A Spiritual Gift from Cabrera de Armida

The Venerable Concepción Cabrera de Armida (born on December 8, 1862 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico and died on March 3, 1937 in Mexico City) was a Mexican Roman Catholic mystic and writer.  Her writings were widely distributed and inspired the establishment of the five apostolates of the 'Works of the Cross' in Mexico: 'Apostolate of the Cross' founded in 1895, 'Congregation of Sisters of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus' founded in 1897, 'Covenant of Love with the Heart of Jesus' founded in 1909, 'The Priestly Fraternity' founded in 1912, and 'The Congregation of Missionaries of the Holy Spirit' founded in 1914. These apostolates continue today.

The following is from, What Jesus Is Like: Concepcion Cabrera De Armida

All of the thirty-three years of his lifetime on earth were spent in the faithful execution of the wishes of his Father, with a loving abandonment to that divine will. Even his sacrifice and his death were a total fulfillment of this will, since as the Apostle teaches, By this [will] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb 10:10)….

[In the garden of Gethsemane], in the middle of that cruel battle—from his lips and from the depths of his soul, as a cry of loving abandonment to his heavenly Father—burst forth the words, Not My will, but Yours be done! (Lk 22:42).

Not only did Jesus fulfill the will of the Father in its totality, but he always fulfilled it. There was never a single act of Jesus, nor a single instant of his life, in which Jesus sought his own will. In a real sense, he was never the master of his life or his actions, because his loving abandonment always voluntarily bound him to the will of the Father.

Jesus bore all of our sins in order to expiate them. He wanted to experience that which was most difficult for his Heart…in order to gain fortitude for us. And what did Jesus say in the midst of the infinite sea of his bitter abandonment? He exclaimed, full of resignation, Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit (Lk 23:46). This is a heroic attitude. It is confidence and sublime abandonment. The ultimate that love can offer.

Abandonment is the supreme expression of love, this giving of oneself without reserve to the divine will, which is the total gift of our very selves. This heroic attitude formed from inexpressible trust in God’s Love, from perfect self-renunciation and from loving generosity, is the pinnacle of love.

That divine will shall also be our joy and our martyrdom. United to Jesus, what do sacrifices matter when love is consoled when it suffers? Each immolation, each cross, each sacrifice is the perfect fulfillment of the Father’s will. That will is a joy and martyrdom—a Calvary and a heaven—because it encompasses all suffering and produces all joys. Oh, my abandoned Jesus, grant me your love in abandonment, in loneliness and even in death itself!

Lord, today grant that I no longer seek my personal satisfaction. Neither in that which is great, nor in that which is small…. But help me to cast myself generously into personal sacrifice…if that should be your will.

Venerable Concepción Cabrera de Armida