Act of Offering to Merciful Love and Divine Justice

Story of a Soul, 1924, archives of the Carmelite convent of Lisieux

As she explains in her Mystical Calendar, the Offering Act of Maria Valtorta took place in several stages:

• 1925: Offering Act to Merciful Love, following the discovery of that of St. Thérèse of Lisieux;

• 1931: Offering Act as a victim to Divine Justice and Love. "My offering act," she specifies.

1925: Offering Act to Merciful Love

The circumstances

At 27 years old, a reading was to upheave Maria Valtorta and give a definitive direction to her life. She recounts it in her Autobiography. She had pocket money which she decided to invest in buying the four Gospels and the Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She entrusted one of her friends with the purchases.

"On January 28, 1925 a big package arrived with the books requested and a volume added on by my dear former schoolmate which was a collection of Gospel commentaries intended for young people. [...] I immediately read The Story of a Soul. I felt I was going back to school. But at school the Sisters had stopped at the life proper and the remembrances and counsels. With the complete works in hand, I went ahead.

My soul was melting with love. I had found the harpist capable of making the strings of my spirit resound. I wanted to make them sing to God, but still could not manage to. Little St. Thérèse with her small hand took mine and guided it over the strings, teaching me the canticle of love and self-giving.

When I read the act of offering to Merciful Love, I wept with joy.... I had found what I was seeking. If to enter the Franciscan Third Order I had imposed a trial period on myself, now I did not wait an instant. For two years I had been looking for a spiritual master who would act as my godmother at my rite of sacrifice to God. I had found her at last...!

I decided to make a very good confession and a fervent Communion, even better than usual, and then pronounce my act of offering. [...]

In the evening, in the room I’m in now, with my heart pounding I read my act of offering, kneeling on the floor. And I have been renewing it every day since then.

Since that day sorrows have come raining down upon me, but if it were granted man to cancel the time transpired and I were to return to January 28, 1925, the day I received those books, I would do over again what I have done, and even more joyfully, for in these eighteen years, amidst the sea of sufferings in which I have been immersed, with my “better part” I have always savored a spiritual joy which I believe is a foretaste of that which we shall enjoy in the Heavenly Jerusalem, “where rejoicing lasts forever.”

With the Little Flower, I, too, can say, 'From that evening on the new period in my life began, the loveliest of all, the most brimful of heavenly graces. Charity entered into my heart with a need to forget myself to give myself, and from then on I was happy.'”

The text

She then decides to solemnly offer herself "to Merciful Love" and does so on Sunday, June 7, 1925, the feast of The Holy Trinity, exactly thirty years after Saint Thérèse did the same on this same solemnity. The content of this consecration was likely similar to that of little Thérèse, as Maria did not leave us a text. Undoubtedly the text was inspired by that of Thérèse of the Child Jesus who wrote notably:

"In order to live in an act of perfect Love, I offer myself as a holocaust victim to your Merciful Love, begging you to consume me constantly, letting the overflowing flood of infinite tenderness contained in you flow into my Soul so that I may thus become a Martyr of your Love, oh my God!"

1931: Offering Act as a victim to Justice and Love

The circumstances

Maria Valtorta then experiences the power of the "victimal gift":

"The Christian, redeemed by a God who died on the cross, kicks at pain, of whatever kind. He does not see the beauty of pain, the power of pain, the deification pain gives us. Personally, I have noted that if I pray for a month like a machine, fatiguing my head and my stomach, I quite frequently obtain nothing. But if I suffer an hour and offer my suffering for a given purpose, I obtain all. Sacrifice is the salvation of the world and of souls. Souls and the world are always saved by the sacrifice of the generous. These thoughts beleaguered me to the point that I understood the time had come to carry out the severe offering to Divine Justice."

It is the period when relations are tense between the fascist power and the Catholic Action to which she belongs. She then has the feeling that serious events are being prepared.

"I decided to shorten the timespan. I had established September 8 as the date for making my offering to Divine Justice so as to have the Blessed Virgin as my Patron in that vow of suffering. But now it was no longer something to be put off. The sign had come. I asked God to inspire me with the formula Himself.

After a few days it was the first Friday of the month of June. At Mass, amidst the Circle members, I experienced an hour of real mortal agony.... Intellectually, I saw all that was to come in the future: wars, famine, deaths, massacres—and endless despair. What suffering! I, who never weep in public, wept so copiously that I was as if blinded. When Mass was over, they had to help me to leave because I saw nothing, so abundant were my tears.... My companions, the best ones, asked me what was wrong.... I told them what it was, though veiling it, with a modest reserve concerning certain details.

A few days later I felt the act of offering blossom in my heart, just as I had written and pronounced it on July 1, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. What lovelier day could I choose to unite myself to the Victim whose Divine Blood flowed forth entirely to placate the Father’s justice? And what name could I choose for myself from that moment on more beautiful than “Maria of the Cross”? [...]

The Cross was my love, and I wanted it as my altar. The cross had been my life’s companion since childhood, and now, spurred on by a supernatural goad, I was asking for the great Cross to be immolated upon it. I thus had the name which suited me and which will be mine in the sight of God as long as I live and thereafter....

Immediately after offering myself to the martyrdom of love, there was added a martyrdom of suffering sharpened in the flesh and increased in the spirit by a severity which seemed to weigh upon me.

I shall explain or try to explain. It was not that I felt abandoned by God. No, his love was always upon me. But if Jesus caressed me, the Father made his hand heavier on my heart. A period of compact penance then began. Everything related to sense in supernatural love disappeared. I am referring to the sweet dreams which had been my joy for years and to the confidence that God would spare us all we are undergoing now. The hour of Gethsemane had at once come fully and somberly—and I may say that it lasted ten long years, for only since 1941 has its severity relented.

Do not think that I have experienced aridity in my heart. No, never. Just as I have never been left without the comfort of Christ’s love. But I have suffered intensely and morally over an exact perception of all that was about to happen in the world.... I have shed all my tears for this reason. I wept so much, beseeching the Eternal to avert this tremendous scourge, mortifying myself with harsh penances to placate, appease, and soothe Divine Justice, that when the scourge arrived and all more or less lost their heads, I hadn’t a single tear left. I had already tortured myself in advance, seeing the full unfolding of the tremendous tragedy.... I have suffered physically from a break out of maladies, each more frightful than its predecessor, and the series has not yet come to an end.... I have experienced all pains in my body, which has become a compendium of infirmities! And, what’s worse, these maladies have not left the spiritual part immune, but have disturbed it with an unbridling of sensations which in themselves alone are a martyrdom.... But I’ll speak of this when the time comes. Justice has certainly not spared me in any way. And you, too, will observe this.

The text

This text is reproduced in Notebooks 1945-1950, on February 10, 1946:

"O my God, the origin and end of all power, all wisdom, all good, Eternal and Uncreated Love, Most Holy Trinity, may You be blessed now and always, loved and adored forever and ever.

That this love for You may expand and pervade the whole earth and the Kingdom of Christ may be established thereupon, bringing men peace, the peace which comes from You alone; that souls may turn to You, fount of living water quenching all thirst and granting eternal life, I, though indigent and sinful, from the abyss of my nothingness dare to uplift my heart and my life, my whole self, towards You, Blessed Trinity, and offer You this nothingness of mine as a host of expiation and love for the coming of your Kingdom, for the flowering of this peace of yours, and for the redemption of souls, of those I love and know, of those who are dearest of all to me because of the ties binding me to them, as well as those who are unknown or hostile to me.

May this sacrifice, which I offer to You, O God, through the intercession of Mary Mo t Holy and St. Joseph, be pleasing to You in its smallness. It is all that I can give You, and I give it with joy for the conversion of souls, world peace, and the prosperity, tranquillity, peace, and every other good of my country, for the triumph of the Church over her enemies, for the return to God of those nations which are now prey to Satan and schisms, for the perfection of the Priesthood, and the eternal salvation of my own and my parents' souls and of all the souls whom I have loved, instructed in your Law, and guided to You.

If I were to compare the splendors of your power to my indigence, I would be left annihilated before such omnipotence; if I were to compare my nothingness and sin to your Perfection, I would have to flee as unworthy from your sight; but I trust You, as is pleasing to You, and I give You my whole self, with my past, my present, and my future, with my sins, my efforts at goodness, my falls, and my immense desires to love You and souls. I think that You are Love, Mercy, and Goodness; You are the Father, Brother, and Spouse of our souls; You are Charity made flesh and turn no one away from your loving breast. I am thus sure that You will mercifully bend over this little slave of yours to accept her offering, hear her prayer, and consent to her wishes.

Oh, I will remain at your feet as long as You like, waiting for your smile to tell me that my offering is pleasing to You; nor will the wait cause me fear, for I know it is a trial which You give me to test my faith; nor will my nothingness cause me fear, for I robe it in the merits of my Beloved, who lives in me. And I repeat the ineffable words of my adored Word, of my Master and Redeemer, to present my prayer to You, the Eternal One: "Father, forgive men because they do not know what they are doing; forgive them through the merits of Christ, Mary, and the Martyrs and Saints, and if, to placate your offended Justice, new expiatory hosts are needed, here I am, O Father Immolate me for the sake of peace between man and God, between man and man, for the coming of your Kingdom."  

O my Beloved, your Heart is bleeding, incessantly wounded by this tide of sins invading the earth, and your thirst for love is growing every day, as mankind drifts away from You. Oh, take me as a host to console your scorned love. I would like to renew this offering every time a sin wounds You and a new offense is hurled against the Most Holy Trinity; I would like to be innocent and rich in merits to be able to console You more; I would like there to be multitudes of souls with me ready to offer themselves to your love. But I am poor and alone‑I, too, blameworthy. I am not discouraged, though, by my incapacity, my indigence, and my solitude; I am as is pleasing to You, and this suffices and encourages me in offering myself to You. It is You that have placed this ever‑growing thirst for love and immolation in my heart, and this tells me that You want me, too, poor and weak, a real nonentity losing herself before your immensity.

Aware of this smallness of mine, I ask You not to treat me as a bride or sister. You are the Owner of Heaven and earth; I am an atom of dust.... You are the King of kings; I, the least of your subjects. But, as in a royal palace there are intimate companions of the Lord who spend their days in the bonds of affection and there are also servants whose sole duty is to obey, so I desire to be regarded by You as a servant‑indeed, even less‑O my Beloved. I want to be the slave whose sole purpose is to serve her Lord with humility and faithfulness. I want to be the blind instrument used for the triumph of Merciful Love on earth, the humble maidservant who gives her whole self for the cause of her King, the creature who remains in the dust at the foot of your throne to cover over the blasphemous outcry of sinners with her poor song, to console your pierced Heart with her faithful love, and to obtain many souls for You through her hidden sacrifice. You said Yourself, beloved Jesus, that the greatest love is shown by those who lay down their lives for their friends. I thus come and offer myself to You, my only perfect Friend, so that your Kingdom will be established on earth and in the hearts of men.

You also said, "When I am lifted up, I will draw everyone to Myself." I, too, imitating You, want to be raised up on the cross of pain, on your Cross of salvation, which most flee in terror, and, crucified with You, for your sake, I want to expiate for those who sin, obey You for those who rebel, bless You for those who curse You, love You for those who hate You, and entreat You for those who forget You in a word, live in an act of perfect love, referring everything to You, seeing You in everything, loving everything for your sake and in You, and accepting everything from You, my infinite Good.

O my Beloved, by the cross I ask You for, the life I offer You, and the love I long for, make me the happy victim of your Merciful Love. May I love in and by it; may I act under its impulse; may my every act, word, thought, and deed bear the seal of this love of yours. May it be my shield and my purification, my joy and my martyrdom; may it be an increasingly intimate fusion with You, to the point of the ultimate fusion in which the free soul flies to rejoin You to adore and love You perfectly throughout blessed eternity."

Further discovery

• The Spiritual Life of Maria Valtorta
• Hymn to love and suffering
• Her Invisible Stigmata
• Tertiary of the Servites of Mary
• Her rosaries
• The Virgin of Fatima in the life of Maria Valtorta