Friday, October 12, 2012
My Thirty-day Retreat – Part IV
Dear Friends,
I am now sending you the fourth part of My Thirty-day Retreat. By the way I wish to thank all those who sent me donations. It is a great help indeed. May the Lord bless you.
Father Melvin
——————————
27th April 1990 – Today is the 10th day of the retreat and the first day of rest since we began. We are free to do as we please, and we can talk again, read the papers and go for a walk. Most of us try to catch up with what is going on in the world. There were two attempted coups in Africa during this period–one in Nigeria and the other in the Sudan. Jerusalem is also in the news with the Jews occupying a building of the Orthodox Patriarchate near the Holy Sepulchre. Today all the churches of Jerusalem are closed from 9:00 a.m. onwards, and all the church bells are tolling the whole morning. I went to the Holy Sepulchre to see this building the Jews are occupying. We went, three of us, and saw about a dozen soldiers with guns standing outside this building, and we could see the Jews inside. The Jews had their little Kaffia (skull caps) on. There were some cameramen moving around the crowd taking pictures.
Back at St. Anne’s it was quiet. Today the schedule was to have one period of meditation only. So, I prayed from 17:30 to 18:30 hrs. I took as matter for my prayer: Jesus in prison. He was put there after His scourging and crowning with thorns. It was there that the soldiers mocked Him. I was with Jesus in His sufferings for 40 minutes. I experienced the terrible anguish and disgust provoked by the soldiers and the pain in my heart which Jesus felt as they mocked Him, and yet He forgave them in His Heart. At the end I prayed for all peoples unjustly condemned or tortured or beaten. I also prayed for those whose human rights are not respected. Among these unjustly treated I prayed especially for those in prison because of their belief in Jesus. I prayed that hatred may cease in the world and that love may reign everywhere. At the end of the hour Jesus spoke to me saying, “I love you; you are my favorite brother. I am pleased with you. You will continue in my Passion for some days yet, till my Death on the Cross. See how my Baptism is linked to my Passion and Death, and to the Beatitudes too. Remember I wept over Jerusalem. You are worried about the future, if there is sickness in store for you. No, you will have a special work of mine to do. Be ready to receive the Holy Spirit.”
28th April 1990: The Second week of the Retreat – Today I had the full four periods of meditation. The first hour was on the crowning with thorns; the second and the third were on the Way of the Cross and the last was on the Crucifixion. In all these periods I shared in the Passion of Jesus, reliving in my heart and body some of the sufferings endured by Our Lord. It was only in the last period that Jesus spoke to me, “It is for you, out of love for you that I freely submitted to the Passion and Death on the Cross. Yes, it is for you and the whole of humanity. If you had been the only person on earth I would still have agreed to die for you on the Cross to save you. Now I return to our union: the special mystical union we have. It is because of this union that I have given you a share in my Passion. Now I grant you the Holy Spirit to strengthen you, and at the same time He is giving you the gift of healing the sick. If you do what I told you, the sick will be healed. Refer everything to me. You do not have to be anxious about what people will say. If any doubt, or ask for faith, lay your hands on them and the Holy Spirit will fill them, and they will receive the gift of faith. Your blessing too will be efficacious.” I ask Jesus to help me be sure that it is He who is speaking to me and not somebody else. He said, “I only speak to you in prayer when you are in a profound attitude of listening. When I speak to you, you will feel peace in your heart. Continue to share my Passion and I will speak to you again.”
29th April 1990 – I spent all the hours of prayer on the Crucifixion. I took in turn the four accounts in the Gospels. After reading the account, I would then be united to Jesus and experience the Crucifixion in my own body. It meant for me acute pain and suffering for I would feel the nails as they penetrated my arms and my feet and I would shout at times from the pain. I also felt fatigue and pain in all parts of my body. I had great pain in my diaphragm and I had difficulty breathing. Certain texts would become very vivid in my mind and these are: “If I am lifted up…I will attract all men to myself.” The words of Simeon to Mary: “A sword will pierce your heart.” The prayer from the Cross: “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” To the thieves: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” At the end Our Lady told me: “Jesus loves you very much. He suffered much for you. Remain united to Him always.” I offered Jesus’ Passion for the redemption of the world especially the Jews, the Moslems, the Chinese, the Indians and the people of Russia. Jesus wants all people to be saved.