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

VOLUME 25

 December 2, 1928

The Eucharistic tabernacle and the Tabernacle of the Divine Will.

The privations of Jesus become longer, and as I see myself without Him, I do nothing but long for Heaven. Oh! Heaven, when will You open your doors to me?  When will You have pity on me?  When will you retrieve the little exiled one into her Fatherland?  Ah! yes! only there I will no longer miss my Jesus!  Here, if He makes Himself seen, while one thinks one possesses Him, He escapes like lightning, and one has to go a long way without Him; and without Jesus all things convert into sorrow—even the very holy things, the prayers, the Sacraments, are martyrdoms without Him.

So I thought to myself: “What is the use of Jesus’ permitting my coming near His tabernacle of love, for us to remain in mute silence?  Rather, it seems to me that He has hidden more, that He no longer gives me His lessons on the Divine Fiat.  It seemed to me that He had His pulpit in the depth of my interior, and had always something to say.  And now, I hear nothing but a profound silence; only, I hear within me the continuous murmuring of the Sea of light of the Eternal Volition that always murmurs love, adoration, glory, and embraces everything and everyone.”

But while I was thinking of this, my sweet Jesus made Himself seen in my interior for just a little, and told me: “My daughter (Luisa), courage, it is I in the depth of your soul who move the waves of the Sea of light of My Divine Will, and I always—always murmur, to snatch from My Celestial Father the Kingdom of My Will upon earth; and you do nothing other than follow Me; and if you did not follow Me, I would do it on My own.  But you will not do this—leaving Me alone, because My Fiat Itself keeps you sunken within It.

“Ah! don’t you (Luisa) know that you (Luisa) are the Tabernacle of My Divine Will? How many works have I not done in you; how many graces have I not poured into you (Luisa) in order to form this Tabernacle for Myself?  A Tabernacle—I could call it—unique in the world.  In fact, as for Eucharistic tabernacles, I have a good number of them, but in this Tabernacle of My Divine Fiat I do not feel like a prisoner, I possess the endless expanses of My Will, I do not feel alone, I have one who keeps Me perennial company; and now I act as a teacher and I give you My celestial lessons; now I do My outpourings of love and of sorrow; now I celebrate, to the point of amusing Myself with you (Luisa).

“So, if I pray, if I suffer, if I cry and if I celebrate, I am never alone, I have the little daughter of My Divine Will (Luisa) together with Me. And then, I have the great honor and the most beautiful conquest, that I like the most, which is a human will all sacrificed for Me, and as the footstool of My Divine Will.  I could call it My favorite Tabernacle, in which I so much delight, that I would not exchange it for the Eucharistic tabernacles; because in them I am alone, nor does the host give Me a Divine Will as I find It in you (Luisa), such that, as It bilocates Itself, while I have It within Me, I also find It in you (Luisa).

“On the other hand, the host is not capable of possessing It, nor does it accompany Me in My Acts; I am always alone, everything is cold around Me; the tabernacle, the pyx, the host, are without life, and therefore without company. This is why I felt such delight in keeping, near My Eucharistic tabernacle, that of My Divine Will, formed in you (Luisa), that by merely looking at you (Luisa) I feel My loneliness broken, and I experience the pure joys that the creature who lets My Divine Will reign within herself can give Me.

“And so, this is why all My aims, My cares and My interests are in making My Divine Will known, and in making It reign in the midst of creatures; then will each creature be a living Tabernacle of Mine—not mute, but speaking; and I will no longer be alone, but I will have My perennial company. And with My Divine Will bilocated in them, I will have My Divine company in the creature.  So, I will have My Heaven in each one of them, because the Tabernacle of My Divine Will possesses My Heaven on earth.”

VOLUME 2

 April 12, 1899

 Jesus says: “Being in the Sacrament for Me is the same as being in your heart”. Hypocrisy, a profound pain for Jesus.

Today, without having me wait too long, Jesus came quickly and told me: “You (Luisa)  are my tabernacle. Being in the Sacrament for Me is the same as being in your heart; or rather, in you (Luisa) I find something more: I am be able to share my pains with you (Luisa) and to have you (Luisa) with Me, a living victim before divine justice, which I do not find in the Sacrament.” And while saying these words, He enclosed Himself within me.

While within me, Jesus would make me feel, now the pricks of the thorns, now the pains of the cross, the labors and the sufferings of His Heart. Around His Heart I could see a braid of iron spikes, which made Jesus suffer very much. Ah, how much pity I felt in seeing Him suffer so much! I would have wanted to suffer everything myself, rather than let my sweet Jesus suffer, and from the heart I prayed Him to give the pains and the suffering to me.

Jesus told me: “Daughter (Luisa), the offenses which most pierce my Heart are the masses said sacrilegiously, and the hypocrisies.” Who can say what I understood in these two words? It seemed to me that externally one shows that he loves and praises the Lord, but internally he has poison ready to kill Him; externally, one shows that he wants the glory and the honor of God, while internally he seeks his own honor and esteem. All works done with hypocrisy, even the holiest ones, are works completely poisoned, which embitter the Heart of Jesus.

VOLUME 8

 January 27, 1909

‘Luisa of the Passion of the Tabernacle’.

Continuing in my usual state, I said to myself: ‘What a useless life mine is – what good do I do? Everything is over; there is no more sharing in thorns, crosses, nails – it seems that everything is exhausted. I do feel suffering, to the point that I cannot move – it is a general rheumatism of pain; but it is something all natural. I am only left with the continuous thought of the Passion, and the union of my will with that of Jesus, offering what He suffered and all of myself as He wants, for whomever He wants; but apart from this, there is nothing but squalid misery. So, what is the purpose of my life?’

While I was thinking of this, blessed Jesus came, just a flash, and told me: “My daughter (Luisa), do you (Luisa) know who you (Luisa) are? ‘Luisa of the Passion of the Tabernacle’. When I share my pains with you (Luisa), you (Luisa) are still ‘of Calvary’; when I don’t, you (Luisa) are ‘of the Tabernacle’. See how true this is: in the Tabernacle, I show nothing on the outside – neither crosses, nor thorns; yet, my immolation is the same as on Calvary, the prayers are the same, the offering of my life still continues, my Will has not changed in anything, I burn with thirst for the salvation of souls… I can say that the things of my sacramental life, united with those of my mortal life, are always at one point – they have decreased in nothing; however, everything is interior. So, if your will is the same as when I used to share my pains with you (Luisa), if your offerings are similar, if your interior is united with Me, with my Will – am I not right in saying that that you are Luisa of the Passion of the Tabernacle? With this difference alone: that when I share my pains with you (Luisa), you (Luisa) take part in my mortal life, and I spare the world the gravest scourges; when I do not share them with you (Luisa), I scourge the world, and you (Luisa) take part in my sacramental life – but the life is always one.”

 VOLUME 9

 July 8, 1910

For Jesus, the body is like the Tabernacle, the soul is like the pyx.

Being very afflicted because of the privation of my highest Good, and having received Communion, in receiving the holy host, it stopped in my throat, and as I suckled it in order to push it down, I suckled a sweet and delicious humor. Then, after suckling very much, it went down, and I could see the host changed into a baby, who said: “Your body is my Tabernacle, your soul is the pyx that contains Me; the beating of your heart is like the host that serves Me in order to transform Myself into you, as if within a host; with this difference: that in the host, as it is consumed, I am subject to continuous deaths; while the beating of your heart, symbolizing your love, is not subject to be consumed, and so my Life is continuous. Therefore, why so much affliction about my privations? If you don’t see Me, you feel Me; if you don’t feel Me, you touch Me… and now with the fragrance of my perfumes which diffuse around you; now with the light with which you feel invested; now by making a liquor that cannot be found on earth descend into you; now by just touching you; and the many other ways which are invisible to you.”

Now, in order to obey, I will write these things that Jesus says happen to me often, and also while being fully awake. These fragrances – I myself am unable to tell what kind they are – I call ‘the fragrance of love’; and I feel it at Communion, if I pray, if I work, especially if I have not seen Him, and I say to myself: ‘Today He has not come. Don’t You know, O Jesus, that without You I cannot be, nor do I want to be?’ And immediately, and almost suddenly, I feel as though invested by that fragrance. Other times, as I move, or if I move the bed sheets, I feel that fragrance coming out, and in my interior I hear Him say: “I am here”. Other times, while I am all afflicted, as I go about raising my eyes, a ray of light comes before my sight. However, these things I take into no account, nor do they satisfy me. That which, alone, makes me happy is Jesus; all the rest I receive with certain indifference.I wrote this only to obey.

 LUISA’S PRAYERS TO JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE

VOLUME 11

 Good-bye in the Evening to Jesus in the Sacrament:

 “O my Jesus, Celestial Prisoner, the sun is now setting, the darkness invades the earth, and You remain alone in the Tabernacle of Love. I seem to see You with an air of sadness because of the loneliness of the night, not having around You the crown of Your sons and of Your tender spouses, who may at least keep You company in Your voluntary imprisonment.

“O my Divine Prisoner, I too feel my heart catch for having to leave You, and I am forced to say good-bye to You. But, what am I saying? O Jesus – never again good-bye. I don’t have the courage to leave You alone. Good-bye with my lips, but not with my heart; rather, I leave my heart with You in the Tabernacle. I will count Your Heartbeats and I will correspond to them with my heartbeat of love; I will number Your panting Sighs and, to cheer You, I will make You rest in my arms. I will be Your vigilant sentry; I will be attentive to see if anything comes to trouble You or to sadden You, not only so as to never leave You alone, but also to take part in all Your Pains.

“O Heart of my heart! O Love of my love! Leave this air of sadness and be consoled; I don’t have the heart to see You afflicted. While with my lips I say good-bye, I leave with You my breaths, my affections, my thoughts, my desires and all my movements, which, forming a chain of continuous acts of love, united to Yours, will surround You like a crown, and will love You for all. Aren’t You happy, O Jesus? It seems You say Yes, don’t You?

“Good-bye, O Loving Prisoner – but, I have not finished yet. Before I depart, I also want to leave my body before You; I intend to make of my flesh and of my bones many tiny little pieces in order to form as many lamps for as many Tabernacles as exist in the world; and of my blood, many little flames to light those lamps. And in every Tabernacle I intend to put my lamp which, uniting with the lamp of the Tabernacle that gives You light at night, will say to You: ‘I love You, I adore You, I bless You, I repair You and I thank You for me and for all.’

“Good-bye, O Jesus – but, listen to one more word: let us make a pact, and the pact be that we will love each other more. You will give me more Love, will enclose me in Your Love, will make me live of Love, and will bury me in Your Love. Let us tighten our bond of Love more strongly; I will be content only if You give me Your Love to be able to really Love You.

“Good-bye, O Jesus, bless me – bless all. Clasp me to Your Heart, imprison me in Your Love; and I leave You, placing a kiss upon Your Heart. Good-bye, good-bye….”

 HOURS OF THE PASSION

 Fourth Hour

 And I, Heart of my heart, want to be always with You in each Tabernacle, in all the pyxes and in each consecrated Host which will ever be until the end of the world, to emit my acts of reparation, according to the offenses You receive.

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will
Day Twenty-Three 

The Blessed Mother to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

Now, My daughter, another Surprise: a new star shines under the vault of the heavens, and with its light, it goes in search of adorers, to lead them to recognize and adore Baby Jesus. Three individuals, each distant from the other, are struck by it, and invested by Supreme Light, they follow the star, which leads them to the grotto of Bethlehem, to the feet of Baby Jesus. What was not the astonishment of these Magi Kings, in recognizing in that Divine Infant the King of Heaven and earth—He who had come to Love and Save all? In fact, in the act in which the Magi were adoring Him, enraptured by that Celestial Beauty, the Newborn Baby made His Divinity Shine forth from His Little Humanity, and the grotto changed into Paradise; so much so, that they were no longer able to detach themselves from the feet of the Divine Infant—not until He again withdrew the Light of the Divinity within His Humanity. And I, exercising the Office of Mother, spoke at length of the Descent of the Word, and fortified them in Faith, Hope and Charity, symbolized by their gifts offered to Jesus; and, full of Joy, they withdrew into their regions, to be the first propagators.

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will
Meditation Four

The Blessed Mother to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

… Now, My blessed daughter, the Divinity, which can deny nothing to the one who Loves It, makes a New Star, more beautiful and luminous, arise under the azure heavens; and with its light, it goes in search of adorers, to say to the whole world, with its mute twinkling: “He who has come to Save you is Born. Come to adore Him and to know Him as your Savior.”

But—human ingratitude!—among many, only three individuals paid attention, and heedless of the sacrifices, put themselves on the way to follow the Star. And just as a star guided their persons along the journey, so did My Prayers, My Love, My Yearnings, My Graces—for I wanted to make known the Celestial Baby, the Awaited One from all centuries—descend into their hearts like many Stars, illumine their minds, guide their interiors, in such a way that, without yet knowing Him, they felt that they loved Him whom they were looking for, and they hastened their steps in order to reach and see Him whom they so much loved.

My dearest daughter (Luisa), My Heart of Mother (the Blessed Mother) rejoiced at the faithfulness, correspondence and sacrifice of these Magi Kings, to come to know and adore My Son (Jesus). But I cannot hide from you a secret Sorrow of mine: among many, only three. And in the history of the centuries, how many times is this Sorrow of mine and this human ingratitude not repeated! My Son (Jesus) and I (the Blessed Mother) do nothing but make Stars arise, one more Beautiful than the other, to call some to know their Creator, some to sanctity, some to rise again from sin, some to the heroism of a sacrifice. But do you want to know what these Stars are? A sorrowful encounter is a Star; a truth that one comes to know is a Star; a love unrequited by other creatures is a Star; a setback, a pain, a disillusion, an unexpected fortune, are as many Stars that shed light in the minds of creatures. And caressing them, they want to make them find the Celestial Infant, who fidgets with Love, and shivering with cold, wants a refuge in their hearts to make Himself known and loved. But, alas, I who hold Him in My arms, wait in vain for the Stars to bring Me creatures, in order to place Him in their hearts, and My Maternity is constrained, hindered. And while I am the Mother of Jesus, I am prevented from being the Mother of all, because they are not around Me, they do not look for Jesus; the Stars hide, and they remain in the Jerusalems of the world, without Jesus. What Sorrow, my daughter, what Sorrow! It takes correspondence, faithfulness, sacrifice, to follow the Stars; and if the Sun of the Divine Will rises in the soul—how much attention does it not take. Otherwise, one remains in the darkness of the human will.

Now, my daughter (Luisa), as the holy Magi Kings entered Jerusalem, they lost the Star, but in spite of this they did not stop looking for Jesus. However, as they (the Magi Kings) went outside the city, the Star reappeared and led them, festive, into the grotto of Bethlehem. I (the Blessed Mother) received them (the Magi Kings) with Love of Mother, and the Dear Baby looked at them with Great Love and Majesty, letting His Divinity shine forth from His Little Humanity. And so, bowing down, they knelt at His feet, adoring and contemplating that Celestial Beauty; they recognized Him as True God, and remained enraptured, ecstatic, while enjoying Him; so much so, that the Celestial Baby had to withdraw His Divinity into His Humanity, otherwise they would have remained there, without being able to move from His Divine Feet.

Then, as they (the Magi Kings) came round from their rapture, in which they offered the gold of their souls, the incense of their belief and adoration, the myrrh of their whole being and of any sacrifice He might want of them, they added the external offering and gifts, symbol of their interior acts: gold, incense and myrrh. But My Love of Mother was not yet content; I wanted to place the Sweet Baby in their arms, and—O! With how much love they kissed Him and pressed Him to their breasts. They felt Paradise in advance within them. With this, My Son bound all the gentile nations to the knowledge of the True God, and placed the Goods of Redemption, the return to Faith of all peoples, in common for all. He constituted Himself King of the rulers; and with the weapons of His Love, of His Pains and of His Tears, Ruling over everything, He called the Kingdom of His Will upon earth. And I, your Mama, wanted to be the first Apostle. I instructed them, I told them the story of My Son—His Ardent Love; I recommended that they make Him known to all, and taking the first place of Mother and Queen of all the Apostles, I blessed them, I had them Blessed by the dear Baby, and, happy and in tears, they departed again for their regions. I did not leave them; I accompanied them with Maternal Affection, and to repay them, I let them feel Jesus in their hearts. How Happy they were! You must know that only when I see that My Son has the Dominion, the Possession, and forms His Perennial Dwelling in the hearts that search for Him and love Him—then do I feel a True Mother.

Now a little word to you, My daughter: if you want Me to act as your True Mother, let Me place Jesus in your heart. You will make Him Happy with your love; you will nourish Him with the Food of His Will, because He takes no other food; You will clothe Him with the sanctity of your works. And I will come into your heart, I will raise My Dear Son again together with you, and will perform the Office of Mother for you and for Him; in this way I will feel the Pure Joys of My Maternal Fecundity. You must know that anything which does not begin from Jesus, who is inside the heart — be they even the most beautiful external works—can never please Me (the Blessed Mother), because they are empty of the Life of My dear Son.

The soul to her Celestial Mother:

Holy Mama, how I must thank You for wanting to place the Celestial Baby into my heart—how happy I am. O please! I pray You to hide me under Your mantle, that I may see nothing but the Baby who is inside my heart; and forming of all my being one single act of Love of Divine Will, I may make Him grow so much, to the point of filling myself completely with Jesus, and nothing may be left of me but the veil that hides Him.

Little Sacrifice:

Today, to honor Me (the Blessed Mother), you will come three times to kiss the Celestial Little One (Jesus), giving Him the gold of your will, the incense of your adorations, the myrrh of your pains; and you will pray Me (the Blessed Mother) to enclose Him (Jesus) in your heart.

Ejaculatory Prayer:

Celestial Mama, enclose me within the wall of the Divine Will, that I may nourish my dear Jesus.

Saint John Neumann

John Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in Prachatitz, Bohemia. He completed his studies for the priesthood at the University of Prague. At first, his ordination was delayed because of his illness but then put off indefinitely because the diocese had enough priests at that time. Therefore, John, who had always been interested in being a missionary to America, wrote to several bishops in the United States. In 1836, he came to this country uncertain as to where he would go.

Bishop Dubois of New York welcomed him gladly for there were few priests in the area. On June 25, 1836, John was ordained a priest at the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Mott Street, New York City. The following week Father Neumann became pastor of the whole Niagara frontier, some 100 miles of swampy, primeval forest. He would walk or ride miles through dangerous forests in snow, rain or heat to bring the consolations of religion to the sick and dying. He neither ate, rested, nor slept properly. He was small in stature, five foot four inches, but sturdy.

Father John Neumann had a deep respect and love for learning. Whenever he could, he set up little schoolhouses and if teachers were not available he found time to conduct the classes himself. After four years of the frontier, the pressure of the work and complete disregard for his own physical welfare, Father Neumann collapsed from exhaustion. He was unable to work for three months and during this time he made the decision to join the Redemptorists. After a one and a half year novitiate, Father Neumann made his profession of vows in 1842. He was the first Redemptorist to be professed in the United States and his first assignment was to the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore. His ability to speak seven languages, German, Czech, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Gaelic helped him to serve his people. Father Neumann was always there whenever anyone needed him, he never turned anyone away. On February 10, 1848, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States and in January, 1851, Father Neumann was appointed rector of St. Alphonus Church in Baltimore.

It was Pope Pius IX who appointed John Neumann a Bishop and on his forty-first birthday he was consecrated Bishop of Philadelphia by Archbishop Francis Kenrick. His first concern was always the immigrant children. He gave first priority to establishing schools and is credited with setting up the first system of parochial schools in the United States with a unified system under a diocesan board. After increasing the number of parish school children from 500 to 9000 in thirty months, he turned to the task of church building and recruiting priests. During his eight year reign as Bishop, 73 new church and chapels were built.

Bishop Neumann founded the first Italian Catholic parish in the United States. At a time when there was no priest who spoke their language, Bishop Neumann gathered them together in his private chapel and preached to them in their native language. In 1853 he purchased a church building in South Philadelphia and dedicated it to St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi.

Inspired by his love of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, Bishop Neumann established the first diocesan program of Forty Hours Devotion. In this way the people had a special time to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Always wanting to help his people, Bishop Neumann wrote two catechisms, a Bible history and a handbook for the clergy. The catechisms were written in German for the instruction of the German speaking immigrants. He lived the command of the Lord Jesus “Go and teach all nations.” The United States grew in faith and love through his life and teachings.

From his earliest years in the priesthood, John Neumann recognized the contribution of religious women to the Church. He labored with care and concern to foster and encourage various female religious orders. After his visit to Rome in 1854, on the advice of Pope Pius IX, Bishop Neumann founded a religious order for women, the Third Order of St. Francis of Glen Riddle.

On the morning of January 5, 1860, Bishop Neumann was not feeling well. He had not been feeling well for several days. But mindful of his lifelong habit of never wasting a minute, he planned to take a walk and do a few errands. On that day he had lunch with Bishop Wood and after lunch he confided to a Redemptorist conferee, Father Urban, “I have a strange feeling today. I feel as I never felt before. I have to go out on a little business and the fresh air will do me good. A man must always be ready,” Bishop Neumann said, “for death comes when and where God wills it.” As he walked along Vine Street near Thirteenth, his steps became uncertain and he was seen to stagger. A moment later he fell to the ground. Two strangers carried him into a home at 1218 Vine Street and there in a matter of minutes he died of apoplexy in his forty-ninth year.

John Berger, the bishop’s nephew, wrote, “He hated all honor and praise of the world.” At his funeral “The Little Bishop” had no choice. Honor and praise were showered upon him from all sides, from the rich and the poor, from the little children and the aged. In a moving oration at the requiem mass, Archbishop Kendrick told the congregation:
“You will testify to his blameless life and unfeigned piety. The constant visitation to his diocese throughout almost the whole year marked him as the good shepherd anxious to afford his sheep the pastures of eternal life . . . Truly he has been an active and devoted prelate, living only for his flock.”

Bishop Neumann was laid to rest in the Redemptorist Church of St. Peter at Fifth Street and Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. Church officials placed Bishop Neumann’s earthly remains under the main altar clothed in the vestments of his episcopal office and encased in a wax cover.

This (in the usual course of events) would have been the end of Bishop Neumann’s story. But, in his case, the course of events did not follow the usual pattern. Out of their deep love for “The Little Bishop” the people began to make it a habit to pray at his tomb. The thing that made this unusual was that the people prayed not for him, but to him. The people, especially the poor, who had been helped by his charity and kindness began to petition him for favors, for recovery from illness, for help with their many problems. As time went by, stories were heard and repeated of the marvelous things that had come to pass after prayers had been invoked to Bishop Neumann. The Church at this time didn’t sponsor the devotion to Bishop Neumann. In 1885, 25 years after his death, application was made to Rome for the introduction of the cause of his beatification. Ten years later, Pope Leo XIII accorded to Bishop Neumann the title of Venerable and in 1921 Pope Benedict XV declared that Bishop Neumann was “heroic in virtue.” As the long slow process toward Bishop Neumann’s beatification continued, two miracles which resulted from prayer to “The Little Bishop” were approved by the Church.

In May 1923, in the town of Sassuolo, near Milan in northern Italy, an eleven-year-old girl named Eva Benassi was suffering from headaches, abdominal pains and fever. Her doctor diagnosed the case as tubercular peritonitis. Eva’s condition grew steadily worse. One day the doctor told the girl’s family that death was imminent and could be expected that night. A nun at Eva’s school organized prayer to Bishop Neumann for healing and touched her swollen abdomen with a picture of the bishop. That night the disease disappeared.

On July 8, 1949, J. Kent Lenahan Jr. of Villanova, Pa., a music teacher and bandleader was critically injured in an automobile accident. His skull was crushed, one eye was almost torn from its socket, and he was bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth. At the hospital, he lingered for four days between life and death. His condition was regarded as hopeless. He had a 107-degree temperature and his pulse was rapid. His mother obtained a portion of Bishop Neumann’s cassock and laid it on her son. His temperature dropped to 100 degrees and his pulse was almost normal in a matter of hours. Within a few days his injuries were well on the way to complete healing and five weeks later he left the hospital in excellent health.

These two cures played a major part toward Bishop Neumann’s beatification. On October 13, 1963 Pope Paul VI listed Bishop Neumann among the heavenly Blessed. One further healing was needed for sainthood.

In 1963, when he was six, doctors gave Michael P. Flanigan of West Philadelphia, Pa., six months to live. He had an incurable case of Ewing’s sarcoma, a bone cancer of legs, jaw and lungs. Several times his parents carried him to the Neumann Shrine at St. Peter’s. His mother pinned a relic of Bishop Neumann to his pajamas. Six months after the diagnosis was made there were no signs of the disease.

June 19, 1977, John Nepomucene Neumann became America’s third Roman Catholic saint, and the first American male saint.

Each servant of God is created as an individual; each has his own individual type of holiness. His was what we may call the ordinary way of holiness, a way practical for all. He was not, during life, the recipient of extraordinary favors; such as the gift of working miracles, of prophecy, of heavenly visions. He merely did the ordinary tasks of every day life extraordinarily well. If there is one word that describes his type of life, it is the word: ‘unworldliness.’ In the midst of much activity, he was not deceived by the bewitching of vanity, obscuring the better things.

The best way to summarize Bishop Neumann’s devotion to duty would be to say that he exemplified the virtues of humility, simplicity, and zeal.

His feast day is January 5.

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

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

 VOLUME 16 

December 6, 1923

How to go around and fly in the Eternal Volition. The mission of the Most Holy Virgin, the mission of Jesus, and the mission of Luisa for the coming of the Kingdom of the Divine Will upon earth. Difference between the Sanctity of the Divine Will and that of virtues.

 I was praying, and my sweet Jesus made Himself seen in my interior, staring at me. And I, drawn by His gaze, looked at Him, down into His interior, which seemed to be like a crystal in which one could see all that my beloved Jesus was doing; and uniting myself with Him, I tried to do what He was doing.

At other times, it seemed to me that Jesus would take my soul in His hands, and would throw it in flight into the immensity of His Will, telling me: “The Newborn of my Will! You (Luisa) were born in my Will – in It do I want you (Luisa) to live. Fly, fly in the Eternal Volition; fulfill your office. See what needs to be done between the Divinity and the creatures; go around all generations, but always in my Will, otherwise you (Luisa)  will not find them all. And loving, working, repairing, adoring for all, you(Luisa) will go before the Supreme Majesty to give It all the love and the homages of all and of each one, as the First Newborn Daughter of Our Will.”

I would start my flight and Jesus would follow my flight with His gaze. But who can say what I did? In His Will I could find all the love which His Will was to give to the creatures, and because they would not take it, it was suspended, waiting to be taken. And so I would make It my own, and investing all created intelligences, I would form for each thought an act of love, of adoration, and of all that every intelligence was supposed to give God. And embracing everything within me, as though placing everyone on my lap, I would reach the vault of the Heavens to place them on the lap of the Celestial Father, saying to Him: ‘Holy Father, I come to your Throne to bring you on my lap all your children, your dear images, created by You, in order to place them on your divine lap, so that You may bind and re-tie once again that Will which they had broken from You. It is the Little Daughter of your Will to ask this of You. I am little, it is true, but I take on the commitment to satisfy You for all. I will not depart from your Throne, if You do not bind the human will with the Divine, so that, bringing It to the earth, the Kingdom of your Will may come upon earth. Nothing is denied to little ones, because what they ask is nothing other than the echo of your own Will and of what You Yourself want.’

Then I would go to Jesus, who was waiting for me in my little room, and He would receive me in His arms, covering me with kisses and caresses, telling me: “My little one, in order for the Will of Heaven to descend upon earth, it is necessary that all human acts be sealed and glazed with acts of Divine Will, so that, in seeing that all the acts of the creatures are covered with Its Will, drawn by the powerful magnet of Its own Volition, the Supreme Will may descend upon earth and reign in it. You (Luisa), then, have been given this task, as First Newborn of Our Will.

Know that in order to draw the Word and make Him descend from Heaven, my Mama took on this commitment to go around all generations; and making all the acts of human will her own, She placed the Divine Will in them, since She possessed so much of this capital of the Supreme Volition as to surpass all that all creatures together would possess. And for every round She made in It, this capital multiplied. And so, I, Eternal Word, in seeing that one of our most faithful creatures had covered, with so much grace and love, all the human acts with the Divine Will, taking to heart all that was needed in order to do this, and in seeing that Our Will was present in the world – drawn, descended from Heaven.

The second commitment befitted Me in order to form Redemption. How much I had to go around, across all human acts, as though taking them all in my hand and covering them, sealing them, glazing them with my Divine Will, in order to attract my Celestial Father, making Him look at all the human acts covered with that Divine Will which man had rejected into the celestial regions, so that my Divine Father would open the gates of Heaven, which had been closed by the human will. There is no good which does not descend by means of my Will.

The third one is yours (Luisa). It befits you (Luisa), Firstborn Daughter of Our Will, to add the third seal of Our Will upon all human acts to the first and the second, in order to obtain the coming of the Kingdom of the Divine Will upon earth. Therefore, go around, my daughter, over all the human acts of creatures. Penetrate into the hearts; bring to each heartbeat the heartbeat of my Will, to each thought the kiss, the knowledge of my Will. Impress the Omnipotent Fiat in every word; invade everything; overwhelm everyone with It, that my Kingdom may come upon earth. Your Jesus will not leave you (Luisa) alone in these rounds; I will assist you (Luisa) and guide you (Luisa) in everything.”

And while He was saying this, I continued my flight, going around everything and everyone… But who can say what I did? Jesus alone can say it, who made me do it. So I spent a night always with Jesus, and while going around, I would bring Him now all thoughts, now all words, now works, steps, heartbeats, all invested by His Will; and Jesus received everything with love and made feast.

Then He said to me: “Do you (Luisa) see what great difference exists between the Sanctity in my Will and that of other virtues? The first one is to receive in every instant the currents of Grace, of Light, of Love, and in each one of her acts, the creature remains in order with her Creator. Therefore it is the Sanctity which is closest to her Creator. The second, that of the other virtues, exists in time and circumstances, whenever the occasion occurs to exercise now patience, now obedience, now charity and the like. And if occasions do not come about, the virtues remain interrupted and without growth, and cannot receive the good which a virtue in act contains. On the other hand, in the Sanctity of my Will there are no stops or interruptions. My Will is always fixed on darting through the creature; she can receive It in every instant. Whether she breathes, thinks, speaks, palpitates, takes food or sleeps – everything enters my Volition, and in every instant she can be filled with my Will along with all the goods It contains.”

The Epiphany

A New Star, with Its Sweet Glittering, calls the Magi to adore Jesus.

The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will:

Meditation 4

Lesson of the Queen of Heaven:

Dearest child, you are right in saying that you see me as more beautiful. You must know that when I saw my Son being circumcised and His blood pouring from the wound, I loved that blood, that wound, and I became Mother twice:

Mother of my Son, and Mother of His blood – of His cruel pain. Therefore I acquired a double right of maternity – adouble right of graces before the Supreme Majesty, for myself and for all mankind. This is why you see me as more beautiful.

My child, how beautiful it is to do good, to suffer in peace for love of the One who created us. This binds the Divinity to the creature, and gives her so much grace and love – to the extent of drowning her. This love and these graces cannot remain idle, but want to run and give themselves to all, to make known the one who has given so much. This is why I felt the need to make my Son known.

Now, my blessed child, the Divinity, Who can deny nothing to one who loves It, makes a new star, more beautiful and radiant, arise under the blue heavens. And with its light, it goes in search of adorers, to say to the whole world, with its mute glittering: “The One Who has come to save you is born! Come to adore Him and to know Him as your Savior!”

But…human ingratitude! Among many, only three People paid attention, and without considering the sacrifices, put themselves on the path to follow the star. And just as a star guided their persons along the path, so also my prayers, my love, my sighs and my graces, in my desire of making known the Celestial Baby – the Awaited One from all centuries – like many stars descending into their hearts, illuminated their minds and guided their interiors, in such a way that, without yet knowing Him, they felt that they loved the One for whom they were looking, and they hastened their step in order to reach and see the One whom they so much loved.

My dearest child, my heart of a Mother rejoiced for the faithfulness, the correspondence and the sacrifice of these Magi Kings, to come to know and adore my Son. But I cannot hide from you a secret sorrow of mine: among many, only three. In the history of the centuries, how many times is this sorrow of mine and this human ingratitude not repeated! My Son and I do nothing but make stars arise, one more beautiful than the other, to call some to know their Creator, some to sanctity, some to rise again from sin, some to the heroism of a sacrifice… But do you want to know what these stars are?

A painful encounter is a star; a truth that one comes to know is a star; a love unrequited by other creatures is a star; a setback, a suffering, a disillusion, an unexpected fortune, are many stars which shed light in the minds of creatures.

Caressing them, they want to make them find the Celestial Infant, who is fidgeting with love, shivering with cold, and seeking a refuge in their hearts to be known and loved. But, alas, I who hold Him in my arms, wait in vain for the stars to bring me the creatures, in order to place Him in their hearts – and my maternity is restrained, hindered. While I am the Mother of Jesus, I am prevented from being the mother of all, because they are not around me, and do not look for Jesus.

So the stars hide, and they remain in the Jerusalems of the world, without Jesus. What sorrow, my child, what sorrow! It takes correspondence, fidelity and sacrifice to follow the stars; and if the sun of the Divine Will rises within the soul – how much attention does it not take. Otherwise, one remains in the darkness of the human will.

Now, my child, as they entered Jerusalem, the holy Magi Kings lost the star, but, still, they did not stop looking for Jesus. But as they went outside the city, the star reappeared and led them, festive, into the grotto of Bethlehem. I received them with the love of a Mother, and the dear Baby looked at them with great love and majesty, letting His Divinity shine through His little humanity. Bowing down, they knelt at His feet, and adoring and contemplating that celestial Beauty, they recognized Him as true God. They remained enraptured, ecstatic – enjoying Him; so much so, that the Celestial Baby had to withdraw His Divinity into His Humanity, otherwise they would have remained there, unable to move from His divine feet.

Then, as they came round from their rapture, in which they offered the gold of their souls, the incense of their faith and adoration, the myrrh of all of their beings and of any sacrifice He might have wanted, they added the offering of the external gifts, symbol of their interior acts: gold, incense and myrrh. But my love of Mother was not yet content; I wanted to place the sweet Baby in their arms, and – oh, with how much love did they kiss Him and press Him to their chests! They felt paradise, in advance, within them. Through this, my Son bound all the gentile nations to the knowledge of the true God, and placed the goods of Redemption, the return to faith of all peoples, in common for all. He constituted Himself King of the dominators, and ruling over all, with the weapons of His love, of His pains and of His tears, He called the Kingdom of His Will upon earth. And I, your Mama, wanted to be the first apostle. I instructed them; I told them the story of my Son, of His ardent love; I recommended that they make Him known to all, and assuming the first place of Mother and Queen of all Apostles, I blessed them, I had them blessed by the dear Baby, and happy and in tears, they left again for their regions. I did not leave them, I accompanied them with maternal affection, and to repay them, I let them feel Jesus in their hearts. How happy they were! You must know that only when I see that my Son has dominion, possession, and forms His perennial dwelling in the hearts of those who search for Him and love Him – only then do I feel a true Mother.

Now a little word to you, my child: if you want me to act as your true Mother, let me place Jesus in your heart.

You will make Him happy with your love; you will feed Him with the food of His Will, because He takes no other food; You will clothe Him with the sanctity of your works. And I will come into your heart, I will raise my dear child again together with you, and I will perform for you and for Him, the office of Mother. In this way, I will feel the pure joys of my maternal fecundity. You must know that anything which does not begin with Jesus, who is inside the heart – even though they may be the most beautiful works on the outside – cannot please me, because they are empty of the life of my dear Son.

The soul to her Celestial Mother:

Holy Mama, how I must thank you for wanting to place the celestial baby into my heart! How happy I am! I ask you to hide me under your mantle, that I may see no one but the Baby who is in my heart; and that, making of all my being one single act of love of the Divine Will, I may raise Him – to the point of being filled completely with Jesus, and so that all that is left of me may be the veil to hide Him.

Little Sacrifice:

Today, to honor me, you will come three times to kiss the celestial little one, giving Him the gold of your will, the incense of your adorations, and the myrrh of your sufferings; and you will pray me to enclose Him in your heart.

Ejaculatory Prayer:

Celestial Mama, enclose me in the wall of the Divine Will, that I may nourish my dear Jesus.

Blessing of a Home at Epiphany

January 6. A.D. 2016 – The Epiphany of the Lord

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May Christ bless this House…

All who dwell and pray in it…

And All Whom they Welcome in His Name

BLESSING OF A HOME AT EPIPHANY

Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the three kings or wise men to the Christ Child, signifying the extension of salvation to the Gentiles.

Epiphany falls on MonsY, January 6. A.D. 2014

1. On entering the house the Magi found the child Jesus with Mary his mother.
2. They did him homage and presented to Jesus symbolic gifts: gold to the great king, incense to the true God, and myrrh as a foreshadowing of his suffering and death.

Let us pray,

God, our Father, by the guidance of a star, you revealed your only Son as the Savior of all nations.

Grant that we who already know you by faith, may be brought to the contemplation of your glory in our heavenly home. We ask this through Christ your Son Our Lord. Amen.

All may recite the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (The MAGNIFICAT) by which Mary praised God at the time of her Visitation to the house of Elizabeth. St. Luke’s Gospel Chapter 1, verses 46-55.

1. Be enlightened, O Jerusalem, and shine forth for your light has come.
2. And upon you is risen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.
3. All nations shall walk in your light and kings in the splendor of your birth.
4. And upon you is risen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.

Reading of the Gospel for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord.

St. Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 2, verses 1 to 12

1. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, has appeared and been revealed to the nations.
2. The prophets foretold his coming, and the angels and shepherds adored him.
3. The Magi rejoiced to find him and they lay their treasures before him.
4. All you nations and peoples, come and adore him.

All recite the OUR FATHER as the rooms of the house are sprinkled with holy water.

Let us pray.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have received all benefits.

Come, visit and bless + this house so that it may be a shelter of health, chastity, self-conquest, humility,

goodness, mildness, obedience to the Commandments, – and thanksgiving to God, – The Father, The Son,

and The Holy Spirit.

May the love and blessings of God, + The Father, and + The Son, and + The Holy Spirit, descend

upon this house, all those who reside within it, and upon all those whom they welcome in the Name of our

Savior, Jesus Christ. And may God’s grace and peace remain with all of them forever. Amen.

The initials of the names ascribed by tradition to the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), and the numerals of the current year are written with the blessed chalk upon the entry doors of the house in the following manner:

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Some interpret the letters to stand for Christus Mansioni Benedicat!

May Christ bless this house!