Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle

• Feast Day: February 22nd

• The chair of St. Peter is a symbol of authority, as Jesus refers to this in Matthew 23: 2, when he commands and warns the crowd and his disciples, “The Scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses”.  The “chair” is metaphorically referring to the teaching and judging office that Moses held in the Name of God.  The name that Jesus gives to Peter is a second metaphor for an office of teaching and judging, and to drive the point home, Jesus uses a third metaphor by speaking of the “Keys of the kingdom of Heaven” Mathew 16:19.  The “power of the keys” is used in many ways; some are specific to the Office of St. Peter the Papacy, others are shared with those ordained to priestly ministry, the Sacrament of Confession.  During this season of Lent, we pray for these human leaders of the Church chosen by God, so they are faithful ministers of God’s grace to us.   

• This feast day is an anniversary and celebration of the “authority” of the Papacy, and the particular mission entrusted to St. Peter by Jesus.  The Roman Missal explains, the symbol of the chair, and emphasizes the mission of teacher and pastor of Christ conferred upon Peter, to whom He formed in His person and in St. Peter’s successors, a visible foundation of unity of the Church.  The chair, literally is a fixed seat of the supreme Pontiff and the Bishops, permanently placed in the Mother Church of the Diocese – Cathedral, and is the symbol of the Bishop and his ordinary magisterium in the local church.  The Chair of St. Peter indicates his position in the Apostolic College, established by the express will of Jesus, who assigned the task of “feeding” the flock, to lead the People of god, the Church.  

• Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the apostle.  The Lord said to Peter, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church” Matthew 16:18, and “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” Matthew 16:19.  St. Peter’s life is so important to the Church that he has more than one feast day during the year.  Today’s feast is another way the Church celebrates this.  

BOOK OF HEAVEN

From the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

  VOLUME 26

 May 28, 1929

Every time Jesus has spoken about His Will the Heavens have lowered themselves. The feast of all Heaven.  The Divine Will, crown of Creation and Redemption.  Sorrow of Jesus because the Divine Fiat is not known.

My little intelligence does nothing but keep crossing the unending Sea of the Divine Fiat; and as It forms Its waves of light, so It murmurs Its celestial and Divine language, and puts out Its secrets; and with arcane words It manifests Itself to my little soul. And many times my sweet Jesus comes out from within those waves of light, He runs, He embraces me, and placing His hand upon His Heart in order to sustain It, so great is the ardor of His Love that He feels, He speaks about His Most Holy Volition.

So, while I was in this state, my beloved Jesus told me: “Daughter of My Will, if you knew what love I feel when I decide to speak to you about My Divine Fiat…. Every time I have spoken to you about It, the Heavens have lowered themselves, so great was the esteem and the veneration they felt; and paying homage to what I would be about to say, and lowering themselves, they would overflow from the Celestial Fatherland and would all come to attention to listen to Me; and while I would speak, they would feel within themselves new creations of Divine Lives, new joys, new beauties.

“In fact, when it comes to speaking to you about more knowledges on My Divine Fiat, the whole of Heaven feels the power of It, and they compete among themselves to listen, and to receive the new effects of those knowledges. So, it has been the feast of all Heaven, every time I have spoken to you about My Most Holy Will, because It has felt Its happiness being doubled, and only Heaven could contain all the admirable effects, the pure joys, of even just one knowledge of My Fiat.  Only in this way could I speak to you about It—with the Heavens lowered, so as to receive their reverent acts and the homages due to My Divine Will.

“The love and the desire I feel to make It known is so great, that if it were necessary I would incarnate Myself again in order to obtain that My Will be known and that It reign upon earth. But this is not necessary because, having incarnated Myself once, My incarnation is always in act, and has the virtue of reproducing the same effects as if I were incarnating Myself again.  And it was only for the decorum of My Fiat that I chose you, I purified you of any seed of corruption, I enclosed Myself in your soul—not only in a spiritual way, but also in the natural—so as to make use of you as a veil to cover Myself, almost as I made use of My Humanity, as a veil to hide My Divinity.  And in order to have you at My disposal, I segregated you from everything, I confined you inside a bed—and for so many years, to give you the sublime lessons about My Eternal Fiat, and to make you drink, sip by sip, Its knowledges and Its life.

“Its long story required time, in order to narrate it to you and make you comprehend it. I can say I have done more than in Creation and Redemption, because My Will encloses both one and the other, It is origin and means of them, and It will be end and crown of Creation and Redemption, in such way that, without My Will, unknown and not reigning and dominating upon earth, Our works would be works without crown and incomplete.  And so, this is the reason for so much interest in making It known.  Our very works, done with so much love and magnificence, are in the nightmare of an unutterable moan, and almost of a profound humiliation, because the life, the essential substance that they hide, is not yet known.  The veils, the exterior of Creation and Redemption are known, but the life that they hide is ignored.  How can they give the life they hide and the goods they possess?  Therefore, Our works long for—demand their just rights:  that My Divine Will be known.  Ah! yes, It alone will be the glory, the everlasting crown and the fulfillment of Our works.

“Now, you must know that I am here hidden within you, with sorrow in My Heart, just as I was in My last years, when My Humanity lived down here on earth, and I, Word of the Father, was hidden within It. After so many sacrifices, after so much speaking of Mine and so many examples given, I looked at the earth, I looked at the peoples, and also those who surrounded Me—without the effects of My coming upon earth.  The fruits, the goods of My coming upon earth were so scarce, that My Heart was tortured in feeling the so many goods that I wanted to give them being rejected from Me; and My sorrow increased in seeing that, having fulfilled within My Humanity what I was to do in order to redeem them, I was about to depart for Heaven.  How painful it is wanting to do good, even at the cost of one’s life, and finding no one to whom to give these goods.

“Now, so I am within you; I look at My sacrifices and yours, I look at the order I have kept, at the many lessons I have given you, enough to make My Divine Will known in order to form Its Kingdom; and if I do not stop speaking, it is because Its story is eternal, and what is eternal has its eternal speaking, that never ends—and the speaking about My Fiat will be eternal in Heaven. I look at those who surround you, and who know what regards My Will—without true interest in making known a good so great.  I look at your humanity itself, that serves Me as cathedra from which I impart My lessons—and you yourself cannot deny that you feel Me within yourself, sensibly, moving, speaking, suffering, and that I am really inside you, to form My Kingdom and make It known.

“And while I look at you, I see that your humanity also will not remain on earth for much longer; and My Heart feels the grips of the sorrow that the great good that My Divine Will wants to do is not even known, Its knowledges are as though buried, and while they want to give life, happiness, light, they remain as though imprisoned between Me and you, and in the Papers that, with so much tenderness of love, I have made you write. Therefore, My daughter, compassionate My sorrow, adore My dispositions in keeping you on earth still.  I know that this is very hard for you, and I compassionate you; and while we compassionate each other, let us do what is up to us in order to make My Divine Will known.”

After this, I was doing my usual acts in the Divine Volition, and my sweet Jesus added: “My daughter, My Fiat has Its Prime Act in Our Divinity, Its Prime Act in the Creation and Redemption and in all things, and therefore It has Its just right to dominate everything and to envelop all, and to be the primary wheel that, in moving, moves everything around itself, and all turn around it.  So, one who takes My Will as life takes everything; and as the primary wheel moves, all things give themselves to the soul; so much so, that she has no need to ask—as they turn around My Will, they all give themselves to her.  Therefore, the most necessary thing is to take My Divine Will; and if she has done this, she has done everything and has taken everything—everything is hers.

“It happens as to an engine: if the primary wheel in the center of it moves, all the secondary wheels rotate as well; but if the primary wheel does not move, all remain motionless, and there is no power nor artisan who would have the virtue of moving the secondary wheels.  But if the first one moves, the others rotate of their own and do their office.  Therefore, the attention and the art must be on the primary wheel—everything else comes of its own.  Such is My Will—one who possesses It has no need of anything.”

VOLUME 26

 July 14, 1929

How the Divine Will wants absolute freedom in order to form Its life. Different ways of acting of Our Lord.

My usual abandonment in the Supreme Fiat continues. I feel that It leaves me not a free minute; It wants everything for Itself, in a way that is ruling, but sweet and strong at the same time.  It is so attractive, that the soul would, herself, let It put Its sweet chains on her, so as not to oppose even slightly what the Divine Volition would want to do over her and within her.

So, while I was thinking about this, my lovable Jesus, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, do not be surprised if My Divine Will does not leave you free in anything—because It does not want to form simple acts and works, but life, and to one who must form a life continuous acts are needed; and if the continuous act ceases, the life cannot grow, nor be formed, nor have its true existence.  And so this is why My Divine Will, wanting to form Its Divine Life in you, wants to be free, It wants absolute freedom, and with Its incessant act that It possesses by nature, It pours Itself over the creature, and extending with Its more than maternal wings of light, It invests each fiber of the heart, each heartbeat, breath, thought, word, work and step; It warms it, and with Its kiss of light It impresses Its life in each act of the creature.  And while destroying the human life, It constitutes Its very self as Divine Life within her.

“And since nothing but tenebrous acts can come out of the human will, My Will does not want to mix with it, and therefore It stands at attention to be able to form Its life, all of light, in one who, freely, has given It freedom to let It reign. Therefore, Its attitude is admirable, It is all eyes so that nothing may escape It; and with unspeakable love, in order to see Its life formed in the creature, It makes Itself heartbeat for each heartbeat, breath for each breath, work for each work, step for each step; even over the little trifles of the creature, It runs, It extends, It places the power of Its Fiat, and creates Its vital act in them.

“Therefore, be attentive in receiving Its continuous act, because this is about life, and life has need of breath, of continuous heartbeat and of daily nourishment. Works are done and are put aside, nor do they need to be kept always in hand in order to be works; but life cannot be put aside—if the continuous act ceases, it dies.  Therefore, the continuous act of My Will is necessary for you—you, in receiving it, and My Will in giving it to you—so that Its life in you may live, be formed and grow with Its Divine Fullness.”

After this, I was feeling oppressed in thinking about my poor existence, especially the state I find myself in. How many changes I had to go through, even on the part of Our Lord.

But while I was thinking of this and other things, that it is not necessary to say on paper, my sweet Jesus, making Himself seen in my interior, told me: “My daughter, My Love for you has been exuberant, and in order to lead you there where My Divine Will wanted you, I had to have different ways of acting in the periods of your life.  In the first period, My Love and My acting toward you were so tender, sweet and gentle, and so jealous, that I wanted to do everything by Myself in your soul, and I wanted no one else, or that anyone might know what I was doing in you and saying to you.

“My jealousy was so great, that I put you in the impotence of opening yourself with anyone, not even with your Confessor. I wanted to be alone, free, in My work, and I wanted no one else to meddle in it or be able to scrutinize what I was doing.  I cared so much about this first period of your life—about My being with you one on one—that I can say that My Love used all the Divine weapons; and waging war on you, I assailed you in every way so that you would not be able to resist.  All this was necessary to My Love, because knowing what It wanted to do with you—no less than restoring the Creation, giving My Divine Will the rights to reign, making the new era arise in the midst of the human family—It used all arts and stratagems in order to obtain the intent.

“Now, after I became sure about you and I secured My work, My acting changed—I made you break the silence; and the ardor of My instructions and of My speaking was such and so great, that I can call you the cathedra of My Divine Will, the secretary of Its most intimate secrets, such that, as you were unable to contain them all within yourself, I commanded you to manifest them to My minister. And this acting of Mine was necessary; otherwise, how would My Divine Will have become known? 

“Now, My daughter, in this last period of your life, you feel another way of acting of Mine. Do not be concerned, let Me do, and I will know how to give My work the last coat.  Courage, then, you have the Divine Will in your power—what do you fear?  Therefore, always forward in My Will.”

VOLUME 30

January 17, 1932

Dominating, Speaking and Delighting Modes of the Divine Will. How Heaven remains behind.  Victory of God and Victory of the creature.  The Divine Will, Gatherer of Its Works.  Example of a mother who cries over her crippled child.

My little soul continues to cross the Interminable Sea of the Divine Fiat, and—O! how I remain surprised, that while I seem to have gone a long way, I go about looking and I find but a few steps compared to those that are left for me to take. The Interminability is so Great, that even if I should walk for centuries, I would always find myself at the beginning; and there is so much to know about the Divine Volition, that finding myself in Its Sea, I always feel like the little ignorant one who has only learned the vowels of the Divine Will, and who maybe will go to learn the consonants in the Celestial Fatherland—that I hope to reach soon.  O! how I would like ways to move all Heaven to pity, so that my long exile may end.  But, after all, Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!

And my always Lovable Jesus, having compassion for me, clasped me in His arms, telling me: “Blessed daughter, Courage, do not afflict yourself too much—for now, I want your Heaven to be My Divine Will.  It will be for you Celestial Fatherland on earth, and will not fail to make you happy and to give you the Pure Joys from up there.  Wherever It Reigns It has many manifold Ways to give always New Surprises of Joys, of Contentments, so that the soul who possesses It may enjoy her Paradise on earth; and therefore, now It takes on the Dominating Mode, and Its Dominion extends in the mind, in the word, in the heart, in the whole being of the creature, even in the littlest motion, and—O! how Sweet is Its Dominion.  It is Dominion and Life, It is Dominion and Strength, It is Dominion and Light that makes Its way, and Its Light dispels the darkness, removes the bars that may prevent Good, and Its Dominion puts the enemies to flight.

“In sum, the creature feels carried by the Dominion of the Divine Will; and while she is dominated, she becomes Dominator of herself, of her acts, and of the very Divine Will, that is such that, while It Dominates and Rules, Its Gentleness, Strength and Sweetness are so great, that It identifies Itself with the creature and wants her to Dominate along, because Its Dominion is Peaceful, and to each of the acts that the creature does It gives Its Kiss of Dominating Peace. This Kiss, Gentleness and Sweetness, enraptures the human will in the Divine, and they extend the Dominion together to form the Divine Kingdom in the depth of the soul.  There is nothing more Beautiful, more Dear, Greater and Holier, than to feel the Dominion of My Will flow in all of one’s acts, and in the whole entirety of the creature.  I could say that Heaven remains behind in the face of the Dominion of My Will in the heart of the pilgrim creature.  In fact, in the Saints It has nothing to add; there is nothing left but to delight them continuously; while in the pilgrim soul there are Works that It can do, New Life It can Infuse, New Conquests It can obtain, to Expand and Extend more Its Dominion.  The Total Dominion of My Divine Will in the creature is Our continued Victory; for each of Its Acts which It does in her with Its Dominion, so many Victories do We obtain, and the creature becomes the Winner of Our Divine Will in her acts.  On the other hand, in Heaven We have nothing to win because everything is Ours, and each Blessed completes his work in the act of breathing his last; therefore, Our Conquering Work is on earth in the pilgrim souls, not in Heaven.  In Heaven We have neither anything to lose, nor anything to acquire.

“Now, once My Divine Will has secured Its Total Dominion in the creature, It takes on Its Speaking Mode. You must know that each of Its Words is a Creation; wherever It Reigns It is unable to remain idle, and since It possesses the Creative Virtue, It is unable to speak if It does not Create.  But what does It Create?  It wants to Create Itself in the creature, It wants to make Display of Its Divine Qualities—and It does so Word by Word, almost as It did in the Creation of the universe, when It spoke, not just one Word, but as many Words for as many different things as It wanted to Create.  The soul costs Us more than the whole universe, and when It is sure of Its Dominion, It does not hold Its Words back—on the contrary, as she receives the Act of Its Creative Word, It Expands her capacity and prepares yet another.  So, It Speaks and creates Light, It Speaks and Creates Sweetness, It Speaks and Creates Divine Strength, It Speaks and Creates in her Its Day of Peace, It Speaks and Creates Its Knowledges.  Each of Its Words is Bearer of Creation of the Good It possesses and reveals.  Its Word makes Itself the Announcer of the Good It wants to Create in the soul.  Who can tell you of the Value that one Word alone of My Divine Will possesses?  And how many Heavens, Seas of Riches, Varieties of Beauty It places in the fortunate creature who possesses Its sweet and happy Dominion?

“Now, after the Work, arises the Joy, the Happiness. My Will, of Its own Nature, is pregnant with Innumerable Joys; It looks at the creature who has offered herself to receive the Creation of Its Words, and—O! how happy It feels, because It sees that each Creation that was received gives Birth to a Joy and Happiness without end.  And It passes from the Speaking Mode to the Delighting Mode; and so that the creature may enjoy more, It does not put Itself aside—no, but delights together with her; and in order to make her rejoice more, It keeps explaining to her the Nature and Diversity of the Joys It has Created in her soul only because It Loves her and wants to see her Happy.  And since the Joys, the Happiness, are not full when they are alone, they seem to die, therefore It leaves Me together with you, to be able to delight you always and prepare the New Joys with the Work of My Creative Word.

“Therefore, Our only Feast and Happiness that We have upon earth is the soul who lets herself be possessed by the Dominion of My Supreme Will. In her, Our Word, Our Life, Our Joys, find a place.  It can be said that the Work of Our Creative Hands is in the Order, there where it was established by Our Infinite Wisdom—that is, in Our Divine Will; she is at her place of honor.  On the other hand, one who lets herself be dominated by the human will, is in the disorder, and is Our continuous shame of Our Creative Work.  Therefore, be attentive, My daughter, and make Happy the One who wants to make you Happy in time and Eternity.”

After this, I continued to swim in the Sea of Light of the Divine Fiat. I felt myself being drowned with Light, and Its Knowledges were so many, that I did not know which of Them to cling to; because of my littleness I did not know where to put Them, therefore They dispersed in the same Light, and I remained stunned, unable to say anything.

And my sweet Teacher, Jesus, added: “My daughter, My Will is the Gatherer of all Its Works; in Its Light It hides everything; with Its Light It defends them and places all Its Works in safety.  How much does this Light not do in order to place the creature in safety—the most Beautiful Work of Our Creative Hands; and to make her return Beautiful, Striking, as We issued her?  It gathers her onto Its Lap of Light, and It casts much Light upon her, to make all evils disappear from her.  If she is blind, by dint of Light It gives her vision; if she is mute, by dint of Light It wants to give her Speech.  The Light takes her from all sides, and gives her Hearing if she is deaf; if crippled, It Straightens her up; if she is ugly, by dint of Light It renders her Beautiful.

“A mother does not do as much as My Divine Will does in order to render Its creature Beautiful and Restored. Its weapons are of Light, because there is no Power that the Light does not hide and no Beauty it does not possess.  What would a mother not do if, after she has given birth to a beautiful child that enraptured her with his beauty, and the mother felt happy in the beauty of the child, a misfortune strikes him and he becomes blind, mute, deaf, crippled.  Poor mother—she looks at her child and no longer recognizes him:  his eye lifeless, no longer looking at her; his silvery voice that would make her start with joy in hearing herself being called ‘mama’—she no longer hears; his little feet that would run to place themselves upon her lap—they hardly drag themselves.  This child is the most piercing sorrow for a poor mother.  And what would she not do if she knew that her child could return again to his original features?  She would go around the whole world if she could obtain this, and it would be sweet for her to lay down her own life as long as she could see her child beautiful as she gave birth to him.  But, poor mother, it is not in her power to give back to her dear child the original beauty, and he will always be her sorrow and the most piercing thorn of her maternal heart.

“Such has the creature rendered herself by doing her will—blind, mute, crippled. Our Will cries over her with Tears of ardent Light of Our Love; but what the mother cannot do for her crippled child My Divine Will does not lack the Power to do.  More than mother, It will place at her disposal Its Capitals of Light, that possess the virtue of Restoring all the Goods and the Beauty of the creature.  As tender Mother, Loving and Vigilant of the Work of Her Hands, that, more than dearest child, She issued to the Light, She will go around, not the whole world, but all centuries, in order to prepare and give the Powerful Remedies of Light that Vivifies, Transforms, Straightens and Embellishes; and only then will She stop, when She sees on Her Maternal lap, Beautiful as She issued it, the Work of Her Creative Hands, to make up for the many sorrows and enjoy it forever.

“Are the many Knowledges on My Will perhaps not Remedies? Each Manifestation and Word that I speak is a Fortress that I place around the weakness of the human will; it is a Food that I prepare; it is a Bait, a Taste, a Light, to make them Reacquire the lost Sight.  Therefore, be attentive and do not lose anything of what My Will manifests to you, because in due time everything will be needed—nothing will go lost.  Do you think It does not take into account even just one Word of what It says?  It counts everything and loses nothing; and if in your soul It has formed Its Cathedra in order to deposit Its Truths, however, the Primary Cathedra It keeps reserved within Itself as the Greatest Treasure that belongs to It, in such a way that if you lose any Word or Manifestation that belongs to It, It already keeps the Original within Itself, because what regards My Divine Will is of Infinite Value, and the Infinite cannot disperse, nor is it subject to dispersing; on the contrary, jealous, It preserves Its Truths in the Divine Archives. Therefore, you too, learn to be jealous and vigilant, and to appreciate Its Holy Lessons.”

Fiat!!!