November 26, 1975

THE ENEMY THAT ONE MUST FACE

I, the eternal Word of God, Word of the Father, spoke to men; I announced the truth. The truth radiates light, and they needed light, for the shadows of death had descended to guilty humanity, encompassing it and imprisoning it like a tremendous and poisonous bite.

The fight began immediately; it is the fight between light and darkness, between truth and lies, between life and death. The first parents ran to hide themselves in the thickness of the vegetation; they were afraid. They felt the necessity of covering themselves; they were ashamed and immediately noticed the first effects of their sin.

But I, the Word of God, the light of the world, radiated light and truth upon the first parents, wrapped in the darkness of death, and after their confession was made, I announced the victory by means of Mary: “For having done this, thou wilt be accursed as no other beast. Upon thy breast shalt thou crawl, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and her seed, and she shall crush thy head.” Here war entered into the world. Here began the duel without rest and without truce, and it will have its epilogue at the end of time, with the Last judgment. On that day, the victory of myself over lies, the Word of God and Light of the world, will be consecrated with the divine seal.

All of you, my sons, from the creation and fall of man, have not yet understood that all human history is centered in this war. I said: all of human history.

All the efforts of the darksome powers of evil consist precisely in this: they turn away from the human spirit the real vision of this dramatic battle without truce between Me, the Word of God made flesh, and Satan with his legions.

The entire history of the mystery of salvation rotates around this center; the history of the Mystical Body is also centered here. It is here that the history of humanity has its reason for existing, and the fact that all this is not understood by many bishops and by very many priests, is a paradoxical truth.

Behold the reason why we have arrived at this catastrophic situation. If those who should keep watch, do not know the danger that they should look for, then to what condition is their vigilance reduced? If those who should guide others do not know the right path, what kind of guides are they? If those who should combat do not use the adequate weapons to conquer, they are destined to defeat. Thus it was in the beginning: Adam and Eve had power and strength in abundance to conquer the temptation of the enemy, but they were inexperienced in their manner of defending themselves against the trap of his lies, that they did not know.

You cannot ignore it

The situation is even more grave for all of you, who cannot ignore it, after centuries and centuries of this fight: what kind of enemy he is whom you have to confront. Adam and Eve sought a justification for their sin; they wanted to blame it upon the tempter, wishing to put the blame upon the adversary, after they sinned. Many bishops and many priests will do the same, in their vain attempt to deny their responsibility.

They were afraid, and are now afraid, of taking their responsibility. Motives of personal prestige have made them yield to the enemy, and this happened an indefinite number of times; first personal prestige; first their own dignity. They have turned themselves into balloons hanging in the air; in the name of prestige they have forgotten their obligations that should have had first place. They have yielded to human respect and to other meannesses unworthy of a pastor of souls.

They were not the first to use the adequate weapons: humility, poverty, suffering, prayer .... as the others could use them; they will say that they prayed, but prayer should have had the first place and the greatest amount of time, and in reality it was put last.

I have invited priests and bishops to a confrontation; let them do it before it is too late, a confrontation between their lives and mine upon earth, between the path used by them, and the one used by Me. It is there they can see reality, without danger of being deceived. If they really were courageous, all the pus they have inside themselves could be expelled by such a confrontation. Do not the examples of great bishops speak to you? And what about the holy Curé of Ars for the priests? Even when he was forgotten and despised, he passed hours and hours praying, and divine grace was so great in him, that it converted even the stones.

You should not adapt yourselves to the times; rather, the times should adapt themselves to you. What a responsibility is yours, upon having abdicated in the fight! If all of you are bishops and priests, you are so in virtue of this fight; without this fight you would not even have a reason for existing. And many of you ignore it.

Son, I bless you. Do not fear. Look at Me and go forward in your way, until the great encounter; then the thorns will be turned into marvelous roses, unknown upon earth.