Sacrifice For Conversion
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A friend of mine had lunch with the devil last week. He was in California for work with a client. The two went to lunch during which the client made a very vulgar joke about the Blessed Virgin Mary and many disparaging remarks about God and Catholicism. My friend wanted to punch him – he is a former Marine so it would not have went well for the other guy – but he refrained. We talked and he was so mad that he didn’t do more. I reminded him that this person really wasn’t the devil – in fact he the son of Mary, for she is the spiritual Mother of all people. He may very well be on his way to hell where he will be transformed into the likeness of a demon forever. But he is not there yet. Our Lady weeps from heaven for her children who have by their own free will gone to hell and for those on their way. What she asks of us is that we offer prayer and sacrifice, penance and reparation for the conversion of her children on the road to hell – to save them.
We all have family and friends who are not as bad as this lunch mate – but are not on the right path. Our Lady has given us a mission of prayer and penance for their conversion. You have heard this all before – but you are wasting the constant flow of opportunities to offer things up for their conversion. Its time to stop wasting our chance to save those whom we love and hate.
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2nd Apparition of the Angel in the Summer of 1916
While the children were playing around the well near Lucia’s house, suddenly the Angel appeared again and asked:
"What are you doing? Pray, pray very much! The Most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifice constantly to the Most High. The hearts of Jesus and Mary have a mission for you."
The hearts of Jesus and Mary also have a mission for us to play on behalf of others.
Lucy asked the Angel: “How are we to make sacrifices?”
"Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners…Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings which the Lord will send you."
Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to offer sacrifices for the conversion of family, friends and even enemies.
The Angel said: Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God. Offer your prayer, work, joy and suffering, everything you did not choose, do not like and cannot change.
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Sr. Lucia from Fatima writes: This is the Call of the Message: To make sacrifices as an act of reparation, begging for the conversion of our brothers and sisters who have wandered off on false and erroneous paths. Yes, to pray and make sacrifices so that our whole life may be a sacrifice offered to God on the arms of our day-to-day cross, in union with the Cross of Christ, for the salvation of souls, co-operating with Him in his redemptive work…As we live our daily lives we come across all sorts of sacrifices which we can and must offer to God.
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I think the hardest thing to sacrifice is time, time given to God in prayer and time giving our undivided attention to other people. That which we hold most precious is our time to do what we choose. Offer a sacrifice of time in prayer for the conversion of some person. This will benefit you because prayer brings union with God, the only source of infinite happiness and God will accept this sacrifice to bring the grace of conversion to the one you are concerned about. Offer the sacrifice of praying the Rosary. Pray a second or third Rosary. Go and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or someone’s conversion. Offer a Eucharistic Holy Hour. Spend time reading and reflecting on the Bible and most powerfully, spend time in silence and stillness with God.
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Offer the sacrifice of your convenience, the sacrifice of your comfortable routines and go out of your normal way to spend time with people in friendship, in good conversation and invite them to pray the Rosary with you. This takes real effort and is a great sacrifice of your comfort zone. There are infinite ways to do this. So instead of vegging out in front of a screen, make the sacrifice, invite someone over, give them some simple hospitality, make the effort to talk about things other than politics or gossip or what is wrong with the world and other people and then invite them to pray the Rosary with you. Then make this a habit.
Now tell me, what are your excuses for not doing this? Whatever those excuses are – offer them up a sacrifice for the conversion of someone and get over yourself.