It all began when Ven. Maria Celeste Crostarosa received a revelation while she was still a novice to
“This instruction was like a polished mirror into
which Celeste was to gaze continually at the dazzling light of the Divine
Son/sun.”
Celeste was
called to be for the world a Mirror of God’s Love.
As Nuns and Associates, we too are called to fix our
gaze on the Son and, as if gazing in a mirror, seeing not only the splendor of
His Being but to see in ourselves a living reflection of God’s eternal love. To
be a Viva Memoria, a Living Memory, so that
“The Redeemer is able today
to accomplish His work of salvation in us and through us.” Const.
5 For,
“The
more we strive to live the love of Christ, the more the thoughts and feelings
of Christ will fill our spirit and our heart, the more we will become His
faithful images.” Const.6
Like a double exposure of a photograph, one
superimposed on the other, we endeavor “To be a Viva Memoria of
Jesus so that he might find himself in you, and you recognize yourself in Him,
your God.” Flor. 6
Blessed Celeste made herself pliable in the hand of
God allowing God to mold her into the image of the Son. As St. Irenaeus said: “It is not you that
shapes God. It is God that shapes
you. If then you are the work of God,
await the hand of the Artist who does all things in due season. Offer God your heart, soft and pliable, and
keep the form in which the Artist has fashioned you. Let your clay be moist lest you grow hard and
lose the imprint of God’s fingers.”
Today, we reflect on your
commitment to become Christ’s perfect image.
This sounds like a tall order, but this is why you yearly renew your
commitment to the Hand of the Artist so your heart can be formed in these changing
times into an ever-present image of Christ.
This transformation is a life-long process. It is never done.
Jesus said to Celeste
then, and says to us now, “Enter into my divine heart and live there every day
of your life as a true portrait of me.” Flor. 5.
This kind of prayer opens the heart to “be true witnesses of the love of Him
who is our beginning and our End, our Way and our Life.” Const. 5 By our
mirroring Jesus, God reaches out to all humankind through us. We become the hands, the feet, the words, the
prayer of Jesus.
But how? Enter into our own heart in quiet
prayer. A simple way to pray is to just
breathe: inhale “Je-” exhale “sus.” Jesus’
breath becomes our breath flowing in and out of our lungs.
September 14th is the Exaltation of the Cross. It is also the anniversary of when, in 1755, Bl. Celeste breathed her last and was fully united with her Beloved in heaven. As “an echo of Christ’s will.” Flor. 64 on the Cross, Bl. Celeste also experienced the “glory of participation in the joy of union in the Divine Work.” Flor. 129
Celeste had an example of
joyful participation in Christ’s work in the Blessed Mother. “By His sacred and
divine love, Jesus wished to remain over Mary’s heart like a seal imprinted on
her will that His Mother may be a genuine portrait of His Divinity.” Exercise of Love, December 31
Celeste exclaimed, “My
Lady, I find the true resemblance of Jesus in you. You are the Original Portrait of Jesus. O my
Mother, you are a pure crystal which sparkles most clearly in the Son/sun.” Flor 11, Dec 30
Celeste prays, “Mother of Love: through your intercession, engrave on my heart the Live Image of Jesus.” Exercise of Love, December 31
Celeste describes Jesus
as the mirror of the Father. She says, “I no
longer saw myself, but I saw You in my very self and myself transformed into
You, my Most Pure Love.” She encourages us to look into this Mirror of Love,
the Son, saying, “Be pure of heart and look upon the Father with the fixed gaze
of love.”
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