In Chapter 4, we concluded our discussion of obstacles that can hinder our journey of personal holiness into and through the Chambers of the United Hearts; and began our discussion of the importance of trustful surrender or abandonment of self, (i.e., dying to self-will or inordinate self-love), so as to enter and progress through the Chambers of the United Hearts. In this Chapter, we will continue to highlight the importance of an ever-increasing dying to self or trustful self-surrender to entering in and progressing deeper through the Chambers of the United Hearts. Messages from Jesus on the Revelation of the United Hearts and the role of trustful surrender in the journey of personal holiness through the Chambers, in turn, will help us understand why the important key to entrance into the First Chamber, (the Immaculate Heart of Mary), is the invocation to Mary, Protectress of the Faith.

For example, in a March 31, 1999 Message, Jesus revealed to the Visionary, Maureen Sweeney-Kyle, how hard the journey of personal holiness is for His followers. Jesus said:

"It is a difficult path I call you upon – one not easily traveled. The Message of Holy Love is centered upon unselfishness – dying to self. It is based upon surrender. The more the soul surrenders, the deeper he will come into Divine Love. Divine Love is the New Jerusalem. You don't have to wait. You can have it now while the world swirls around you in turmoil. You do not need to wait for the warning to have your conscience enlightened either. Come to the property (Maranatha Spring and Shrine). It will all be given within a short time, either as you visit the site, or days subsequent to your visit. This whole Mission is based on the Victory of Our United Hearts. The victory will be in hearts first; then the whole world."

Jesus reiterates this point in a Message of May 22, 1999. Jesus says:

"I have come to explain to you the fullness of My call, which is self-surrender. Without your surrender, I cannot achieve in you My goal and your salvation. Surrender means that you must give up or relinquish something. Self-surrender is My call for you to give up your own will. Your will is directed by whatever is in your heart in the present moment. This is why My call to self-surrender is at once My call to complete submission to Holy Love in the present moment. Self-surrender is the key that unlocks the door to My Heart and to Divine Providence. So often you do not see My Provision because you are blinded by what you want. So often what you want is not good for you and will not lead to your salvation. My Provision, My Divine Will for you, is like a great tapestry that I, the Weaver, begin to weave at your conception. All through your life, I design to put each thread in its place to create the masterpiece of your salvation. When you refuse to surrender to Me, you inasmuch as pull a thread out of place. Then I, the Artist, must redesign the entire tapestry so that it all comes together harmoniously. But when you surrender to Me, the final outcome is much more easily attainable. You see My grace and you cooperate with My Provision, My Plan. The design is more beautiful because it is My best design. Your self-surrender is what moves your feet up the staircase of holiness (see page 100). Your surrender lets you inhale the sweet fragrance of the bouquet of My grace. Without your surrender, you are like a broken tool in the hands of a master carpenter. The carpenter cannot use such a tool, so he sets it aside and searches out a better one. In the same way, I cannot use you to the fullest unless you surrender completely to Me. When you surrender, you are telling Me you trust Me to lead you, guide you, provide for you, protect you. I cannot resist such a one. My love completely embraces such a soul and I am united with him. This is why I tell you, your trust is everything. Your trust is your surrender."

Here we see how important our faith and complete trust in God is to His Plan for our salvation; and our complete surrender of self-will and inordinate self-love so as to live in Holy Love in the present moment, (which is the Divine Will), fulfills God's Plan. On July 5, 1999, in a Monthly Message to All Nations, Jesus points this out and says:

"I come to you through the power of Divine Love – Divine Mercy. Through the fire of this Love, I have come to convert the heart of the world. The only path of conversion is through Holy Love. The Eternal Father, Who is at the center of the universe, cannot change a heart against its human will. Therefore, I have come to urge all hearts to surrender to My Mother's Immaculate Heart, which is Her call to Holy Love. If hearts respond, the Heavenly Father will restore peace and harmony to all of nature,…all things that take dominion beneath His Power. As it is, much has been relinquished to Satan, as mankind has rejected the path of Love. My children do not consider Divine Providence, but move through life as though all things depended on themselves. Understand, I give and I take away; I support and I tear down. Come to Me. When I return, I will look for those who live according to the Two Great Commandments of Holy Love. Today, I am making a new covenant with My people. It is a covenant of Love. When you live in Holy Love in the present moment, you are fulfilling your needs towards salvation."

In the following Messages, Jesus shows us how important trustful self-abandonment or self-surrender is for His grace and virtue to work in our souls. On July 8, 1999, Jesus says:

"I have come to help you understand that some people pursue holiness with their intellect and not their heart. This is the meaning of love. Love must first be in your heart and then in the world around you. If Holy Love is in your heart, then you surrender your will to Me. It is only in this way I can fill you with grace and virtue. This means you have no 'wants' of your own. It does no good to imitate the virtues or to seek the company of holy people if you have not emptied yourself completely. You may want to be holy and virtuous, but it is not possible to demand such grace from Me. It is only possible through self-abandonment."

Similarly, on July 9, 1999, Jesus says:

"My Eucharistic Heart is the center of the universe. But this Heart cannot save a single soul unless the soul surrenders to Holy Love. The degree of surrender determines the degree of sanctity. Indeed, self-abandonment is the key to salvation. Souls cannot love Me or trust Me or even know Me, who allow their hearts to be full of themselves. Self-love is always the door Satan walks through. Self-love is inordinate love of power, money, ambition, reputation, sensuality, greed – all these that are from Satan. But when the soul surrenders to Holy Love, he is willing to give up everything, all his own 'wants', for Me. Such a soul has no need for recognition. Such a one despises the limelight and has no concern for reputation. He does not promote himself or his own agenda, but waits in the background to quietly do My bidding. If he accomplishes something on My behalf, He does not look for credit, but gives thanks to God."

Jesus tells us that the soul who consistently practices trustful self-surrender or abandonment of self, thus, dying to self-will and inordinate self-love, is the one who consecrates himself to Divine Love. On October 11, 1999, Jesus says:

"I wish today to describe to you the soul who is truly consecrated to Divine Love. The benefits of such a consecration are many, as I have told you, but the ones so disposed are few. Such a soul, who is consecrated to Me through Divine Love, has become a martyr of love. He has died to self and the world, only partaking in such indulgences as necessity dictates. The soul has relinquished everything to Divine Love, the Heart of his Savior. He seeks only to love Me more – to please Me more and to be united in Me. The soul truly consecrated to Divine Love recognizes each present moment as an opportunity to surrender his will to the Divine Will. The soul is a martyr of love because he has died to all else for love of Me. He seeks no other pleasure except My pleasure. He follows no other path save the one I choose for him. He is dead to the world and lives for Me so that I may live through him. There are few today who even desire such union with Me."

Then, in a Message on the Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, October 16, 1999, Jesus begins to describe the journey of personal holiness through the Chambers of His Sacred Heart, which He reveals to souls who are consecrated to Divine Love. He says:

"There are many Chambers in My Heart of Hearts, which is Divine Love. The door to each Chamber is unlocked through self-will, self-surrender. Each doorway leads you deeper into Divine Love – deeper into My Heart…until the soul reaches the deepest, most intimate Chamber of Divine Union… He is willing to sacrifice anything to console Me. Few reach this Chamber."

Regarding self-abandonment, or self-surrender, on October 17, 1999, Jesus says:

"There are degrees of submission and compliance to the Divine Will. This is what the 'doors' to the Chambers of My Heart represent. So you see, each door is the Divine Will, but entrance to each Chamber requires greater surrender and commitment."

As can be readily seen from these Messages, trustful self-surrender or self-abandonment to Holy and Divine Love is the key to entering into the Chambers of the United Hearts. On December 31, 1999, the Visionary, Maureen Sweeney-Kyle, sees a large key floating in front of Jesus and Blessed Mother. Jesus says:

"Child, this key represents your free will. It is the latchkey which opens every Chamber of My Heart. At first the key may turn in the lock with difficulty and entrance to the First Chamber – (which is Holy Love) – may be wrought with obstacles. But, when you surrender this difficulty to Me, it is removed by the Hand of My Provision… It is when the soul is able to surrender to Me by accepting God's Will in the present moment, that I am given the power to act. It is impossible to enter the abode of the United Hearts or to advance in the Chambers of My Heart outside of God's Will. This is because the United Hearts are the embrace of God's Will."

In a Conversation with Divine Love on September 4, 2000, Jesus says:

"The moment a soul hears the call to conversion of heart, he stands at the threshold of the First Chamber – My Mother's Heart – Holy Love. To the world this journey may seem foolhardy. But to the simple heart it is a path laid in gold. My Mother meets the souls who stand precariously on this threshold of conversion and salvation. She extends to them every grace they need to accept Her invitation to enter the first portal of Our United Hearts… Indeed, the threshold to the First Chamber is the most decisive in the entire spiritual journey."

On October 16, 2000 (the one-year anniversary of Jesus' Revelation of the Chambers of His Sacred Heart), Jesus says:

"All of what Heaven would reveal began with the Key to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – the prayer to Mary, Protectress of the Faith. This simple prayer admits the soul into the First Chamber of Our United Hearts, which is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. With faith protected and Satan laid waste, the soul (in trustful surrender) opens his heart to Holy Love – the First Chamber of the United Hearts… The key to the innermost Chambers of My Heart is trustful surrender. Without this, the soul cannot come deeper into My Heart of Hearts. Therefore, see that the depth of trust in the heart is also the depth of holiness. The soul that does not love Me cannot trust Me. The soul that does not trust Me cannot surrender his will to Me. It is that simple and that complex."

Key to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"Mary, Protectress of the Faith and Refuge of Holy Love, come to my aid."

(Jesus – February 10, 2006)

In the next Chapter, we will continue to examine how trustful surrender of self-will to Jesus and the Father's Will comes about through conversion of heart; made easier through the graces afforded us by the prayer to Mary, Protectress of the Faith – the key to the First Chamber, Her Immaculate Heart. As we continue on, we will begin to discuss the Messages showing how the various Chambers of the United Hearts are as a blueprint to personal holiness and sanctification. ♥

What is Humble Love?

St. Thomas Aquinas says: "Praise be to Jesus."

"The opposite of spiritual pride would be humble love. Humble love regards himself as the least holy, the most unworthy of grace. He knows all good comes from God – that God is the source of every grace. He humbly tries just to be an instrument in God's Hands. Humble love humbly bears,with patience, the mistakes and character flaws of others. He mercifully, gently corrects when it is his place to do so."

"In humble love, the soul is always forgiving; knowing it is God's Grace that keeps him from making the errors another has made. In this same spirit of humility, he forgives himself of all iniquity."

"Humble love never tears down – always builds up. It never causes division, but unites. It does not see its opinion as the only opinion unless it is a matter of good versus evil; then, humble love clings to the Truth."

"Pray for humble love in your heart."

(May 16, 2012)