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This passage is used in the Mass of the Stigmata of St. Francis (Sept. 17). Both saints suffered in union with Christ: their sufferings were not only for their own salvation, but for the benefit of their neighbors.
St. Paul wrote: "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church.." (Colossians 1:24)
"Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." (2 Timothy 2:10)
The value of the sufferings of Paul and Francis were applied to other members of the church.
To be a Franciscan means to follow in the steps of Francis and to do something similar to what he did, even if the actions are small acts and sufferings, performed without heroism.
In recent times two Franciscans, Maximilian Kolbe and Padre Pio, offered their sufferings in union with Christ to save the souls of their brethren. Maximilian Kolbe suffered the pains of martyrdom in a concentration camp and offered his own life, so that another man might live. God does not require everyone to give their life physically, as he did. God does not ask people to have miraculous wounds, like Padre Pio. However, all the faithful and all Franciscans are expected to carry the cross of a disciple. Christ said that the disciple should be like his master. He cannot be like his master unless he has a cross, at least a small one. God is so generous, so kind and so magnanimous, that he accepts even small offerings. He revealed to St. Therese of Lisieux and to Josefa Menendez that he is pleased with small actions, provided that they are done under obedience and offered with great purity of intention. Thus even the small actions of daily life could be as pleasing to God, as are the heroic actions of great saints.
Our Lord once spoke to Padre Pio about his sufferings: "My son, I need victims in order to appease my Father's justifiable and divine anger: renew your sacrifice, and make it without reservations."
During the 1920s, there was a young lady in Mexico who was very afflicted because her father was an unbeliever, and her other relatives were lukewarm Catholics. On the day of her first communion, she offered herself to suffer, in order to obtain the conversion of her father and the salvation of others. She offered herself as a victim to obtain their conversion. Our Lord appeared to her and encouraged her to suffer. She had to endure a long martyrdom and was imprisoned in her own home. On one occasion she was even threatened with death. Her name was Maria Concepcion Zuniga. Our Lord revealed to her the sad condition of the church. (At that time the Catholic Church was being persecuted in Mexico by a Masonic president. The churches were closed; Mass was celebrated only in secret, and many laypeople and priests were put to death.)
In 1932 Our Lord said to her: "If My children enfolded in the bosom of My Church suffer from the oppression of their enemies, it is because their works are not sufficiently pure to achieve liberty and triumph.
There are some just souls, My daughter, but they do not compensate for the impure. There is a lack of works of sanctity that would make Divine Justice pour out a copious shower of blessings on My children and on My enemies, to reconcile both in the love of My Heart. That is why I want victim souls! I want the Work so longed-for by My Heart!"
On another occasion in 1932, he mentioned how much schismatics offended him, and said: "These, too, I want to save. So immense is the love of My Victim Heart! To work at this task, I want the children of My Order, the most beloved Order of My Heart, the Order of victims, the Order of My Heart undr the mantle of Mary of Perpetual Help, and following the evangelical rule of My servant, Francis of Assisi.
With this legion of faithful servants, with the dissemination of the offering of victims in the world, the works of sanctity of just souls, through the merits of My Redemption, will succeed in increasing. And, before My Justice, this will be a way to repay the debts of the wickedness of humanity and to obtain many graces before Judgment day comes.
For when it comes, I, the merciful Victim now, will then be an inflexible judge of justice without appeal. Then I will condemn the obstinate with the wicked, not to the triumph they dream of, but to slavery under the king of Hell, and this, for all eternity.
But all those I find in the flock of My elect I will judge with less rigor, and I will be all love for those I find sheltered under the mantle of Mary, and those will be the peoples, the groups who had Her as their Patroness, and the souls who have most loved and served Her. And I will look with exclusive predilection upon those devoted to her Perpetual Help, those who are the children of My Order, the legion of victim souls, and all those who may have helped, seconded and supported their works of unification, just as My blessed Mother wants it, and My Heart ardently desires it.
I will still be with you for a little longer as a victim, but there is little time left, My beloved. It is necessary to hasten your efforts. It is necessary to be prepared, because the final hour is not far off.
I told everything to everyone, so they might be prepared and not caught off guard. The beginnings of the end have already been realized, and are being realized now. My last work of Redemption is this that I have asked of you, and of which I have instructed you! Thus, consider the shortness of time!" (Our Lord to Madre Concepcion Zuniga, Nov. 11, 1932.)
Ten years later, in 1942, (after the death of her parents and when she now had freedom) Madre Concepcion founded the pious union of the Franciscan Minim Sisters of the Perpetual Help of Mary, in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, with the approval of the local bishop. In 1967 they moved to Mexico City, near the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 1969 he continued making his appeals to Madre Concepcion, stating that men were provoking him with the seven capital sins, and that it was urgent for there to be atonement and reparation.
With the help of Our Lord, Madre Concepcion wrote a book entitled Legion of Victim Souls. (Imprimatur, 1966). In it she described how victim souls should be, and gave examples from the life of St. Paul and from her own life, of how much she had to suffer from her relatives. In 1973 Our Lord said about this book:
"Read this text (Legion of Victim Souls) with a simple and proper spirit, and I promise to give you the graces necessary to participate in the Work of Atonement. I, Christ, your Redeemer and Master, promise it to you. This is the last revelation that my Victim Heart makes to men. My peace be with all those who believe in my messages, given through your mediation. I am honored and served by those who believe me." (Nov. 5, 1973).
Since this important work of Franciscan spirituality (written by a Franciscan sister) is so necessary at this time, we are making the booklet Legion of Victim Souls available by every means possible. It can be downloaded free to any PC, in PDF or text format. It is also available in HTM format. It is available in a printed booklet for a low cost.
Christ said that a disciple cannot be above his master, but that every disciple is like his master. In what sense can a disciple be like his teacher? Read Legion of Victim Souls, and consider joining the legion of victim souls, if you think God is calling you to be a disciple of Christ and of Francis.
Legion of Victim Souls -- in PDF format
Legion of Victim Souls -- in TXT format
Legion of Victim Souls -- in HTM format
To download, right click on the link, then select "Save target as..."
For more information about the legion of victim souls, contact: atonementwork@aol.com --Printed booklets are available for those who do not have computers.
The apostle Paul wrote: "From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." (Galatians 6:17).
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