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.
Cana; New Relationships Between Men and Women
Lourdes Pinto & Fr. Jordi Rivero – February 12, 2015
New relationships
The Gospel story of the Wedding at Cana has a profound mystical meaning. In that sense, the spouses are Jesus and Mary, the New Adam and the New Eve. This is why Jesus calls her "Woman" (cf. Genesis 2) both at Cana and at Calvary. They reveal the redemption of men and women and the new relations now possible between them. Jesus is the God-Man, but He wanted to be helped by Mary. He depends on her as His mother and also as His companion in the work of redemption.
By Mary´s request, Jesus advances His Hour. It is, St. John tells us, the "third day", an allusion to the resurrection. A new way for men and women to relate to each other is beginning. Christ´s first miracle brings joy and communion in the context of a wedding. He raises marriage to the dignity of a sacrament, a visible sign of His own spousal covenant with His bride, the Church. But He is also sanctifying all relationships that are open to His grace. All relationships in Christ are a wonderful gift as they are called to share and manifest in some way the love of Christ for us.
Jesus is the groom that, according to jewish custom, must provide for the wine. Wine gladens the heart and facilitates joyful sharing. It symbolizes the joy of the new communion among persons that is the fruit of a greater miracle: Jesus turns wine into His own Precious Blood. The price for this is the Cross, the measure of His love. This love presents a question: Do you love Me so? Will you unite yourself with Me at the Cross? How we respond determines our relationship with Christ and the meaning of every other relationship in our lives. Are they to be a communion in the love of Christ?
Jesus and Mary model the way of relating of the new man and woman. He is the groom attentive to the heart of the bride. She in turn asks all to do as He tells them. Jesus and Mary are always giving themselves to each other, suffering and rejoicing as one heart. Their relationship reveals the meaning of the words "I will love you in good times and in bad...". Their unity of hearts makes them a perfect team for ministry. As one with them, Christians are new man and new woman drawn to live in pure love and bring joy and life to all.
The Six Jars
For the Love Crucified Community, the six jars represent our vocation as God's hidden insignificant victim souls. They are in the feast but are unoticed because they are useless for the present need. they cannot produce wine. The jars are few, only 6, yet they each have the capacity to hold 30 gallons of water. Once Jesus performs the miracle, the wine is poured out from the jars for all the people in the wedding party. Thus the multitude receives the graces of Jesus' miracle.
We, as God's insignificant victim souls, allow ourselves to be emptied and purified. We are ready to be used by the Lord as we journey the Path of the Cross. The Lord unites us to Himself at the Cross. He tells us, "Suffer all with Me, no longer two but one in My sacrifice of love". We are His Body and Blood. We are His pure chalices of gold that are filled with His Blood, which is His very life. Our lives are then poured out upon many souls, the multitudes, bringing Christ's healing grace and new life.
But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— Philippians 2:17
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 2 Timothy 4:6
From the Diary of a MOC
Allow Me To Fill You With My Precious Blood
I am preparing My pure holy vessels by cleansing them with My precious Blood. These living chalices will be filled with My precious Blood as I unite them to the Word of the Cross and they suffer with Me. My Blood will be poured upon My Church to cleanse Her through them. You have been given the particular mission of cleansing My priesthood. ‘Woe to you, O Jerusalem. How long will it be before you are made clean?’
To receive My Blood is to receive My suffering, My love and new life... As My martyrs of love you are called to suffer with Me so that you can love with Me... In this way, you become My living chalices of healing grace for many. (10/7/2010).
Cry with Me for Jerusalem
Cf. Luke 23:26-31 (prophecy)
Cry with Me for Jerusalem. The multitudes will be caught in dismay as a thief in the night... The justice of God is upon you. The wood of My Cross is not dry and it will take on new life with the blood of My martyrs. Do not cry for Me but for those who do not see Me, for their eyes have been covered by Satan's deception. Bring them, My daughter, as one with My Mother, to the foot of the Cross to see the glory of God before them. God the Father will use the blood of My martyrs as ONE with My Blood to open the eyes of the blind during the time of great darkness. Through your blood in suffering as ONE with the Word of the Cross the eyes of many will be opened before the decisive battle begins (5/24/12).
Proclaim the Power of Suffering
I want you to live with all your love, with all your strength, with all your might as My living force. Suffer with Me in the hiddenness of your heart. Cry with Me for your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Do not grow weary in living with Me the sorrows for a humanity that has lost their way. God in His infinite mercy will bless the multitudes through His holy remnant of victim souls. Do not fear to proclaim the power in suffering with the Victim of Love. Live who you are as My prophet of light. Be still and know that I am with you. Enter and find refuge in Me. (6/9/13)
Vessels for the Rite of Purification
The Gospel tells us that the jars were meant for the “Jewish rite of purification” (John 2:6). This too has a significant symbolism for our lives as victim souls. We, as Christ's vessels, receive the wounded dirty hearts of souls to be washed by our tears united in Christ crucified.
A victim soul voluntarily chooses to become one with the slaughtered Lamb of God. They choose to wear My wounds of love. In this perfect union of love they receive the power of God to redeem and save souls with Me. Many are being made clean through the lives of My victim souls. These souls are the ones who truly become My mystical Body, and because of this, share in the redemption of humanity. The salvation of the multitudes depends on the response of My victim souls (JN 6:8,9). These are My saints whose robes have been made clean through the Blood of the Lamb of God and have become pure in the image and likeness of God (1Jn 3:3 / Rev. 7:14). (11/1/12) All Saints Day
The Good Wine is noticed, not the Jars
The jars that hold the wine are never really noticed by the people – what they notice is the “good wine” (John 2:10). This is the JOY of a victim soul – our lives are hidden and unnoticed and many times are unappreciated, yet, the graces others receive from our pure sacrifice of love bring them to notice Christ. We are poor little victim souls, but as ONE with Love Crucified and Mary, we hold an abundance of Christ's life being poured out as a libation upon the multitudes.
Prepare more Vessels
We also must see ourselves in Jesus and Mary in this Gospel story. Purified through the Blood of the Lamb, we also become new men and women, One with the new Adam and Eve, working together and complimenting each other, we also help prepare more vessels, victim souls, to be poured out with Christ's Blood upon the multitudes.
Prepare to Encounter Justice, pour Mercy now.
Prepare the way. Prepare for what? Prepare to encounter Justice (God). Love (God) is Justice. You have been encountering Mercy but each soul must prepare to encounter Justice. On that day, will you remain standing or will you be swept away in His justice? My little one, very few are prepared to encounter Justice. The gaze of Justice will condemn you or embrace you in an instant. Few are prepared to encounter Justice, the gaze of Truth. My community of LC is called to help many prepare the way through the Simple Path to Union I have entrusted to you. My hidden martyrs of love are a gift of Divine Mercy to help many be prepared to encounter the gaze of Justice. ...My hidden victims of love are preparing the way through the power of their blood united to My precious Blood being poured upon many by the mercy of Abba. You, My family, are helping God prepare our people for the encounter with Justice. It will visit you like a thief in the night and few are prepared. Bring Me victim souls for the time of justice is upon you, soon to be knocking at your door... Be pure and holy as I am Holy. Live who you are as MY martyrs of Divine Love preparing the multitudes for the great and terrible day. Prepare the way as the new men and women clothed in the white gown made clean in the Blood of the Lamb. You are My white army being sent out into the world to prepare the way for the encounter with Justice (God). (12/11/13)
Men and Women Relationships Restored At The Cross / Eucharist
(From Path/ 3-D-8)
“I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2).
The woman must "help" the man - and in his turn he must help her- first of all by the very fact of their being human persons. This mutual help enables man and woman to discover their humanity ever anew and to confirm its whole meaning.
As the dignity of women is restored and we come to know and live the beauty of our sensitive hearts we can be a better "help" to men. When men and women live the holy communion that God created us to live, we can help each other grown in Christ. This is essential, not only for marriage but for all relationships between men and women. This is also the principle behind spiritual mothers for priests.