12/7 Eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: In conceiving, the Virgin conceived the Kingdom of the Fiat; in being born, She gave back to us the rights to possess It.Book of Heaven

Book of Heaven
Volume 24; September 16, 1928

My abandonment in the Fiat is continuous; and while I was following Its acts, my poor mind paused to think about the Conception of the Celestial Queen and Her great fortune of being exempted from original sin.

And my Beloved Jesus, moving in my interior, told me:  “My daughter(Luisa) , the seed with which the Celestial Sovereign was conceived was taken from the human stock, because She too had Her human life as all other creatures, as I too had.  However, there is this great difference, not conceded to any other creature:  before Her beautiful soul was conceived, My Fiat, with Its omnipotence, concentrated Its rays in this seed, and with Its light and heat It annihilated the evil that was in it, and made it die, purifying the seed completely, and rendering it pure and holy, and exempt from original sin; and then, the Immaculate Baby Girl was conceived in this seed.

“So, the whole portent of the Immaculate Conception was operated by My Divine Will.  It did not make another human seed, nor did It destroy it, but It purified it; and with Its heat and light It removed from it all the humors that this seed had contracted from the sin of Adam, and It restored in Her the human seed, just as it had come out of Our creative hands.  Therefore, as the little Virgin Queen was conceived, the Kingdom of My Divine Will was conceived in Her and in the human generations, because in forming and giving surprising graces to one creature, in her We look at the whole humanity of the human family, as if it were one alone.  See, then, as the Virgin was conceived in this seed exempt from every stain—which was all work of the Divine Fiat—Its Divine Kingdom was conceived again within humanity; and as the Immaculate little Virgin was born, the right to be able to possess It was given back. 

“Now, when I came upon earth to take on human flesh, I made use of the seed of the Sovereign of Heaven, and it can be said that We worked together to form again this Kingdom of Ours in the human generations.  So, there is nothing left but to know It in order to possess It, and this is why I am manifesting what belongs to My Kingdom and to My Divine Will, so that the creature may cover Its ways, follow Our steps, and take possession of It.  And My Divine Will, with Its light and heat, will repeat the prodigy of removing the bad humors that the human seed possesses; and in order to be sure, It will place the seed of Its light and heat, and will constitute Itself life of that seed.  And so they will exchange possession:  My Divine Will will take possession of the seed in order to form in it Its life of light, of heat and sanctity; and the creature will return to take new possession of the Kingdom of My Divine Fiat.

“See then, My daughter(Luisa), everything is ready—nothing else is needed but to make It known.  And this is why I so much yearn that what regards My Divine Will become known—to cast into creatures the desire to possess a good so great, so that My Will, drawn by their desires, may concentrate Its luminous rays and, with Its heat, perform the prodigy of giving back the right to possess Its Kingdom of peace, of happiness and of sanctity.” . . .

12/6 Today is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas

Visiting Basilica of St. Nicholas (Bari, Italy)

(by Vera Bourenina)

In July 2001 God gave me the opportunity of a pilgrimage to Italy to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker, to pray for all and, of course, our church community, in front of  the tomb with the holy relics of the saint.

Bari, Italy

Basilica of St. Nicholas, The facade

St. Nicholas Basilica is built in the Roman-Norman style. The entire construction was finished in 12^th century

Basilica of St. Nicholas

A fragment of the main entrance to the Basilica of St. Nicholas

The interiors of the Basilica

The ceilings of the nave were painted by Carlo Rosa in 17^th century in the Baroque style

In the crypt

This icon of the St. Nicholas is located behind the marble tomb

It was a gift from Serbian king Stephan Uroš III to express his thankfullness to St. Nicholas for the miraculous returning of his vision. There is a common belief, the icon was painted at the time when St. Nicholas was alive.

This lampada in a form of a boat with St. Nicholas inside is continuously burning in the Crypt of the Basilica. St. Nicholas is venerated in many countries as the patron of all the sailors. According to some historical sources, St. Nicholas was born in the family of the owner of the fishing fleet and was sailing himself. When his parents passed away he gave the major part of his inheritance to the charity.

Russian Icon of St. Nicholas

There are several Russian icons of St. Nicholas in the Basilica. The oldest one with the rich silver framework was painted in 18^th century

The monument to St. Nicholas the wonder Worker was designed be Zurab Tsereleli, the President of the Russian Academy of Arts and installed outside of the Basilica in 2003

The holy relics of St. Nicholas are lying in the crypt (underground level) of the Basilica of St. Nicholas in the city of Bari located on the shore of the Adriatic Sea.

Although this Basilica belongs to the Roman-Catholic church and is managed by the monks of the Dominican Order, priests of different Christian confessions are allowed to offer services in the crypt.  Multi-denominational services are also common here.

You can experience a very special feeling when you have the opportunity to come into contact with this great spiritual treasure!

Despite the crowds of people speaking different languages, downstairs in the crypt there is reverential silence as Christians of different denominations and countries pray in common spiritual unity.  Indeed, this Basilica can be described as an ecumenical center of Christianity.

History of the transfer of Saint Nicholas’ relics from Myra to Bari

In 1071 the city of Bari, an important trading port and capital of Byzantine Italy, was conquered by the Normans and lost its economical and political role.  The people of Bari decided to go to Myra of Lycia in Asia Minor (presently a territory of the province of Antalya, Turkey) to retrieve the relicts of St. Nicholas. They hoped that the holy relicts of the most venerable saint in Byzantine would help to restore the authority and popularity of the city. In addition, St. Nicholas always was the patron of sailors and merchants.

Many Italian historical sources explain that the main reason for this act was to protect the relics from the Turks who were controlling this part of Asia Minor at that time.  It’s also known that Venice and Bari were competing to be the first to own the relics of St. Nicholas.

In 1087, 62 sailors from Bari headed to Myra.  Disguised as pilgrims, they hid their swords and knifes under their cloths, approached the tomb, opened it, and took out the relics which exuded myrrh.  Despite the resistance of the monks who were guarding the tomb, the sailors were able to transfer the stolen relics to the ship.

In May 1087 the ship reached the shores of the city of Bari which initially planned to place the relics in the city’s cathedral, but later decided to build a special temple. Construction of the new temple started in June 1087.  In 1089 the crypt of the basilica was built and the relics were placed in a new tomb where they lay at the present time.

Myrrh exuding relics of St. Nicholas

From ancient times Christians from Europe made pilgrimage to Bari to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas and obtain the wonderworking myrrh.

The myrrh continuously exudes from the bones of St. Nicholas and is collected once a year on May 9, the Feast Day of the Transfer of the Relics from Myra to Bari.  Myrrh is collected from the tomb with the help of a pump, placed into a special vessel, and diluted with holy water.

Pilgrims from different parts of the globe distribute the myrrh among their relatives and friends to bring comfort and bodily and spiritual healing from St. Nicholas.
The myrrh (Italians call it “manna”) is available for pilgrims in the small church store in the basilica.

Although bottles with myrrh contain just a drop of pure myrrh, it can provide wondrous help. You can drink it or put it on the problem parts of your body – the wonders of the saint’s relics never end.

BOOK OF HEAVEN

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

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

  12/25/21 – Vol. 13

 How the Humanity of Jesus was nourished by His Will. The souls who live in the Divine Will surrounded and consoled Jesus at His birth. One who lives in the Divine Will is the closest to Jesus.

As I was in my usual state, my sweet Jesus made Himself seen as a Little Baby – all numb with cold; and throwing Himself into my arms, He told me: “What cold, what cold! Warm Me, for pity’s sake – do not let Me freeze any more!” I pressed Him to my heart, telling Him: ‘In my heart I possess your Will; so, Its heat is more than sufficient to warm You.’ And Jesus, all content: “My daughter(Luisa) , my Will contains everything, and one who possesses It can give Me everything. My Will was everything for Me: It conceived Me, It formed Me, It made Me grow, and It made Me be born. If my Mama contributed by giving Me the blood, She could do so because She contained my Will, absorbed within Her. Had She not possessed my Will, She could not have contributed to forming my Humanity. Therefore, my direct Will, and my Will which was absorbed within my Mama, gave Me life. That which is human had no power over Me – it could give Me nothing; only the Divine Will nourished Me with Its breath and delivered Me to the light.

But do you think it was the cold of the air that made Me freeze? Ah, no! It was the cold of the hearts that made Me grow numb; and it was ingratitude that made Me cry bitterly at my very first coming out to the light. My beloved Mother soothed my crying, although She too cried. Our tears mixed together; and exchanging the first kisses, We poured Ourselves out in love. But our life was to be sorrow and crying, so I had Her place Me in the manger, to go back to crying, calling my children with my sobs and with my tears. I wanted to move them to pity with my tears and with my moans, so as to be listened to.

But do you know who was the first, after my Mama, whom I called with my tears to be close to Me in my very manger, to pour Myself out in love? It was you – the little Daughter of my Will. You were so little as to surpass my dear Mama in littleness, so much so, that I was able to keep you near Me, in my own manger, and I could pour my tears into your heart. These tears sealed my Will in you, and constituted you legitimate daughter of my Will. My Heart rejoiced in seeing all that my Will had delivered in Creation coming back as whole, in my Will, within you. This was important and indispensable for Me – at my very first coming out to the light of this world, I was to restore the rights of Creation and receive the Glory as if the creature had never departed from my Will. Therefore, the first kiss and the first gifts of my tender age were for you.”

And I: ‘My Love, how could this be, if at that time I did not exist?’ And Jesus: “In my Will everything existed, and all things were one single point for Me. I could see you then, just as I see you now, and all the graces I have given you are nothing other than the confirmation of what you had been given from eternity. And I could see not only you, but in you I saw my little family, which would live in my Will. How happy I felt! These soothed my crying, warmed Me, and surrounding Me like a crown, defended Me from the perfidy of the other creatures.”

I remained concerned and doubtful. And Jesus: “How is it? You doubt? I have told you nothing yet about the relations which exist between Me and the soul who lives in my Will. For now, I will tell you that my Humanity lived from the continuous outpouring of the Divine Will. Had I taken one breath alone which was not animated by the Divine Will, it would have been as though degrading Myself, and decaying from my nobility. Now, the soul who lives in my Will is the closest to Me; and in everything that my Humanity did and suffered, she is the first among all to receive the fruits and the effects that my Humanity contains.”

Feast of Our Lady Aix la Chapelle, Germany (804)