Flower of Devotion

The Blessed Mother gave the Venerable Mary of Jesus the following teaching:

“Carnal works of penance are necessary and indispensable to mortal man. And this to such an extent that multitudes of souls have gone to eternal perdition for the sole reason that they did not know this truth and this duty, and forgot the duty of putting the cross upon themselves, or despised it. And many souls are in danger of meeting the same fate.
The first reason why men should crucify and mortify their bodies is because they were conceived in sin. By sin the whole of human nature has been corrupted, for the passions rebel against reason and incline to evil; At the same time, they are fighting against the spirit. If a man gives free rein to them, they take the soul with them and plunge it from one vice to another. If, on the other hand, man dominates this wild beast, that is, his body, by mortifying and subduing it, then it loses its power, and reason and the light of truth prevail over it.
The second reason is that no man is free from the sins with which he has offended the eternal God. After all, sin must be followed inexorably by a corresponding punishment, either in this life or in the next. And since the body has sinned with the soul, it follows that according to justice both the body and the soul must be punished. Inner suffering alone is not sufficient if the body, in order not to need to suffer, tries to escape the punishment it deserves. Added to this is the fact that the guilt of sin is very great, while the satisfaction on the part of the guilty party is very limited and small. And since a sinner, even if he has repented all his life, never knows for sure whether he has satisfied the Judge, he should not stop repenting for the rest of his life.
It is true that God is kind to men and so gracious that if by a small penance which they are able to perform and try to pay for their sins, He not only forgives the offenses they have suffered, but also grants new graces and eternal reward to men for their penance. But faithful and wise servants, who truly love their Lord, do not hesitate to add works that are freely done. For a debtor who thinks only of paying the debt, but does not seek anything more than that, though he will pay it, will nevertheless remain poor and without means if he has not saved more of his provisions. What, then, should they think and expect, who neither pay their debts nor do voluntary penitential works?
The third reason which most should encourage men is that they are bound to follow their Divine Master and Lord. My most holy Son and I, had neither sins nor improper passions, and yet we offered ourselves to suffering. Our whole life has been an uninterrupted mortification and scourging of the flesh. And it was fitting that the Lord should walk in this way to the glory of His Body and His Name, and that I should follow Him in the same way. If, then, We have done this because it was the right to do so, what right have men to seek another way, to devote themselves to a life that is pleasant, soft, cheerful, and pleasure-seeking? And to despise everything that hurts, as well as to feel disgust at misfortunes,
humiliations, fasts and mortifications? Could these sufferings have been meant only for Me?Son, the Lord Jesus, and for me? While guilty sinners who deserve to be punished are to indulge in the hideous desires of the flesh? And the powers of soul which my Son had given them to serve and imitate him, were they to use to worship the joys of the world and to serve Satan who arranges them? This impropriety, which is a general practice of Adam’s children today, provokes the wrath of the very righteous Judge.
It is true that the Passion and Death of My Most Holy Son made up for and made reparation for what men lacked in merit. The Saviour also ordained that I, although I am only a creature, taking the place of all other men, should work with Him and imitate Him most perfectly in His sufferings and penitential works. But this was not done to exempt people from the obligation to do penance, but rather to encourage them to repent all the more. For if there were nothing more than to make reparation for men, then there would be no need for so many and so heavy sufferings on the part of My Son and on My part.
It was also the intention of my Son, as the true Father and Brother of man, to give value to all the works and penitential exercises of all His disciples. For all the works of creatures would be of less value in the eyes of God if they did not derive value from the works of my Most Holy Son. If, on the other hand, works, virtuous and perfect in every respect, have so little value in themselves; What can be said of works whose object is good, but which are themselves full of infirmities and errors, as is almost always the case with Adam’s children?
For the deeds of those who have made much progress in the spiritual life and are righteous still need to be completed and improved. All these deficiencies were filled by My Lord Jesus Christ with His works, so that the Heavenly Father would take pleasure in accepting the works of men in conjunction with the works of Christ. For if a man does not think of doing his own works, but with folded hands gives himself over to idleness in this matter, then he cannot use the works of his Savior to his advantage. There is nothing in such a man that can be supplemented and perfected; But there is much that deserves to be condemned.
Even more blameworthy are those of the faithful who introduce even the sensuality and vanity of the world into their works of penance. Such deserve a greater punishment for their penance than for the rest of their sins, because they associate vain, imperfect intentions with works of penance, and are by no means concerned with supernatural ends, which alone confer penance on values and grace on the soul.