The Eucharist and a Conversation Between Christ and a Demon

In the Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden we find many illuminating – and often fascinating – revelations on a range of topics. In Book 4, Chapter 63 of her Revelations, we encounter some words that are particularly pertinent to our times. This chapter details a conversation between Our Lord and a demon who had previously attempted to deceive St. Bridget in order to nullify her faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Below is a sample of this conversation.

A demon with an enormous belly appeared to the bride [St. Bridget] and said: “… Do you not see with your eyes and hear with the ears of your body the sound of the breaking of the material bread of the host? … Even if it is possible for God to be in the mouth of the righteous, how can he stoop to come to the unrighteous whose greed is without limit or measure?”

… The Lord said [to the demon]: “… Did I not say that he who eats My flesh shall have eternal life? And you say that it is a lie and that no one eats My flesh. Hence, my people are [according to the demon] more idolatrous than those who worship stones and trees… Was my body that Thomas touched after my resurrection a spiritual or corporeal body? If it was corporeal, how did it pass through the locked doors? But, if it was spiritual, how was it visible to corporeal eyes?”

The devil answered: “… I state that you were both corporeal and spiritual after rising from the dead. It is because of the eternal power of your Divinity and because of a special privilege of your glorified Flesh that you can enter anywhere and be present everywhere.”

The Lord said further: “Tell Me, when Moses’ staff was turned into a serpent, was it only the image of a serpent or was it completely a serpent both inside and outside? And tell Me again, the leftover bread in those baskets, was it really and wholly bread or just the image of bread?”

The devil answered: “The entire staff became a serpent, what was in the baskets was entirely bread, and it was entirely done by Your power and might.”

The Lord said: “Is it more difficult or more miraculous for Me to perform a similar miracle now than it was then, if I please? Or, if My glorified Flesh could pass through the locked doors then, why can It not be in the hands of the priests now? Does it, perhaps, entail an effort for My Divinity to unite that which is least with that which is heavenly, the earthly with the most sublime? Certainly not. But, father of lies, just as you excel in wickedness, so too my love is and always shall be upon all creatures… I create something out of nothing and a visible thing out of an invisible one. I can reveal something through a visible sign and shape that, however, truly is one thing in what is signified, yet is seen as something else.”

… Then the Son of God spoke once more: “… If you believe that I am in the hands of the priest, even if the priest doubts it, then I am truly in his hands due to the faith of the believers and those present, as well as due to the words that I myself established and uttered. Everyone who receives Me receives both My Divine and Human natures as well as the form [appearance, accidents] of bread.

… What is My humanity if not an active body, the conjunction of God and man, the Head of all Christians?

Therefore, those who believe in God and receive His Body receive the Divine nature as well, for they receive life. They also receive the human nature by which God and man are joined. Again, they receive the form of bread, because the One who is hidden as to his own form is received beneath a different form as a test of faith. Likewise, wicked persons also receive the same divinity but as a stern judge rather than an affectionate friend. They receive his human nature as well, though less easily appeased. They also receive the form of bread, for they receive the truth hidden beneath the visible form, but it is not sweet to them.”

Daily Revelation and Reflection: The Love of God (#8)

The following words are taken from the Revelations of St. Bridget, Interrogation 13. Additional commentary is unnecessary.

Third question. ”Why do some people suffer excessive hardship, while others live more or less free from hardship?”

“The Judge answered…

As to why greater hardships are given to some, I answer: I am the maker of all things. Thus, no hardship comes without my permission, as it is written: ‘I am God creating woe,’ that is, permitting hardship. Hardship does not befall the heathen without me and without a reasonable cause. Indeed, my prophets made many predictions about the adversities of the heathen in order that those who had neglected and abused reason might be taught by suffering, and in order that I, God, who permitted it all, should be known and glorified by every nation. Therefore, if I, God, do not spare pagans from suffering, even less will I spare those who have tasted the sweetness of my divine grace more plentifully.

There is indeed less hardship for some and more for others in order to turn people away from sin and so that those who suffer hardships in the present might be comforted in the future. All those who are judged and who judge themselves in this age will not come into future judgment. As it is written: ‘They shall pass from death into life.’ There are also some that are protected from suffering, but this happens so that they do not incur a harsher judgment by grumbling at their sufferings. Many there are who do not deserve to suffer in this world.

There are also some people in this life who are afflicted neither in body nor in spirit. They pass their lives as carefree as though God did not exist, or as though God is sparing them for the sake of their righteous works. Such people should be filled with dread for fear that I, God, who spare them in the present, come suddenly and condemn them more harshly as being without contrition.

There are also those who enjoy health of body but are troubled in their soul about the contempt of God, while others enjoy neither health of body nor inner consolation of soul and yet persevere as far as they are able in my service and honor. There are others, too, who are always sick, from their mother’s womb up until their death. I, the God of all of these, regulate their sufferings so that nothing happens without cause or reward, for many people, who were asleep before their trials, have their eyes opened by suffering.”

Daily Revelation and Reflection: The Love of God (#1)

“You see what I have suffered; well, all that is for you.”

– Jesus to Bl. Mother Anne of St. Bartholomew

How can anyone say that God is cruel? Jesus suffered and died for all, without exception (Gal 2:20). A cruel God would not pursue sinners with so much determination and love!

“But there is so much evil and suffering!” Ah, so you admit the existence of evil? But evil is not a substance; it cannot exist by itself. Why? Because evil, like darkness, is merely an absence of something; it is a deficit, a privation, a negative. “All the darkness in the world,” says St. Francis de Sales, “cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” How, then, can we call God, Who is Light, cruel or unjust? This is philosophically and theologically absurd; evil exists as a result of turning away from God. Any goodness that exists in the universe is from His bounty.

Look at the Crucified One. He is Love. He loves only what is good, and hates only what is evil. In Him is contained every truth, every mystery, every grace. Seek Him and you shall be set free from everything that is not of God.

Merciful Revelations to Sr. Yvonne-Aimée (d. 1951)

‘The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps. 145:9)

Servant of God Sr./Mother Yvonne-Aimée was a remarkable soul (d. Feb 3, 1951). Her charity and humility were profound, and she was a vessel for many remarkable graces from God. On occasion, droplets of blood that came from her wounds would turn to lilies or roses. Reflect on the spiritual significance of this.

During her life, Yvonne-Aimée received many revelations from Our Lord. There is a strong resemblance between her revelations and those given to Sr. Benigna Consolata, Sr. Josefa Menendez, St. Faustina, and Bl. Dina Belanger.

Below are a few of these revelations. Unfortunately, the book from which they came (‘No Need for Surprise’) is very costly and rare. If you are a French reader, you may be pleased to find out that there are many books about Yvonne-Aimée in French. If only I knew French!

Revelations to Yvonne-Aimée

“Do you know that there are souls that don’t dare to think of Me as their best Friend and don’t realize that My Heart is always waiting to receive them… I am pure Love and I find my happiness in knowing them close to Me and giving them My Love in full measure… They should approach Me with humility and respect, but I also want them to think of Me as their Father and feel at ease with Me. Affection and childlike trust are what they need to talk to God and it saddens Me to see them come to Me almost suspiciously, in fear and trembling, when all I want is their love.”

“My Mercy is infinite; all souls can reach My Divine Heart and rise to whatever heights they wish within that Heart. I make no distinction between the innocent and the guilty — the more they love Me, the dearer they are to Me. No soul will ever find limitations to its trust in My Mercy, for I want that trust to go on growing for ever…”

“As soon as a soul starts to love Me, I at once increase My own love and grace in them. The least action done for love of Me, entails a fresh flood of supernatural grace…”

A Prayer Given to Yvonne-Aimée

Our Lord revealed the following prayer to Sr. Yvonne-Aimée. It has been approved and “indulgenced” by the Church. It is very powerful, and complementary to the way of spiritual childhood, as found in the writings of St. Therese, Doctor of the Church – among others.

O Jesus, King of Love,
I put my trust in thy loving mercy.

————

“The holier you are, My dear children, the lighter will be your burden.”

• Jesus to Yvonne-Aimée

A Beautiful Revelation for Every Christian (Pt. 3)

Jesus to Sr. Gertrude Mary:

“In return for the signal favours with which I fill your soul, I ask you to console My Heart. This is the part you have to play, My privileged spouse.

You rejoice My Heart every time that you show Me gratitude for the trials which I send you.**

Let Me do what I will with you. Be faithful to all that I ask of you.

You shall be the beloved disciple of My Heart, and I will take the entire charge of your soul.”

** Our Lord said to St. Gertrude that we should thank Him for sufferings and trials. Why? Because they are sent or permitted for our eternal welfare, and for the benefit of others.  They are sent by God’s love as a means of purifying our souls; uniting us more intimately to God; increasing our merits; and to “snatch many souls from perdition” (Jesus to Sr. Josefa Menendez).

Ponder these truths, and next time you suffer, call to mind Our Crucified Saviour, the Lamb without spot.

Some Remarkable Revelations About Heaven

Ven. Rev. Martin von Cochem (‘The Last Things’):

“On one occasion, when the devil was speaking by the mouth of a person who was possessed, he said :

‘If the whole heavens were a sheet of parchment, if the whole ocean were ink, if every blade of grass were pen, and every man on earth a scribe, it would not suffice to describe the intense, immeasurable delight which the vision of God affords to the blessed.’

And at another time he said that if God would but vouchsafe to grant him the privilege of beholding His divine countenance for a few moments, he would, if it were possible, gladly bear in his own person all the torments of hell until the Day of Judgement. This teaches us that if a man spent his whole life in works of most severe penance, and after his death were permitted only for one instant to gaze on the face of God, he would have received an ample recompense for all his mortifications.”

Rev. Martin von Cochem is right. In fact, the truth of his words are confirmed by a revelation given to a holy Visitation nun, Sr. Marie–Catherine Putigny, to whom a deceased sister appeared, saying:

 “What are all the sorrows of earth compared with the happiness of seeing God for even one instant!” 

Jesus Asks His Spouses to Pray for Priests

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Priests have a sublime vocation. They are called to be “other Christs” in a very special way. Without them, there would be no Sacraments, which are for the faithful, a perpetual source of grace, hope and sanctity.

No priest = no Mass; and the Mass is the greatest gift that we can offer to Almighty God!

“All the praise, the love, the veneration, the worship, the thanksgiving, which Christ presents to the ever-blessed Trinity in every Mass far transcends all the praise of the angels, the adoration of the saints, so far, indeed, that were all the penances, the prayers, the good works of apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all saints offered to the Holy Trinity they would be less pleasing to the Divine Majesty than one single Mass.”

– Ven. Rev. Martin von Cochem

(What incredible words! This single quotation alone should be reason enough to become Catholic!)

Today, perhaps more than ever, priests need our prayers. Many churches are close to empty; priests are mocked and ridiculed by the media and by countless individuals; many Catholics dissent from the Church’s teaching; and there is a tidal wave of liberal theology and modernism that has infiltrated our seminaries. These are just some of the difficulties facing priests today.

St. Thomas, along with St. Alphonsus and many others, teaches that a religious is bound to strive for perfection, under pain of mortal sin. It is especially incumbent upon us, then, to pray for priests, that they might fulfil their priestly duties.

“Very well, if you want to save souls, there is only one and powerful means: holy priests.”

– Jesus to Ven. Concepcion Cabrera de Armida

‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Mt 9:38)

By praying and offering sacrifices to God that He might give us holy priests, we are exercising the virtues of faith, hope and love; we are demonstrating mercy, which will attract many graces from God, both now and at the final judgement; we are contributing towards the salvation of our own soul, as well as the souls of our brothers and sisters; we are making God better known and better loved; and we are fulfilling one of our many grave duties as children of the Most High.

Know for certain that those who disrespect priests, disrespect Christ; and those who love priests, love Christ.

“I will men to respect them [priests], not for themselves but for Me, because of the authority I have given them and the dignity with which they are clothed. I do not want this respect to decrease even if their virtue decreases… I have given them to you that they may be angels of the world and your light. If they are not all this, you ought to pray for them and not judge them, but let Me judge them Myself. I desire to be able to show them mercy through your prayers.’

– God to St. Catherine of Siena

 ‘People do not pray enough for priests. I have graces reserved for them which I will give them if people ask for them… These are not graces indispensable to their ministry; nevertheless if they possessed these graces they would do more good and souls would benefit greatly thereby.’ 

– Jesus to Sr. Gertrude Mary

A Revelation on Divine Mercy (to St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi)

The Eternal Father addressed these words to St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi:

“My Word consummated on the cross the love wherewith I sent Him to you, satisfying My justice for your sins so fully that I received more satisfaction, without comparison, than I had received offense. Hence it is that I am so easily appeased with the sinners who return to Me and are converted; and I receive them in the arms of My Love, because I have been so well satisfied by the obedience of My Word. In this world, or in an infinite number of worlds, so many sins could not be committed, for which My Word had atoned, that I would not be satisfied with the reparation He made for the sins and the offense. Hence, the Royal Prophet, foreseeing this satisfaction, has said: “Copiosa apud eum redemption” – “With Him plentiful redemption” (Ps. cxxix, 7).”

“As St. Thomas says: “He properly atones for an offense who offers something which the offended one loves equally, or even more than he detested the offense. But by suffering out of love and obedience, Christ gave more to God than was required to compensate for the offense of the whole human race”; for the immense charity of the incarnate Son was more pleasing to God than all the sins of men were displeasing to Him, because this act of charity was a theandric act [and therefore infinite in value], inasmuch as it proceeded radically from the person of the Word.” – Lagrange

Mary’s Appeal to the Worst of Sinners

Our Lady spoke these words to St. Bridget of Sweden:

“I tell you so now: Nobody in the world is so great a sinner – provided he says in his heart that my Son is the Creator and Redeemer of the universe and dear to him in his inmost heart – that I am not prepared to come to him immediately, like a loving mother to her son, and hug him and say: ‘What would you like, my son?’ Even if he had deserved the lowest punishment in Hell, nevertheless, if only he has the intention of not caring for worldly honours or greed or carnal lust, such as the church condemns, and desires nothing but his own sustenance, then he and I will right away get along quite well together.” (Bk IV, Ch 32)

Sadly, this appeal of Our Lady will not be heeded by many. The atheist will deny it; the agnostic will view it with a pitiable indifference and skepticism; and the sinner and lukewarm Christian alike will scarcely perceive that it is addressed to him just as much – if not more – than it is addressed to other ‘greater’ sinners, who have perhaps received far fewer graces.

Please pray, dear reader, that neither you nor I will be lukewarm; pray, rather, that we might become Saints. This is the surest way to please, to console, and to thank Our Lady and Our Lord for all they have done for us, and for all they desire to do for us!

“Be like a child with Me,” says Jesus.

The following words were revealed by Our Lord to Sr. Gertrude Mary, a holy nun of the community of St. Charles in Angers, France (1870 – 1908):

“… you must be like a child with Me. There is in you too strong a feeling of fear and I wish you to exchange it for a feeling of filial love…

Your joy must be greater than your fear. Excessive fear is not the feeling of a loving daughter. And in so far as your soul is not dilated with joy, trust and abandonment, there will be obstacles…

The thing that checks Divine effusion in your soul is your want of simplicity and abandonment with your heavenly Father. I desire to be lavish with your soul, and you prevent My doing what I wish with you.”

Simplicity and abandonment. This is the key to happiness and holiness. Sr. Gertrude Mary writes: ‘We say: “God loves me dearly; God is very good” and we are not convinced of its truth; and this is what prevents our perfect correspondence with God’s plan for us – it is Our Lord who says so.’

 “Whosoever is a little one, let him come to Me.” (Proverbs 9:4). “To him that is little, mercy is granted.” (Wisdom 6:4).

“Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in thee.” (Psalm 33:22)

“Trusting souls are the robbers of My graces. Write that the pleasure I take in the trusting soul is inexpressible.” (Jesus said to Sr. Benigna Consolata)

“Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them. I rejoice that they ask for much, because it is my desire to give much, very much. On the other hand, I am sad when souls ask for little, when they narrow their hearts.” (Jesus to St. Faustina)