Regarding Victim souls

by Gaby
(Canada)

QUESTION: I REALLY need answers… PLEASE!

My husband and I had read the little book on Akita, and I wrote to them saying we wanted to belong to the association.

We signed the form as requested, and we promised to say our daily rosary, wear the scapular, and daily say the little prayer they sent us.

I wrote them a letter asking if that prayer meant that we were agreeing to offer ourselves as victim souls, but they did not answer. I suspected that it was what it meant, and we agreed to whatever it entailed. So, we offered ourselves as victim souls because Our Lady of Akita was asking for this.

HOWEVER…. I just attended a one full week retreat, and the priest said we cannot offer ourselves as victim souls if we do not have a director of conscience.

I cannot find, anywhere around here, a good authentic priest, who is attached to the magisterium. There is not one I could trust enough to possibly ask to be my director of conscience.

The problem is that one cannot offer oneself as a victim soul without a director of conscience, according to this priest I just met, and until then, I did not know this.

a) This good priest, whom I just saw during my retreat, this July, (in another province) removed me from my offering as a victim soul. He claims it is very serious to make such an offering without a director of conscience. If a person becomes a victim soul without a director of conscience, the devil can take hold and cause a lot of problems. Therefore, he prayed on me, and as a priest, he has the power to remove this commitment, which he did.

b) I then asked about my husband, and he said he cannot do this at distance. But he told me what a person should do… The person must not say the prayer anymore. With holy water, bless himself while asking our Lord to remove him from this commitment. He must say the sign of the cross with holy water, while asking to be removed from being a victim soul.

I now realize that I should not have given that little prayer to others… I was doing it to recruit victim souls to console Our Lady.

I wish to know if the information I got is all correct. I would greatly appreciate your comments PLEASE!

Thanking you sincerely, for any possible information.

Gaby

ANSWER: Dear Gaby. Offering oneself as a "victim soul" is indeed a very noble - yet very difficult - offering. To be a victim soul is to offer oneself to the Lord - to agree to accept all sufferings and offer these for the sake of sinners. It is to have that inner spirit of acceptance of all difficulties - and offering these, without complaining, to the Lord.

What you have done - that is, committing yourselves as victim souls - is again a very noble act. It is a personal gift, a personal commitment you make to the Lord, and to Him alone. As such, the decision to offer yourself as victim souls is entirely yours. No matter what priests or other spiritual directors say, if you want to offer yourself to the Lord in this manner, then you have a free choice to do so.

The Lord, in His goodness, will help you and guide you and will tell you how He would like you to serve Him best. If this path - of becoming "victim souls" - is not what He wants for you, He will tell you, deep in your heart. Resort to much prayer and discernment - it is through prayer that you will be able to know God's will for your life.

Again, do not be afraid of the "consequences" of the commitment you have made. Do not seek to undo the "commitment" you have made, as if it is a "curse" that needs to be undone. If from the bottom of your hearts this is the offering you would like to give to the Lord, then this offering is for you - and you alone- to make.

To be a "victim soul" is to live a life of complete offering and suffering for the Lord. If this is a life that you will completely accept and you will embrace, then by all means proceed with your commitment. The Lord sees your heart, and accepts your offering - big or small. What is most important is your heart - your willingness to serve Him and to suffer for Him.

Pray much, especially to Our Lady, for guidance and discernment.