Luminous Mysteries 3: Proclamation

Meditations on the Proclamation of
the Kingdom of God
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slides each time.
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Third Luminous Mystery
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to
Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Spiritual fruit: Desire for Holiness,
Grace of Conversion.
Pope John Paul II suggest that we focus on Christ’s
call to conversion and his forgiveness.

With Jesus in the desert
Life of Prayer

Exercises of virtue
contrary to vices

1. With Jesus in the Desert
“You must pray
and suffer in
order to say:
“Father, your will
alone be done.”

“I ask you to offer
to the Lord your
life of prayer and
suffering for the
salvation this poor
humanity.”
(Gobbi)

1A. With Jesus in the Desert
In deepest humility He
prostrated Himself
upon the ground which
was always the prelude
of his prayer and that of
his most blessed Mother
He continued his
prayers prostrate in the
form of a cross, this was
his most frequent
occupation in the
desert; for in this
manner He often prayed
to the eternal Father for
the salvation of men.
(Mary of Agreda)

After the Savior had
1B. With Jesus begun his fast He
in the Desert persevered therein
without eating anything
for forty days, offering
his fast to the eternal
Father as a satisfaction
for the disorder and sins
to which men are drawn
by the so vile and
debasing, yet so
common vice of
gluttony. He satisfied
the offenses committed
through them by the
exercises of the virtues
contrary to them.
(Mary of Agreda)

1C. With Jesus So our most loving
Father and Brother, Jesus
in the Desert Christ, wished to pay our
debts. In satisfaction for
our pride He offered his
profound humility; for
our avarice, his voluntary
poverty and total
privation. He continued
to appease the just Judge
and solicited pardon for
us disobedient and
bastard children; and He
not only obtained this
pardon for them, but He
merited for them new
graces and favors.
(Mary of Agreda)

1D. With Jesus in the desert
“You too should go with
Jesus into the desert. Offer
yourselves with Him for the
perfect carrying out of the
Father’s plan. Prepare
yourselves for the important
mission which awaits you,
because my time has come.
In the desert, you will feel
great hunger and thirst solely
for the word of God, the
painful cold because of sin in
the world, and the burning
heat of the Spirit of God.”
(Gobbi)

1E. With Jesus in the desert “In the desert, Jesus lived
alone and with Him. I will
bring you to interior
solitude, detaching you
from your own selves, from
creatures, from the world ,
so that you may listen to
the voice of the great
silence.
In the desert, Jesus prayed
to the Father without cease.
I am leading you to prayer
which must become
unceasing and
continuous.” (Gobbi)

1F. With Jesus in the desert “Pray always, with
your life, with your heart,
with your work, with your
pain, with your
weariness, with your
wounds. Only in the
desert that your heavenly
Mother can train you to
have a taste for prayer.
You must pray and suffer
in order to say:
“Father, your will alone
be done.”
(Gobbi)

Temptation of Jesus
in the Desert

Remarkable description of Jesus in the desert by
Mary of Agreda in the Mystical City of God.
Without delay Christ our Lord pursued his journey from the Jordan
to the desert after his Baptism. Only his holy angels attended and
accompanied Him, serving and worshipping Him, singing the
divine praises on account of what He was now about to undertake
for the salvation of mankind. He came to the place chosen by Him
for his fast: a desert spot among bare and beetling rocks, where
there was also a cavern much concealed. Here He halted,
choosing it for his habitation during the days of his fast (Matth. 4,
1). He In deepest humility He prostrated Himself upon the ground
which was always the prelude of his prayer and that of his most
blessed Mother. He praised the eternal Father and gave Him
thanks for the works of his divine right hand and for having
according to his pleasure afforded Him this retirement. In a
suitable manner He thanked even this desert for accepting his
presence and keeping Him hidden from the world during the time
He was to spend there. He continued his prayers prostrate in the
form of a cross, this was his most frequent occupation in the
desert; for in this manner He often prayed to the eternal Father for
the salvation of men.

 After the Savior had begun his fast He persevered therein
without eating anything for forty days, offering his fast to
the eternal Father as a satisfaction for the disorder and
sins to which men are drawn by the so vile and debasing,
yet so common and even esteemed vice of gluttony. Just
as our Lord overcame this vice so He also vanquished all
the rest, and He made recompense to the eternal Judge
and supreme Legislator for the injuries perpetrated
through these vices by men. According to the
enlightenment vouchsafed to me, our Savior, in order to
assume the office of Preacher and Teacher and to
become our Mediator and Redeemer before the Father,
thus vanquished all the vices of mortals and He satisfied
the offenses committed through them by the exercises of
the virtues contrary to them, just as He did in regard to
gluttony.

 So our most loving Father and Brother, Jesus Christ,
wished to pay our debts. In satisfaction for our pride He
offered his profound humility; for our avarice, his
voluntary poverty and total privation of all that was his;
for our base and lustful inclinations, his penance and
austerity; for our hastiness and vengeful anger, his
meekness and charity toward his enemies; for our
negligence and laziness, his ceaseless labors; for our
deceitfulness and our envy, his candid and upright
sincerity and truthfulness and the sweetness of his loving
interactions. In this manner He continued to appease the
just Judge and solicited pardon for us disobedient and
bastard children; and He not only obtained this pardon
for them, but He merited for them new graces and favors,
so that they might make themselves worthy of his
company and of the vision of his Father and his own
inheritance for all eternity.

 In order to keep informed of the doings of our Savior the most
blessed Mary needed no other assistance than her continual
visions and revelations; but in addition to all these, She made use
of the service of her holy angels, whom She sent to her divine Son.
The Lord himself thus ordered it, in order that, by means of these
faithful messengers, both He and She might rejoice in the
sentiments and thoughts of their inmost hearts; and thus They
each heard the very same words as uttered by Each. As soon as the
great Lady understood that our Redeemer was on the way to the
desert to fulfill his intention, She locked the doors of her dwelling,
without letting any one know of her presence. She entered into her
oratory and remained there for forty days and nights without ever
leaving it and without eating anything, just as She knew was done
by her most holy Son. Both of them observed the same course of
rigorous fasting. In all his prayers and exercises, his prostrations
and genuflections She followed our Savior, not omitting any of
them; moreover She performed them just at the same time; for,
leaving aside all other occupations, She thus profited by the
information obtained from the angels and by that other
knowledge, which I have already described. Whether He was
present or not, She knew the interior operations of the soul of
Christ.

 While the Savior was in the desert He made every day
three hundred genuflections, which also was done by our
Queen Mary in her oratory; the other portion of her time
She spent in composing hymns with the angels, as I have
said in the last chapter. Thus imitating Christ the Lord,
the Holy Queen co-operated with Him in all his prayers
and petitions, gaining the same victories over the vices,
and on her part proportionately satisfying for them by her
virtues and her exertions. Thus it happened, that, while
Christ as our Redeemer gained for us so many blessings
and abundantly paid all our debts, most holy Mary, as his
Helper and our Mother, lent us her merciful intercession
and became our Mediatrix to the fullest extent possible
to a mere creature.

 In order to begin the battle as man, He directed a prayer
to the eternal Father from his inmost soul, to which the
intelligence of the demon could not penetrate, saying:
"My Father and eternal God, I now enter into battle with
the enemy in order to crush his power and humble his
pride and his malice against my beloved souls. For thy
glory, and for the benefit of souls I submit to the daring
presumption of Lucifer. I wish thereby to crush his head
in order that when mortals are attacked by his
temptations without their fault, they may find his
arrogance already broken. I beseech Thee, my Father, to
remember my battle and victory in favor of mortals
assailed by the common enemy. Strengthen their
weakness through my triumph, let them obtain victory;
let them be encouraged by my example, and let them
learn from Me how to resist and overcome their enemies.

 The temptation of Christ began on the thirty-fifth day of
his fast in the desert, and lasted to the end of the fast,
 The Lord allowed the demon to continue in his
temptation and for this purpose permitted Himself
carried by the devil bodily to Jerusalem and to be placed
on the pinnacle of the temple.
 She had seen them all by the divine light already
described and by the uninterrupted messages of her
angels, who brought them back and forth between the
Savior and the blessed Queen. She repeated the same
prayers as the Lord and at the same time! She entered
likewise into the conflict with the dragon, though
invisibly and spiritually.. When She perceived that the
demon carried the Lord from place to place, She wept
bitterly, because the malice of sin reduced the King of
kings to such misusage. In honor of all the victories,
which He gained over the devil, She composed hymns of
praise to the Divinity.

Seek the Kingdom
Of God and His will.
Bring light to the world

2. “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be yours as well.”

In this most
secularized society
today, am I also
putting worldly
pursuits of fame,
fortune, pleasures
and enjoyment of life
first, and the kingdom
of God last?
We need to reassess
our lives often and
turn back to God.
(True conversion)

2A. “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
“The will of God is
your sanctification.
Walk along the
road of an ever
more perfect
knowledge of Him.
Let the word of God
be your daily food;
savour all the
beauty in the
Gospel.” (Gobbi)

2B. “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Am I aware that I have
the divine command
to announce God’s
Kingdom till the ends
of the earth, by
prayer, preaching,
and action?

2C. “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
“Come out from your
hiding, my beloved sons,
and go everywhere to
enlighten the earth with
the sole light of Christ.
Your times have arrived.
Do not be afraid if you
are unknown to the
world. Show yourselves
to all as the apostles of
these last times.
I announce to you that
your liberation is near.”
(Gobbi)

 “Your light will shine more and more and will spread
throughout all this vast continent.
 Your light will shine by way of your witness of faith. Be
the light set on a lamp-stand, to draw along the road of
truth many of my poor children who are walking in the
darkness of error.
 Your light will shine by way of your witness of holiness.
See how materialism and hedonism are threatening this
great country. The search for pleasure, money, comfort,
entertainment and impurity have become for many the
only ideal in life. Bring back to the house of the Father
these poor children of mine who have gone astray. (Gobbi)

 “You are being formed to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
with courage and zeal.
 Let yourselves be guided solely by the wisdom of the
Gospel, and to live the Gospel to the letter.
 White flakes of snow are coming down from my
Immaculate Heart upon you, so that you may bring
everywhere the light of the divine Word, and become
instruments which make shine everywhere, in its greatest
splendor, all the truth contained in the Gospel of my Son
Jesus.
 White flakes of snow are coming down from my
Immaculate Heart upon you, so that you may bring to all
my motherly voice which leads you to hope and
confidence. Thus you can take by the hand many of my
poor children and cross together the bright thresholds of
hope, with the triumph of my Immaculate Heart, the white
snowflakes of Divine Mercy.”

3. “ My Kingdom is not of this world .”
“Today the Gospel should be lived with the simplicity of little ones,
with the ardour of martyrs, and with the fidelity of courageous
witnesses; it should be lived to the letter! You are being called to
follow me along the road of heroic and pure faith.” (Gobbi)

Ministry of Mercy
and Forgiveness

5. Ministry of Mercy and Forgiveness:
Christ came to us not as a just judge but a saviour,
offering us forgiveness & chance to start over again.
When we
confess our
sins in the
sacrament of
reconciliation,
we also
encounter
Jesus who
offers us
forgiveness,
and grace to
strengthen us.
Paolo Veronese, Christ addressing a kneeling woman. 1528. London Gallery.

How Jesus treated his disciples by Mary of Agreda, Mystical city of God.
 In the Apostles thus called He enkindled, from the moment of
their joining the Master, a new light and fire of divine love and
showered upon them the sweetness of his blessings (Ps. 20, 4). It is
not possible worthily to describe the labors undergone by the
divine Teacher in the vocation and education of these and of the
other disciples, in order to found upon them the Church. He
sought them out with great diligence and solicitude; He bore with
them with invincible patience; He caressed them as a most loving
Father caresses his tender and darling sons. The work of
transforming and raising them from their rough natural state into
such a heavenly and divine position by his instructions and
example, necessarily was a vast enterprise. In the performance of
this work the Lord has left a most exalted example of patience, and
charity for all the prelates, princes and whoever is charged with the
guidance of subjects. Not less significant for us sinners are the
proofs of his fatherly kindness: for He was not satisfied with
simply bearing with their faults and defects, their natural
inclinations and passions but He allowed his tender kindness to
overflow thus wonderfully toward them .

Ministry of Mercy
and healing
Be my hands

Bring help to the poor

4. The inauguration of the ministry of mercy and
healing, and the forgiveness of sins

El Greco 1541-1614 Christ Healing the Blind Gemaldegalerie. Dresden Germany.

 The Savior then pursued his way to Nazareth
instructing his new children and disciples not
only the mysteries of faith, but in all virtues by
word and example, as He continued to do during
the whole period of his evangelical preaching.
With this in view He searched out the poor and
afflicted, consoled the sick and sorrowful, visited
the infirmaries and prisons, performing miracles
of mercy as well for body as for soul.
 She served them as an example and model of true
devotion, entering at once into her office as
Instructress and spiritual Mother of the disciples
of Christ by showing then how to converse with
their God and Redeemer. (Mary of Agreda)

4A. “You must be my hands, to distribute copious graces to
all who find themselves in any necessity. I want to
manifest myself through you.” (Gobbi)

4B. “You must be my hands. Pour balm upon many painful wounds,
bring help to those who are in poverty and neglect; assist the suffering,
the marginalized, the little people, the oppressed and the persecuted.”
(Gobbi)

4C. “You must become instruments which I will make use of for the
healing of all poor sinners. For this I invite you to walk along the way
of love, of divine grace, of penance, of prayer, and of holiness.”

4D. He searched out the poor and afflicted, consoled the
sick and sorrowful, visited the infirmaries and prisons,
performing miracles of mercy for body as well as for soul.

6. Bring help to the poor
“Open your hands to the aid
of all. Go along the rough
roads in search of my poor
wandering children. Bring
help to those who are in
poverty and neglect. Assist the
suffering, the little, the
marginalized, the oppressed
and the persecuted.”
Offer me your hearts so that I
may love in you and by means
of you.” (Gobbi)
Domenico Fiasella, Christ raises the son of the widow. 1615. Sarasota.

6A. Be my hands
“You must be the Hands of
your heavenly Mother, which
are always opened to pour the
fullness of graces upon all her
children!”
“You must be my hands, to
distribute copious graces to all
in need. I want to manifest
myself through you. I desire to
distribute my graces through
your hands.”
(Gobbi)

6B. Bring help to the poor
“Show yourselves as the
apostles of these last times.
Walk along the road of
contempt for the world and for
yourselves, of humility and
littleness, of love and purity.
Love always; judge no one.
Set out upon all the roads of
the world, in search of my
poor straying children. Carry
them all into the safe refuge
of my Immaculate Heart.”
(Gobbi)

7. Go everywhere to gather the weakest.

“Go everywhere to
gather the weakest,
the littlest, the most
fragile, those who
are suffering most,
those who are
farthest away, those
who are lost.
Bring all to me. I
want to save all my
children, through
you.” (Gobbi)
Bartolome Murillo, Christ healing a paralytic. 1671. National Gallery. London

7A. Go everywhere to gather the weakest.
“Set out upon all
the roads of the
world in search of
my poor straying
children. Take up in
you arms the poor,
the abandoned, the
sick, the desperate,
the oppressed, and
all the innumerable
victims of violence,
hatred and wars.
Carry them all into
my refuge.” (Gobbi)
Bartolome Murillo, Christ healing a paralytic. 1671. National Gallery. London

“These are the times of your
witness. Give to all the
witness of being consecrated
to me. Your life must be
illumined by my motherly
presence. You must spread
about you the charisma of
my holiness, mercy and
tenderness.
Whoever sees you must see
the power of my light; the
sweet balm of my mercy.
Give my help to those who
are far away, the poor, the
sick, the sinners, the
desperate”. (Gobbi)

“Come with me, your
Shepherdess, in the
search of the many little
sheep who have lost their
way and are running the
danger of dying of hunger
and cold.

“You are to go again into
every part of the world, and
to announce with power my
message to all.”
(Gobbi)

“You must be truly Jesus today,
for the men of you time.
Jesus who speaks, and thus you
will speak only the truth
contained in the Gospel
Jesus who acts; you must above
all relive Jesus in your life and
be a living Gospel.
For this I will make you ever
purer, poorer, smaller and more
humble. I am his Mother and
yours, and I know how to help
you to grow like other little Jesus
for the salvation of all my
children.
(Gobbi)

“With the heart of Jesus, have
love for all your brothers and my
children. How many of them are
walking the roads of this world
like sheep without a shepherd,
exposed to every kind of danger!
How many have been wounded
by sin, made into slaves of evil,
victims of hate! How many there
are who are poor, who are
exploited, weak, suffering. Their
desperate cry for help reaches up
to me, and deeply wounding my
mother’s heart. (Gobbi)

“I am with you on all the
by-ways of the world. I save
the perishing, restore health
to the sick, console the
afflicted, encourage the
down-hearted, raise up
those who have fallen, find
those who have lost they
way.
It is the hour of Divine
Mercy. I wish to act through
you.” (Gobbi)

7. “Go everywhere to gather the weakest, the littlest, the most fragile,
those who are suffering most, those who are farthest away, those who
are lost. Bring all to me. I want to save all my children, through you”
(Gobbi)

Raising of Lazarus
Multiplication of Loaves
Walking on waves

8. The Raising of Lazarus

Sebastiano del Piombo, Raising of Lazarus. 1485. National gallery. London

9. The Multiplication of loaves

Giovanni Lanfranco, Multiplication of loaves,1624. National Gallery. Ireland.

10. The walking on waves Why do you doubt?

John Arvid Nelson. Why do you doubt.

 WORDS OF THE QUEEN on PURITY & LOVE OF ST. JOHN
(The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain.)
 “My daughter, I see thee much moved to emulation and desire by
the great happiness of the disciples of my most holy Son, and
especially that of saint John, my favored servant. It is certain that I
loved him in a special manner; because he was most pure and
candid as a dove; and in the eyes of the Lord he was very pleasing,
both on account of his purity and on account of his love toward me.
His example should serve thee as a spur to do that which my Son
and I expect of thee. Thou art aware, my dearest, that I am the most
pure Mother and that I receive with maternal affection those who
fervently and devoutly desire to be my children and servants in the
Lord. By the love which He has given me, I shall embrace them with
open arms and shall be their Intercessor and Advocate. Thy poverty,
uselessness and weakness shall be for me only a more urgent motive
for manifesting toward thee my most liberal kindness. Therefore, I
call upon thee to become my chosen and beloved daughter in the
holy Church.”

 “I shall, however, make the fulfillment of my promise depend upon
a service on thy part: namely, that thou have a true and holy
emulation of the love with which I loved saint John, and of all the
blessings flowing from it, by imitating him as perfectly as thy powers
will allow. Hence, thou must promise to fulfill all that I now
command thee, without failing in the least point. I desire, then, that
thou labor until all love of self die within thee, that thou suppress all
the effects of the first sin until all the earthly inclinations
consequent upon it are totally extinguished; that thou seek to restore
within thee that dove-like sincerity and simplicity which destroys all
malice and duplicity. In all thy doings thou must be an angel, since
the condescension of the Most High with thee was so great as to
furnish thee with the light and intelligence more of an angel than
that of a human creature. I have procured for thee these great
blessings and, therefore, it is but reasonable on my part to expect
thee to correspond with them in thy works and in thy thoughts. In
regard to me thou must cherish a continual affection and loving
desire of pleasing and serving me, being always attentive to my
counsels and having thy eyes fixed upon me in order to know and
execute what I command. Then shalt thou be my true daughter, and
I shall be thy Protectress and loving Mother.”

 WORDS OF THE QUEEN. (The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister
Mary of Agreda, Spain.)
 “My daughter, all that thou hast written in this chapter is a most
important warning for all those that live in the flesh and in the
imminent danger of losing eternal happiness. It should teach them
to seek my most kind and powerful intercession and to fear the
judgments of the Most High; for in this lies an efficacious means of
salvation and of meriting higher reward for the Lord. I wish to
remind thee once more, that among the secrets revealed to the
beloved John at the last Supper, was also this, that he had become
the beloved disciple of Christ on account of his love toward me, and
that Judas fell because he despised the mercy and kindness which I
had shown him. At that time, also, the evangelist understood other
great mysteries communicated and wrought in me; that I should
take part in the labor and suffering of the Passion and that he
should have special charge of me. My dearest, the purity which I
require of thee must be greater than that of an angel; and if thou
strive after it thou wilt become my dearest child, as saint John , and
a most beloved and favored spouse of my Son and Lord. His
example and the ruin of Judas should continually serve thee as a
stimulus and as a warning, to seek only after my love and to be
sincerely thankful for the love shown thee without thy merit.”

The ( National ) Rosary For the Evangelization of
(Nations)
1. Fatima Prayer: To Eucharistic Jesus, source of all
evangelization.
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of
hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in
most need of thy mercy.”

2. Invocation of the Holy Spirit: Principal agent of
evangelization.
“Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of the (National) people
and enkindle in them the fire of your love! Come by means
of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, your well-beloved Spouse.”

3. Prayer to Our Lady of ( Nation ): Star of the new
evangelization.
“Hail Holy Queen, Mother of (Nation), come and present the
(National) people to Jesus, the fruit of thy womb.
Look upon them continually with mercy and through your

Luminous Mysteries 3: Proclamation

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