Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

 VOLUME 4

January 10, 1903

The most pleasing words for the sweet Mama.

This morning, after much hardship, the Queen Mother came with the Baby in Her arms, and gave Him to me, telling me to keep Him courted with continuous acts of love. I did that as much as I could, and while I was doing it, Jesus told me:  “My beloved, the most pleasing and consoling words for my Mother are ‘Dominus Tecum’ [‘The Lord is with Thee’].  In fact, as soon as they were pronounced by the Archangel, She felt the whole of the Divine Being being communicated to Her, and therefore She felt invested with divine Power, in such a way that, in the face of the divine Power, Her own power dissolved; and so my Mother remained with the divine Power in Her hands.”

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

Today is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is believed that St. Luke was born a Greek and a gentile. A physician at Antioch, and a painter, St. Luke became a convert of Saint Paul and afterwards his fellow-laborer. Luke was the writer of the Gospel and its “companion volume,” the Acts of the Apostles and has been identified with St. Paul’s “Luke, the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). Saint Luke shared the shipwreck and perils of Saint Paul’s voyage to Rome, and was with him in his last days. He later died a martyr’s death in Achaia. After St. John, St. Luke’s writings (both his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles) are my favorite part of the New Testament. Although Luke was not an eye witness, he was a historian who carefully researched his material and obtained details from eye witnesses. As a physician, Luke emphasizes the miracles and the merciful love of Jesus, which heals his children and welcomes all into his arms — especially the sinner, the outcast, the gentile. Luke shows us the compassion of Jesus, especially toward women and children. He gives prominence not only to the group of women who follow him from the beginning of his ministry, but he also  to Mary, from the Incarnation and the infancy narratives to his mention of her being present with the Apostles at Pentecost. His is the only Gospel to give an account of the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Luke’s gospel is noted for its praise and thanksgiving and is a very poetic book. For example, Mary’s song, 1:46-55. Song of Zacharias, 1:68-79, and The Song of the Angels, 2:8-14. Finally, Luke’s is the gospel of Jesus praying, and his parables concerning prayer.

As a physician, St. Luke is the patron saint of the medical profession. He is also the patron of artists and painters, as tradition holds that he painted an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Luke is symbolized by the ox, The ox, recognized as the animal of sacrifice, was applied to St. Luke because his Gospel emphasizes the atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice of himself on the Cross. (Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary)

PASSAGES ON THE DIVINE WILL AND THE GOSPELS 

FROM THE BOOK OF HEAVEN

Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, The Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

 VOLUME 23

January 18, 1928

How the Virgin is isolated in Her glory, and how She awaits the cortege of the other queens, so as to have Her retinue. How the works of God hold hands among themselves.  How the manifestations on the Divine Will will be the Gospel of His Kingdom.  The issue about the writings.  Necessity of the first Priests of the Kingdom of the Fiat.

 I was continuing the acts in the Divine Will, and I said to myself: “Oh! how I would like to enclose myself in the Prime Act of God, in order to do everything with one single act, so as to be able to give to my Creator all the love, all the glory, His very Beatitudes and infinite Joys, to be able to love Him and glorify Him as He glorifies and loves Himself.  What would I not give Him if I were present in that Prime Act of the Divine Fiat?  I would lack nothing to make my Creator happy with His own Happiness.” 

And seeing myself impotent, I was praying my Sovereign Mama to come to my help and to enclose me with Her maternal hands in that Prime Act in which She had had Her perennial dwelling, because, since She lived in the Divine Will, the Prime Act of God was hers, and therefore She could give Him whatever She wanted. But while I was thinking about this, I said to myself: “How much nonsense I am speaking.” 

But my lovable Jesus, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, the Queen of Heaven, in Her glory and greatness, is as though isolated.  In fact, She alone having lived in the Prime Act of God—that is, in the fullness and totality of the Divine Volition—She is the isolated Queen; She does not have the cortege of other queens who surround Her and match Her in the glory and greatness that She possesses.  She finds Herself in the conditions of a queen who is surrounded by damsels, by pageboys, by faithful friends who give Her honor and keep Her company; however, no other queen, equal to Her, gives Her the great honor of surrounding Her and of keeping Her company. 

“What would be a greater honor for a queen of the earth: to be surrounded by other queens equal to Her, or by people inferior in condition, in glory, in greatness and in beauty?  There is such distance in honor and in glory between one who is surrounded by queens and one who is surrounded only by other people, that no parallel can be compared to it.   

“Now, the Celestial Mama wants, desires—awaits the Kingdom of the Divine Will upon earth, in which there will be the souls who, by living in It, will form their life in the Prime Act of God, and will acquire the royalty and the right of queens. All will see, impressed in them, an indelible character that they are the daughters of the Divine King, and, as daughters, to them is due the title and the right of queens.  These souls will have their dwelling in the Divine Royal Palace, therefore they will acquire nobility of manners, of works, of steps, of words; they will possess such science, that no one will be able to equal them; they will be invested with such light, that the light itself will announce to all that here is a queen who has lived in the Royal Palace of My Will. 

“And so, the Sovereign Queen will no longer be alone on Her royal throne; She will have the other queens who will surround Her; Her beauty will be reflected in them; Her glory and greatness will find the ones in whom it can pour itself. Oh! how honored and glorified She will feel.  Therefore, She desires those who want to live in the Divine Fiat, in order to Herself form the queens in the Prime Act of It, so as to be able to have, in the Celestial Fatherland, the retinue of the other queens who will surround Her and will give Her the honors due to Her.”

After this, I was thinking:  “What will be the utility of these writings on the Divine Will?” 

And my highest and only Good, Jesus, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, all of My works hold hands, and this is the sign that they are My works—that one does not oppose the other; on the contrary, they are so bound among themselves, that they sustain one another.  This is so true that, having to form My chosen people, from which and within which the future Messiah was to be born, from that same people I formed the Priesthood, that instructed the people and prepared them for the great good of Redemption.  I gave them laws, manifestations and inspirations, upon which the Sacred Scriptures were formed, called the Bible; and all were intent on the study of It. 

“Then, with My coming upon earth, I did not destroy Sacred Scriptures; on the contrary, I supported them; and My Gospel, that I announced, opposed them in nothing; on the contrary, they sustained each other in a admirable way. And in forming the new nascent Church, I formed the new Priesthood, that does not detach itself either from Sacred Scriptures or from the Gospel.  All are intent upon them in order to instruct the peoples; and it can be said that anyone who did not want to draw from this salutary fount does not belong to Me, because these are the basis of My Church and the very life with which the peoples are formed.

“Now, what I manifest on My Divine Will, and that you write, can be called ‘The Gospel of the Kingdom of the Divine Will.’ In nothing does It oppose either Sacred Scriptures or the Gospel that I announced while being on earth; on the contrary, It can be called the support of one and of the other.  And this is why I allow and I call Priests to come—to read the Gospel, all of Heaven, of the Kingdom of My Divine Fiat, so as to say, as I said to the Apostles:  ‘Preach It throughout the whole world.’  In fact, in My works I make use of the Priesthood; and just as I had the Priesthood before My coming in order to prepare the people, and the Priesthood of My Church in order to confirm My coming and everything I did and said, so will I have the Priesthood of the Kingdom of My Will. 

“Here is the utility of the many things I have manifested to you, the many surprising truths, the promises of the so many goods that I must give to the children of the Fiat Voluntas Tua:  they will be the Gospel, the basis, the inexhaustible fount from which all will draw the Celestial life, the terrestrial happiness and the restoration of their Creation.  Oh! how happy they will feel—those who, with yearning, will drink in large gulps from these founts of My knowledges; because they contain the virtue of bringing the life of Heaven, and of banishing any unhappiness.”

Then, in hearing this, I was thinking to myself about the big issue concerning the writings on the Divine Will, that are in Messina, brought there by the blessed memory of venerable Father Di Francia: how myself and my other superiors absolutely want them here, while the superiors in Messina, rigorously recommended by the venerable Father before dying, want to keep them over there, for their publication when God pleases.  So, we do nothing but [send] letters of fire, back and forth—them, to keep them, and us, to get them back. 

And I was feeling all worried, bored and tired, and was saying to myself: “How could Good Jesus allow all this?  Who knows whether He too feels disappointed?” 

And He, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, you are worried, but I am not disappointed at all; on the contrary I enjoy in seeing the interest that Priests take in these Writings that will form the Kingdom of My Will.  This means that they appreciate the great good of them, and each one would want to keep such a great treasure with himself, to be the first to communicate it to others.  And while the issue of who is going to win lasts, one approaches the other in order to consult one another on what to do.  And I enjoy that more of My Ministers get to know that there is this treasure so great, of making known the Kingdom of My Divine Will; and I use this to form the first Priests of My coming Kingdom of My Fiat. 

“My daughter, it is a great necessity to form the first Priests; they will serve Me like the Apostles served Me to form My Church; and the ones who will occupy themselves with these Writings in order to publish them, putting them out to print them—to make them known, will be the new evangelists of the Kingdom of My Supreme Will. And just as the ones who are most mentioned in My Gospel are the four Evangelists who wrote It, to their highest honor and My Glory, so it will be for those who will occupy themselves with writing the knowledges on My Will in order to publish them.  Like new evangelists, there will be greater mention of them in the Kingdom of My Will, to their highest honor and My great Glory in seeing the order of the creature, the life of Heaven on earth—the only purpose of Creation—return into My bosom. 

“Therefore, in these circumstances I expand the circle, and, like a fisherman, I catch those who must serve Me for a Kingdom so holy. Therefore, let Me do, and do not be worried.”

PASSAGES ON HOW ALL OF HEAVEN GOES TO MEET THE SOUL WHO FUSES HERSELF IN THE DIVINE WILL FROM THE BOOK OF HEAVEN

Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

   VOLUME 17 

January 4, 1925

How all of Heaven goes to meet the soul who fuses herself in the Divine Will. How all want to place their acts in her, and the noble martyrdom of the soul is formed. 

Having completed my whole day, I was thinking to myself: ‘What else is left for me to do?’ And in my interior, I heard: “You have to do the most important thing – your last act of fusing yourself in the Divine Will.”

So, according to my usual way, I started to fuse all my poor being in the Supreme Will; and as I was doing so, it seemed to me that the Heavens were opening, and I went to meet the whole Celestial Court, and all of Heaven came toward me. And my sweet Jesus told me: “My daughter, fusing yourself in my Will is the most solemn act, the greatest one, the most important of all your life. To fuse yourself in my Will is to enter the sphere of Eternity, embrace It, kiss It, and receive the deposit of the goods which the Eternal Will contains. Even more, as the soul fuses herself in the Supreme Volition, all go to meet her, in order to communicate to her all the goods and the glory they have. The Angels, the Saints, the very Divinity – they all communicate, knowing that they communicate in that same Will in Which everything is safe. Even more, in receiving these goods, the soul multiplies them through her acts in the Divine Will, and gives back double glory and honor to the whole of Heaven. Therefore, by fusing yourself in my Will, you put Heaven and earth in motion. It is a new feast for the whole Heaven.

And since to fuse oneself in my Will is to love and to give, for each one and for all, without excluding anyone – in my Goodness, so as not to be won over in love by the creature, I place in her – in my Will – the goods of all, and all the possible goods I contain within Me. Nor can there be a lack of space in which to place all the goods, because my Will is immense, and is capable of receiving everything. If you knew what you do and what happens when you fuse yourself in my Will, you would eagerly yearn to do it continuously.

Afterwards, I was thinking about whether I had to write what is written above, or not. I didn’t see it as necessary, or as an important thing; more so, since obedience had given me no order to do it. And my sweet Jesus, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, how can it not be important to make it known that fusing oneself in my Will is to live in It? The soul who fuses herself in my Will receives, as though in deposit, all my divine and eternal goods. The very Saints compete with each other in order to deposit their merits in the soul fused in my Will, because they feel in her the Glory, the Power of my Will, and feel glorified in a divine manner by the littleness of the creature.

Listen, my daughter: to live in my Will surpasses even martyrdom in merit. Martyrdom kills the body, but living in my Will implies that the creature kills her own will with a divine hand, and It gives her the nobility of a divine martyrdom. And every time the soul decides to live in my Will, my Volition prepares the blow in order to kill the human will, and forms the noble martyrdom of the soul. But in order to reach this happy state, the human will and the Divine Will must be tied together: one has to give the place to the Other, and the human will must be content with remaining extinguished under the power of the Divine Will. Therefore, every time you dispose yourself to live in my Volition, you dispose yourself to undergo the martyrdom of your will.

Do you see, then, what it means to fuse oneself in my Will? It is to be the continuous martyr of my Supreme Will. And you think it’s trivial, or not important?”
 

Feast of The Purity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast, October 16 (Triduum, October 13-15)

1. Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are the Immaculate Conception. The closer a soul is to God, the farther it is from sin. God is infinite good; sin, horrible evil. No one could have had a closer approach to God than you, for it is impossible for any creature to be closer to God’s Son than His own Mother. From eternity, before anything was, you were united to your Son in the mind of God as His most pure Mother. When God decreed the incarnation of the Word, His very own Son, through you alone, you had a place in the same plan as Jesus. Since the conception of the Son of God is all holy, all pure, infinitely removed from every appearance of sin, it was supremely fitting that your conception should be equally far from sin. For that reason you were conceived by your mother, Saint Anne, without even the shadow of sin. You are the Virgin most pure. Because you were to be the Mother of God, original sin, which like all Eve’s daughters you should have contracted, could not touch you. Such a stain would have reflected upon your Son, who is Holiness itself. Then Satan could boast that he had overcome Jesus in you, His Mother. You are pure and sinless. You expressed this to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes when you said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Mary, My Mother, there is no sin in you; in you there is only God’s grace—His light, His splendor, His love, His unspeakable delight. You are truly His beloved Daughter, the only one in whom there was never a stain. With you all is pure, virginal, immaculate In you there is no inclination to evil—no impure thoughts or desires. You are God’s purest and holiest creature, the one chosen to conceive and bear the Son of God. Who would not love you and endeavor to imitate you, most beautiful and immaculate Mother of God?

2. Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are full of grace. You are the most beautiful of creatures, the one in whom there is no spot, God’s masterpiece. You are full of grace, the Lord’s free gift, and it overflows in you filling your soul with every virtue and perfection. What marvels of grace possessed your soul! Sanctifying grace made you God’s adopted child and the lawful heir to His eternal kingdom, putting you in possession of God’s goods and of God Himself forever. That grace made you holy and most pleasing in God’s eyes, the special object of His love. Sanctifying grace likened you to God as it did no other pure creature. Because you were full of God’s grace and a Virgin most pure, Gabriel could exclaim, “You have found grace with God.” No one has found or received such grace as you. But who can describe the matchless purity and beauty of your soul? Jesus is the most beautiful of men; you were His mould, His mirror, and He, yours. Your soul contained all the marvels of God’s grace, for which reason the Church calls you the Singular Vessel of Devotion. Mary, My Mother, you are all beautiful—beautiful in mind, in body, in soul! In you I behold the charm of the purest of virgins, the majesty of the noblest of mothers. You are beautiful at your presentation in the temple; in prayer before Gabriel as he awaited your answer, in Nazareth’s hidden life and later as you followed Jesus and listened to Wisdom speak. You were beautiful when you stood as the brave Queen of Martyrs beneath the cross of your dying Son; in the supper room beneath the fiery tongues of the Divine Spirit; beautiful, above all, in the glory in which you reign with Jesus. If a single soul in the state of grace by far excels in beauty all other earthly beauty, what beauty must you possess, Virgin most pure, who surpassed in holiness all other souls in the state of grace!

3. Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin most pure because you are the holiest of God’s creatures. You are the holiest of God’s creatures because you are the Mother of God. The Prophet tells us that God is “wonderful in His saints” (Ps. 67, 36). How wonderful, then, He must be in the Mother of the Saint of saints! In you, to an eminent degree, all the privileges of other saints meet. The Church venerates many holy virgins, martyrs and other saints, but no one of them has merited or obtained your title of Holy Virgin, Virgin most pure. Whatever of sanctity, of dignity, of merit, of grace and of glory, that we can imagine, all is in you. Holiness is a complete separation from creatures and perfect union with God through love. No one ever belonged to Jesus as completely as you, for you are His Mother. Jesus belonged entirely to you, the holiest among women. Your womb was so pure, so immaculate that it became the Holy of Holies, in which Jesus Christ our Lord, the Eternal High Priest, alone found entrance. Mary, My Mother, God raised you so high in Himself that He never has created and never will create a holier person more worthy of Himself, of His greatness, of His love, than you, O Virgin most pure. Having carried within you Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you share, as no one else does, in your divine Son’s holiness and purity. You come nearest to the holiness of God. You are the holiest of women, the Virgin-Mother thrice holy, because you are holy of the Father, holy of the Son, holy of the Holy Spirit of Love. Hence with Holy Church I repeat, “You are all fair, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in you. You are the Glory of Jerusalem; you are the Joy of Israel; you are the Honor of our people.”

On October 16,1888 one year after Luisa had remained in bed as perennial victim Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta the Grace of the Mystical Marriage (on earth) 

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 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 (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.

***

10/14 NOVENA OF HOLY CHRISTMAS – THE NINE EXCESSES OF LOVE STARTS TODAY!

Preparation for Holy Christmas during the Season of Advent

 The Nine Excesses of Love in the Incarnation of the Word

 Luisa Piccarreta, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will

Let us prepare ourselves for the Great Feast of Holy Christmas by meditating on the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, attentively and continuously, during the Season of Advent, with the Christmas Novena (the Nine Excesses of Love) which the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will did for the first time at the age of seventeen, and which she never abandoned during the course of her life.

Here below is a suggested schedule of meditation.

First, let us focus on each Excess of Love for one week, during nine consecutive weeks, by reading and meditating on them each day, ever more closely and deeply. This will help us to prepare ourselves for the final nine days before Christmas, in which we will repeat the Novena.

May God grant us abundant graces, light and consuming love, to be reborn with Him in the Life of the Divine Will. Amen.

Meditation                         Theme                                Week
I        Excess of Love          Trinitarian Love                  October 14 – 20
II       Excess of Love          Constrained Love              October 21 – 27
III      Excess of Love          Devouring Love                 October 28 – Nov 3
IV      Excess of Love          Operative Love                 November 4 – 10
V       Excess of Love          Lonely Love                      November 11 – 17
VI      Excess of Love          Imprisoned Love              November 18 – 24
VII     Excess of Love          Unrequited Love              Nov 25 – Dec 1
VIII    Excess of Love          Supplicating Love            December 2 – 8
IX      Excess of Love          Agonizing Love                December 9 – 15

Meditation                          Theme                              Day
I        Excess of Love           Trinitarian Love                December 16
II       Excess of Love           Constrained Love            December 17
III      Excess of Love           Devouring Love               December 18
IV      Excess of Love          Operative Love                December 19
V       Excess of Love          Lonely Love                     December 20
VI      Excess of Love          Imprisoned Love              December 21
VII     Excess of Love          Unrequited Love              December 22
VIII    Excess of Love          Supplicating Love            December 23
IX      Excess of Love          Agonizing Love                December 24

Holy Christmas – The Birth of Jesus                        December 25

The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
The silver star in the Grotto of the Nativity marks the spot of Jesus’ Birth

Christmas Novena

From the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta

Volume 1

Luisa: “With a Novena of Holy Christmas, at the age of about seventeen, I prepared myself for the Feast of Holy Christmas, by practicing various acts of virtue and mortification; and, especially, by honoring the nine months which Jesus spent in the maternal womb with nine hours of meditation each day, always concerning the mystery of the Incarnation.”

 FIRST EXCESS OF LOVE 

As for example, for one hour, with my thought, I brought myself to Paradise, and I imagined the Most Holy Trinity:  the Father, sending the Son upon earth; the Son, promptly obeying the Will of the Father; the Holy Spirit, consenting.

My mind was confused in contemplating a mystery so great, a love so reciprocal, so equal, so strong among Themselves and toward men; and then, the ingratitude of men, and especially my own.  I would have remained there, not for one hour, but for the whole day; but an interior voice told me:  “Enough – come and see other greater excesses of my love.”

 SECOND EXCESS OF LOVE 

Then, my mind brought itself into the maternal womb, and remained stupefied in considering a God so great in Heaven, now so annihilated, restricted, constrained, as to be unable to move, and almost even to breathe.

The interior voice told me: “Do you see how much I have loved you?  O please, make Me a little space in your heart; remove everything which is not Mine, so you will give Me more freedom to move and to breathe.”

My heart was consumed; I asked for His forgiveness, I promised to be completely His own, I poured myself out in crying; but – I say this to my confusion – I would go back to my usual defects. Oh Jesus, how good You are with this miserable creature!

THIRD EXCESS OF LOVE 

As I moved on from the second to the third meditation, an interior voice told me: “My daughter, place your head upon the womb of my Mama, and look deep into it at my little Humanity.  My love devoured Me; the fires, the oceans, the immense seas of love of my Divinity inundated Me, burned Me to ashes, and sent their flames so high as to rise and reach everywhere – all generations, from the first to the last man.  My little Humanity was devoured in the midst of such flames; but do you know what my eternal love wants Me to devour?  Ah!  Souls!  And only then was I content, when I devoured them all, to remain conceived with Me.  I was God, and I was to operate as God – I had to take them all.  My love would have given Me no peace, had I excluded any of them.  Ah!  My daughter, look well into the womb of my Mama; fix well your eyes on my conceived Humanity, and you will find your soul conceived with Me, and the flames of my love that devour you.  Oh!  How much I loved you, and I do love you!”

I felt dissolved in the midst of so much love, nor was I able to go out of it; but a voice called me loudly, saying: “My daughter, this is nothing yet; cling more tightly to Me, and give your hands to my dear Mama, that She may hold you to her maternal womb.  And you, take another look at my little conceived Humanity, and watch the fourth excess of my love.”

 FOURTH EXCESS OF LOVE 

“My daughter, from the devouring love, move on to look at my operative love. Each conceived soul brought Me the burden of her sins, of her weaknesses and passions, and my love commanded Me to take the burden of each one of them.  And it conceived not only the souls, but the pains of each one, as well as the satisfaction which each one of them was to give to my Celestial Father.  So my Passion was conceived together with Me.  Look well at Me in the womb of my Celestial Mama.  Oh!  How tortured was my little Humanity.  Look well at my little head, surrounded by a crown of thorns, which, pressed tightly around my temples, made rivers of tears pour out from my eyes; nor was I able to make a move to dry them.  O Please! Be moved to compassion for Me, dry my eyes from so much crying – you, who have free arms to be able to do it.  These thorns are the crown of the so many evil thoughts which crowd the human minds.  Oh! How they prick Me, more than thorns which sprout from the earth.  But, look again – what a long crucifixion of nine months:  I could not move a finger or a hand or a foot.  I was always immobile; there was no room to be able to move even a tiny bit.  What a long and hard crucifixion, with the addition that all evil works, assuming the form of nails, continuously pierced my hands and feet.”  So He continued to narrate to me pains upon pains – all the martyrdoms of His little Humanity, such that, if I wanted to tell them all, I would be too long.

I abandoned myself to crying, and I heard in my interior: “My daughter, I would like to hug you, but I am unable to do so – there is no room, I am immobile, I cannot do it.  I would like to come to you, but I am unable to walk.  For now, you hug Me and you come to Me; then, when I come out of the maternal womb, I will come to you.”  But as I hugged Him and squeezed Him tightly to my heart with my imagination, an interior voice told me:  “Enough for now, my daughter; move on to consider the fifth excess of my love.”

 FIFTH EXCESS OF LOVE 

And the interior voice continued: “My daughter, do not move away from Me, do not leave Me alone; my love wants your company.  This is another excess of my love, which does not want to be alone.  But do you know whose company it wants?  That of the creature.  See, in the womb of my Mama, all of  the creatures are together with Me – conceived together with Me.  I am with them, all love.  I want to tell them how much I love them; I want to speak with them to tell them of my joys and sorrows – that I have come into their midst to make them happy and to console them; that I will remain in their midst as a little brother, giving my goods, my kingdom, to each one of them at the cost of my life.  I want to give them my kisses and my caresses.  I want to amuse myself with them, but – ah, how many sorrows they give Me!  Some run away from Me, some play deaf and force Me into silence; some despise my goods and do not care about my kingdom, returning my kisses and caresses with indifference and obliviousness of Me, so they convert my amusement into bitter crying.  Oh!  How lonely I am, though in the midst of many.  Oh! How loneliness weighs upon Me.  I have no one to whom to say a word, with whom to pour Myself out, not even in love.  I am always sad and taciturn, because if I speak, I am not listened to.  Ah! My daughter, I beg you, I implore you, do not leave Me alone in so much loneliness; give Me the good of letting Me speak by listening to Me; lend your ear to my teachings.  I am the master of masters.  How many things do I want to teach you!  If you listen to Me, you will stop my crying and I will amuse Myself with you.  Don’t you want to amuse yourself with Me?”

And as I abandoned myself in Him, giving Him my compassion in His loneliness, the interior voice continued: “Enough, enough; move on to consider the sixth excess of my love.”

 SIXTH EXCESS OF LOVE 

“My daughter, come, pray my dear Mama to set aside a little space for you within her maternal womb, that you yourself may see the painful state in which I find Myself.” So, in my thoughts, it seemed that our Queen Mama made me a little room to make Jesus content, and placed me in it.  But the darkness was such that I could not see Him; I could only hear His breathing, while He continued to say in my interior:  “My daughter, look at another excess of my love.  I am the eternal light; the sun is a shadow of my light.  But do you see where my love led Me – in what a dark prison I am?  There is not a glimmer of light; it is always night for Me – but a night without stars, without rest.  I am always awake…what pain!  The narrowness of this prison – without being able to make the slightest movement; the thick darkness…; even my breathing, as I breathe through the breathing of my Mama – oh, how labored it is!  To this, add the darkness of the sins of creatures.  Each sin was a night for Me, and combined together they formed an abyss of darkness, with no boundaries.  What pain!  Oh, excess of my love – making Me pass from an immensity of light and space into an abyss of thick darkness, so narrow as to lose the freedom to breathe; and all this, for love of creatures.”

As He was saying this, He moaned – moans almost suffocated because of the lack of space; and He cried. I was consumed with crying.  I thanked Him, I compassionated Him; I wanted to make Him a little light with my love, as He told me to.  But who can say all?  Then, the same interior voice added:  “Enough for now; move on to the seventh excess of my love.”

 SEVENTH EXCESS OF LOVE

The interior voice continued: “My daughter, do not leave Me alone in so much loneliness and in so much darkness.  Do not leave the womb of my Mama, so you may see the seventh excess of my love.  Listen to Me:  in the womb of my Celestial Father I was fully happy; there was no good which I did not possess; joy, happiness – everything was at my disposal.  The angels adored Me reverently, hanging upon my every wish.  Ah, excess of my love!  I could say that it made Me change my destiny; it restrained Me within this gloomy prison; it stripped Me of all my joys, happinesses and goods, to clothe Me with all the unhappinesses of creatures – and all this in order to make an exchange, to give them my destiny, my joys and my eternal happiness.  But this would have been nothing had I not found in them highest ingratitude and obstinate perfidy.  Oh, how my eternal love was surprised in the face of so much ingratitude, and how it cried over the stubbornness and perfidy of man.  Ingratitude was the sharpest thorn that pierced my heart, from my conception up to the last moment of my life.  Look at my little heart – it is wounded, and pours out blood.  What pain!  What torture I feel!  My daughter, do not be ungrateful to Me.  Ingratitude is the hardest pain for your Jesus – it is to close the door in my face, leaving Me numb with cold.  But my love did not stop at so much ingratitude; it took the attitude of supplicating, imploring, moaning and begging love.  This is the eighth excess of my love.” 

EIGHTH EXCESS OF LOVE

 “My daughter, do not leave Me alone; place your head upon the womb of my dear Mama, and even from the outside you will hear my moans and my supplications. In seeing that neither my moans nor my supplications move the creature to compassion for my love, I assume the attitude of the poorest of beggars; and stretching out my little hand, I ask – for pity’s sake, and at least as alms – for their souls, for their affections and for their hearts.  My love wanted to win over the heart of man at any cost; and in seeing that after seven excesses of my love, he was still reluctant, he played deaf, he did not care about Me and did not want to give himself to Me, my love wanted to push itself further.  It should have stopped; but no, it wanted to overflow even more from within its boundaries; and from the womb of my Mama, it made my voice reach every heart, with the most insinuating manners, with the most fervent prayers, with the most penetrating words.  And do you know what I said to them?  ‘My child, give me your heart; I will give you everything you want, provided that you give Me your heart in exchange.  I have descended from Heaven to make a prey of it.  O please, do not deny it to Me!  Do not delude my hopes!’  And in seeing him reluctant – even more, many turned their backs to Me – I passed on to moaning; I joined my little hands and, crying, with a voice suffocated by sobs, I added:  ‘Ohh! Ohh! I am the little beggar; you don’t want to give Me your heart – not even as alms?  Is this not a greater excess of my love; that the Creator, in order to approach the creature, takes the form of a little baby so as not to strike fear in him; that He asks for the heart of the creature, at least as alms, and in seeing that he does not want to give it, He supplicates, moans and cries?”Then I heard Him say: “And you, don’t you want to give Me your heart?  Or maybe you too want Me to moan, beg and cry in order to give Me your heart?  Do you want to deny Me the alms I ask of you?”  And as He was saying this I heard Him as though sobbing, and I:  ‘My Jesus, do not cry, I give You my heart and all of myself.’  Then, the interior voice continued:  “Move further; pass on to the ninth excess of my love.”

 NINETH EXCESS OF LOVE

 “My daughter, my state is ever more painful. If you love Me, keep your gaze fixed on Me, to see if you can offer some relief to your Jesus; a little word of love, a caress, a kiss, will give respite to my crying and to my afflictions.  Listen my daughter, after I gave eight excesses of my love, and man requited them so badly, my love did not give up and wanted to add the ninth excess to the eighth.  And this was yearnings, sighs of fire, flames of desire, for I wanted to go out of the maternal womb to  embrace man.  This reduced my little Humanity, not yet born, to such an agony as to reach the point of breathing my last.  But as I was about to breathe my last, my Divinity, which was inseparable from Me, gave Me sips of life, and so I regained life to continue my agony, and return again to the point of death.  This was the ninth excess of my love:  to agonize and to die of love continuously for the creature.  Oh! What a long agony of nine months!  Oh! How love suffocated Me and made Me die.  Had I not had the Divinity with Me, which gave Me life again every time I was about to finish, love would have consumed Me before coming out to the light of day.”Then He added: “Look at Me, listen to Me, how I agonize, how my heart beats, pants, burns.  Look at Me – now I die.”  And He remained in deep silence.  I felt like dying.  My blood froze in my veins, and trembling, I said to Him:  ‘My Love, my Life, do not die, do not leave me alone.  You want love, and I will love You; I will not leave You ever again.  Give me your flames to be able to love You more, and be consumed completely for You.’ Fiat!