The Way of Divine Love

by Josefa Menéndez

THE WAY OF DIVINE LOVE
SISTER JOSEFA MENENDEZ

— A Catholic Classic!
— Three books in one, including a Foreword, Introduction and Endnotes
— Includes an Active Index, Table of Contents and Layered NCX Navigation
— Includes Illustrations by Gustave Dore

Publisher: A Paperback Edition is available:
ISBN-13: 978-1-78379-354-9

On November 13th, shortly before her death, Our Blessed Lord had said to Sister Josefa: “My words will be light and life for an incalculable number of souls, and I will grant them special graces of conversion and illumination.” These words have been verified, for as soon as the first small volume appeared it was eagerly seized upon, was reprinted several times, while letters from all parts of the world gave testimony to the profound impression created and to the signal graces that followed on the delivery of the Message. The Message of Our Blessed Lord, framed as it were, in the life history of Sister Josefa Menéndez, consists mainly in excerpts from her notes. These notes, written under obedience, and carefully preserved, are connected by a running commentary, the testimony of those who day by day assisted at the unfolding of a life which so amazingly carried out the designs of the Heart of Jesus.

In 1926, after careful examination of the writings of Sister Josefa, a Consultor of the Sacred Congregation of Rites concluded his report with these words: “I pray God that these things may become known for the glory of God, and to strengthen the faith of diffident and timid souls, and also that the holy religious of the Sacred Heart who wrote them may be glorified.” Without any intention of pronouncing judgment before Holy Church, to whom we submit unconditionally, we think that readers of these pages will be glad to find words of commendation from no less a personage than the Holy Father himself (Pope Pius XII), who as Cardinal Pacelli, and Protector of the Society of the Sacred Heart at the time, gave his blessing to the first edition which appeared in 1938.

PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Faith, Theology, Classics, Biography, Christian

441 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Sister Josefa Menéndez (February 4, 1890 – December 29, 1923) was a Catholic nun and an alleged mystic. She was born to a Christian family in Madrid, where she suffered various trials. In 1920, at 29, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Poitiers. Her religious life was spent cleaning and sewing. While a nun, she allegedly received visions of Jesus.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[booklady]

A 'brick'! My husband jokes that when he sees me reading books like this he knows he must be nice because I am holding a lethal weapon. He's right too. Not that I would hurt him, but this book is very HEAVY just to pick-up, never mind hold for any extended period of reading...

Almost wish it were on kindle ... but not quite... Holding its weight while I read will be a very tiny mortification.

I am very excited to finally have a cleared space to be reading this... (And a good day to start too, Divine Mercy Sunday and the feast of St. Gemma Galani!) Sts. Faustina and Gemma pray for me and guide my reading!

[Jane Lebak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 18 or 19, and there are parts I still remember very strongly. I'd have to re-read it to say specifically how it influenced my spiritual growth, but I do know some passages of the book helped me in decisions I made as an adult.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the author inserted far too much of his own, often overly dramatic, narrative for Sr. Josefa's dairies to achieve the desired effect. It became a little tedious to read, especially since the majority of what was said was the author going on ad nauseam. I would like to read her diaries with no, or far less, commentary.

Additionally, the overall message is congruent with previous Sacred Heart messages, but some of the specific items written make me wonder if there was a faulty translation or if Josefa simply added some of her own thoughts inadvertently. There are a couple places with incorrect theology, though none of it is of any serious matter.

I also found it odd that Jesus kept referring to himself the Father. This is an example of why reading the original work in the original language is best. Context here is lost, and possibly mistranslated.

Regardless, Josefa was obviously a very devout, humble, and passionate woman. It doesn't as of yet seem that what she claimed Jesus promised her has come true, but we will see what happens in the future.

To my knowledge, this work has been approved by Holy Mother Church as being free from doctrinal error.

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty amazing.

[Isabelle Abshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. I reread it every so often. If you want to know the extent and depth of God's love, read this.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful.....Intense!

This book is well written and I enjoyed every page immensely! Our Lord's suffering was described in such a way that makes you really think about the consequences of sin has caused. Sister Josefa was a messenger of that suffering. All God wants is our love!💟 Thank you for such a life-changing read.💟

[Flexembig]

I love this book....I let Karen borrow it.
To those who have scruples, read this book! :)

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Catholics.

[Roger Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes words fail ... utterly. It is very difficult to find words for such tremendous, soul-consoling beauty ...

So I won't even try here, but for anyone interested I have made a longer, bumbling attempt here:
http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2012/...

[Dan R Byrne Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devotion to the Sacred Heart

This is both a biography, of Sister Josefa Menendez, and a journal of her mystical revelations. At times it is painfully slow reading, but that always leads to a revealing encounter which furthers understanding of the Sacred Heart.