Saint Mary the Greek Protector of Corato

Historical Information in the 3rd Centenary of Her Apparition (1656-1956) Gathered, Edited and Published by Fr. Benedetto Calvi Parish Priest of the Church with same Name, and last Confessor of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta

Nihil obstat quominus imprimatur Revisor Eccl. Can. Theol. Ciraselli Petrus Trani, February 10, 1956 

So that Our GREEK MADONNA may be more known, loved and invoked. So that Our GREEK MADONNA with Her maternal graces and blessings may give us peace and salvation.

THE APPARITION

It was April of the year 1656 when a tremendous pestilence infested the city of Naples, with so much force that in the following May the city remained almost completely uninhabited, to the extent that grass began to grow on some of the streets. This mortal infection spread from the city of Naples to all the kingdom with equal fury and force, and with equal slaughter. Even the region of Puglie remained desolated, and great was the terror which dominated the souls of the populations.

Between the end of June and the beginning of July of the same year, the devastating epidemic came to strike also our city of Corato, infesting it in such a way that in a few days several hundreds of victims were counted. As soon as a blackish area, called bubbone, appeared on any part of the body, a fever immediately came, so burning that in a few hours the poor patient was reduced to a horrid cadaver. In vain the science of medicine tried to prescribe cures; in fact, doctors themselves were among the first victims. So, since there was no possibility of any human aid in such sorrowful anguish, the people, terrified, recurred to the intercession of their Protector Saints, and mainly to that of Most Holy Mary. In the meantime many people, and most especially the elderly, knew that according to tradition there was a prodigious image of the Most Holy Virgin in the vault of one of the twenty-five towers which crowned the walls of Corato, and, specifically, the tower which looked to South-west.

Many thought that if that image were exposed to public veneration and homage of the faithful during such great calamity, the town would have been freed from the terrible chastisement.

As the news spread out, a crowd of people thronged around the mentioned tower. An opening was made. The humid and dark vault or cave could hardly be seen, which was not connected with either the ground level or the near street.

The anxiety to see and venerate the sacred liberating Image, and the fear, among few, to precipitate into the vault, held some people back, attracted others, or pushed others away, according to their different feelings. But all were debating on what to do in order to find the Image, so greatly longed for, and therefore expose it to the veneration of the community.

At that moment the pious and erudite Priest, Don Francesco Lojodice, called Saccone, passed by. He was one of the people who had been elected to provide for the needs of the town during the period of the deadly scourge. In seeing so much people being gathered, he exhorted them to leave, both because the crowding of people in those calamities is always a new and greater reason for contagion, and because he feared the arising of superstition and error, which usually spread among common people in these painful circumstances, finally, because he feared that some accidents might occur. Therefore, he tried to lead the great number of people away from the entrance of the cave.

However, he spoke and explained his reasons in vain, because nobody moved from there. On the contrary, holding lamps at the entrance of the cave, all pleaded the Virgin for pity and mercy with loud cries.

In order to eliminate the danger of falling into the cave, Don Francesco had the entrance widened. Then, he himself went down on a ladder and with a torch. However, as much as he tried to be diligently attentive, he could see no Image, but only a little window with some traces of an ancient painting, from which no figure appeared. The little window is clearly the one that can be seen still now on the original altar.

But who can ever penetrate into the admirable and inscrutable ways which the Divine Goodness uses when It wants to manifest Itself to the creatures, either by offering Its gifts, or by relieving the afflicted and troubled mankind?

So, prey to many thoughts and different feelings, the pious Priest Lojodice came out of the vault feeling a change and a restlessness within himself which he did not know how to explain. In order to be freed from so much uncertainty and perplexity, through prayer he recurred to God, the Provider of holy advice.

At the dawn of July 17, 1656, while Don Francesco was humbly recollected in prayer, he had a special vision. The Most Holy Virgin appeared to him shining with light, and with the same features which can be seen today in the Picture representing the Greek Madonna. With majesty and love, She said to him: “Courage, my beloved one, console these afflicted people. They will be soon freed from the tremendous chastisement of the anger of God, if the cave which you know will be dedicated to my honor and to my veneration.” Immediately after, the vision disappeared, leaving the good Priest in great peace and consolation. Don Francesco, the fortunate one chosen by Mary, hurriedly went to Trani in order to relate the event to his Archbishop, Monsignor Tommaso Sarria, a Spanish Dominican.

He did this in order to be more reassured on the truthfulness of the apparition, submitting it to the judgment of his legitimate Superior, since it is possible that, in these extraordinary things, there might be diabolical deceit and suggestion; and also to obtain permission to transform that cave into a public Oratory, and open it for public veneration.

Having been completely reassured by the illustrious Prelate on the fact that everything was a work of God, and having received wide authority to implement what he had asked, Don Francesco could think about nothing but to fulfill the desire and command of the Most Holy Virgin.

On the following day, July 18, the third Saturday of the month, early in the morning, Father Lojodoce was already in the vault together with several workers. Some were intent in widening and securing the entrance of the vault, some in cleaning it from rubble and soil; some were carefully leveling the ground; some were painting the walls; some began to raise an altar. In very little time, all contributed to transform that dark and gloomy cave into a decent Oratory.

In the meantime, having given the necessary dispositions to everyone, Don Francesco intended to implement his dominant thought: to have the Image of the Madonna painted on a walnut board. He called a painter and orderd the painting to him, explaining the him the details of the figure which had to be reproduced, just as the one which had appeared to himself. But for as many different drawings and sketches as the artist presented to him, not even one corresponded to the one which he had requested, or better, to the one which he had seen in the vision.

At about midday, various people, among them the painter, returned to their homes, while Don Francesco and many other people, animated by unlimited confidence that the Great Virgin would have accomplished the work, had recourse to Her with vivid faith, begging Her in fervent and unanimous prayer.

As the fervent prayer was rising up to Heaven, the abundance of the divine mercy descended from the Throne of God.

Oh, prodigy! Oh, astonishment! Oh, truly maternal mercy of Mary! A harmonious sound of a little bell was heard, not only in the vault, but also outside, in the whole neighborhood. It was so sweet as to astonish all those who heard it.

In the midst of so much surprise, a new surprise was added: a cry of joy, which strongly shook all those who were present, was emitted by a devoted woman, Beatrice dell’Oglio, who, pointing out at the board, exclaimed: “Here is Mary, here is Mary!”

This lady used to be blind, and all knew her as such; but as soon as the Image of Mary, which we venerate under the title of Saint Mary the Greek, miraculously appeared, painted on the walnut board which had been prepared by the painter, she gained back her sight, being the first to point out at the prodigious Image.

As the pious Priest was shaken from his recollection by that cry, he saw the Image, miraculously painted, and he recognized it as perfectly identical to the one which he had admired in the vision. Moved and exultant with joy, he too cried out: “She is the One, She is the One! The Image that appeared to me in the vision.” And with tears in his eyes, he kept repeating more and more loudly: “She is the One, She is the One!”

A great crowd immediately rushed up, and all fell on their knees before the Sacred Image, with tears in their eyes. Trembling with emotion, they began to joyously praise and thank the Virgin. Some of them, with irrepressible affection, began to place loving and respectful kisses on that venerable board; others, considering themselves unworthy, humbly and respectfully kissed the ground. Some said, like the old Saint Simeon, that they were content to die after having seen such great prodigy with their eyes. Some others recognized the mercy of the Lord which had spared them from the slaughter of the plague, giving them the chance to admire such a marvelous prodigy. Moved as they were, all promised persevering veneration and filial devotion to this tender and loving Mother and Queen.

And She really proved Herself to be a Mother of our fathers, because, from that day on, not only did the terrible infection cease completely, which had claimed many victims, but many patients who had been attacked by the disease, soon improved and were healed. The deaths ceased to the extent that (according to the tradition of our fathers) in the following August our city was completely freed, thanks to the special favor of our Mother Mary, while other neighboring towns were still frighteningly terrified and desolated. In fact, among them, Andria, which is seven miles away from Corato, was reduced to a third of its population, since about fourteen thousand people died. It was freed only in January of the following year, 1657, after making a vow to Saint Sebastian, the martyr.

THE IMAGE

The Image of the Greek Madonna is portrayed on a walnut board, 106 cm high (41.7 inches), 74.5 cm wide (29.3 inches).

The observer can see a great August Lady, majestically seated on clouds, Who seems to demand respect and reverence with Her posture, inspiring devotion and love at the same time.

She is the Queen of Heaven, and also a Mother for us, miserable children of Adam. In Her right hand, She holds a long Pastoral cross of Greek style, while She hugs with Her left arm Little Baby Jesus, sustaining Him on Her left knee. Eight Angels reverently crown Her and court Her. A royal crown in the oriental style surrounds Her head. With Her eyes directed toward the observer, and with an air of majesty and love, She seems to say: “Have recourse to Me with confidence. Do not doubt. I am the Queen, but I am also your Mother.”

Her garment, cherry red in color, and with wide folds, is tightened on Her waist with a belt, dropping down to Her feet, which wear sandals. The blue mantle, gathered on Her breast, is tied on Her right shoulder and descends like a Royal Mantle.

Baby Jesus, seated on Her left maternal knee, is in the act of blessing with His right hand, while His left hand holds the world with a Cross. He wears a white little tunic and a blue mantle, with the same fashion as the one of the Virgin Mother, similar to Greek costumes.

On the right side, upon the clouds, at the feet of the Madonna, there is a little bell, while on the left side a vertical large crack is on the board.

In the antique memories, two opinions explain why this Image received the name of Greek Madonna.

The first one says that the name of the tower in whose vault the apparition occurred was called Greek Tower, since it had been built by the Greeks during the time in which they dominated Puglie. The second one says that the name comes from the Greek style of the garment of the Madonna.

Father Cosma Lojodice added a third explanation to the others: that the name derives from the Greek Pastoral Cross which the Virgin holds with Her right hand.

In any case, we can affirm with certainty that the Most Blessed Virgin likes this title, because not only in Corato, but also in other cities of the kingdom She let Herself be called by this title. In fact, in Putignano, a city of this Province of Bari, there is a great Church dedicated to Saint Mary the Greek, because of an ancient Byzantine image portrayed on canvas, which is placed on the major altar. This ancient image of the Madonna was brought to Putignano by the Knights of Malta in 1395, together with the relic of Saint Stephen. Moreover, in the city of Ravenna, Lombardia, a miraculous Image of Saint Mary the Greek has been venerated since the year 1100 in the Church of Canonici Portoghesi; and from that veneration the Congregation of Canonici Portuensi started.

Speaking about the image, I believe it is necessary to draw the attention of the reader to the fact that that wood board on which it is portrayed, except for some particular circumstances, has never been removed from that vault, which drips with thick and constant humidity, still noticeable nowadays, which consumes and destroys everything. However, although more than three centuries have passed since the Madonna was pleased to appear, the board has received no damage, from woodworms or humidity, as if it had been placed there only recently, while the works of golden wood with which Rev. Don Francesco La Monica had decorated the chapel, including the new altar with which he had substituted the previous one, had to be removed in 1764, because of woodworms and humidity, and substituted with more recent works in stucco and travertine.

Since the year of the Apparition, it was established to solemnly celebrate in the Church the feast of the Virgin, the Sunday which follows July 18.

A few years later, Rev. Capitolo, in order to publicly testify his love and devotion to such a great Protector, established that every year, on the Feast day of the Madonna, the faithful should make a procession toward to vault, and sing a solemn Mass in it. This praiseworthy tradition, so much appreciated by all the people of Corato, lasted for a few more years.

SOME OF THE MIRACLES

I have already spoken about the Miraculous Apparition of the Image of the Madonna; the sound of the little bell which was heard for the first time in the vault of the tower; the blind lady, Beatrice Dell’Oglio, who regained her sight; the recovery of the city from the pestilence; the present conditions of the Picture, preserved as intact in the very humid vault. These can be justly called miracles.

– Can. Don Domenico La Monica and Dr. Don Vito Giacomo D’Ambrosio testified that in the year 1663, when they were just twelve years old, they were in the vault of the Blessed Virgin, while the chosen one of Mary, Father D. Francesco Lojodice was exorcising a possessed person, called Dionisio, who had been brought from Barletta in order to plead the Greek Madonna for the liberation from the evil spirit. As sign of respect and great subjection to the prodigious Image, while doing the exorcism, Don Francesco commanded the demon to set that unhappy person free, and to light in one instant all the candles that were placed before the Madonna, which Father had carefully extinguished before.

As soon as they started to recite the Laurentane Litanies, at the invocation “Sancta Maria, ora pro eo” [Saint Mary, pray for him], the poor possessed one fell to the ground like a dead body, and at that very moment all the candles were lit – and they were not few. Dionisio was raised up from the ground, safe and sound, and was given back to his parents, who happily and joyously manifested and praised the wonders performed by the Greek Madonna.

– Don Sebastiano Merra also passed on to posterity that, in the year 1670, a certain Giovanni from Altamura was brought by his parents to visit our Healing Image. He too had been possessed by an evil spirit for many years, with great torments, contortions and sufferings. As Don Francesco Antonio Mosca was exorcising the unhappy young man from Altamura, the demon promised to come out; but then, with vain and futile pretexts and excuses, and with inconceivable pretenses, he deluded the promise. Among the rest, he threatened to ruin the bell tower of the Matrice Church, as soon as he had left. This was prohibited to him by Rev. Mosca, who also imposed him, in the Most Holy names of Jesus and Mary, to cause no harm of any kind to human beings, animals or buildings. The demon said that, because he was forced by his implacable enemy (the Most Holy Virgin) to abandon that residence, which he had freely possessed for so many years, he wanted to give a sign, which had not to be opposed. Questioned on what the sign would be, he said: ‘I want straw to rain upon all Corato.’ Perhaps he was forced by the Madonna to give that sign, to show how the souls of impenitent sinners fall into hell. The permission was granted. In the meantime they started the Litanies to the Virgin; and as the prodigious Image was uncovered, the possessed Giovanni collapsed to the floor, while tiny and thick straw began to rain upon Corato like snow, causing amazement and great surprise in those who ignored what was happening before the portentous Image. As the Litanies were completed, free from the demon and with no harm, Giovanni was raised up from the floor, and recovering immediately from the diabolical trouble, he gave thanks to the Madonna, and went back home, safe and sound.

– On July 15, 1710, Fr. Domenico Candido was caught by a deadly fever. The Saturday before the Feast of the Apparition of the Greek Madonna, he offered his life to God, since the doctors despaired of his recovery, among the crying of his family and of all the good people who had admired him as an exemplary Priest. They were already preparing the funerals, when the mother of the dying implored Heaven to grant what men could neither promise nor concede. Making an heroic resolution, which only her maternal and Christian love could inspire in her, went crying to the feet of the Image of the Greek Madonna together with her other three children. How much faith and trust does a Christian mother not have in these similar circumstances?

After singing the Litanies, she also offered a Mass at the Altar of the Madonna. Maria, Who is Mother, and Mother of sorrows, and Who had given Herself to our fathers in a similar circumstance of mourning and sorrow, could not remain indifferent in front of such mourning and pain of a mother, who had left her son dying in his bed to have recourse to Her.

At the moment of the elevation of the Most Holy Host, the illness immediately lost its vehemence, and stopped. The agonizing Fr. Domenico felt much better, and recovering completely in a few days, went to thank his great Benefactor for having saved his life. He celebrated Mass at Her Altar and offered precious sacramentals as sign of gratitude. Fr. Domenico celebrated with great magnificence the Festivity of the Virgin for many years; and as long as he lived, he greatly promoted devotion and veneration to Her. He also left in his testament the order to his heirs to light a candle before the Altar of the Madonna every Saturday.

Before closing this chapter, for greater honor and glory to our Greek Madonna, and as a confirmation of all that is written above, I feel the duty to publish what follows.

– Only one year after my nomination as Parish Priest of Santa Maria Greca, on February 11, 1938, I was suddenly caught by an intense fit of angina pectoris, which reduced me to extreme conditions; so I asked for the administration of the last Sacraments.

Moved by great confidence in the mercy and power of our Holy Virgin, some souls immediately went to the feet of the miraculous Image. With prayers, tears and sighs, they asked Her to preserve me for the care of the new flock which the Lord had entrusted to me. Around midnight, the people around me started to notice a slight improvement; and at about four in the morning, all of a sudden, I felt completely recovered, announcing to all, among tears of consolation, that the Madonna had granted me the grace of instantly freeing me from any pain and illness.

So I conclude here, for the honor and the glory of our Virgin, these Historical Memories about our Greek Madonna, in this year, 1956, in which we are about to celebrate the Third Centenary of Her Apparition.

A SAD OBSERVATION… A PIOUS DESIRE

For many, many years, one has no longer heard the devoted and harmonious chanting of the large and numerous groups of pilgrims who came from afar in order to visit, to thank, to offer gifts and vows to our Image, as it happens still now in Gargano, at Incoronata, at Saint Nicholas, and in many other Shrines. Those pilgrims used to silently cross our city, where their fathers came in order to venerate the Image of the Greek Madonna.

The near and neighboring cities have forgotten our portentous Protector. That multitude of devoted people who thronged in our little Sanctuary, in which their sick invoked the Greek Madonna for relief and remedy to their troubles, no longer comes from them. Even many Coratini [people from Corato] seem to have forgotten their Protector, Her vault, Her venerated Image, therefore becoming more responsible than others for this deplorable oblivion.

Oh, if Lojodice, Candido, La Monica, and many other zealous Priests of the devotion our Protector, could raise their heads from the dust of their sepulchers – how surprised they would remain at the sight of so much ingratitude toward that venerable Image which freed our fathers from the pestilence, which cured many sick, healed many crippled, freed many possessed souls, and made everyone feel the benefits of Her protection!!…..

Oh, how much just and holy indignation would not ignite their apostolic zeal, toward such degenerate citizens!

May such sorrowful indifference, and such ungrateful oblivion cease once and for all, at the rising of a new and multiplied spirit of faith and love toward such a great Mama; and may this Third Centenary of the Apparition of the Madonna restore in all the devoted, near and far, the sincere fervor which animated our ancient Fathers.

CONCLUSION

In writing these few historical memories, I had no other purpose than a greater honor and a greater glory to the Most Holy Virgin. I ask Her nothing else but to continue to pour upon me and upon all the Coratini that maternal protection which never failed us, though unworthy, and that one day She may grant me eternal life, remembering what is written in the Ecclesiasticus XXIV-31: “Qui elucidant Me, vitam aeternam habebunt.”

Father Benedetto Calvi Parish Priest

CARDINAL: “WHAT SISTER LUCIA TOLD ME: FINAL CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THE LORD AND SATAN WILL BE OVER FAMILY AND MARRIAGE.”

A Cardinal tells: Sister Lucia wrote me…

On Feburary 16, 2008, Cardinal Carlo Caffara (Archbishop of Bologna), after a Mass celebrated at the tomb of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, granted an interview to Tele Radio Padre Pio, which was subsequently reported in the monthly magazine “Voce di Padre Pio” March, 2008 . Here are some significant excerpts.

Q. Your Eminence, recently in Corriere della Sera you said that you had always had a great devotion to Padre Pio. Please tell us why.

I have had great devotion to him since the beginning of my priesthood as a result of a rather unique experience. I had been a priest for some months and a brother-priest came to see me. He was quite a bit older than me and was going through a serious crisis of faith. It is difficult to describe what a crisis of faith is for a priest: a terrible thing! I told him “Brother, I’m too little, and sense that I can’t carry such a burden. Go to Padre Pio.” So he went, and while he was talking to Padre he had a great mystical experience, touched profoundly by the mercy of God. Now he is one of the best priests I know. There you have it, it all began like that.

Q. Did you ever meet Padre Pio personally?

No, I didn’t. I never had the courage to go to him, thinking that I would be wasting his time! […] I retain that Padre Pio belongs to the series of great mystics who have this characteristic: the most profound sharing in the Cross of Christ, as they carry upon themselves the great tragedy of mankind today – atheism. Padre Pio, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross , Mother Theresa, the Curé d’Ars all had the experience of sitting round the table with sinners, living their experiences, of carrying, in a different way, the weight of the Agony in Gethsemane; they testified to the love of Christ Who takes upon Himself, the pain of the man who has left his Father’s house and doesn’t want to go back, even if he knows in his heart that he is better off in his Father’s house rather than tending to pigs. Man today continues to imagine that he can live as if God didn’t exist; and we see the devastation this has caused.

Q. There is a prophecy by Sister Lucia dos Santos, of Fatima, which concerns “the final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan”. The battlefield is the family. Life and the family. We know that you were given charge by John Paul II to plan and establish the Pontifical Institute for the Studies on Marriage and the Family.

Yes, I was. At the start of this work entrusted to me by the Servant of God John Paul II, I wrote to Sister Lucia of Fatima through her Bishop as I couldn’t do so directly. Unexplainably however, since I didn’t expect an answer, seeing that I had only asked for prayers, I received a very long letter with her signature – now in the Institute’s archives. In it we find written: the final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family. Don’t be afraid, she added, because anyone who works for the sanctity of marriage and the family will always be fought and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue. And then she concluded: however, Our Lady has already crushed its head.

Talking also to John Paul II, you felt too that this was the crux, as it touches the very pillar of creation, the truth of the relationship between man and woman among the generations. If the founding pillar is touched the entire building collapses and we see this now, because we are at this point and we know it. And I’m moved when I read the best biographies of Padre Pio , on how this man was so attentive to the sanctity of marriage and the sanctity of the spouses, even with justifiable rigor on occasion.

6/15 Today is Fr. Bucci’s 80th Birthday!

Please send your rosaries, prayers Holy Hours for thanksgiving to God the Father for having granted

Padre Bernardino all these years to His Holy Priesthood and the promotion of the Cause for the

Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta

THE DIVINE WILL, THE GOSPEL and the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 Gospel Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

851   Missionary motivation. It is from God’s love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, “for the love of Christ urges us on.”³⁴³ Indeed, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”;³⁴⁴ that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so

as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God’s universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary. (221, 429, 74, 217, 2104, 890)

852   Missionary paths. The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, “the principal agent of the whole of the Church’s mission.”³⁴⁵ It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. “This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection.”³⁴⁶ So it is that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”³⁴⁷ (2044, 2473)

853   On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the “discrepancy existing between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the Gospel has been entrusted.”³⁴⁸ Only by taking the “way of penance and renewal,” the “narrow way of the cross,” can the People of God extend Christ’s reign.³⁴⁹ For “just as Christ carried out the work of redemption in poverty and oppression, so the Church is called to follow the same path if she is to communicate the fruits of salvation to men.”³⁵⁰ (1428, 2443)

854   By her very mission, “the Church… travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God.”³⁵¹ Missionary endeavor requires patience. It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not yet believe in Christ,³⁵² continues with the establishment of Christian communities that are “a sign of God’s presence in the world,”³⁵³ and leads to the foundation of local churches.³⁵⁴ It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel is to take flesh in each people’s culture.³⁵⁵ There will be times of defeat. “With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them, and so receives them into a fullness which is Catholic.”³⁵⁶ (2105, 1204)

546      Jesus’ invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching.²⁶¹ Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything.²⁶² Words are not enough; deeds are required.²⁶³ The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word?²⁶⁴ What use has he made of the talents he has received?²⁶⁵ Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to “know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.”²⁶⁶ For those who stay “outside,” everything remains enigmatic.²⁶⁷ (2613, 542)

 BOOK OF HEAVEN

 From the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

 VOLUME 17 

June 18, 1925

How all things contain the seed of regeneration. How the Divine Will must regenerate in the human will in order to turn it into Divine  

I was fusing myself in the Holy Divine Will according to my usual way, and as that immense void of the Most Holy Supreme Volition came before my mind, I thought to myself: ‘How can it ever be that this void will be filled by the return of the human acts done in this adorable Divine Will? In order to do this, all the bars of the human will must be removed, which prevent the step in order to enter this eternal and celestial sphere of the Supreme Will, in which it seems that God is waiting for man to let him return to his origin in the order of Creation, and to the first steps and upon that path on which he had his beginning. Yet, nothing new, which is good, can be seen in the world. Sins have remained as they were; or rather, they are worse. And if one hears of some awakening of religion, of works of Catholic Actions – some of them seem to be masquerades; others seem to have only the mark of good, but deep inside, in the substance, there are some with vices and passions such as to be wept over, more than before. And if they are looked at in God – oh, how unseemly they are for the Divine, most pure, eternal Will! Therefore, how can it ever be that, all of a sudden, man would give death to all vices, in order to give life to all virtues, as it is required in order to live in this sphere of the Supreme Will? In fact, in order to live in It, there are no compromises, or lives split between virtues and vices; rather, it is necessary to sacrifice everything, so as to convert all things into Will of God. The human will and the human things must have life no longer, but must exist in order to let the Will of God be fulfilled in them, so that God may carry out His Life within us.’

Now, while I thinking about these and other similar things, my sweet Jesus, interrupting my thought, told me: “My daughter LUISA, yet, it will be so – this immense void of my Will will be filled with the human acts done by the creatures in my Will.

The Divine Will came out from the eternal Womb of the Supreme Being for the good of man. While doing one single Act in coming out from Ourselves in order to overwhelm man, in such a way that he would not find a way out, this Will of Ours, then, multiplied into many innumerable acts, in order to surround him, and say to him: ‘See, this Will of Mine not only enwraps you LUISA , but is in continuous attitude of doing immediate acts, in order to be known and to receive your act in return, in my Will.

All things have their return, and if they don’t, they can be called useless works and without value. The seed which is sowed under the earth by the sower wants its return, and so the seed generates more seeds – ten, twenty, thirty, out of one. The tree which is planted by the farmer wants the return of the generation and multiplication of the fruits. The water which is drawn from the fount gives the return of quenching one’s thirst, of washing and cleaning the one who drew it. The fire which is lit gives the return of the heat and the service it renders to Humanity. In the same way, all the other things created by God, Who has the power to generate, contain the virtue of regeneration; they multiply and give their return. Now, is only this Will of Ours, which came out from Ourselves with so much Love, with so many manifestations and with so many continuous acts, to remain without Its return of regeneration of other human wills into Divine?

A seed gives more seeds, a fruit generates another fruit, man generates another man, a master forms another master. Is Our Will alone, as powerful as It is, to remain isolated, without return and without generating and multiplying Itself in the human will? Ah, no! This is impossible. Our Will will have Its return; It will have Its divine generations in the human will; more so, since this was Our Prime Act, through which all things were created – that Our Will would transform and regenerate the human will into Divine. Will is what came out from Ourselves – will is what we want. All other things were done in the secondary order, while this was done, established, in the primary order of Creation. At the most, it may take time; but the centuries will not end, until my Will does not obtain Its purpose. If It has obtained the purpose of regeneration in secondary things, more so must It obtain it in the primary purpose. Our Will would never have departed from Our Womb, if It had known that It would not have obtained Its complete effects – that is, that the human will would be regenerated in the Divine Will.

Do you LUISA think that things will always be as they are today? Ah, no! My Will will overwhelm everything; It will cause confusion everywhere – all things will be turned upside down. Many new phenomena will occur, such as to confuse the pride of man; wars, revolutions, mortalities of every kind will not be spared, in order to floor man, and to dispose him to receive the regeneration of the Divine Will in the human will. And everything I manifest to you about my Will, as well as everything you do in It, is nothing but preparing the way, the means, the teachings, the light, the graces, so that my Will may be regenerated in the human will.

If this were not to occur, I would not have manifested so much to you LUISA, nor would I have kept you LUISA sacrificed in a bed for such a long time, in order to place in you the foundations of the regeneration of my Will in yours, and therefore keep you LUISA in continuous exercise within my Will. Do you LUISA  think that my continuous being within you LUISA, feeding you LUISA my prayer, and making you LUISA feel my pains which, together with Me, acquire another value, other effects, another power – is nothing? I could say that I am making the first statue, the first soul of the regeneration of my Will in her. Then, it will be easier to form copies. This is why I always say to you LUISA: ‘Be attentive, for this about something too great, and about the most important thing which exists in Heaven and on earth. It about rescuing the rights of Our Will; about giving back to Us the purpose of Creation; about returning to Us all the glory for which all things were made, and about making Us pour out all the graces which Our Will had established to give to the creatures, had they fulfilled Our Will in everything’.”  

VOLUME 31 

February 24, 1933 

The Truth, seed; Celestial Farmer and human sower.  Immutability of Divine Ways.  What purpose pains and contradictions serve. 

            My little mind was all occupied by the so many Truths that Blessed Jesus had manifested about the Divine Will, and each one of them presented itself as a portent one distinct from the other, but a Divine Portent, not human; not of earth, but of Heaven, and they remained as all in act of wanting to assail the creature in order to communicate to her, and Transform her into their Portentous Virtue, all Celestial and Divine.

            But while my mind was so occupied, I thought to myself:  “And yet, before a Truth so Celestial and Divine, in which the shadow of the human does not exist, so Lovable, so Penetrating, Holy, Full of Lights are they, each one of them encloses the Life, the Love, the Sanctity of He who has Manifested them, yet there are those who reading something about these Truths are doubtful, they make difficulties, and You know it, O Jesus, everything is known by You.”  And I felt all oppressed and yearned for my sweet Jesus in order to tell Him my pain. 

And He, surprising me, told me:  “My good daughter LUISA, do not afflict yourself LUISA for this.  You LUISA must know that in order to know one Truth, one needs to love it.  Love makes the appetite arise, the appetite gives the taste, the taste makes arise the hunger of eating to fullness and chewing very well the substance of a food, that is, My Truths.  Chewing them produces easy digestion in a way that one feels the possession of the Great Good that My Truth possesses and produces, and then the doubts cease, the difficulties melt like snow before the rays of a burning sun.  Now, if they have hardly touched them without eating them with a profound study, with a love that generates the appetite, what wonder is it that they make doubts and difficulties?  O! how it would have been better to say:  ‘It is not food for us, nor do we have the will to eat it,’ rather then give judgments.  But one knows that My Truths find a place more in simple hearts then learned.  This happened in My Redemption.  To My Sorrow, not one learned one followed Me, but all the poor, ignorant, simple ones. 

“You LUISA  must know that My Truths are seeds that I, Celestial Farmer, continue to sow in souls.  And if I make My Sowing, with certainty I must gather the fruit.  Many times it happens to Me as to a poor sower who casts his seed into the earth, but for lack of moisture, the earth does not have the strength to eat the seed in order to digest it and convert it into earth, and give the substance that has been absorbed from the seed to give to the poor farmer ten, twenty, a hundred of the seed that the earth has eaten. Other times, he casts his seed, but for lack of rain the earth becomes hard over the seed, and the substance of the seed that it encloses does not find a way to make life go forth, and the poor farmer must have patience to receive the harvest of his seeds.  But still, by having sown the seed he has already done something, and can hope—who knows, a rain can give moisture to the earth that, possessing the substance of his seed, will put forth what he has sown.  Or else cutting the hardness, tilling it, forms the ways in order to let his seed reproduce so that—in spite of the fact that the earth does not immediately produce the multiplicity of the seed that it received—with time, circumstances, rain, it can produce a most abundant harvest that the sower did not expect.

            “Now, if the farmer, despite all the difficulties of the earth, can hope to receive an abundant harvest, more so I, Celestial Farmer, having put forth from My Divine Bosom the so many Seeds of Celestial Truths in order to sow them in the depth of your soul, and the whole world will be filled by the Harvest.  Do you want to believe, therefore, that because of the doubts and difficulties of a few—some like earth without moisture, some like hard and calloused earth—I would not make My Superabundant Harvest?  My daughter, you are mistaken! 

“The time, the people, the circumstances, change, and what today can be seen black, tomorrow will be seen white, because many times one sees according to the predispositions they have, and according to the sight, either long or short, that the intellect possesses.  Poor little ones, one needs compassion for them; but everything is in that I have already made the sowing in her, the thing most necessary, most substantial, most interesting, that is, Manifested My Truths. If I have done My Labor, the main part has been put forth in Work; I have found your earth in order to cast My Seed, the rest will come by itself.  And the doubts, the difficulties, the pains, serve just like the wood, the fire, the poor farmer would make use of in order to cook the harvested seed, and make of it his food—they serve for Me and you as suns in order to make My Truths mature in hearts; as wood and fire in order to give them not with Words alone, but with practice; and by the sacrifice of the fire of their own life, to cook them in order to convert it into the sweetest food, and to feed it to the creatures. 

            “My daughter LUISA, if I had wanted to listen to what was said about Me, and to the contradictions that they made to Me about the Truths that I Manifested when I came on earth, I would not have formed the Redemption, nor Manifested My Gospel.  And yet they were the most learned, the noblest part—some who had studied Scriptures, and some who taught religion to the people.  I let them talk, and with Love and Invincible Patience I endured their continuous contradictions, and they served Me as wood for the pains that they gave Me, in order to burn and consume Myself on the Cross for the Love of them and of everyone. 

“The same today, if I would want to listen to what they say about the Truths of My Divine Will, I would have put an end to the Manifestations about It, and to the designs that I want to fulfill by Manifesting them.  But no, We are not subject to changeability.  The human work has this weakness, and acts according to the appreciation that others make them, but Us, no—the Divine Work is Immutable.  When We decide, there is no one who changes Us, neither all creatures, nor all hell.  Nevertheless, with Our Inextinguishable Love We wait for times, circumstances, and people who would serve Us for what We have established.  Therefore, I do not want you LUISA to worry.  And, making Our Divine Ways yours, if necessary place the sacrifice of your life, in order to obtain that My Divine Will be known and Reign in the whole world.”

            My sweet Jesus became silent, and I continued to think about the impossibility that the Divine Will can Reign on earth as in Heaven, and Jesus, sighing, added:  “Blessed daughter LUISA, what is impossible for men, is completely possible for God.  And if it were impossible that My Will could Reign on earth as in Heaven, My all Paternal Goodness would not have taught the Prayer of the Our Father, because to make impossible things prayed for, I would not have done; nor would I have recited it with so much Love as first, placing Myself at the Head of all; nor would I have taught it to the Apostles so that they could teach it to the whole world as the most Beautiful and most Substantial Prayer of My Church. 

“I do not want impossible things, nor do I demand from the creature, nor do I Myself do, impossible things.  Therefore, if it would have been impossible that My Divine Will come to Reign on earth as It does in Heaven, I would have taught a prayer useless and without effect, and I do not know how to do useless things.  At the most I wait even centuries, but I must make the fruit of My taught Prayer arise, even more because Gratuitously, without anyone having told Me, I gave this Great Good that My Will would be done on earth as It is in Heaven. 

“The same for Creation, I Myself, without anyone having prayed Me, extended the heavens, I Created the sun, and everything else.  The same for My Will, completely spontaneous I told them:  ‘Pray that My Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven.’  And when spontaneously ‘Pray this will happen’ is said, without anyone having importuned Me, it means that first I looked at everything in My All-Seeingness, I pondered things very well, and when I saw that this was possible, then I decided to teach the Our Father, wanting the human will united to Ours so that it might yearn that It would come to Reign on earth as It does in Heaven.  Therefore, everything I have manifested about My Will, is enclosed in these words alone:  ‘May Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven.’  In these few words are contained abysses of Graces, of Sanctity, of Light, and abysses of communication and Divine Transformations between the Creator and creature. 

“My daughter LUISA, it was the Regal Gift that your Jesus made to the human generations, as Fulfillment of My Redemption.  My Love was not yet content, My sufferings had not brought Me Full Satisfaction; I wanted, I wanted to still give, I wanted to see My Heaven on earth in the midst of My children.  Therefore, a few days before departing for Heaven, first I decided to give My Will on earth as It is in Heaven, and afterwards I taught the Our Father, in which I remained committed to giving this Great Gift.  And your Jesus, when He commits Himself, never fails to keep His Word.  Therefore, do not place doubts, and if the others doubt, let them, because they do not know how I would develop things; I have Power and Will in My Hands, and that is enough for Me.  And you LUISA, remain in Peace, and always follow My Volition.  Trust your Jesus, and you LUISA will see.”

Fiat!!!

 VOLUME 28 

September 30, 1930

Eden, field of light.  Difference between one who operates in the Divine Will and one who operates in the human will.  The little ground of the creature; the Celestial Sower.

 I was continuing my usual acts in the Divine Volition, and my poor mind paused in Eden, where God created man to give orgin to the life of the creature. 

And my beloved Good, Jesus, making Himself seen all tenderness and goodness, told me:  “My daughter LUISA, Eden is field of light in which Our Supreme Being created man.  It can be said that he was created in the light of Our Fiat; his first act of life was light, such that, as an interminable field of light would extend behind and before him, to the right and to the left, he was to follow his way in order to form his life, drawing into his acts as much light for as many acts as he would do, so as to form a light all his own, as his property by virtue of his acts, though drawn from My Divine Will. 

“Now, here is the difference of one who operates in It as his origin and end, in which all of his acts are bound to the origin of the light where his life was formed and had its first act of life.  The light keeps this life in custody, defends it, and lets nothing extraneous enter into its light, so as to form one of the portents that only the light knows how to form.  On the other hand, one who goes down from this light enters into the dark prison of his will, and in doing his act, he draws darkness; and he draws as much darkness for as many acts as he forms, to form for himself a property all of darkness, all his own. 

“Darkness does not know how to keep or defend one who lives in it; and if one does any good act in it, it is always tenebrous, because they are bound by darkness; and since darkness does not have the virtue of being able to defend, things enter that are extraneous to darkness itself; the bothers of weaknesses enter, the enemies of passions, the fierce thieves that hurl the creature into sin and reach the point of hurling her into eternal darkness, where there is no hope of light.  What difference between one who lives in the light of My Divine Will and one who lives as though imprisoned in his human will.”

Afterwards, I continued to follow the order of the Divine Will, that It had in Creation, and my little and poor intelligence paused at the point when God created the Immaculate Virgin.  And my lovable Jesus, moving in my interior, told me:  “My daughter LUISA, all the good and holy acts of the prophets, the patriarchs, and of the ancient people, formed the ground in which the Supreme Being sowed the seed in order to make germinate the life of the Celestial Baby Mary, because Her seed was taken from the human stock.  The Virgin, having within Herself the operating life of the Divine Will, expanded this ground with Her acts, fecundated it and divinized it.  She made flow in it, more than beneficial and refreshing rain, the sanctity of Her virtues, the heat of Her love; and darting through it with the light of the Sun of the Divine Will that She possessed as Her own, She prepared the ground to germinate the Celestial Savior; and Our Divinity opened Heaven and made the Just One, the Holy One, the Word, rain down into this shoot.  And so My Life was formed, human and Divine, to form the Redemption of mankind. 

“See, then, in all Our works, directed for the good of creatures, We want to find a shelf, a place, a little ground in which to lay Our work and the good We want to give to creatures.  Otherwise, where do We put it?  In the air?—without one at least who would know it and would draw Us with her acts, forming her little ground; and We, as the Celestial Sower, sowing the good We want to give?  If this were not so—that on both sides, Creator and creature, they feel drawn together:  she, preparing herself to receive with her little acts; and God, by giving—it would be as if We did, or wanted to give, nothing to the creature.  So, the acts of the creature prepare the ground for the Divine Sower.  If there is no soil, there is no sowing to hope for; no one goes to sow if he does not have a little ground; much less does God, Celestial Sower, cast the seed of His Truths, the fruit of His works, if He does not find the little ground of the creature.  The Divinity, in order to operate, first wants to place Itself in agreement with the soul; after We have agreed together and We see that she wants to receive that good, to the point of praying Us and forming for Us the ground in which to lay it—then, with all love, We give it.  Otherwise, it would be like exposing Our works to uselessness.”

 PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED (MK 4:30-34)

 THE MUSTARD SEED 

He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?  It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest seed of the earth.  But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.  With many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables, He did not speak to them, but to His own disciples He explained everything in private.”

VOLUME 24 

August 30, 1928

Difference between Humanity and Divinity of Jesus.  How the Kingdom of the Fiat has all been prepared by Him; nothing else is needed but those who would inhabit It.  The language that Jesus used in Redemption and what He uses for the Kingdom of the Divine Will—one different from the other.

 My lovable Jesus made Himself seen as a little child who, all clinging to me, made me many loving cuddles.  Oh! how beautiful it is to see Him in His baby Humanity, all love, all trust.  The soul feels so much trust with Jesus, because she sees in Him His Humanity, which is so much like her that they join together like brothers, they identify themselves with each other, and one is transformed into the other.  So, the veil of the Humanity of Jesus, in which He encloses His adorable Divinity, serves as means of trust, by which the poor creature loses all fear, and remains all love with Jesus—more than a son in the arms of his Celestial Father. 

The Love of Jesus is so great, that He says to the creature:  “Do not fear, I am yours—similar to you, clothed like you; and My Love is so great, that I hide the endless light of My Majesty within My Humanity so as to have you be with Me like a little child in my arms.” 

On the other hand, when my Beloved Jesus makes His Divinity shine through Himself, His very Humanity remains eclipsed within that endless light, and I feel the great distance between me and my Creator.  His blazing Divine Majesty annihilates me, I plunge myself into my dust; and not knowing where to go to escape His Light, because there is not one point in which it is not present, I am the little atom that remains submerged within His very Light.  It seems to me that I am speaking nonsense, therefore I move on.

So, my highest Good, Jesus, told me:  “My daughter LUISA, the Kingdom of My Will is all prepared within My Humanity, and I am ready to put It out to give It to creatures.  It can be said that I formed the foundations, I raised the factories; the rooms are innumerable and all adorned and illuminated—not with little lights, but with as many suns for as many truths as I have manifested about the Divine Fiat.  Nothing else is needed but those who would inhabit It; there will be a place and room for everyone, because It is vast, more than the whole world. 

“With the Kingdom of My Will everything will be renewed in Creation; things will return to their original state.  This is why many scourges are necessary, and will take place—so that Divine Justice may place Itself in balance with all of My Attributes, in such a way that, by balancing Itself, It may leave the Kingdom of My Will in Its peace and happiness.  Therefore, do not be surprised if such a great good, that I am preparing and that I want to give, is preceded by many scourges.  It is My Justice that claims Its rights, so that, once balanced, It may place Itself in peace with creatures, giving them no more bother; more so, since the children of the Kingdom of My Divine Fiat will no longer offend It, and My Divine Justice will change all of Itself into love and mercy for them.”

Then, after this, I was following all the Acts that Jesus had done in Redemption; and my sweet Jesus added:  “My daughter LUISA, My language in Redemption was very different from what I have had for the Kingdom of My Divine Will.  In fact, in Redemption, My language was to adapt to people who were incapable, weak, ill, deaf, mute and blind—and many were on the verge of the tomb.  Therefore, in order to speak to them, I made use of parables and similes of the low world, that they themselves could touch with their own hands.  So, I spoke to them now as Doctor, offering them the medicines to heal them; now as Father, who awaited their return even if they were unruly children; now as Shepherd, who went in search of the lost sheep; now as Judge who, unable to attract them by means of love, tried to attract them at least by threats and by fear; and many other similes. 

“This language of Mine says that those to whom I was speaking did not know Me, did not love Me, and even less did they do My Will—on the contrary, they were far away from Me; and that I, with My parables, made the searches and laid the net in order to catch them and give to each one the remedy to heal them.  But how many escaped Me.  And I intensified the searches and the teachings to give light to many blind, that they might get out of their obstinate blindness.

“Now, see how different is My language that I have had in manifesting the truths on My Divine Will, that must serve the children of Its Kingdom.  My language on the Fiat has been like a father in the midst of his dear and loving children, all healthy; and since each of them possesses My very life within them, by virtue of My Will they will be capable of understanding My highest lessons. 

“This is why I have moved beyond, placing before them the beautiful similes of the sun, of the spheres, of the heavens, of the very Divine way of operating, that extends up to the infinite; because, having My Divine Fiat in them, they will have within them He who created the heavens, the spheres, the sun, who will give them the virtue of copying within themselves everything He created and His very ways that He has in His Divine operating.  These will be the copiers of their Creator.  And this is why I have been so lengthy in manifesting the truths about My Fiat, that I did not do in Redemption; because those were parables that contained human and finite manners, therefore I did not have much material with which to be able to talk at length. 

“On the other hand, the similes that regard My Will are of Divine manners, and therefore there is so much material to talk about that they become inexhaustible.  Who can measure the vastness of the light of the sun and the intensity of its heat?  No one.  Who can ever put a boundary to the heavens and to the multiplicity of My Divine works?  Oh! if you knew how much wisdom, love, grace, light I have placed in manifesting My Truths about My Divine Fiat, you would be so drowned with joy as to no longer be able to live; and you would yearn for the work of your Jesus to be known, so that a work so exuberant, of incalculable price, may have its glory and may communicate its beneficial effects to the other creatures.”