Way of Life
Community of Love Crucified
The vocation of the Love Crucified Community is to live passionately His love revealed at the Cross. There we receive the gift of His thirst, His gaze, His tears, His radical love which holds nothing back. Now He calls us to respond.
The Lord has given our Community this standard:
“ Suffer all with Me, no longer two but ONE, in my sacrifice of love"
As brothers and sisters we enter into a covenant with Christ and with each other to live fully this love in the heart of the Church, according to our spirituality (The Simple Path to Union with God) and mission.
At first, commitments may seem to be a burden, but the Lord promised: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matthew 11:30. "Sanctity does not consist first of all in doing extraordinary things, but in letting God act" -Pope Francis. God's grace makes this way of life liberating and joyful through love. It disposes us to receive a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our way of life embraces the following commitments:
1. Lives centered on the Eucharist
2. Marian Consecration
3. Docility to the Holy Spirit
4. Live The Simple Path to Union with God: Our Spiritual Formation Book
5. Victims of Love + Offering life for others; for priest
6. 5 Stones: Humility, Purity, Simplicity, Trust, Courage
7. Repentance and Conversion
8. Community Life
9. Obedience to Mother Church
10. Fidelity to our state in life
I propose to do ever what is most perfect. I propose to seek in all things Jesus and His Cross, in conformity with His holy will. I propose in my actions to pursue the interests of Christ and not my own. ...I will never be disquieted should circumstances prevent me from observing my 'Rule of life.' I will go on tranquilly. I will be flexible in the face of difficulties, humbly... then onward, ever onward! -Extract from her "Rule of life", Ven. Concepción Cabrera de Armida, Aug 21, 1894
1. Lives Centered on the Eucharist
The Eucharist is Christ, our life, the source and summit of all we are and do.
We seek to participate in Holy Mass daily, if possible.
At Holy Mass we unite with Jesus as His victim souls in His sacrifice of love to the Father. We go to die to self and receive new life in Him. We become living hosts. We offer ourselves with Jesus to the Father after the consecration of the Precious Blood with this prayer.
We commit to a minimum of once a week of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament to listen, adore, praise, intercede, give thanks, and accompany and CONSOLE Jesus and Mary in their suffering for souls.
For their work, prayers and apostolic endeavours, their ordinary married and family life, their daily labour, their mental and physical relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life if patiently borne-all of these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Pt 2:5). During the celebration of the Eucharist these sacrifices are most lovingly offered to the Father along with the Lord’s body. Thus as worshipers whose every deed is holy, the lay faithful consecrate the world itself to God. John Paul II
See teaching Fr Jordi Rivero>>
2. Marian Consecration
To come to the most perfect intimate union of love with Christ—victim united to Victim— we need to consecrate ourselves to Mary, Mother and Bride, with the understanding and abandonment that she will bring us to the foot of the Cross. We commit to be forever "Totus Tuus" (All yours).
See “Importance of Consecration” letter from Lourdes Pinto to community>>
33 Days to Morning Glory -Preparation to Marian Consecration. by Fr Michael E. Gaitley, MIC; Marian Press.
Renew our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Daily Recitation of the Rosary
3. Docility to the Holy Spirit
We live in the Spirit attentive to God and submitting to Him everything we do. We ask of Him in every situation, “Lord what do you want of me?” We trust in the Holy Spirit and invoke Him constantly.
See “Importance of Consecration” letter from Lourdes Pinto to community>>
“Yet there is no greater freedom than that of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, renouncing the attempt to plan and control everything to the last detail, and instead, letting him enlighten, guide and direct us, leading us wherever he wills.” Pope Francis p. 13
We welcome the Holy Spirit as our teacher and guide through living the Simple Path. It is He who leads us through the passage -- from the feet of Jesus crucified to receive the gift of self-knowledge, into the Sacred Heart of Jesus and brings us into the unity of the Most Holy Trinity.
“God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). Nevertheless, it is not enough to know the Spirit; we must welcome Him as the guide of our souls, as the “Teacher of the interior life” who introduces us to the Mystery of the Trinity, because He alone can open us up to faith and allow us to live it each day to the full.” Pope Benedict XVI, XXXIII World Youth Day, 2008
4. Live The Simple Path to Union with God: Our Spiritual Formation Book
Each Mother of the Cross (MOC) and Missionary of the Cross (MC) must be willing to allow The PATH to lead them through the painful purification and healing of their hearts into the depth of self- knowledge. Each person must persevere to:
Follow Christ daily to the Cross,
To die to self—to what we have become that we are not,
To make ourselves vulnerable and stripped of our masks and false identity
And suffer ALL with Christ, in order to be transformed into Love.
5. Victims of Love
Our life is an offering of love. Our crosses, including the injustices we suffer, as well as the daily duties, are powerful when done with great love and united with Christ. God waits for the FIAT that signals our total surrender. We don’t just offer something; we offer ourselves without reserve, our entire being, our will, our heart, our body and soul, one with Him. This is to be with Christ victims of love.
It is a victim soul's 'yes' that 'stirs into flame' the power of the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit can lead a docile and willing soul to die with Me. It is this voluntary death that brings the soul to new life…I continue to thirst for love, but it is only the love of My victim souls that satisfies My thirst… Therefore, bring Me many victim souls. 2/1/11 Simple Path #124 p.331
See “Victim of Love” by Fr Jordi Rivero>>
6. 5 Stones: Humility, Purity, Simplicity, Trust and Courage
The MOC and MC must be committed to growing in these five virtues as we persevere in living the Simple Path and taking to heart the teachings of this community.
Virtues Needed as Warriors of Love
My little one, the time draws near. You hold the sword of the Spirit in the mission given to you. My family of LC are My warriors of love that will defeat the dragon in the decisive battle that draws near. Be ready to approach this evil in the same way that David approached Goliath. You will conquer the dragon in your littleness and purity because it is.
God who is with you. You must not fear and believe with the innocence and zeal of David… You each must also approach the battle with five stones.
1. First, the stone of humility, possessing the perfect knowledge of your nothingness and of My power and majesty.
2. Second, the stone of purity, purity of mind, heart, intention, word, desire…
3. Third, simplicity, detached from all, most especially from your ego.
4. Fourth, trust perfectly abandoned to My will.
5. Fifth, courage, courage rooted in love of Me to be perfectly obedient to My commands.
These stones are your weapons for battle, for the dragon will not be defeated according to the standards of the world but in the Light of Love… 1/18/12 Simple Path #148 p. 436
7. Repentance and Conversion
As Love Crucified, we are committed to go daily to the Cross to kiss the feet of Jesus crucified and beg the Spirit for the gift of self-knowledge, so that we can come in truth to know our sins, wounds and disordered tendencies. It is then, through this self-awareness, that we receive the gift of repentance.
Repentance is the gift of God that serves to pry open the hardened human heart so that My seeds of conversion can grow. Repentance is the Sword of the Spirit that opens the darkness within the human heart to be filled with God’s Light of truth, and the truth sets you free.
To live in repentance is to live clothed in the knowledge of who you are, which is misery, and the knowledge of who I Am, which is Love and Mercy.
To live in repentance is to live in the freedom of living in the embrace of Abba, Our Father.
Tell My souls to seek true repentance at the foot of My Cross and the power of My Love Crucified will set them free to live in My peace and the joy of My promise. 2/18/18
The soul that lives wrapped in the gift of knowledge grows in true humility and is then able to advance in My path on the wings of the Holy Spirit… It is here, at My feet, that you must persevere… 12/12/11 Simple Path #10 p.40. see full message >>
Confession: We are encouraged to go regularly to confession. There is no better way to make progress on our spiritual journey than by returning in humble repentance and love to God’s infinite mercy.
Love Casts Out Fear
Lourdes Pinto – January 8, 2014
1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.”
Fear
(1) Fear of Adam and Eve, who after they sinned, “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.” Fear rooted in shame – guilt
(2) Fear of the unfaithful servant who buried his talents. Fear rooted in low self-esteem / false and wounded identity, an identity that does not know the love of God nor his own dignity as the “beloved of the Father”...
(3) Fear of Peter: Mt 16:22 When Jesus tells the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed, Peter tries to stop him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you”
When they arrested Jesus and took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, they brought false testimony against Him in order to put Him to death, but “Peter was following Him at a distance” Mt 26:58. He had fear of suffering rooted in self-love and lack of trust
In the Path to Union we are freed from fear as we receive:
HUMILITY – foot of the Cross
PURITY – pierced side of Jesus
LOVE – in the fire of the Sacred Heart
Love casts out fear.
Love heals our shame, guilt.
Love restores our true identity as sons and daughters of Abba.
Love moves us out of ourselves to give of ourselves.
Love brings us to perfect love and complete abandonment.
Some saints received the stigmata with the physical pain of the nail wounds, but ALL My saints were crucified to Me through My nails mystically. The mystical crucifixion is no less real and painful as the physical one; just as the white martyrdom is no less real and painful as the red martyrdom. Unity in the Holy Trinity is the fruit of becoming one with Me in My crucifixion, for this is perfect love. The ecstasy of the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit transforms the pain into the Sword of the Spirit that pierces the darkness of satan. This union of Love is achieved by few because of lack of perseverance and self-less love. One saint that becomes one in My crucified love has the power to transform an entire society. I am raising up My saints for the decisive times at hand to fight My holy war and usher in the era of peace. 12/28/14
Pope Francis:
Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero said mothers live a 'maternal martyrdom'. In his homily at the funeral of a priest killed by death squads, he said, echoing Vatican Council II, 'We must all be willing to die for our faith, even if the Lord does not grant us this honour... Giving ones life does not only mean being killed; giving ones life, having the spirit of martyrdom, is self giving in duty, in silence, in prayer, in the honest fulfillment of one's duty; in that silence of everyday life, giving life a little at a time. Yes, as it is given by a mother, who without fear, with the simplicity of maternal martyrdom, conceives a child in her womb, gives him life, nurses him, nurtures him and cares for him with affection. It is giving life. It is martyrdom'.
“maternal martyrdom": a total surrender, without fuss, in silence, in prayer, in the fulfillment of duty.
12/9/10
My daughter, My Mother carried My crucified Body in her arms and then she placed Me in the tomb, but she continued to carry My crucified Body in her heart. She continued to 'live in Love', in My crucified love. She is the first that continued to suffer with Me (Romans 8:17). I continued My love in suffering on earth through My Mother (Col. 1:24). She bore mystically all My wounds and radiated My light in the darkness of the world (2 Cor 4:6). My daughter, since My Mother 'lives in love' she radiates My light and possess the power of God. Each of My wounds radiates healing light and mercy. She was the first to live on earth as My living pure holy chalice of My precious Blood. Her hidden life on earth, after My death, God used as a watering can pouring My graces upon the early Church and world, and continues through the ages till today. She is gathering her maidens, as she is always perfectly obedient to the will of the Father, to live in the hidden force of My crucified love. This hidden force of pure victims of love will set the earth on fire. My daughter, you have been chosen to cooperate in this plan of salvation: BRING ME VICITM SOULS!
We should not be afraid of suffering
The Link between Suffering and Consolation (love): Fr Jordi
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer".
Take notice of what St Paul teaches above:
1-Christ suffers and comforts Paul
-To receive it, Paul must share Christ's suffering.
-Thus Paul becomes one with Christ
2-Paul can now suffer to comfort the Corinthians.
-To receive it, the Corinthians must share Paul's suffering.
-Thus Corinthians can become one with Paul and Christ.
This is how the Body of Christ is built. It is a chain of suffering and comfort (love). One cannot link in the chain without accepting both.
1//13/11
“My daughter, the purest love on earth must be united to suffering. I came from Heaven to Earth to suffer in expiation for the sins of the world. This is love. Pure love gives itself solely because of love. The love of the Trinity is pure love, therefore, the Father gives His life by giving to the world His only begotten Son. The Holy Spirit flows from this most pure love, thus igniting the hearts of souls to suffer with Me so that they can enter in Love. The Cross without My Sacred Heart is useless suffering brought about by sin. But suffering united to My Cross is new life; it is participation in the work of redemption which is participation in the life of the Trinity. These mysteries can only be grasped by a humble heart, therefore, you must call My sons first to repentance at the foot of My Cross to receive the gold of precious repentance. Be still My daughter, for it is the pure suffering of the Mothers of the Cross that I will use to pierce the harshness of My sons' hearts. Suffer all with perfect faith in My crucified love.”
Throughout the entire Path the grace of God is being poured upon us, but we also must live a powerful DISCIPLINE OF SPIRIT (mortification). Living this daily discipline is PERSEVERANCE and SELF-LESS LOVE.
Discipline of prayer / Blessed Sacrament
Discipline of continuously “digging deep” to allow the Light of the Spirit into our shame, false identity, fears, wounds... it's a constant attentiveness to what is taking place in our hearts and attentiveness into the hearts of others...
Discipline of “suffering ALL with Jesus”
Discipline of choosing to do what is most difficult not easiest. Ex: getting up early, stopping your work to attend to others, going to sleep on time, seeking communication and not withdrawing....
Discipline of entering into the Father's JOY in all circumstances and seeing through His eyes in anticipation. “Taking off the mask of sadness” Henri Nouwen
Discipline of silence / communication
Hector shared that in prayer he felt that as a community and individually we need greater purification. The messages of the Lord being entrusted to us need to be treasured, pondered profoundly and lived through a life of greater prayer and penance(Discipline of spirit).