Over the final 9 days of Lent and Easter 2022 Scoop will be publishing a serialisation of Katya Rivas’s “The Passion”.
To order a video about Katya’s work visit “A plea to humanity”
The Medallion of the Apostolate of the New EvangelizationThe Passion
Reflections that Jesus makes on the mystery of His suffering and the value it has on the Redemption.
Cochabamba — Bolivia Spanish Editions: 1996 and 1998 - English 1st Edition - November 1999
God The Father
Extract 24
I see My Son, trembling in the shadows of Gethsemane, coming down from Heaven and taking the shape and substance of My
creature, who thought and still thinks he can rebel against his Creator. The man, that lonely and confused man, is the
designated victim, and as such, with His own Blood, has had to cleanse all of humanity which He represents. He trembles
and is horrified at feeling Himself covered, even seeing Himself dominated, by the inconceivable mass of sins that had
to be taken from the darkened consciences of millions and millions of dirty creatures.
Poor Son of Mine, Love has taken You to this and now you are frightened by it. Who should Glorify You in Heaven when,
radiantly, you come back to it? Can any creature give You praise worthy of You, love worthy of You? And what is the
praise and love of man, of millions of men, in comparison with the Love in which You have accepted the most tremendous
of tests that could ever exist on earth? No, My beloved Son, nobody but Your Father could equal You in Love, nobody but
I, who in My Spirit of Love, can praise and Love You for Your sacrifice that night.
You have reached, beloved Son of Mine in whom I rest all My benevolence, the spasm of death by surviving the very bitter
agony in the Garden. You have reached, in the sphere of Your humanity real and whole, the height of the great passion
that a human heart can have: to suffer for the offences done to Me, but to suffer for them with the purest and intense
Love that there is in You. Trembling, You have reached the limit through which humanity should reach complete
Redemption. You, beloved Son, have conquered with a bloody sweat, not only Your brothers’ souls, but even more, Your own
personal Glory that should elevate You, man, equal with Me, God like You.
You have drawn in Me the most perfect Justice, and the most perfect Love. At that time they represented the human waste
of the world, and You became it through Your voluntary and free acceptance. You are now, among all, My honor, glory, and
joy. You were not My offender, not You. You have always been My Beloved Son, in whom I have placed My pleasures. You
were not the human waste because even then I saw You as You have always been: My Light, My Word, that is, Myself. Son,
You, who trembled and succumbed for My honor, deserved that your Father make You known to the world, to that blind
world, which offends Us and even then is so loved by Us!
O, Beloved Son, I see You and will always see You in that night of Your bitterness, and I have You always in mind!
Because of Your love I am reconciled to the creatures and with the creatures. You could not raise Your face to Me; it
was so covered with their faults. Now, to please You, I make them raise their faces to Us so that by a glimpse of Your
Light, they remain captives of Our Love.
Now, My Son, always so beloved, I will do what I told You then in the shadow of Gethsemane, and they will be great
things to give You joy and honor.
†
The Sorrows of the Virgin Mary
Extract 25
Mary
Many prophets spoke about me: they prophesied that it was necessary for me to suffer to become worthy of being the
Mother of God. On earth they anticipated knowledge of me but it had to be in a very guarded way. Later the Evangelists
talked about me, especially Luke, my beloved physician - more of souls than of bodies. Afterwards some devotions were
started that had as a basis the sorrows and pains I suffered. And thus it is commonly believed and thought that I
experienced seven main sorrows.
My children, your Mother has rewarded and will reward the efforts and love that you have had for me. But as Jesus did, I
want to talk to you more extensively about my sorrows. Then, you will talk to your brethren about them, and at last
everyone will imitate Me. Because of what I suffered, I am continuously praising Jesus and seek nothing but only that He
be glorified in me.
See, little children, it is sad to talk about these things to my own children, because every mother keeps her sorrows to
herself. And this I dutifully did in the course of my mortal life; therefore, my wish as a mother has been respected by
God. Now that I am here, where the smile is eternal, and having, as all mothers, already concealed the sorrows that I
experienced, I should talk about them so that as my children you may know something about my life.
I know the fruits that you will gain from it and how they please Jesus, My beloved Son. I will talk about them as soon
as you can understand me.
My Jesus said, “Whoever is first, make yourself last”, and He truly did it because He is the first in the House of God,
but He came down to the last step. Now, because of love, I will not take away from Him this first and last place that
belongs to Him. Rather, I strive to make you understand this truth, and my joy will be greater when you are convinced,
not through the path of simple knowledge but through means of a deep-rooted and profound conviction. May He be first and
we the last.
If He was the first, there should be a second one in the ladder of love and glory and; therefore, of lowliness and
humiliation. You have now understood: that being should be me. Little children, praise God who having created an
enormous distance between Jesus and me, still wanted to place me immediately next to Him.
My children, what appears to the world is not what is most important before God. Having been chosen Mother of God
implied for me grave sacrifices and resignations, and the first one was this: knowing through Gabriel the election made
in the intimacy of God. I had wanted to remain in a state of humble knowledge and concealment in God. I wanted this more
than anything else because it was my delight to know myself as last in everything.
Upon knowing the choice of God, I answered, as you know, but it was difficult to rise up to the dignity for which I was
called.
Little children, do you understand my first sorrow of which I speak? Reflect on it, give your Mother the great delight
of esteeming that humbleness which I so much esteemed above my virginity. Yes, I was and am the slave to whom anything
can be asked of, and I accepted only because my surrender was the same degree as my love.
You enjoyed, O God, elevating me to You, and I enjoyed accepting because my obedience was pleasing to You. But You know
how sorrowful it was for me, and that same sorrow is now before You in need of light for these children, whom You love
and whom I love. I am the slave, O Children of mine, and as it was done unto me, let it now, without doubt, be done to
you all that God wants!
The acceptance gave God the answer that will give men access to the Redemption, and in this was verified that admirable
phrase: “Here is a Virgin who shall conceive and give birth to a Son who shall be called Emmanuel.”
The acceptance to become the Mother of Emmanuel, involved my gift to the Son of God in such a way that His Mother would
bestow herself to Him, before the Humanity of Jesus would form in me. That is why my gift was the result of the Grace,
and also the reason for the Grace. And the precedence should be recognized that God is the foremost reason;
nevertheless, it should be affirmed that my acceptance acted in the plan of Grace as an accompanying reason.
They call me Co-Redemptrix for the sorrows I have suffered; but I was so, even before, because of the gift I had made
through Gabriel. O, my divine Son! How much honor you have wanted to give your Mother in compensation for the great
sorrow I suffered in rising to the dignity of your Mother!
You, little children, are blind in the world, but when you see, wonderful things will become incentives for your joy for
me. You will see what unity of glory and humility there is here where my Jesus is the sun that is never hidden. You will
see how wise a design was carried out through my renouncement, to the lowliness of hiding.
But now, hear me. As my maternity was advancing, I had to talk to some of my loved ones about the honor I had received
and I did so concealing as much as I could. I lamented the renounced triumph of the secret in God because God Himself
should be glorified in me.
However, very soon I had the joy of knowing that I was considered as a woman amongst many. My soul rejoiced because the
Slave of God, who wanted humiliations as only I could, was being trampled on before the world. When Joseph hid, I did
not suffer, I truly rejoiced. Do not say that I suffered then because that is not true.
That was how God satisfied my desire for humiliations. This was the Lord’s compensation for becoming the Mother of God:
to be considered as a fallen woman. Daughter, learn the knowledge of love, learn to esteem holy humility, and do not
fear because it is a virtue that shines with sparkling light.
When the marriage took place, I had no problems. I knew how things would be and I feared nothing. Indeed, God gives, to
those who give themselves entirely to Him, a perfect place in the most inconsistent situations, as was mine: I was
forced by human obligation to marry a man, even when I knew that I could belong only to God.
I suffered so many sorrows on earth! It is not easy being Mother of the Highest, I assure you. But neither can it be
called difficult that which is done for the purest of ends and to be pleasing to God. Remember it!
Have you ever thought what it was that caused me the most sorrow on that Holy Night in Bethlehem? You distract your mind
with the stable, with the manger, and with the poverty. I, on the other hand, tell you that I spent that night in
complete ecstasy of my Son. And even though I had to do what every mother does with her small child, I did not abandon
my ecstasy, my bliss. And so, the only thing that caused me sorrow that night of love was seeing the affliction of my
poor Joseph on looking for a refuge, any place, for me. Conscious of what was to happen and Who would come to earth, my
beloved husband, on seeing that I was confused, became anguished and I felt much sympathy for him. Later, we were filled
with joy and we forgot every worry.
We fled to Egypt and all that is possible has been said about this, even though some center their imagination upon the
fatigue of the journey more than upon the fear of a mother who knew that she possessed the greatest treasure in Heaven
and Earth.
Later living in Nazareth, little Jesus was growing up full of life and, at that time, He caused us few and minimum
worries. Every mother knows what it is like to wish for the health of her own child, and how a very simple thing looks
like a great dark cloud. My Boy went through all the epidemics and childhood illnesses of those times. Like every
mother, I could not be immune to any of the anxieties that a mother’s heart goes through.
But one day the very dark cloud that darkened the festive light of the Mother of God arrived. That cloud is called
losing Jesus…. No poet or master of the spirit could imagine Mary when she knew that she had lost her adored Son and had
no news of Him until three days later… Little children, do not be amazed at my words, I experienced the greatest
confusion of my life. You have not reflected enough on those words of mine: “Son, your father and I have been looking
for you for three days. Why have You done this to us?” My God, now that I speak to these beloved children, I cannot stop
praising You. You who hid to make us feel the delight of finding You. O! In what other way could it be possible to know
the sweetness that a glass full of honey puts in the soul as when she embraces her All?
You see, I also tell you about my joys; but not without reason do I relate and join together the joys and sorrows. Draw
benefits, in the best way possible, from all that happened. God hides in order to be found. Some know this truth, others
thinking about that terrible sorrow of having lost Jesus, do everything to find Him. You should not stay inert and
overwhelmed.
Your Mother would like to save you from dealing with so much that is still to be said. First, there are things never
announced and; therefore, not yet appreciated. Secondly, by knowing them, you will have to join me in suffering and
painful considerations. Moreover, everything that my Jesus wants, has been said without any opposition whatsoever.
Do you think that I spent our family life peacefully in Nazareth? It was peaceful in virtue of the uniformity with the
love of God. But from the creatures, there was so much trouble!
Our unique way of living was noticed, and as a result we were ridiculed publicly. I was considered excessive because of
the fact that when Jesus left the house, I could not contain My tears, and Jesus went out frequently. Joseph was
harassed as if he were a slave to Jesus and me. What could the world understand? We left all the care to the One who
lived amongst us, adored in all His manifestations.
What a beloved Son that young Boy was; more handsome than the sea, wiser than Solomon, and stronger than Samson. All the
mothers would have taken Him away from me; such was the charm that surrounded Him. The small minded covered me with
soothing judgments; however, they did not spare criticism toward the never tiring father whom they thought was subject
to his faithful but jealous wife. Everyone was familiar with my wholeness, but they all thought it to be a common and
selfish passion.
This, my little children, is what is not known. This happened between a world that could not see nor understand, and His
purest Mother. Jesus kept quiet, without encouraging me, because the Mother of God had to go through the crucible, that
is, as one woman amongst many from whom opinions should not be spared.
Admire the Wisdom of God in these things and find the Divine meaning, which joins the greatest of sublimity to the tests
that are more painful in relation with such sublimity, because every abyss calls upon another abyss and every depth
calls upon its depth.
The hour of separation has come, the hour for Jesus’ action. With it, the feared day of the departure from Nazareth
arrived.
Jesus had spoken extensively to me of His mission and of the fruits that it would give Him and everyone; He had made me
love it beforehand. It was necessary, therefore, for us to separate, even if for a short time… He said goodbye, kissed
us, and went forward to His mission as teacher of humanity. But His departure did not go unnoticed in the small village
where Jesus was so loved.
There were gestures of affection, of blessings and, since they did not know the good that Jesus was going to do, a loss
was foreseen by these people of small intellect but generous at heart.
And I, amongst so many manifestations, how did I feel? A thousand affections rushed upon me, but He did not delay His
departure by a minute. My Jesus knew what awaited Him after His preaching. He had told me so many times and so profusely
of the treachery of the Pharisees and the others. And now you see Him leaving, alone without me to fulfill His mandate;
without me who had made Him grow with the warmth of my heart; without me who adored Him like no one would ever adore
Him!
Later I followed Him. I found Him when he was surrounded by so many people that it was not possible for me to see Him.
And He, truly the Son of God, gave His Mother a sublime answer as was His wisdom, but it pierced this maternal heart
from side to side. Yes I understood Him completely, but that did not free me from sorrows. To the human relationship, He
countered the Divine in which I was included, it is true; nevertheless, the remarks of the others hurt Me.
The initial blow was followed by the joy of seeing His greatness, of seeing Him honored, venerated, and loved by the
people; and quickly this wound also healed.
I traveled the paths with Him, enthralled with His knowledge, comforted with His teachings, and I never tired of loving
and admiring Him.
Then came His first friction with the Sanhedrin. The miracle happened: the miracle that raised so much ado in the minds
of the proud Jewish priests. He was hated, persecuted, spied upon, and tempted. And I? I knew everything and from then
on, with open arms, I offered the holocaust of my Son, His surrender, and His horrible and ignominious death into the
hands of the Father. I already knew about Judas; I knew the tree from which the wood would be taken for my Son’s Cross.
You cannot imagine the intimate tragedy that I lived together with my Jesus, in order for the Redemption to be
fulfilled.
I had said before: Co-redemptrix. For this, the usual sorrows were not enough. A more intimate union to His great
suffering was necessary, so that all men should be redeemed. So, as I went from town to town with Him, I became more and
more informed about the heartbroken cries that My Son poured out during so many sleepless nights that He spent in prayer
and meditation. Before me every state of mind of His was revealed and truly my Calvary and my Cross began then.
So many considerations increased my sorrows each day that I was His Mother and yours! So many sins, all the sins; so
much sorrow, all the sorrows; so many thorns, all the thorns; Jesus was not alone. He knew it, and felt it. He saw His
Mother in continuous union with Him. He was afflicted by it, more so, because my suffering was for Him the greatest
suffering.
My Son, my adored Son, if only these sons and daughters knew what happened then between You and me!…
And the hour of the holocaust came after the sweetness of the Paschal Supper. And after that, I had to rejoin the
people. I, who loved and adored Him in a unique way, had to be far from Him. Do you understand, O my children?
I knew that Judas was taking his treacherous steps and there was nothing I could do; and I knew that Jesus had sweated
Blood in the Garden and there was nothing I could do for Him. Then they arrested Him, insulted Him, and wickedly
condemned Him.
I cannot tell you everything. I shall only say that my Heart was in turmoil with continuous anxiety; a seat of
continuous bitterness, uncertainties, a place of desolation, tired and disconsolate. And all the souls that later would
be lost? And all the simony and sacrilegious interchanges?
O children of my sorrows! If today you were given the graces of suffering for me, bless the One who gave them to you
with fervor, and sacrifice yourselves without doubt.
You think about my greatness, my beloved children. It helps you to think about it; but listen to me: do not think about
me, but about Him. I would like to be forgotten, if it were possible! Give all your compassion to Him, to my Jesus, to
your Jesus, to Jesus, your love and mine.
Thus, little children, the sorrow of my Heart was a continuous sword that pierced my soul, my life. I felt it, while
Jesus did not. He comforted me with His Resurrection, when my immense joy suddenly healed all the wounds that bled
within me. “My Son,“ I kept repeating. Why so much desolation? Your Mother is near You. Is my love not enough? How many
times did I comfort You in Your afflictions? And now, can Your Mother not give You some relief? O Father of my Jesus, I
do not want anything more than what You want. You know it; but see if so many afflictions can have some relief. The
Mother of Your Son asks this from You.
And now on Calvary I protested: “My God, return to those eyes that I adore the light that you imprinted in them since
the day that You gave Him to me! Divine Father, see the horror of that holy face! Can you not at least wipe away so much
Blood? O Father of My Son, O Spouse my love, O You Yourself, Word who wanted to have humanity from me! May the prayer of
those arms opened up to Heaven and on earth be the supplication of His and my acceptance!
Look, O God, to what that One whom You love has been reduced to! It is His Mother who asks You to alleviate so much
sadness. After a short time, I will be without Him. Thus my promise, which I offered from my Heart when in the Temple,
will be fulfilled entirely. Yes, I will remain alone, but lighten His pain without attending to mine…
†
(ends)
EDITOR’S NOTES: In Lent 2022 Scoop is publishing - , for the 23rd time - a series of daily reflections on the Passion from Bolivian
author Katya Rivas. Rivas has received an official imprimatur from the Catholic Church for several books.. To order a
video about Katya’s work visit… apleatohumanity.com
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