03-17-2021, 10:59 AM
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 25
Man's Greatest Treasure
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, only in Me will you find what is best and most precious for you. God is far
greater and better than all things created. I am the Most High. No one else is all-powerful.
God alone is perfectly charming and full of consolation. In Me you will find perfect beauty
and all-satisfying love. Most noble and most glorious above all things is the Maker of all.
2. Beg often for the grace to find your joy in Me above all things created; above health or
beauty; above glory and honor; above power and dignity; above all knowledge and
cleverness; above all praise and admiration; above all arts and enjoyments; above all
material comforts and wealth; above all hopes and promises; above all human consolation
and appreciation. Treasure Me more than the gifts and rewards which I bestow on men. In
Me you will find more than in everything else.
3. Whatever I give, whatever is not God, is too little and insufficient for you. I made you
for Myself, the Perfect Good. Your heart will not find true rest until it rests in Me, the
Perfect Giver and the Perfect Gift.
THINK:
No matter what I like or love, unless it is God Himself, it can never give me the perfect
happiness which my soul desires. So many who reached earthly success, finally took their
own life. Why? Because they came to realize that nothing on earth could give them the
happiness which they wanted. They should have turned at last to God, but they had
forgotten Him in their foolish quest for earthly joy.
PRAY:
Dear Lord, I cannot live for a joy that is doomed to fade away. Though I hope for a
reasonable joy on earth, I shall never turn my back on You by sin. Earth's good things only
reflect Your beauty, Your goodness and Your power. I will never abandon the Glorious
Reality for the sake of Its reflection. When I am tempted to sin for some earthly attractions,
give me the grace to remember Your goodness, greatness and love. Amen.
The Way of Purification
PART TWO
AFTER CONVERSION
YOU MUST BE deeply impressed by the fact of your great weakness, your complete
dependence on God, your blind selfishness, your need of frequently renewing your good
resolutions and of daily expressing sorrow for your sins. Do not be afraid to face the truth:
you must die and must receive a just sentence to either Heaven or hell. Far from being
depressed, you should be determined to cooperate with the all-loving God, Who desires to
show you the way to a holy life on earth, and a perfect, all-satisfying life in Heaven.
Having seen your complete need of God, and of His loving attention and generosity, try to
realize that He deserves the best love and loyalty which you can offer Him. How can you
please Him more in your daily life? Part of this question is answered in this section.
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 26
Beginning a New Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, do not lose the hope of making spiritual progress. You still have time. Your
chance is not over yet. Why put off your good intentions until tomorrow? Now is the time
for action I Begin this very moment! Here is your opportunity to make a new start. Begin
your new life with the help of My grace.
2. Always keep a steady hope of achieving success. Do not let your failures discourage
you. Beware also of over-confidence, so that you may not become a victim of pride or
laziness,
3. Whenever you have to omit your prayers or some daily spiritual exercise, because of
some urgent duty or for the sake of your neighbor, try to make up later what was omitted.
Do not be too ready to omit spiritual exercises because of weariness. This can easily
become a habit which will hurt you.
THINK:
It is easy enough to start again. All I have to do is: (1) to examine my life, (2) face what
needs to be done, (3) pray for strength, and (4) start doing it. I may fail on this occasion or
that, but the main thing is that I have begun and am determined to go on trying in spite of
any failures which may occur.
PRAY:
Lord, now I begin I Help me to live as You desire. If it is your will, I can do it. If You want
this of me, I ought to do it. Let me not be a coward and run away from Your Will. You
know what is right and best. I must begin now. Lord, help me. I do not expect to become a
different person overnight. just as my faults developed slowly over a period, so too will the
opposite virtues grow within me. I will not be discouraged when my old faults catch me by
surprise. My love for You will be proved by action, that is, by a steady, patient effort to get
rid of my faults and to practice the opposite virtue. Now I begin I Amen.
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 27
Holiness in Everyday Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, at times you hear people say that they are too busy to bother with religion.
People who say such things do not understand Me, nor themselves, nor their daily life.
They do not realize that religion is as necessary an activity as eating, sleeping and working.
2. I am far more than the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the rest which brings you
renewed strength. All of these things, and everything else, come to you- from My hand.
Without My loving support each moment, these things would fail you, and you yourself
would vanish from the face of the earth.
3. I am the center of your existence. You depend on Me more than you dream. just as you
give due attention to the people who come into your daily life, so too is it normal for you to
give due attention to Me. To speak to Me, to try to please Me, to ask for My help, to
express sorrow for your offenses, and to love Me for My goodness-these are normal acts
for any intelligent human being. The more I show Myself to him, the more should he strive
to please Me in his everyday life.
4. Religion is the bond which unites you to Me. To neglect it is as foolish as refusing to
breathe, or eat, or rest. In fact, it is worse. These other things keep your body alive, but
religion is necessary for the eternal life of your soul.
5. The man who neglects this part of his life is abnormal, that is, he is not what he ought to
be. He is neglecting something which is natural and normal for him, something which
perfects him more than he realizes.
6. There is no real opposition between laboring for your earthly needs, and laboring for
Heaven. You have to work each day, but this work can be a glorious prayer. You must eat,
work, sleep, and have recreation, but all of these can become holy actions, actions done for
eternal life.
7. Whatever you do, do it as I want it done, and you will be doing it as perfectly as
possible. Be reasonable in whatever you do, or say, or think. Refuse to violate My
commandments, regardless of any earthly advantage or disadvantage. I made the things of
this life for you, so that you may perfect yourself by using them intelligently. Let My
words and example guide you in whatever you do. In doubt consult My Church. Do this
and you will be working for success on earth and an all-satisfying glory in Heaven.
THINK:
Once I get a full view of this earthly life, I will see how all-important a part God plays in it.
Instead of living for the moment or for the next few years, I'll live for my highest and most
important goal. I will see the unending importance of what I am doing today, I will
understand how each act of this day helps me become a little more perfect, a little more
ready for Heaven. Only sin is foolish. Only sin is bad. All else is good and pleasing to God,
because it helps me in one way or another.
PRAY:
My Father in Heaven, I desire to make the best use of this earthly life of mine. I want to
live as full a life as possible. Therefore, in everything I think, do, or say, I want You to be
my Partner. Since You support me in all my thinking, speaking and acting, I want to please
You in them. By living this way, I will be following Your wisdom and my own highest
good. I now join this daily life of mine to the earthly life of Jesus, Your divine Son. With
His example and with the strength of His holy sacraments, I hope to please You every
moment. Thus, my daily life will be my best preparation for eternal life. Amen.
CHAPTER 25
Man's Greatest Treasure
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, only in Me will you find what is best and most precious for you. God is far
greater and better than all things created. I am the Most High. No one else is all-powerful.
God alone is perfectly charming and full of consolation. In Me you will find perfect beauty
and all-satisfying love. Most noble and most glorious above all things is the Maker of all.
2. Beg often for the grace to find your joy in Me above all things created; above health or
beauty; above glory and honor; above power and dignity; above all knowledge and
cleverness; above all praise and admiration; above all arts and enjoyments; above all
material comforts and wealth; above all hopes and promises; above all human consolation
and appreciation. Treasure Me more than the gifts and rewards which I bestow on men. In
Me you will find more than in everything else.
3. Whatever I give, whatever is not God, is too little and insufficient for you. I made you
for Myself, the Perfect Good. Your heart will not find true rest until it rests in Me, the
Perfect Giver and the Perfect Gift.
THINK:
No matter what I like or love, unless it is God Himself, it can never give me the perfect
happiness which my soul desires. So many who reached earthly success, finally took their
own life. Why? Because they came to realize that nothing on earth could give them the
happiness which they wanted. They should have turned at last to God, but they had
forgotten Him in their foolish quest for earthly joy.
PRAY:
Dear Lord, I cannot live for a joy that is doomed to fade away. Though I hope for a
reasonable joy on earth, I shall never turn my back on You by sin. Earth's good things only
reflect Your beauty, Your goodness and Your power. I will never abandon the Glorious
Reality for the sake of Its reflection. When I am tempted to sin for some earthly attractions,
give me the grace to remember Your goodness, greatness and love. Amen.
The Way of Purification
PART TWO
AFTER CONVERSION
YOU MUST BE deeply impressed by the fact of your great weakness, your complete
dependence on God, your blind selfishness, your need of frequently renewing your good
resolutions and of daily expressing sorrow for your sins. Do not be afraid to face the truth:
you must die and must receive a just sentence to either Heaven or hell. Far from being
depressed, you should be determined to cooperate with the all-loving God, Who desires to
show you the way to a holy life on earth, and a perfect, all-satisfying life in Heaven.
Having seen your complete need of God, and of His loving attention and generosity, try to
realize that He deserves the best love and loyalty which you can offer Him. How can you
please Him more in your daily life? Part of this question is answered in this section.
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 26
Beginning a New Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, do not lose the hope of making spiritual progress. You still have time. Your
chance is not over yet. Why put off your good intentions until tomorrow? Now is the time
for action I Begin this very moment! Here is your opportunity to make a new start. Begin
your new life with the help of My grace.
2. Always keep a steady hope of achieving success. Do not let your failures discourage
you. Beware also of over-confidence, so that you may not become a victim of pride or
laziness,
3. Whenever you have to omit your prayers or some daily spiritual exercise, because of
some urgent duty or for the sake of your neighbor, try to make up later what was omitted.
Do not be too ready to omit spiritual exercises because of weariness. This can easily
become a habit which will hurt you.
THINK:
It is easy enough to start again. All I have to do is: (1) to examine my life, (2) face what
needs to be done, (3) pray for strength, and (4) start doing it. I may fail on this occasion or
that, but the main thing is that I have begun and am determined to go on trying in spite of
any failures which may occur.
PRAY:
Lord, now I begin I Help me to live as You desire. If it is your will, I can do it. If You want
this of me, I ought to do it. Let me not be a coward and run away from Your Will. You
know what is right and best. I must begin now. Lord, help me. I do not expect to become a
different person overnight. just as my faults developed slowly over a period, so too will the
opposite virtues grow within me. I will not be discouraged when my old faults catch me by
surprise. My love for You will be proved by action, that is, by a steady, patient effort to get
rid of my faults and to practice the opposite virtue. Now I begin I Amen.
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 27
Holiness in Everyday Life
CHRIST:
MY CHILD, at times you hear people say that they are too busy to bother with religion.
People who say such things do not understand Me, nor themselves, nor their daily life.
They do not realize that religion is as necessary an activity as eating, sleeping and working.
2. I am far more than the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the rest which brings you
renewed strength. All of these things, and everything else, come to you- from My hand.
Without My loving support each moment, these things would fail you, and you yourself
would vanish from the face of the earth.
3. I am the center of your existence. You depend on Me more than you dream. just as you
give due attention to the people who come into your daily life, so too is it normal for you to
give due attention to Me. To speak to Me, to try to please Me, to ask for My help, to
express sorrow for your offenses, and to love Me for My goodness-these are normal acts
for any intelligent human being. The more I show Myself to him, the more should he strive
to please Me in his everyday life.
4. Religion is the bond which unites you to Me. To neglect it is as foolish as refusing to
breathe, or eat, or rest. In fact, it is worse. These other things keep your body alive, but
religion is necessary for the eternal life of your soul.
5. The man who neglects this part of his life is abnormal, that is, he is not what he ought to
be. He is neglecting something which is natural and normal for him, something which
perfects him more than he realizes.
6. There is no real opposition between laboring for your earthly needs, and laboring for
Heaven. You have to work each day, but this work can be a glorious prayer. You must eat,
work, sleep, and have recreation, but all of these can become holy actions, actions done for
eternal life.
7. Whatever you do, do it as I want it done, and you will be doing it as perfectly as
possible. Be reasonable in whatever you do, or say, or think. Refuse to violate My
commandments, regardless of any earthly advantage or disadvantage. I made the things of
this life for you, so that you may perfect yourself by using them intelligently. Let My
words and example guide you in whatever you do. In doubt consult My Church. Do this
and you will be working for success on earth and an all-satisfying glory in Heaven.
THINK:
Once I get a full view of this earthly life, I will see how all-important a part God plays in it.
Instead of living for the moment or for the next few years, I'll live for my highest and most
important goal. I will see the unending importance of what I am doing today, I will
understand how each act of this day helps me become a little more perfect, a little more
ready for Heaven. Only sin is foolish. Only sin is bad. All else is good and pleasing to God,
because it helps me in one way or another.
PRAY:
My Father in Heaven, I desire to make the best use of this earthly life of mine. I want to
live as full a life as possible. Therefore, in everything I think, do, or say, I want You to be
my Partner. Since You support me in all my thinking, speaking and acting, I want to please
You in them. By living this way, I will be following Your wisdom and my own highest
good. I now join this daily life of mine to the earthly life of Jesus, Your divine Son. With
His example and with the strength of His holy sacraments, I hope to please You every
moment. Thus, my daily life will be my best preparation for eternal life. Amen.