THE SAVIOUR has had the goodness to communicate Himself to me, and He told me to ask if Reverend Mother would be willing to snatch the sword from His hands, since the spouses have full power over the Bridegroom. In order to do this, He asks that the Community make a Novena of Reparation using a formula of prayers similar to the first one made to obtain her cure. But the Saviour insisted however, that this Novena be made entirely in a spirit of Reparation for the outrageous blasphemies of which our nation is guilty and for the specific intention of obtaining mercy.
Our Saviour also said that since He chose the Community of Tours to be the first to learn of His sighs and His desires for the establishment of this Work, it was only fitting that from this Community He should likewise expect to reap His first consolations through their Novena of Reparation.
He urged me once more to ask that the prayers of atonement for blasphemies be printed and disseminated, emphasizing that it was His desire, however, that this Community should defray the expenses incurred in the printing, so that later He could shower upon this Carmel His greatest blessings and repay it a hundredfold for the amount of money spent.
I, therefore, beg once more, in the Name of Jesus, that this should be done, and we will see how He shall take care of all our needs. Truly, I can carry this heavy burden no longer. I beg, therefore, that this matter be seriously examined before God, and now having made these declarations, I believe my errand is completed, and my soul feels relieved.
In the first paragraph, it is so very powerful that our Lord mentions that these nuns, His spouses, through their prayers can obtain all that they ask Him for, thus “snatching the sword” from His hands. No doubt, this is because of their purity of body, mind and heart, their intense love for Him and their resolute aim to give God glory and save souls. The Novena of Reparation mentioned in this revelation is none other than the combination of the Golden Arrow prayer followed by the 24 Acts of Reparation as mentioned in the revelation of September 29th, 1843. The latter making atonement for the horrible crime of blasphemy uttered against our Lord each and every hour of the day. Let us take note that the combination of these two prayers were insisted upon by our Lord as being efficacious for the recovery of health, to repair for the horrible crime of blasphemy, and for drawing down mercy upon a country. In effect, they can powerfully convert sinners, restore the health of ourselves and our loved ones, and invoke blessings from our Lord on our country (all according to His loving Will and our confidence in Him!).
We see in the second paragraph that the city of Tours was the prime real estate chosen by our Lord for the origins of the Holy Face Devotion, and the seat of the Archconfraternity continues there to this day.
In the second to last paragraph, our Lord Jesus is making very good on His promise to look after the affairs of His household to those who offer to God the Father, His Son’s Holy Face disfigured in His Passion. He promises here to more than cover the expenses that would be incurred for the printing of the reparatory prayers by the nuns of the Carmel in Tours.
The text given above from the Golden Arrow book makes no mention in the last paragraph that Sr. Marie de St. Pierre is addressing her Mother Prioress. However, this is made more clear in the biography – Life of Sister Mary St. Peter Carmelite of Tours p. 151-152. Sr. St. Pierre speaks of “passing the torch” to her, so to speak, to have the prayers of reparation now printed and distributed. She expressed that this communication ended her part in the mission as directed to her by the Lord, and so her soul was at peace. This is such a wonderful reminder to us that the Lord does not wish us to be self-reliant, nor bear the full weight of carrying out His Will upon our little shoulders. We see this notion addressed in Sacred Scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I (Paul) have planted, Apollo watered: but God gave the increase,” and again in verse 8: “Now he that planteth and he that watereth, are one. And every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour.” What a great means of both protecting ourselves from our own pride, and relieving us from feeling overwhelmed. Thanks be to God!
the littlest wren