Sister Josefa Menendez was born Feb. 4, 1890, in Madrid, Spain. She entered a French convent of the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1920 at age 29. She was a religious sister for only four years before her death at the age of 33 on Dec. 29, 1923.

The daily life of Sister Josefa was very ordinary. Her fellow sisters did not know of the private revelations that she received from God. Our Lord said to her: “I will reveal to you the burning secrets of My Heart and many souls will profit by them. I want you to write down and keep all I tell you. It will be read when you are in Heaven. Do not think that I make use of you because of your merits, but I want souls to realize how My Power makes use of poor and miserable instruments.”

Shortly before her death, Our Lord told Sister Josefa: “My words will be light and life for an incalculable number of souls, and I will grant them special graces of conversion and enlightenment.”

One day, Our Lord came to Sister Josefa as a beggar begging for love. He said, “I want you to give Me souls. Only love in all you do is required. Suffer because you love, work because you love, and above all abandon yourself to love. When I let you feel anguish of spirit and great loneliness, suffer in love. I want to make use of you as a tired man uses a stick to lean upon.”

Our Lord wanted Sister Josefa to express her love for him by saying over and over again “My Jesus I love You” and by performing daily tasks out of love for Christ. Our Lord said: “The soul who constantly unites her life with Mine glorifies Me and does a great work for souls.”

Our Lord taught Sister Josefa the importance of purity of intention: “I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action itself which is a value; it is the intention with which it is done ... I have many hidden souls who in their humble labours are very useful workers in My vineyard, for they are moved by love, and they know how to cover their deeds with supernatural gold by bathing them in My Blood .... When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to Me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls ... when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment ... how great is the treasure they amass in one day!”

Our Lord complained: “Josefa, all I ask of souls is their love, but they give me only ingratitude. I would like to fill their souls with grace, but they pierce my Heart through and through. I call them, and they turn away from Me. If you accept, I will give you charge of souls, and by your sacrifices and love you will win them for Me.”

In Lent 1922, Sister Josefa saw some souls from purgatory. She saw the soul of a nun who was about to enter heaven. The soul confided to Josefa: “How different the things of earth appear when one passes into eternity. What are charges and offices in the sight of God? All He counts is the purity of our intention when exercising them, even in the smallest acts. How little is the earth and all it contains, and yet, how loved ... Ah, what comparison is there between life, however prolonged, and eternity! If only it were realized how in purgatory the soul is wearied and consumed with desire to see God.”

The beautiful writings of Sister Josefa can be found in the book The Way of Divine Love: Or the Message of the Sacred Heart to the World. This book was endorsed by Pope Pius XII.

 

                                             聖心求愛心

 

1890年2月4日,若瑟法.梅嫩德詩修女出生於西班牙的馬德里;1920年二十九歲時聖心女修會修院。不過,只當了四年修女,1923年12月29日、三十三歲時去世。她日常生活看似極為平凡,同院的修女對耶穌給她的私人啟示,一無所知。

吾主曾對若瑟法修女說:「我要啟示你隱蔽在我內心的燃燒的秘密,讓眾多的靈魂受益。我要你筆錄和保存我告訴你的一切。當你在天堂時,它將被人閱讀。不要想我是因你的功勞而利用你,但我願人靈知道我的德能如何使用貧乏和可憐的工具。」

若瑟法修女離世前,吾主對她說過:「我的話將為無數靈魂成為光明與生命,我會賞賜給他們皈依和光照的特恩。」

有一天,吾主來到若瑟法修女面前,像叫乞丐般向她乞求愛,說:「我要你把人靈交給我。你只需要用愛去作一切的事。你要因愛而受苦、因愛而工作、而最重要的是將你自己交託於愛。當我讓你感到精神困擾及極孤獨時,你要在愛中受苦。我要像一個疲憊的人使用倚靠的拐杖般來利用你。」

吾主又吩咐若瑟法修女經常重複:「我主耶穌,我愛祢!」去表達她的愛,又因愛基督去履行一切工作應盡的本份。祂道:「靈魂若時常將她的生命和我的生命聯結便是光榮我並為眾靈作一偉大工作。」

吾主訓誨若瑟法修女,行事需有純正意向的重要:「我很願意眾靈明白這一點!行動本身並不是價值的所在;價值在於做事的意向..... 在我葡萄園內有很多隱藏的靈魂以謙卑的勞動而成為非常有用的工人,他們因被愛所推動,並知道如何將他們的行為藉沐浴在我寶血中而蓋上超性的黃金......當他們睡醒時,便與我聯合在一起並熱切地把整天奉獻,好讓我的聖心能為人靈的神益而用它 …... 他們時時刻刻懷著愛去盡本份,每天都能積聚很大的珍寶!」

吾主亦投訴著:「若瑟法,我向人靈要求的不外乎愛心,他們卻還以負義忘恩。我要以聖寵填滿他們的靈魂,但他們卻深深剌傷我的心;我召叫他們,他們卻背離我。如果你願意接受,我把這些靈魂交託給你,藉你的犧牲和愛心,你將給我把他們賺回來。」

1922年封齋期,若瑟法修女看到煉靈。她看見一位修女的靈魂將要從煉獄升上天堂;那善靈向她透露:「當人進入永恆時,世事看來完全不一樣。職責和職務在天主眼中算是什麼?祂只著重於行使它們(甚至最微小的工作)時懷著的純正意向。世界和其內的一切,是如斯渺小,但卻被人深愛著 …..噢,無論壽命怎樣被延長,總比不上永恆!真願人能白明在煉獄中的靈魂是多麼疲憊不堪地切望見到天主!」

若瑟法修女那美妙絕侖的描述,徹底顯露於她箸作「神愛之道」一書;教宗庇約十二世亦推薦這一書。