Message of Our Lady to Fr. Gobbi
October 1, 1997
Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face
“Beloved sons, enter into the spiritual cenacle of my Immaculate Heart, so that I may have you penetrate into the divine mystery of the merciful love of my Son Jesus.
Jesus is Merciful Love, because in Him is reflected the divine mercy of the Father, who has so loved the world that He has sent it his only-begotten Son for its salvation. In Jesus, the mercy of the Father becomes personified and realizes itself in the plan of salvation. By means of Him, the Father causes his pardon to descend upon humanity, which had wandered away because of sin, and brings it back to a full communion of love and of life with its Lord and its Creator.
Jesus is Merciful Love, because, by making Himself man, He takes upon Himself the fragility, weakness and the suffering of all humanity. When a baby, He carries in his Heart the wails and the sighs of all the babies of the world; as a youth, He lives through all the vicissitudes and difficulties of youth, so fragile and exposed to the impetuous wind of the passions; when He reaches maturity, He carries within his divine Person the problems, the anguish, and the pains of everyone.
He bows down over the poor to announce to them the Gospel of salvation; He proclaims freedom to prisoners; He comforts the abandoned, pardons sinners, heals the sick, consoles the afflicted, and drives out Satan from those he had possessed.
Jesus is Merciful Love, because He is meek and humble of heart. Let yourselves be drawn after his meekness. See how He is gentle, tender, and compassionate to all; docile and meek, He lets Himself be led by his enemies, like a lamb which is being carried to its bloody sacrifice.
Let yourselves be possessed by his humility. The first becomes the last; the Master becomes the disciple; the Lord puts Himself at the service of all. The fullness of his divinity becomes hidden in Him under the human veil of his humility. `Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.' (Mt 11:29)
Jesus is Merciful Love, because He wants to draw all into the burning furnace of his divine love. Allow yourselves to be drawn by Him. Do not resist his calls. Walk with me along the road of is divine love. Beloved sons, you too must make your own the sweet experience of your love for Jesus.
Today you are celebrating the liturgical memorial of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, which is occurring on the first centenary of her birth into heaven. Today I give her to all of you as your little sister. It was she who consecrated herself as a victim to the merciful love of Jesus. It was she who allowed herself to be completely consumed by the burning furnace of his divine charity.
Imitate her in this, her little way. You too must become little, simple, humble, meek and gentle. You must become, all of you, little children, traveling along the way of spiritual childhood which she has traced out for you.
You too must offer yourselves as victims to the merciful love of Jesus, so that, through you, He may very soon shed upon the world the great prodigy of divine mercy.”
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Here is information on St. Therese’s Act of Oblation to Merciful Love:
Self-offering to Merciful Love
From Céline's (Sr. Geneviève's) testimony at the diocesan inquiry into the life of St. Thérèse, given as a part of the process for the cause of canonization.
Source: St. Thérése of Lisieux by Those Who Knew Her. Edited by Christopher O'Mahony. Dublin: Pranstown House, rep. 1989, pp. 128-129.
"On 9 June of the same year 1895, the feast of the Blessed Trinity, she received a very special grace during Mass, and felt within herself an urge to offer herself as a holocaust victim to Merciful Love. After Mass she took me with her to mother prioress; she seemed beside herself and did not say a word. When we found Mother Agnes, for it was she who was then prioress, she asked her if both of us could offer ourselves as victims to Merciful Love, and gave her a short explanation of what that meant. Mother Agnes was at a loss; she did not seem to understand too well what was going on, but she had such confidence in Sister Thérèse's discretion that she gave her full permission. It was then that she composed the act called 'An Offering to Love', which she carried next to her heart ever afterwards."
St. Thérèse's "Act of Oblation to Merciful Love"
[For all of her many intalicized words, go to the EWTN link above.]
Source: Story of A Soul, translated by Fr. John Clarke, O.C.D. Copyright (c) 1976 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, ICS Publications, 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E., Washington, DC 20002 U.S.A., pp. 276-278.
ACT OF OBLATION TO MERCIFUL LOVE
J.M.J.T.
Offering of myself
as a Victim of Holocaust
to God's Merciful Love
O My God! Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love You and make you Loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory. I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God! to be Yourself my Sanctity!
Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look upon me only in the Face of Jesus and in His heart burning with Love.
I offer You, too, all the merits of the saints (in heaven and on earth), their acts of Love, and those of the holy angels. Finally, I offer You, O Blessed Trinity! the Love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my Dear Mother. It is to her I abandon my offering, begging her to present it to You. Her Divine Son, my Beloved Spouse, told us in the says of His mortal life: "Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name he will give it to you!" I am certain, then, that You will grant my desires; I know, O my God! that the more You want to give, the more You make us desire. I feel in my heart immense desires and it is with confidence I ask You to come and take possession of my soul. Ah! I cannot receive Holy Communion as often as I desire, but, Lord, are You not all-powerful? Remain in me as in a tabernacle and never separate Yourself from Your little victim.
I want to console You for the ingratitude of the wicked, and I beg of you to take away my freedom to displease You. If through weakness I sometimes fall, may Your Divine Glance cleanse my soul immediately, consuming all my imperfections like the fire that transforms everything into itself.
I thank You, O my God! for all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the sceptre of Your Cross. Since You deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion.
After earth's Exile, I hope to go and enjoy You in the Fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for Your Love Alone with the one purpose of pleasing You, consoling Your Sacred Heart, and saving souls who will love You eternally.
In the evening of this life, I shall appear before You with empty hands, for I do not ask You, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is stained in Your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in Your own Justice and to receive from Your Love the eternal possession of Yourself. I want no other Throne, no other Crown but You, my Beloved!
Time is nothing in Your eyes, and a single day is like a thousand years. You can, then, in one instant prepare me to appear before You.
In order to live in one single act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, Asking You to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within You to overflow into my soul, and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God!
May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear before You, finally cause me to die and may my soul take its flight without any delay into the eternal embrace of Your Merciful Love.
I want, O my Beloved, at each beat of my heart to renew this offering to You an infinite number of times, until the shadows having disappeared I may be able to tell You of my Love in an Eternal Face to Face!
Marie, Françoise, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, unworthy Carmelite religious.
This 9th day of June,
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity,
In the year of grace, 1895