10/16 Today is the Feast of the Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Anniversary of the Mystical Marriage (on earth) of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta with Our Lord Jesus Christ
Feast of the Purity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Today is also the Anniversary of the Mystical Marriage (on earth)
of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta with Our Lord Jesus Christ
Short excerpt from Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta from the “Book of Heaven, The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose for which He was Created by God – Volume One”. Longer excerpt follows:
On the morning of the aforementioned day (Feast of the Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 16, 1888), Jesus made Himself seen again all affable, sweet and majestic, together with His Most Holy Mother and Saint Catherine. First, the angels sang a hymn, while Saint Catherine assisted me (Luisa), Mama (the Most Holy Virgin Mary) took my hand, and Jesus put the ring on my (Luisa’s) finger. Then, we embraced and He kissed me, and so did Mama also. Then we (Jesus and Luisa) had a conversation, all of love – Jesus told me of the great love He had for me, and I also told Him of the love I had for Him. The Most Holy Virgin made me (Luisa) comprehend the great grace I had received, and the correspondence with which I was to correspond to the love of Jesus.
*****
Book of Heaven
The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose
for which He was Created by God
Volume One
Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta:
. . . “See, it will not be only for the good of creatures that I (Jesus) want these continuous sufferings, but also for your (Luisa’s) good. In this state of sufferings I (Jesus) will purify your (Luisa’s) soul thoroughly, in such a way as to dispose you (Luisa) to form a mystical marriage with Me (Jesus); and after this, I (Jesus) will make the last transformation, in such a way that both of us (Jesus and Luisa) will become like two candles placed on the fire – one is transformed into the other and they form a single one. In this way I (Jesus) will transform Myself in you (Luisa), and you (Luisa) will remain crucified with Me (Jesus). Ah! would you not be happy if you could say: ‘The Bridegroom is crucified, but the bride also is crucified? Ah! yes, there is nothing that renders me dissimilar from Him.’ . . .
. . . My sweet Jesus would do nothing but dispose me (Luisa) to that mystical marriage which He (Jesus) had promised me (Luisa). When I was in that state (Luisa’s state of victimhood), He (Jesus) would make Himself seen sometimes three times a day, sometimes four, as He pleased; and sometimes it was a continuous coming and going. He seemed to be a sweetheart who cannot be without his spouse. This is how Jesus was with me, and sometimes He reached the point of telling me: “You see, I love you so much that I cannot be without coming. I feel almost restless, thinking that you are there suffering for Me, and you are alone; this is why I have come – to see if you need something.” . . .
. . . Now, while seeing Jesus or the priest celebrating the Divine Sacrifice, Jesus would make me (Luisa) understand that in the Mass there is all the depth of our Sacrosanct Religion. Ah! yes, the Mass tells us everything and speaks to us about everything. The Mass reminds us of our Redemption; It speaks to us, step by step, about the pains that Jesus suffered for us; It also manifests to us His immense love, for He was not content with dying on the Cross, but He wanted to continue His state of victim in the Most Holy Eucharist. The Mass also tells us that our bodies, decayed, reduced to ashes by death, will rise again on the day of the judgment, together with Christ, to immortal and glorious life. Jesus made me comprehend that the most consoling thing for a Christian, and the highest and most sublime mysteries of our holy religion are: Jesus in the Sacrament and the resurrection of our bodies to glory. These are profound mysteries, which we will comprehend only beyond the stars; but Jesus in the Sacrament makes us almost touch them with our own hands, in different ways.
First, His Resurrection; second, His state of annihilation under those species, though it is certain that Jesus is there present, alive and real. Then, once those species are consumed, His real presence no longer exists. And as the species are consecrated again, He comes again to assume His sacramental state. So, Jesus in the Sacrament reminds us of the resurrection of our bodies to glory: just as Jesus, when His sacramental state ceases resides in the womb of God, His Father, the same for us – when our lives cease, our souls go and make their dwelling in Heaven, in the womb of God, while are bodies are consumed. So, one can say that they will no longer exist; but then, with a prodigy of the omnipotence of God, our bodies will acquire new life, and uniting with the soul, will go together to enjoy the eternal beatitude. Can there be anything more consoling for a human heart than the fact that not only the soul, but also the body will be beatified in the eternal contentments? It seems to me that on that day it will happen as when the sky is starry and the sun comes out. What happens? With its immense light, the sun absorbs the stars and makes them disappear; yet the stars exist. The sun is God, and all of the blessed souls are the stars; with His immense light, God will absorb us all within Himself, in such a way that we will exist in God and will swim in the immense sea of God. Oh! how many things Jesus in the Sacrament tells us; but who can tell them all? I would really be too long. If the Lord allows it, I will reserve saying something else on other occasions.
Now, during these exits that the Lord would make me (Luisa) do, sometimes He (Jesus) would renew the promise of the marriage, which I already mentioned. Who can tell the ardent yearnings that the Lord infused in me for this mystical marriage to take place? Many times I would solicit Him, telling Him: “Most sweet Spouse, hurry, no longer delay my intimate union with You. O please! let us bind each other with stronger bonds of love, so that no one may ever again be able to separate us, even for simple instants.”
And Jesus would correct me now about one thing, now about another. I remember that one day He said to me: “Everything that is of the earth, everything – everything you (Luisa) must remove, not only from your heart, but also from your body. You cannot understand how harmful are the slightest earthly shadows, and how much they hinder love.”
Immediately I said to Him: “If I have something else that must be removed, tell me, for I am ready to do it.” But as I was saying this, I myself realized that I had a gold ring at my finger, portraying the image of the Crucifix; and immediately I said to Him:”‘Holy Spouse, do you want me to take it off?”
And He told me: “Since I Myself will give you a more precious, more beautiful ring, which will have my living image impressed on it, and every time you will look at it your heart will receive new arrows of love – this one is not necessary.” And I promptly removed it.
The longed for day finally arrived, after not a little suffering. I (Luisa) remember that it was almost one year that I had been continuously in bed – it was the day of the purity of Mary Most Holy (October 16th). On the night before that day (October 15th), my lover Jesus made Himself seen all festive. He drew near me, took my heart in His hands, and He looked at it over and over again; He dusted it, and then He gave it back to me. Then He took a garment of immense beauty, whose background seemed to be a surface of gold streaked with various colors, and He clothed me with that garment. Then He took two gems, as if they were earrings, and He bejewelled my ears. Then He adorned my neck and my arms, and surrounded my forehead with a crown of immense value, all enriched with precious stones and gems, all refulgent with light; and it seemed to me that those lights were as many voices which resounded among themselves, speaking in clear notes of the beauty, the power, the fortitude, and of all the other virtues of my spouse Jesus. Who can tell what I comprehended, and in what sea of consolation my soul was swimming? It is impossible to say it.
Now, while He (Jesus) was crowning my (Luisa’s) forehead, Jesus told me (Luisa): “Most sweet spouse, I (Jesus) place this crown upon you (Luisa) so that nothing may be missing in order to make you (Luisa) worthy of being My spouse; but then, after our wedding is finished, I (Jesus) will take it with Me to Heaven, to keep it for you (Luisa) at the moment of your death.” Finally, He took a veil and covered me completely with it, from head to foot; and He left me in that way. Ah! it seemed to me that there was a great meaning in that veil, because the demons, in seeing me all covered with that veil, were so frightened and had such fear of me, that they fled, terrified. The very angels were around me with such veneration, that I myself was confused and all full of blushing.
On the morning of the aforementioned day (Feast of the Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 16th), Jesus made Himself seen again all affable, sweet and majestic, together with His Most Holy Mother and Saint Catherine. First, the angels sang a hymn, while Saint Catherine assisted me (Luisa), Mama took my hand, and Jesus put the ring on my (Luisa’s) finger. Then, we embraced and He kissed me, and so did Mama also. Then we (Jesus and Luisa) had a conversation, all of love – Jesus told me of the great love He had for me, and I also told Him of the love I had for Him. The Most Holy Virgin made me (Luisa) comprehend the great grace I had received, and the correspondence with which I was to correspond to the love of Jesus.
10/16 Today is also the Feast Day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Marguerite Marie Alacoque was born in Burgundy, France on July 22, 1647. She was the fifth of seven children. When her father died, the eight-year old Margaret was placed in a convent school where she was immediately attracted to the life of the nuns. The nuns, in turn, were surprised at the little girl’s devotion and spiritual progress and were able to get permission for her to receive her First Communion at the age of nine. During the 17th century, it was extremely rare for a Catholic to receive Communion before he or she was a teenager.
At the age of 11, Margaret became bedridden when she developed paralysis because of polio. Margaret recovered in 1662 after vowing to become a nun. Her last nine years at home were not easy, however. Her mother had turned Margaret and her sisters into little more than servants and she was completely against her daughter’s religious ideas. After her brother kindly supplied her dowry, margaret joined the Order of the Visitation in June of 1671.
Margaret had received visions of Our Lord throughout the majority of her life and consequently had forgotten how rare this gift is. Once in the convent, she renewed her devotion to God after struggling with serval other nuns who doubted her vocation. Also, Margaret was beginning to see terrifying visions of Our Lord undergoing His Passion.
On December 27, 1673, Margaret was in Adoration when she received a vision of Jesus who invited her to take the place of Saint John the Apostle at the Last Supper and to rest her head on His Heart. He told her how much He loves mankind and that He and chosen her to be the disciple of His Sacred Heart.
Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Margaret several more times and asked her to promote frequent Holy Hars and the First Friday devotion. He also asked that the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be designated as the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
Margaret’s superior did not immediately believe what her daughter told her. When Margaret later became ill, Mother de Saumaise said that if God let her die, it was a sign that her visions were false. When the nun miraculously recovered, however, she was forced to present margaret’s case to higher authorities.
At first, Margaret was condemned as a liar. However, her confessor, Saint Claude de la Colombiere, believed her and, which his help, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque died on October 17, 1690. She was, unfortunately, not canonized until May 13, 1920. She is considered the patron saint of devotees to the Sacred Heart and of polio patients.
Although her feast day was originally October 17, it was later moved to October 16 in order to give precedence to Saint Ignatius of Antioch.
20. To Federico Abresch from Bologna from the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
In Voluntate Dei! – Fiat
Most esteemed one in the Lord,
You cannot imagine the contentment I feel when I hear that one wants to live in the Divine Will, because it is a victory of Jesus; and as He conquers our will, we conquer His Own. In the Kingdom of the Divine Will no one loses, we are all winners, both God and the creature.
I am surprised by your doubts. How is it? Don’t you know that Redemption is preparation for the Kingdom of the Divine Will? And the Sacred Heart of Jesus is nothing other than the immense Reign of His Will. It is not the Heart that dominates; it is the Divine Will that dominates His Divine Heart. Poor Heart, if it did not have a Will to dominate it, it would be good at nothing. If the will is good, the heart is good; if the will is holy, the heart is holy. If our will gives place to the Divine, letting It raise Its throne in our will, the heart acquires the divine qualities by grace. Therefore, both in the Divine and in the human order, it is always the will that has the first place, the prime act, its rule. The heart and all the rest are in the secondary order… Therefore, to say that the Heart reigns, if the Divine Will does not reign, is absurd. They can be called devotions, pious practices…; if the Divine Will does not reign, the Kingdom does not exist. It exists in Heaven, but has no place on earth. However, the Holy Church, organ and messenger of the Supreme Fiat, through the Sacred Heart, through the Celestial Mama, beseeches the Kingdom of the Divine Will. She does not say it with words, but says it with facts. The Divine Volition is the King – His Heart, His wounds, His precious Blood, the sweet Queen, form the ministers that surround the King, and through them beseech the Kingdom of the Divine Will in souls.
Now, how can one know It? All the necessary things, the different circumstances in which we may find ourselves, are Will of God for us. If we are really determined to live in It, God is so pleased that, if miracles are needed, He will make them in order not to let us use our will. It is up to us to truly decide, and be willing to give even our life in order to live in It; and dear Jesus and the Sovereign Queen will take on the commitment, will be our sentries, and will surround us with such graces as to not let us be betrayed by our own wills. More so, since our Lord does not teach difficult things, nor does He impose them or want them, but He facilitates all that He wants from us in an admirable way; even more, He puts Himself in our place to make it easy for us, and does together with us all that He wants us to do.
I commend myself to your prayers and also to my good daughter Amelia. Make yourselves saints. May the Divine Volition stretch out Its arms to you, to raise you in Its womb. Look at all things as bearers of It, to give you Its life, Its sanctity… The little one – raise him holy, as a gift of the Fiat; who knows whether your desires to see him religious and holy may not be fulfilled. So I leave you all in the Divine Volition; let me always find you in It. And with a thousand regards to the father, to the mother and to the son, I say,
most affectionately yours,
the little daughter of the Divine Will
***
Extending the Rays of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Book of Heaven – March 25, 1928
After this, my sweet Jesus made Himself seen with His Divine Heart unleashing many rays of light; each knowledge about the Divine Will was impressed at the point from which the rays started, in such a way as to form the most beautiful crown of light around that Divine Heart. And my beloved Jesus added:
“My daughter, look what a beautiful crown of glory and of light my Divine Heart possesses! A more beautiful and refulgent crown It could not possess. These rays are all the knowledges about my Will; however, these rays are hampered – they cannot extend, because their knowledges are not known; this is why they cannot extend and expand so as to fill the whole earth with light. It happens as it would to the Sun if its rays, which start from the center of its sphere, were forced to remain in the air, without being able to extend so as to touch the earth and invest it with light and heat. Unable to extend its rays, the Sun would not be able to give the effects that its light contains, nor could the earth receive them. There would be a certain distance between the earth and the light of the Sun, and this distance would prevent the Sun from doing good to the earth, and the earth would be sterile and infertile. Such are the knowledges about my Fiat:
if they are not made known, their rays cannot extend and take souls as though in their hands to warm them, to remove from them the torpor of the human will, to mold them anew, to transform them again in the life which my Fiat wants to infuse into them; because these knowledges are, and contain, the new creation of transforming the creature as he came out of Our creative hands.”