoked the paternal countenance
of the Father, full of kindness… “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…” And Jesus was in
front of me, with that face full of tenderness and Mercy...” For You alone are
the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the most High Jesus Christ
with the Holy Spirit...” the God of beautiful Love.... He, Who at that moment,
was filling my entire being with joy…
And
I asked: “Lord, deliver me from all evil spirits. My heart belongs to You. My
Lord, send me Your peace so that I may obtain the best possible benefits from
this Eucharist and that my life may produce the finest fruits. Holy Spirit of God, transform me, act within
me, guide me. Oh God, give me the gifts that I need to serve you better…!”
LITURGY
OF THE WORD
The
moment of the Liturgy of the Word
arrived and the Virgin Mary had me repeat: “Lord, today I want to listen to
Your Word and produce abundant fruit. Let Your Holy Spirit cleanse the soil of
my heart so that Your Word may grow and develop in it. Lord, purify my heart so
that it may be well disposed.”
Our
Lady said: “I want you to be attentive to the readings and to the entire homily of
the priest. Remember that the Bible says
that the Word of God does not return without having born fruit. If you are
attentive, something of all that you have heard will remain in you. You must
try to recall all day long those Words that have left an impression on
you. Sometimes it may be two verses;
other times the reading of the entire Gospel or perhaps only one word. Savor
them for the rest of the day and this will then become part of you, because
that is the way to change one’s life, by allowing the Word of God to transform
you.
“And now tell the Lord that you are here to listen to
what, you want Him to say to your heart today.”
Once
again I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to hear His Word. And I asked
Him to forgive me for having had so hard a heart for so many years, and for
having taught my children that they should go to Mass on Sunday [only] because
it was so commanded by the Church and not for love, for the need to be filled
by God…
For
I, who had attended so many Eucharistic Celebrations, mostly to fulfill an
obligation, and thus believed that I was saved, the thought of living the
celebration had never entered my mind, much less that of paying attention to
the readings or to the priest’s homily!
What
great sorrow did I feel about so many years of needless loss because of my
ignorance!… How superficial is our attendance at Mass when we go only because
it is a wedding Mass or a funeral Mass or because we want to be seen by
society! What great ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments! How much
waste in trying to educate ourselves and becoming cultured about the things of
the world, things which can disappear in one moment leaving us with nothing.
Things, which at the end of our lives, do not even serve us to prolong our
existence by one single minute! And yet
we know nothing of what will obtain for us a little bit of Heaven on earth and
eventually, eternal life. And we call ourselves cultured men and women…!
LITURGY
OF THE EUCHARIST
Offertory
A
moment later came the Offertory, and
the Holy Virgin said: “Pray like this: (and I followed) Lord,
I offer all that I am, all that I have, all that I can. I put everything into
Your Hands. Build up Lord, with the little that I am. Transform me, God
Almighty, through the merits of Your Son. I ask for my family, for my
benefactors, for each member of our Apostolate, for all the people who
persecute us, for those who commend themselves to my poor prayers… Teach me to
lay my heart down on the ground before them, so that their walk may be less
hard... This is how the saints prayed; this is how I want all of you to pray.”
And
this is how Jesus asks us to pray, that we lay our hearts on the ground so that
they [for whom we intercede] may not feel its harshness, but rather that we
give them relief through the pain caused by their stepping on our hearts. Years
later, I read a prayer booklet by a Saint whom I love dearly, José María
Escrivá de Balaguer, and in that booklet I found a prayer similar to that which
the Virgin Mary taught me. Perhaps this Saint, to whom I entrust myself,
pleased the Virgin Mary with those prayers.
Suddenly,
some characters that I had not seen before began to stand up. It was as if from
the side of each person present in the Cathedral another person emerged, and
soon the Cathedral became full of young beautiful beings. They were dressed in very white robes and
started to move into the central isle, on their way to the Altar.
Our
Mother said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who
are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings
and petitions before the Altar of the Lord.”
At
that point I was completely astonished because these beings had such beautiful
faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very
beautiful, they had almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their
body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch
the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very
beautiful.
Some
of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something [inside] that
shone a great deal with a golden white light. The Virgin Mary said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of the people,
who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of
the significance of this celebration, those who have something to offer to the
Lord…
“Make your offering at this moment… Offer up your
sorrows, your pains, your dreams, your sadness, your joys. Offer your
petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in
your offering and in your asking.”
Behind
the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were going
empty handed. The Virgin Mary said: “Those are the angels of the people who, in
spite of being here, never offer anything. They have no interest in living
every liturgical moment of the Mass, and their Angels have no offerings to
carry before the Altar of the Lord.”
At
the end of the procession came other Angels who were rather sad, with their
hands together in prayer, but with their eyes downcast. “These are the Guardian Angels of
the people who are here, yet they are not here. That is to say, they are the
people who have seen themselves forced to come, who have come here out of
obligation but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. Their Angels
go forth in sadness because they have nothing to carry to the Altar, except for
their own prayers.
“Do not sadden your Guardian Angels… Ask for much. Ask
for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your relatives, your
neighbors, for those who commend themselves to your prayers. Ask for much, not only for yourselves, but
also for all the others.
“Remember that the offering which most pleases the
Lord, is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus, upon His
descent may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the
Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin, but the offering of yourselves
united to the merits of Jesus, is pleasing to the Father.”
That
spectacle, that procession was so beautiful, that it would be difficult to
compare it to another. All those celestial creatures were bowing before the
Altar, some leaving their offering on the floor, others prostrating themselves
on their knees, their foreheads almost touching the ground. And upon reaching the
Altar, they would disappear from my sight.
Preface and Sanctus
The
final moment of the Preface had
arrived, and suddenly, when the assembly was saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” everything that was behind the celebrants
disappeared.
Behind
the left side of the Archbishop appeared thousands of Angels in a diagonal
line: small Angels, large Angels, Angels with immense wings, Angels with small
wings, Angels with no wings. Like the previous Angels, all were dressed in
tunics like the white albs of the priests and altar boys.
Eucharistic Prayer
Everyone
knelt down with hands placed together in prayer and bowed their heads in
reverence. You could hear the most beautiful music, as if there were very many
choirs harmonizing in different voices, all of them saying in unison with the
people: Holy, Holy, Holy…
The
moment of the Consecration had
arrived, the moment of the most marvelous of Miracles… Behind the right side of
the Archbishop appeared a multitude of people also in a diagonal line. They
were dressed in the same kind of tunics as the Guardian Angels but in soft
colors: rose, green, light blue, lilac, yellow; that is, in different and very
soft colors. Their faces were also brilliant, full of joy. They all seemed to
be of the same age. You could tell (and
I cannot say why) that there were people of different ages but their faces
looked the same, without wrinkles, happy. They all knelt down as well, at the
singing of the “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord…”
Our
Lady said: “These are all the Saints and the Blessed in Heaven, and among them are
also the souls of your relatives and family members who already enjoy the
Presence of God.” Then I saw Her.
She was there, exactly to the right of His Excellency, the Archbishop… a
step behind the celebrant. She was suspended a little off the floor, kneeling
on some very fine fabrics, transparent but luminous at the same time, like
crystalline waters. The Holy Virgin, Her hands joined together, was looking
attentively and respectfully at the celebrant. And She was speaking to me from there,
but silently, directly to my heart, without looking at me:
“It seems strange to you seeing Me a little behind Monsignor
does it not? This is how it should be... Notwithstanding how much My Son
loves Me, He has not given Me the dignity that He gives a priest, of being able
to bring My Son in My hands daily, as the priestly hands do. Because of
this I feel such profound respect for a priest and for the whole miracle that
God carries out through a priest, that I am compelled to kneel here.”
My
God, how much dignity, how much grace the Lord pours out over the priestly
souls. And neither we, nor perhaps some of them, are aware of it.
There
began to appear in front of the Altar some shadows in human form, gray in
color, and they were raising their hands upwards. The Holy Virgin said: “These
are the blessed souls of Purgatory who wait for your prayers to be refreshed.
Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you but they cannot pray for
themselves. It is you who have to pray for the blessed souls in order to help
them depart [from Purgatory], that they may go to their encounter with God and
enjoy Him eternally.
“As you see, I am here all the time. People go on
pilgrimages and look for My apparition sites, and that is good because of all
the graces that they receive there. But during no apparition, nor in any other
place am I present longer [over time] than at the Holy Mass. You will always
find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated. At the foot
of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”
To
see that beautiful countenance of our Mother at that moment of the “Sanctus”,
together with all the others with their resplendent faces, their hands placed
together, awaiting that miracle which repeats itself continuously, was to be in
Heaven itself. And to think that there
are people, that there are some of us who can be distracted, talking at that
moment… I say with sorrow that many men, more than women, stand with their arms
crossed, as if paying homage to the Lord from one equal to another.
The
Virgin Mary said: “Tell everybody that never is a man more a man than when he bends his
knees before God.”
Consecration
The
celebrant said the words of the “Consecration.”
He was a person of normal height but suddenly he began to grow and become
filled with light. A supernatural light between white and gold enveloped him
and grew very strong around his face, in such a way that I could not see his
features. When he raised the Sacred Form, I saw his hands. There were some
marks on the back of his hands, from which emanated a great deal of light. It
was Jesus!… It was He Who was wrapping His Body around the celebrant, as if He
were lovingly surrounding the hands of His Excellency. At that moment the Host
began to grow and became enormous, and upon it was the marvelous Face of Jesus,
looking toward His people.
By
instinct I was about to bow my head and Our Lady said: “Do not look down. Look up to
view and contemplate Him. Cross your gaze with His and repeat the Fatima
prayer: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love You. I ask pardon for
those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love You.
Forgiveness and Mercy… Now tell Him how much you love Him and render your
homage to the King of Kings.”
I
told it to Him. It seemed that I was the only one that He was looking at from
the enormous Host. But I learned that this was how He gazed at each person,
with love to the fullest. Then I bowed my head until I had my forehead on the
floor, as did all the Angels and the Blessed from Heaven. I wondered, perhaps
for a fraction of a second, what was all that about Jesus taking on the body of
the celebrant, and at the same time being inside the Host, which upon being
lowered by the celebrant, became small again. Tears were running down my
cheeks. I was unable to let go of my astonishment.
Immediately
afterwards, Monsignor said the consecratory words for the wine and, as the
words were being said, lightning began to flash in the sky and in the
background. There was no church ceiling
and no walls. It was all in darkness, but for that brilliant light on the
Altar.
Suddenly,
I saw Jesus crucified suspended in the air. I saw Him from the head to the
lower part of His chest. The cross beam of the Cross was sustained by some
strong, large hands. From within the resplendent light, a much smaller,
brilliant light came forth like that of a very small, very brilliant dove. It
swiftly flew once around the entire Church and went to rest on the left
shoulder of His Excellency who continued being Jesus, because I could make out
His long hair, His luminous wounds and His large body, but I could not see His
Face.
Above,
was Jesus crucified, His head fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to
contemplate His face, His bruised arms and torn flesh. He had a wound on the
right side of His chest and blood was gushing out toward the left; and what
looked like water, but very brilliant, [gushed out] toward the right. They were
more like jets of light coming forth towards the faithful, and moving to the
right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing
into the Chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but
not a single drop was spilled!
At
that moment the Virgin Mary said: “This is the miracle of miracles. I have
repeated this to you. Time and space do
not exist for the Lord, and at the moment of the Consecration all the assembly
is taken to the foot of Calvary at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.”
Can
anyone imagine that? Our eyes cannot see it, but we all are there at the very
moment when Jesus is being crucified, and He is asking for forgiveness to the
Father, not only for those who are killing Him, but also for each one of our
sins: “Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do.”
From
that day on, I do not care if I am taken for a mad woman but I ask everyone to
kneel and to try to live this privilege that the Lord grants us, with his or
her heart and with all the sensitivity that she or he is capable.
The Our Father
When
we were about to pray the Our Father,
the Lord spoke for the first time during the celebration and said: “Wait,
I want you to pray with the deepest profundity that you can summon. At this
moment I want you to bring to mind that person or persons who have done you the
most harm during your life, so that you may embrace them close to your bosom
and say to them from your heart: “In the Name of Jesus, I forgive you and wish
you peace. In the Name of Jesus, I ask for your forgiveness and wish you my
peace. If the person merits peace, he or she will receive it and greatly
benefit from it; if that person is not capable of opening up to peace, then
that peace will return to your heart. But I do not want you to receive or offer
peace to others when you are not capable of forgiving and feeling that peace in
your own heart first.
“Beware of what you do,” continued the Lord
“You
repeat in the Our Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us. If you are capable of forgiving and not forgetting, as
some say, you are conditioning the forgiveness of God. You are saying: forgive
me only as I am capable of forgiving but not further.”
I
do not know how to explain my pain at the realization of how much we can hurt
the Lord. Also, how much we can injure ourselves by holding so many grudges,
bad feelings and unflattering things, which stem from our own unconscious
feelings and over-sensibilities. I forgave; I forgave from my heart, and asked
for forgiveness from all the people whom I had hurt at one time or another, in
order to feel the peace of the Lord.
The
celebrant said, “...grant us peace and unity…” and then, “the peace of the Lord
be with you...”
Sign of Peace
Suddenly
I saw amid some (but not all) of the people who were embracing each other that
a very intense light placed itself in between them. I knew it was Jesus and I
practically threw myself to embrace the person next to me. I could truly feel the embrace of the Lord in
that light. It was He Who was embracing me to give me His peace, because in
that moment I had been able to forgive and remove from my heart all grief that
others had caused. That is what Jesus
wants, to share in that moment of joy, hugging us in order to wish us His
Peace.
The
moment of the celebrants’ Communion arrived. There I once again noticed the
presence of all the priests next to Monsignor. When he took Communion, the
Virgin Mary said:
“This is the moment to pray for the celebrant and the
priests who accompany him. Repeat along with Me:
“Lord, bless them, sanctify them, help them, purify
them, love them, take care of them and sustain them with Your Love… Remember
all the priests in the world. Pray for all the consecrated souls...”
Dear
brothers and sisters, this is the moment in which we must pray for them,
because they are the Church, as also are we, the laity. Many times we the laity
demand much from the priests but we are incapable of praying for them, of
understanding that they are human, and of comprehending and appreciating the
solitude that many times can surround a priest.
We
must understand that priests are people like ourselves, and that they are in
need of our caring and understanding. They need affection and attention from us
because in consecrating themselves to Jesus, they are giving their lives for
each one of us, as He did.
The Lord wants that
the people in the flock, who have been entrusted to him by God, pray and help
in the sanctification of their Pastor. Someday, when we are on the other side,
we will understand the wonder worked by the Lord in giving us priests to help
us save our souls.
Holy Communion
The
people began to leave their pews to go to Communion. The great moment of the encounter in Holy Communion had arrived. The Lord
said to me: “Wait a moment. I want you to observe something…” An interior impulse
made me raise my eyes towards the person who was about to receive Communion on
the tongue from the hands of the priest.
I
must explain that this person was one of the ladies from our group who had been
unable to get to Confession the previous night and had done so just that
morning before Holy Mass. When the priest placed the Sacred Host on her tongue,
something like a flash of light, that very golden-white light (that I had seen
before) went right through this person’s back first, and then continued to
envelop her back, her shoulders and her head. The Lord said:
“This is how I am pleased to embrace a soul who comes
with a clean heart to receive Me!”
The
tone of Jesus’ voice was that of a happy person. I was in awe, looking at my
friend return to her pew, surrounded by light, embraced by the Lord. I thought
of the wonder that we miss so many times by going to receive Jesus with our
small or large offenses when it should be instead a celebration.
Many
times we say that there are not always priests to hear our Confession. But the
problem is not about always going to Confession. The problem rests in our ease
of falling into evil again. On the other hand, in the same way that women make
an effort to look for a beauty parlor, or that men, for a barber when we have a
party, we also have to make an effort to seek a priest when we need all those
dirty things removed from us. We must not have the audacity to receive Jesus at
any time with our hearts full of ugly things.
While
on my way to receive Communion, Jesus said: “The Last Supper was the moment
of the greatest intimacy with My own. During that hour of love I instituted
what in the eyes of mankind might be the greatest madness, to make Myself a
prisoner of Love. I instituted the
Eucharist. I wanted to remain with you until the end of time because My Love
could not bear that you, whom I loved more than My Life, be left orphans…”
I
received that Host which had a different flavor. It was a mixture of blood and
incense that inundated me entirely. I
felt so much love that the tears ran down my cheeks, prevailing over my efforts
to hold them back.
When
I returned to my seat and started to kneel down, the Lord said: “Listen...”
And a moment later, I began to hear the prayers of the lady who was seated in
front of me and who had just received Communion.
What
she was saying without opening her mouth was more or less like this: “Lord,
remember that we are at the end of the month and I do not have the money to pay
the rent, the car and the children’s school. You have to do something to help
me… Please, make my husband stop drinking so much. I can no longer bear his
drunken episodes, and my youngest son is going to be held back again this year
if you do not help him. He has exams this week. And do not forget that my neighbor
must move to another place. Have her do it at once because I cannot stand her
any more… etc., etc...”
Prayer After Communion
Then,
His Excellency said: “Let us pray,”
and obviously all the assembly stood up for the final prayer. Jesus said in a
sad tone: “Did you notice? Not once did she tell Me that she loved Me. Not once
did she give thanks for My gift to her of bringing My Divinity down to her poor
humanity to elevate her toward Me. Not a single time did she say: ‘Thank You
Lord.’ It has been a litany of requests… and almost all of those who come to
receive Me are like that.
“I have died for love and I am risen. For love I await
each one of you, and for love I remain with you... But you do not realize that
I need your love. Remember that I am the
Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for the soul.”
Do
you realize that He, Love, is begging for our love and we do not give it to
Him? Moreover, we avoid going to that encounter with the Love of Loves, with
the only Love who gives Himself in a permanent oblation.
Final Blessing
As
the celebrant was about to impart the blessing, the Most Holy Virgin said: “Be
attentive, be careful… [Many of] you make any old sign instead of the Sign
of the Cross. Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you receive
from the hands of a priest. You do not know if after leaving here you will die
or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing
from another priest. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the
Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect,
as if it were the last one of your life.”
How
many things we forego by not understanding and not participating daily in Holy
Mass! Why not make an effort to begin the day a half-hour earlier so as to
hurry to the Holy Mass and receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to
pour out on us?
I
am aware that not everybody can go to daily Mass because of their obligations,
but at least two or three times a week. And yet so many avoid going to Mass on
Sunday, using the smallest excuse: that they have a child, or two or ten so
they cannot go to Mass. How do people manage when they have other important
types of commitments? They take all the
children with them, or they take turns with the husband going at one hour and
the wife at another, but they fulfill their duty to God.
We
have time to study, to work, to entertain ourselves, to rest, but WE DO NOT
HAVE TIME TO GO TO HOLY MASS AT LEAST ON SUNDAYS
AFTER
MASS
Jesus
asked me to remain with Him a few minutes longer after Mass was over. He said: “Do
not run out as soon as Mass is over; stay a moment in My company. Enjoy it and
let Me enjoy yours…”
As
a child I had heard someone say that the Lord remained with us for five or ten
minutes, after Communion. I asked Him at this moment: “Lord, for how long do
You really remain with us after Communion?”
I
suppose that the Lord must have laughed at my silliness because He answered: “For
as long as you want to have Me with you. If you speak to Me all day long,
offering Me some words as you go about your chores, I will listen to you. I am
always with all of you. It is you who leave Me. You come out of Mass and you
are done with the day of obligation. You kept the day of the Lord and that is
it. You do not think that I would like to share in your family life with you,
at least on that day.
“In your homes you have a place for everything and a
room for each activity: a room to sleep, another to cook, another to eat, etc.,
etc.. Which is the place you have made for Me? It must be not just a place
where you have an image that is dusty all the time, but a place where at least
five minutes a day, the family meets to give thanks for the day and for the
gift of life, to ask for their needs of the day, to ask for blessings,
protection, health… Everything has a place in your homes, but Me.
“Men plan their day, their week, their semester, their
vacations, etc.. They know what day they are going to rest, what day they will
go to the movies or to a party, or visit grandmother or the grandchildren,
their friends, the children, or go to their diversions. How many families say
at least once a month: ‘This is the day for our turn to go and visit Jesus in
the Tabernacle, and the whole family comes to talk to Me? How many sit down before Me and have a
conversation with Me, telling Me how it has been since the last time, telling
Me their problems, the difficulties, asking Me for what they need… allowing Me
to share in their things? How many times?
“I know everything. I read even the deepest secrets in
your hearts and minds. But I enjoy your telling Me about your things, your
allowing Me to share in as a family member, as the most intimate friend. How
many graces man fails to receive by not giving Me a place in his life!”
When
I stayed with Him that day and on many other days, He continued to give us
teachings, and today I want to share them with you on this mission that has
been entrusted to me. Jesus says:
“I wanted to save My creatures because the moment of
opening the door to Heaven has been impregnated with too much pain…” “Remember
that no mother has ever fed her child with her own flesh. I have gone to that
extreme of Love in order to communicate My merits to all of you. “
“The Holy Mass is Myself prolonging My life and My
sacrifice on the Cross among you. Without the merits of My life and My Blood,
what would you have to present yourselves before the Father? Nothingness, misery and sin…”
“You should exceed the Angels and Archangels in virtue,
because they do not have the joy of receiving Me as nourishment like you do.
They drink a drop from the spring, but you, who have the grace of receiving Me,
have the whole ocean to drink.”
The
other thing that the Lord spoke about with sorrow concerned the people who go to their encounter with
Him out of habit, those souls who have lost the awe of each encounter with Him.
He said that routine turns some people so lukewarm that they have nothing new
to tell Jesus when they receive Him. He spoke of no small number of consecrated
souls who lose their enthusiasm about falling in love with the Lord, and turn
their vocation into a trade, a profession to which they give no more than what
it demands of them, but without the sentiment…
Then the Lord spoke
to me about the fruits that each Communion must yield in us. It does happen
that there are people who receive the Lord daily but do not change their lives.
They spend many hours in prayer and do many works, etc., etc., but their lives
do not go on transforming, and a life that does not continue to transform
itself cannot bear true fruits for the Lord. The merits we receive in the
Eucharist should bear the fruits of conversion within us and fruits of charity
toward our brothers and sisters.
We,
the laity, have a very important role within our Church. We have no right to
remain silent in the presence of the command that the Lord gives to us as
baptized men and women to go forth and announce the Good News. We do not have
any right to absorb all this knowledge and not share it with others, and allow
our brothers and sisters to starve while we have so much bread in our
hands.
We
cannot watch our Church crumble while we are comfortably staying in our
parishes and homes, receiving and receiving so much from the Lord: His Word;
the priest’s homilies; the pilgrimages; the Mercy of God in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation; the marvelous union and nourishment of Holy Communion; and the
talks given by such and such preachers.
In
other words, we are receiving so much and do not have the courage to leave our
comfort zone and go to a jail, to a correctional institution and speak to those
who need it the most. To tell them not to give up, that they were born Catholic
and that their Church needs them there, suffering, because this suffering will
serve to redeem others, because that sacrifice will gain for them eternal
life.
We
are incapable of going to hospitals, to the terminally ill, and praying the
Chaplet of Divine Mercy to help them with our prayer during that time of
struggle between good and evil, and to free them from the snares and
temptations of the devil. Every dying person is fearful, and they feel
comforted merely by our taking their hand and talking to them, talking about
the love of God and the wonder that awaits them in Heaven, close to Jesus and
Mary, close to their departed ones.
The
hour that we live does not allow us to side with the indifferent. We must be an
extension of the hands of our priests and go where they cannot reach. But in
order to afford ourselves the courage to do it, we must receive Jesus, live
with Jesus and nourish ourselves with Jesus.
We
are afraid to commit a little further. And yet, when the Lord says, “Seek
first the Kingdom of God and the rest will be added onto you,” it is
about the whole thing, brothers and sisters. It means to seek the Kingdom of
God in all possible ways and through all available means, and… to open our
hands in order to receive EVERYTHING additionally! This is because He is the
Boss, Who pays the best; the only One Who is attentive to the least of your
needs!
Brothers, sisters,
thank you for allowing me to carry out the mission that has been entrusted to
me of having these pages reach you.
The next time you
go to Holy Mass, live it. I know that the Lord will fulfill for you His promise
that “Your Mass will never again be the same as before,” and when you receive
Him, love Him! Experience the sweetness of feeling yourself resting against the
folds of His side, pierced for you to leave you His Church and His Mother; in
order to open for you the doors to His Father’s House, so that you can feel for
yourself His Merciful Love through this testimony, and try to reciprocate with
your small, little love.
May God bless you
on this Easter.
Your
sister in the Living Jesus,
Catalina
Lay
Missionary of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Apostolate of the New
Evangelization (ANE) www.Jesucristovivo.org
(in Spanish)
Words of the Virgin
Mary in “The Holy Mass”:
“...during no apparition, nor in any other place am I
present longer than at the Holy Mass.”
“Why must you all arrive at the last moment? …This is
the greatest of Miracles. You are going to live the moment when the Most High
God gives His greatest gift and you do not appreciate it.”
The Offertory: “This is the moment in which your guardian
angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord... Make
your offering at this moment… Offer up your sorrows, your pains, your dreams,
your sadness, your joys. Offer your petitions. Remember that the Mass has
infinite value.”
Words of Jesus from
“The Holy Mass”:
“I instituted the Eucharist. I wanted to remain with
you until the end of time because My Love could not bear that you, whom I loved
more than My Life, be left orphans...”
“I have died for love and I am risen. For love I await
each one of you and for love I remain with you... But you do not realize that I
need your love. Remember that I am the Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for
the soul.”
“Do not run out as soon as Mass is over; stay a moment
in My company. Enjoy it and let Me enjoy yours…”
“You should exceed the Angels and Archangels in virtue
because they do not have the joy of receiving Me as nourishment like you do.”
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