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What is the Chain of Love?
It is a way of
how to live the baptismal priesthood. The Blesssed Concepción Cabrera,
inspired by
Christ, called this practice the "Chain of Love".
The Chain of Love is also the exercise of the spiritual
priesthood by which "all their works, prayers and apostolic
undertakings, family and married life, daily work,
relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the
Spirit--indeed even the hardships of life if patiently
borne--all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ"
(L.G. No. 34; cf. I P 2,5).
Our Statutes and Regulations says: 13.1 We live the «Chain of Love» in faithfulness to God and
our brothers and sisters, making a continuous offering of our lives. We study
its basis and encourage its practice through virtues.
Offering of the Incarnate Word
Heavenly Father, through the hands of Mary, we offer You,
Jesus the Incarnate Word, the Victim in whom You are well
pleased. Moved by the love of the Holy Spirit in our hearts,
we offer ourselves completely with Him as living hosts.
May we be a living sacrifice out of love for You, in all the
events of our lives, obtaining graces for the world, the
Church and especially Your priests.
Jesus, savior of all people, save them!
As a consequence of our loving attention to God, we
will each day, with the frequency that is possible for us,
make the
Offering of the Incarnate Word.
Let us live the notable grace of the Church's baptismal priesthood or of
the Chain of Love.
Jesus is
asking us for it: "I wish for a mighty stimulus to be given
to this expiatory act, joining victims to the Great
Victim... and that in unity,
everybody would offer me and
offer themselves in my union"
(C.C. 49,18).
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Fourteen rules of the Chain of Love |
Practice |
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1. Humility and sacrifice |
1. I want the souls that make up the Chain
of golden links, which I have asked you for, to be far advanced in
virtues, above all in humility and sacrifice. |
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2. Pure of body and soul |
2. They must be pure of body and soul.
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3. Prayer |
3. They must be prayerful souls.
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4. Spiritual Modesty |
4. They must be souls with a tendency to keep to
themselves with the perfect
spiritual modesty. |
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5. Virtue: Poverty |
5. They must have a vow of poverty or at least a
great affection for this virtue experiencing, by love, its
effects. |
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6. Virtue: Hidenness |
6. They must forget about
themselves and have Me as the sole object of all their
aspirations. |
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7. Empty of all earthly affections |
7. They must have their heart empty of
all earthly affections so that I may fill it in its entirely. |
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8. Great love to Mary |
8. They must have a great love to my Mother,
imitating her in her perfect obedicence towards God and men.
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9. Purity of intention |
9. They must have a supernatural life with
the purity of intention, my presence being familiar to them.
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10. Tend towards all that is right and holy |
10. Those souls must tend towards all that is
right and holy.
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11. Tempered for sorrow and loving
the Cross in all its ways |
11. They must be souls tempered for
sorrow and loving the Cross in all its ways. them.
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12. Love God
without self-interest |
12. They must love Me without self-interest,
just for Who I am, with generosity, without interruption and
abandoned to my will. |
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13. Be faithful |
13. They must be always promt to be
faithful and to correspond, just as I want the exercise of this
virtue. |
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14. Live only for God |
14. And lastly, they must live in Me,
dead to everything that is not Me or that leads to Me. |
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"I, from the moment
of My Incarnation in Mary's most pure womb, acquired graces. I want you, transformed into Me, living out of My own life,
not to do from now on anything else.
Offer yourself in my union and offer me at each instant to the
Eternal Father with the so noble goal of saving souls and giving
him glory".
"Listen, you are going to make a Chain.
Each hour of your life will be one of its golden links, offering it
for this intention; I want you to stop only on your death.
(Conchita's Diary,
June 21, 1906).
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