To Imitate Me, Live United with My Mother

Jesus:

I have yet another essential feature of My filial love for Mary to reveal to you: My life of union with her.  If for every child there is nothing sweeter than intimacy with its mother, how great were the joys which My intimacy with Mary afforded Me?

The joys of those nine months of ineffable union, when I and My Mother were but one, and when as a living tabernacle she always carried Me about in her. For, unlike other children, I knew My Mother from the first moment of My earthly existence and from that time on there was between her and Myself a continual exchange of thoughts and affection.

The joys of those thirty years of unparalleled intimacy at Bethlehem, in Egypt, at Nazareth, when she carried Me in her arms, saw Me at her side, spoke to Me with her eyes and lips . . . thirty long years alone with her and Joseph.

The joys no less profound of the last three years of My life when, misunderstood by the multitude, unsupported by My friends, furiously attacked by My enemies, I thought of her who in her little Nazareth home thought of Me, understood Me, loved Me, and offered to the Father incessant supplications and sacrifices for the success of My mission.

2. I was to know other joys—joys coming to me from the generosity of My Apostles, from the faith and the devotedness of many disciples, and from the vision of countless pure, simple, generous souls who, even to the end of time, would believe in My love and would give themselves entirely to Me. But all these joys combined never equaled the least of those which I found in that union between Myself and My Mother, in that fusion of our souls into one.

3. Now, My dear brother, I want you to share this union in order to share this joy. Along with infinite consolation you will draw from it great facility in the practice of all the other manifestations of filial love which I have been teaching you. Near Mary you will apply yourself quite instinctively to renew and to live your entire consecration to her. You will feel your filial love growing greater day by day; you will find it easy to obey all her desires, even the least; you will become skillful in divining the marks of veneration that will please her most; you will spontaneously put yourself to the task of imitating her virtues and her dispositions; you will experience an invincible confidence in her maternal goodness. Near her, you will learn many things which I have not explained to you because your heart will divine them by itself.

4. Try, therefore, to imitate Me by entering into the closest possible intimacy with My Mother. Unite yourself to her in prayer. Be faithful to the daily renewal of your consecration to her, to the daily recitation of the beads—at least of a decade—and to the prayers that you have resolved to offer to her every day. Several times a day look up to her who is constantly looking down upon you, her child.

5. But as you pray to her, recall to mind that it is in My name that you are invoking her; that it is I who continue to honor and love My Mother with your heart and lips. You will feel a great difference in your dispositions of confidence and love according as you speak to My Mother in your own name alone, or in My name and in union with My heart.

6. Even when you want to speak to the Father or to the Holy Spirit or to Me, start by uniting yourself to My Mother. If you are close to her, your recollection will be more profound, your faith more solid, your confidence more complete, and your love more ardent; for the perfect dispositions of My Mother will be united with yours.

7. Have recourse to Mary especially when you receive Me in the Sacrament of love. Ask her to lend you her faith, her hope, her confidence, her charity. Ask her to give Me to you and to transform you into Myself.
8. Unite yourself to her in your actions. I worked for My Mother and with My Mother. You should do the same. Offer her every one of your occupations, but do not reduce that offering to a mere formula. Do nothing but what she wishes, because she wishes it, and as she wishes it. Be on your guard lest your whims, your evil tendencies, your personal interests supplant your original intention. Above all, in the occupations which tend to absorb or trouble you, be careful to renounce all self- seeking, so that you may act only according to the intentions of Mary. Learn, little by little, to renew your offering during the course of your actions, even if only by a look.

9. Unite yourself to her in all the emotions of your soul. Mary’s heart and Mine always beat in unison. My joys were her joys; My sorrows, her sorrows; My hopes, her hopes; My fears, her fears; My love, her love. Tell your Mother about everything that disturbs or impresses you. She understands the turmoil in the depth of your heart; she understands what you yourself cannot understand.
Are you sad? Share your affliction with her and she will help you to endure it or will change it into joy. Are you happy? Tell her your happiness and she will intensify and purify it. Do you feel discouraged? Lay your fears and failures before her and she will obtain real success for you. Have you been successful in an enterprise? Go and thank her for it and ask her to assure the fruits of your labor.
Are you unable to make a choice in the midst of your perplexities? Consult her; she will enlighten and guide you. Are you without strength and will power? Come close to her and renew your energy.

10. Tell her not only your profound emotions but even the simple impressions and reflections which your ordinary occupations suggest. Does not a child act in that way with its Mother? And do you not believe I acted in that way when I was near My Mother?

11. In these incessant communications with Mary, you do not need many words. How often does it not happen that children let their mother know their feelings and their needs by just crying “Mother!” and then looking at her with pleading eyes. On such occasions a mother has a wonderful intuition of what is meant. Better than any other mother, Mary knew what I meant when I uttered her name or looked at her. And her look answered Mine. Oh, what infinite joy it was for her and for Me! In order to tell Mary your needs, or your feelings, say to her simply, “Mother!” and look at her a moment, putting into that name all you wish to tell her: a protestation of love, an offering of your work, a cry of distress, a word of gratitude, your joy or your sorrow. Your Mother will understand and answer as only she can. Even when simply pronouncing the word Mother, be conscious of speaking in My name: you will give Mary infinitely more joy and she will lavish infinitely more love upon you, if she hears My voice through yours repeating “Mother!”

The Faithful Soul:
O Jesus, grant me the grace of accomplishing what You have just explained to me. Truly it will be heaven upon earth to live in such intimacy with Mary after Your example.