"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
– John 3:16-18
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| Fra Angelico's vision of the Last Judgement (click to enlarge) |
St. Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) mystic and Doctor of the Church
Wherefore, if a man fall into this sin, he does not repent, and does not truly grieve for his offense against Me as he should, grieving indeed for his own loss, but not for the offense done to Me, and therefore he receives eternal damnation. See, therefore, that this sin alone leads him to hell, where he is punished for this and all the other sins which he has committed; whereas had he grieved and repented for the offense done to Me, and hoped in My mercy, he would have found mercy, for, as I have said to you, My mercy is greater without any comparison than all the sins which any creature can commit; wherefore it greatly displeases Me that they should consider their sins to be greater.
Marino Restrepo was born in the Andes Mountains of Colombia in a small coffee-growers town.
Marino's life took a drastic turn during his visit to his hometown in Colombia at midnight on Christmas Eve in 1997. While he was driving into the ranch of one of his uncles where he was to spend the night, he was kidnapped by the Colombian rebels of the FARC (Revolutionary Arm Forces of Colombia) and taken to the jungle as a hostage for six months. During the first fifteen days of his kidnapping, he was kept in a cave with bats and different kinds of bugs while the captors were waiting for the rebels to pick him up. In that very cave, and after finding out that he was sentenced to death by his captors, he went through a mystical experience with God that changed his life forever. Five and a half months later, Marino was miraculously released from captivity after a miracle of God, and after his release he went back to his catholic faith. Eighteen months later he became a full time missionary for the Catholic Church leaving all of his past, and his worldly possessions behind. constantly on the road of the mission around the world.
Here are some videos I found of him speaking. I only give one part but you can easily follow the whole series on YouTube. You will be amazed at how much his story will speak to your personal life. I view him as a modern day St. Catherine of Sienna.
Thank you, Michael, for introducing Marino posting these talks in your blog. I too feel the urgency to spread the word about Marino and his testimony. It has recently been the tool God used to renew my fervor and receive a new interior light regarding God and the eternal truths and mysteries of our beautiful faith. It's as though I had not known God or myself up to this point in my life, as though I had seen him, and therefore myself, through a filthy window, smudged by my sin and fears. His testimony led me to awaken, as it were, to reality as it is being created by our Beloved. I had always struggled in prayer to this point to know and love the person of Jesus Christ, but this testimony opened the eyes of my heart to see him - not through any mystical vision - but with a new brilliant light and clarity that leaves me no doubt that what I've experienced comes from His Sacred Heart. It also whets my appetite to delve into the mystery of God; to sacrifice my Isaac; to journey with renewed vigor and without fear alongside my guardian angel, the saints, and Mary; and to pour out my life for Jesus Christ who visits me in every single person I encounter every day. Praised be Jesus Christ!
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