BRO. MARCEL VAN: JOY 1
The ideas presented here come from the dialogues Bro Marcel Van had with the Lord Jesus, with the Blessed Mother, and with St Therese of the Child Jesus (it is indicated who is speaking or sending the message) with whom he enjoyed spiritual conversations. Brother Marcel’s holy life did not rest on these conversations but rather on his deep love for God, his obedience to his will, and his commitment and service to others. He died as a “confessor of the faith” – one who lived his faith heroically in the midst of trials – in a North Vietnamese Communist prison where he strived to bring joy and faith to his companions, Catholic or not.
4.1 joy inseparable from love
Mary: Yes, I’m going to hide your sadness: my only desire is to see you always happy. I want you to love little Jesus, but in your love, I want there to be joy, a joy that shines outside. You must therefore love little Jesus in joy. Yes, even in difficult moments, it is always necessary that joy accompanies your love. The word “joy” must be attached to the word love (joy and love, love and joy).
Marcel’s poem on joy!
Happy through love
I’m always happy through love …
Even though my heart knows drought
I always have a smile on my lips
When blows the autumn wind.
I am always happy through love …
Even if it is suffering or suffering from deep sadness
My heart does not stop living in peace.
It is not joy, but Love, which is my source of joy.
My Jesus, how beautiful you are,
And how deep your tenderness.
It is not joy that is the cause of my joy
Even if I have nothing to fear,
Even if my heart leaps with joy,
It’s always an effect of love …
Mary: O my child, it is always in the joy that you must love little Jesus. If you love him in peace and joy, the flowers that you will pick for him will shine with their beauty and freshness. In addition, these flowers kept in the fire of love will last a long time, and the little Jesus will be able to use it when he wants to have fun.
Jesus: Stay happy, because the happier you are, the happier I am, the more I love you, the more I cover you with kisses and the more I press you to my heart
