FEBRUARY 23, FRIDAY

At dawn today, when I awoke from my light sleep, I immediately felt I was in a dark prison. My body felt so drained and tired! My sorrow was so deep! I felt such pain that it was driving me crazy! This madness was love; it was a madness for souls.

Shortly after the devil came to complete devouring my poor body. As sly as ever, he tried to get me to practice evil and ugly actions.

— I shall satisfy myself with you, I will take my pleasure with you even though you disgust me.

He hurled insults at me and made it very clear that he despised me. It was a painful struggle. It made me sad and left me distraught. I called for Jesus and the Heavenly Mother, and told them I did not want to sin. It seemed to me I only call Them after the wrong has been committed. I invoke Their holy names whenever I can, but it is always after the demon has gone.

A gentle breeze came to assuage my sweating and soothe my pain. I was softened for a short while.

I did not know how to prepare myself to receive my Jesus. Shame took hold of me at the thought of receiving Him in my heart, of living in God's presence after going through such ugly things.

Jesus, what great suffering, these attacks of the devil on Fridays! Accept everything, it is for souls, it is a proof of my love.

Jesus came, and by His great mercy, only a short while after receiving Him the sad scene that I remembered with the demon passed, but then this agony continued again along with horrible pains in my head, caused by the thorns. I felt my whole head surrounded by them, and they pierced very deep. The blood that flowed from it, or rather, that I felt was flowing, went to my lips, choking me. Sometimes I lost breath.

As soon as I arrived at Calvary, they nailed me to the cross. The violence they did to my body was so great that my shoulders seemed to be dislocated from my body. The blood from the wounds ran in streams, bathed the base of the cross and ran into the earth. The Heavenly Mother, near me, united Her agony with mine. Abandoned, completely abandoned, I was about to expire.

Jesus came. I felt Him in my heart and resting there even before I heard Him. He sat down and, like one who was tired, leaned His holy head on my heart and said:

— My daughter, love descends to pain, light to night, to darkness, to deep darkness. Pain, night, darkness and thick darkness allowed by Me. It is the medicine, it is the medicine of souls. Here I can rest, the world cannot hurt my divine Heart, here I get everything, all a creature can give to His God; here I solace Myself, I delight Myself.

— My Jesus, it pains me so much, so much to hear You speak like this. I'm so miserable, I'm just misery! How can You say that? How can You have comfort after all the wickedness and ingratitude you find in me, after that how can You speak to me this way?

— Listen, beloved daughter, I do not want, I cannot allow you to ask Me again what I find in you that makes me speak this way. Can I not grace you with honorable titles, lift you to the greatest height, the highest dignity?

You are my daughter, I speak of what is mine. You are my spouse, a spouse who has the qualities of her Spouse, a spouse who reflects the qualities of her Spouse alone. I enrich you from my riches, I honor and praise those things that are mine. You are my beautiful dove, a heart of fire, of burning fire, fire that purifies, fire that attracts hearts to Me, fire that can ignite the world, I entrust the world to you, the world is yours.

Ask, ask, my daughter, ask for prayer and repentance and amendment of life; ask, ask for those things which you wish to see in the reign of my divine Heart!

Oh, what is coming to the world if it does not raise itself and be reconciled to Me!

Jesus rose from my heart, lifted His most holy hands and from His most holy eyes ran tears in great abundance: like two springs. Sobbing very much, He continued:

- Do you see my divine Heart open? It is sin, is the pleasure of the flesh; it is sin, it is the world. Save it, save it, my daughter, do not let my Blood be lost!

Ask it to convert, so that souls will come to Me, gather my sheep in My Divine Heart, my whole flock! Ask, ask in the name of Jesus! Penance, prayer and sincere reconciliation!

— Jesus, Jesus, enough! Please, do not do this.

I give You my life and my death, I give You  all my body and all my blood, I give You my love, I accept everything You see fit to give me, all this life of suffering, but raise yourself now, My Jesus, lower  Your most holy hands, staunch Your tears. What horror, my Jesus, I cannot see You like this! How can infinite greatness kneel before the greatest misery, the most little nothing?!

Jesus stood up, reclined again in my heart; He stretched His holy arm across my shoulders and joined His holy face to mine; He squeezed me tightly, covered me with kisses and burned my heart in the fire that burned in His.

— How my divine Heart is comforted by your offer, your love! I see in you the grace, the purity, the heroism for saving souls!

— That's not what I want to hear, Jesus. Tell me why have Thou acted this way? Being God You knelt before the most poor and miserable creature. Only You know how it torments me.

— My pure one, my beautiful one, the greater the sacrifice, the more you have to offer Me. So listen. Isn’t it being on knees, with folded hands and tears that hearts are moved to compassion? So great is the love I have for souls, so great is my power. My motive is my thirst for souls. You cannot compare human thirst with the divine thirst.

How often creatures, to quench their burning thirst, kneel, dipping their lips in disgusting, brackish water and in mud. I, Greatness without equal, to quench my thirst, to ask for the salvation of my souls, I knelt before my dear spouse who is clothed with Me, transformed in Me, asking her for souls, asking her for the world, this world which is mud and disgusting slime. Thus transformed in Me, I see nothing in you of misery; see my wonders, my greatness.

Is it not true that I said "what is great makes itself small"? You are the mirror that reflects everything. In you I give an example, as when I myself passed through the world. Wonderful lesson, teach it to souls! You, my daughter, are the one who gives them the passport to eternity.

Woe to the world, woe to Portugal if they do not correspond to the graces I give them!

Woe to the world, but then even more so for Portugal, if it is not thankful for the benefits it receives through you!

Spread purity, spread grace, ignite love, love, love!

And rest, innocent victim, in My Divine Heart; take comfort for your unique pain and unparalleled martyrdom.

I then leaned over to Jesus, rested in His Divine Heart, and new outpourings of love from Him ravished my heart.

It was already late at night when I felt the burning, but I am not able to speak of it.

— Take, my Jesus, take into account my sacrifice. If there was up to me, I would rather walk always with my face to the ground and saying nothing of what happens in my soul.