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

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

 August 15, 1922 Volume 14

The acts of Jesus and those of the Most Holy Virgin in the Divine Will.

Finding myself in my usual state, I was abandoning myself in the arms of the Most Holy Will of God, and my sweet Jesus told me: “My daughter, in my Will you will find not only all of the acts that my Humanity did, in which I intertwined all creatures together, but you will also find all the acts that my dear Mama did which, weaving with Mine, formed one single act.

As soon as I was conceived in Her womb, She began the weaving with my acts; and since my Humanity had no other Life, no other food, and no other purpose but the Will of my Father alone which, flowing everywhere, made Me act of each creature so as to give to the Father the rights as Creator on the part of creatures, and to give Myself as Life to all creatures, in the same way, as She began Her intertwining with Me, She too gave back to the Father His rights as Creator in the name of all, and gave Herself to all creatures. Therefore, all creatures received, together with my acts, the acts of my Mama as Life.

Now, in Heaven, She embraces all the glory of each creature; my Will gives Her such glory on the part of each creature that there is no glory which She does not contain, and no glory which does not descend from Her. And since She wove Her works, Her love, Her pains, etc. with Me, now in Heaven She is circumfused with as much glory as were the weavings She did in my Will:  this is why She surpasses everything, embraces everything and flows in everything.  This is what it means to live in my Will.  My beloved Mama could have never received so much glory, if all of her acts had not flown in my Will; acts which constitute Her Queen and crown of all.

Now I want you in my Will, so that the weaving may not be between two, but among three; my Will wants to expand in order to find all creatures together in one creature. Do you see the great good that will come to you; how much glory you will give Me, and how much good you will do to all?”

 Our Lady of the Place

October 3: Our Lady of the Place, Rome (1250)

Abbot Orsini wrote: “This image having fallen into a well at the house of Cardinal Capocius, in the year 1250, the water swelled up miraculously, and cast out the image, which the cardinal placed in his chapel. But Pope Innocent IV obliged him to build another on the very spot where the miracle had occurred. This chapel having been given to the Servites, they have had a fine church built, in which the well is enclosed.”

The church of Santa Maria in Via, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is also known under the special title of Madonna del Pozzo, Our Lady of the Well. The church that presently stands at the location was built between the years 1491 and 1513, and is not the one originally commissioned in 1256.

The miracle that the Abbot Orsini mentions actually occurred in the year 1256, on the evening of 26 and 27 September. At that time the Cardinal Pietro Capocci had a residence at the location, and one of his servants either accidentally or deliberately, it is no longer known, threw an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the well of the stable. The image was painted on a heavy stone tablet, but it never struck the bottom of the well.

Before the image of the Blessed Virgin had gone very far, the water inside the well suddenly rose up and over the top of the well and flowed abundantly in all directions with such force that the image of Mary was suspended upon the surface of the water. The horses were alarmed by the rushing water, bringing the rest of the domestics from their various places to witness the miracle. The image remained where it was until the cardinal himself responded, and with devout astonishment, retrieved the sacred image that appeared to be miraculously floating on the water. Once the image was taken, the water immediately receded.

The first church, Santa Maria in Via, was already built nearby, and was a titular church. It is no longer known why it was so named, but it is known that Cardinal Pietro Capocci had a residence there. When Pope Alexander IV learned of the event, he declared it to have been a miracle and ordered the construction of a new chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The new chapel was built over the well, and was an annex to the older church. The fountain can still be seen on the right hand side upon entering the church.

It was Pope Innocent VIII who ordered the construction of the church that can presently be seen. In the year 1513 the church was given to the Servites by Pope Leo X, and the Servite Order still remains there to serve the church.Our Lady of the Place

Catholic faith: Feast Day of Holy Guardian Angels

LUISA AND THE HOLY ANGELS

Taken From: Biography Luisa Piccarreta –
Childhood Memories by Padre Bernardino Giuseppe Bucci

Divine Providence was leading this child along these mysterious paths, in such a way that Luisa knew no joy other than God and His Grace. In fact, one day the Lord will say to her: “Listen, I went around the earth, over and over again; I looked at all creatures, one by one, in order to find the littlest of all. And among them all I found you, the littlest of all. I liked your littleness, and I chose you. I entrusted you to my Angels to guard you, not to make you great, but to preserve your littleness. Now I want to begin the great work of the fulfillment of my Will. You will not feel greater because of this; on the contrary, my Will will make you smaller, and you will continue to be the little daughter of your Jesus – the little daughter of my Will” (Vol. 12, 3-23-1921).

One day, being assailed by the evil spirit, terrorized, Luisa turned to her Celestial Mama, who benignly spoke to her:

“Why do you fear? Your Angel is by your side, Jesus is in your heart, and your Celestial Mama keeps you under Her mantle. Why do you fear then? Who is stronger? Your guardian Angel, your Jesus, your Celestial Mama, or the infernal enemy? Therefore, do not run away, but stay, pray, and do not fear.” At that instant everything disappeared; serenity invaded her, and nothing else happened to her.

Conversation between Padre Bucci and his Aunt Rosaria
Padre Bucci: “But her writings can’t reveal everything about Luisa’s life, because it was far more complex”.

“That’s true” Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria answered. “I could tell of many things that no one knows”.

Padre Bucci: “So why do you insistently refuse to speak?”

Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria: “If Luisa had wished them to be known she would have written them down, or the Church would have ordered her to write them; it is clear that certain phenomena which occurred, which I and others witnessed, do not serve for the sanctification of souls. The Lord permitted to be known all that is of use to the Church and to souls, the rest serves no purpose. In speaking of these things I feel as if I were profaning the intimacy that was built up between God and Luisa, human beings would not understand. The message bequeathed by Luisa exceeds her very person. Luisa wanted the Lord alone to have all the honor and glory, and she was to disappear into nothingness; this is why she loved solitude and silence, and showed great distress when she noticed that she was the object of people’ veneration, for she considered herself only a poor sick person, in need of everything. I and others knew very well that Luisa had no need of anything, and that we had to be the custodians of her mystery. How often in the morning did I find Luisa all tidy and the altar already prepared for Holy Mass with the candles lit”.

ST THERESE “THE LITTLE FLOWER”

The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will
(Note the Holy Card of St. Therese at the foot of the Crucifix)
St. Therese of Lisieux was a favored Saint
of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will–

Apostolic Letter Proclaiming

St. Therese a Doctor of the Church

(excerpts)

Apostolic Letter Proclaims St. Therese Doctor Of The Church

• Apostolic Letter Proclaiming St. Therese a Doctor of the Church (excerpts)Following are excerpts from that Letter:“Among the small, to whom the secrets of the Kingdom have been manifested in a wholly special way, shines Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, professed nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, the centenary of whose entrance into the heavenly homeland is celebrated this year. During her life, Therese discovered ‘new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings’ and received from the divine Master that ‘science of love’ that she manifested with particular originality in her writings.”“The Shepherds of the Church, beginning with my predecessors, the Supreme Pontiffs of this century who proposed her holiness as an example for all, also highlighted the fact that Therese is a teacher of spiritual life through a particular doctrine, simple yet at the same time profound. …This spiritual doctrine has been transmitted to us especially through her autobiography, derived from the three manuscripts which she wrote during the last years of her life and published one year after her death with the title ‘Histoire dune Ame’. … This autobiography, translated along with other writings of hers into nearly fifty languages, made Therese known in all the regions of the world, even outside the Catholic Church. …Therefore it is not surprising that many petitions were presented to the Apostolic See asking that she be endowed with the title of Doctor of the universal Church. …In a special way, as the first centenary of her death approached, …and in light of these facts, I decided to have an attentive study be done to see if the saint of Lisieux, had the prerequisites to be able to receive the title of Doctor of the universal Church.”“Often during Vatican Council II, the Fathers evoked her example and her doctrine. Paul VI… proposed her as a teacher of prayer and theological hope, a model of communion with the Church, entrusting the study of her doctrine to teachers, educators, pastors and theologians themselves. I myself, in various circumstances, have had the joy of referring to the figure and doctrine of this saint, in a special way during the unforgettable visit to Lisieux on June 2, 1980. …The fact that recourse is taken to her doctrine in many documents of the ordinary Magisterium of the Church is a sign of the ecclesial reception of the saint’s teaching, especially when speaking of the contemplative and missionary vocation, of trust in a just and merciful God, of Christian joy, of the vocation of holiness. The presence of her doctrine in the recent ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ is a testimonial of this. …Therese possesses a singular universality. …The strength of her message lies in the concrete illustration of how all of Jesus’ promises may find full realization in the believer who knows how to welcome trustingly his own life the saving presence of the Redeemer. All these reasons are a clear testimonial of the current relevance of the doctrine of the saint of Lisieux and of the particular incidence of her message upon the men and women of our time.” About St. Therese, “the little flower”:

• Important Dates in the Life of St. Therese
• Important Dates in the Life of St. Therese
• “Meeting the wishes of a great number of Brothers in the Episcopacy and very many faithful from throughout the world, having heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and obtained the vote of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in what regards the eminent doctrine, with certain knowledge and mature deliberation, by the power of full apostolic authority, we declare Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, virgin, Doctor of the Universal Church. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
• “The main source of her spiritual experience and her teaching is the Word of God, in the Old and New Testaments. She herself confesses to this, especially highlighting her passionate love for the Gospel. In her writings more than one thousand Biblical quotes can be counted: more than four hundred from the Old Testament and more than six hundred from the New. …Under the influence of the Spirit she reached for herself and for others a deep knowledge of revelation. …Her doctrine coincides, as already noted, with the teaching of the Church. From childhood, she was educated by family members to participate in prayer and liturgical worship. …Therese nourished herself from her youth with the teaching of the ‘Imitation of Christ’, which, as she herself confessed, she knew almost by heart, …as with the mystical doctrine of Saint John of the Cross, who was her true spiritual teacher. Thus it is not surprising that in the school of these two saints, later declared Doctors of the Church, she too, an excellent disciple, became a Teacher of spiritual life. The spiritual doctrine of Therese of Lisieux contributed to the spreading of the Kingdom of God.”
• “The reception of the example of her life and her evangelical doctrine in our century was rapid, universal and constant. …Pius XI proclaimed her Blessed on April 29, 1923. A short time later, on May 17, 1925, the same Pope, before an immense crowd, canonized her in St. Peter’s Basilica. …Following these acts of recognition, the spiritual irradiation of Therese of the Child Jesus grew in the Church and spread throughout the world. …Her message, often summed up as the so-called ‘little way’, is none other than the Gospel path of holiness for everyone.”
• “This past August 24, at the praying of the Angelus, in the presence of hundreds of bishops and before a multitude of youths from around the globe, gathered in Paris for the 12th World Youth Day. I wished to announce personally the intention to proclaim Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face as Holy Doctor of the universal Church on the occasion of the celebration of World Mission Day.”
• Vatican City, October 19, 1997 (VIS)- Pope John Paul’s Apostolic Letter for the Proclamation of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face as Doctor of the Church was made public today in French and Italian. It will be available in other languages in coming days.

Her Parents

The Beatification of Louis and Zelie Martin

On Saturday, July 11, 2008, 7:00P.M., it was announced that Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, will be beatified on Mission Sunday this year.

Louis and Zelie Martin

THE WATCHMAKER – Louis Martin

Louis Martin (1823 – 1894) was a watchmaker by trade, and quite a successful one. He also skillfully managed his wife’s lace business. But, as with so many men, Louis’ life had not turned out at all the way he had planned.

Born into a family of soldiers, Louis spent his early years at various French military posts. He absorbed the sense of order and discipline that army life engenders. His temperament, deeply influenced by the peculiar French connection between the mystical and the military, tended toward things of the spirit.

At twenty-two, young Louis sought to enter religious life at the monastery of the Augustinian Canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps. The blend of courage and charity the monks and their famous dogs manifested in rescuing travelers in Alpine snows appealed powerfully to Louis Martin. Unfortunately, the Abbot insisted the young candidate learn Latin. Louis, whose bravery would have carried him to the heights of the Alps in search of a lost pilgrim, got himself lost among the peaks and valleys of Latin syntax and grammar. His most determined efforts failed. He became ill and dispirited, and abandoned his hopes for the monastic life.

Eventually, Louis settled down in Alencon, a small city in France, and pursued his watchmaking trade. He loved Alencon. It was a quiet place and he was a quiet man. It even had a lovely trout stream nearby, offering him the opportunity to pursue his favorite recreation.

THE LACE MAKER –  Zelie Guerin Zelie Guerin

Most famous of Alencon’s thirteen thousand inhabitants were its lace makers. French people greatly admired the skill and talent required to produce the exquisite lace known throughout the nation as Point d’ Alencon.

Zelie Guerin (1831 – 1877) was one of Alencon’s more talented lace makers. Born into a military family, Zelie described her childhood and youth as “dismal.” Her mother and father showed her little affection. As a young lady, she sought unsuccessfully to enter the religious order of the sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. Zelie then learned the Alencon lace-making technique and soon mastered this painstaking craft. Richly talented, creative, eager, and endowed with common sense, she started her own business and became quite successful. Notable as these achievements were, Zelie was yet to reveal the depths of the strength, faith, and courage she possessed.

THE MARTINS

Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin eventually met in Alencon, and on July 13, 1858, Louis, 34, and Zelie, 26, married and began their remarkable voyage through life. Within the next fifteen years, Zelie bore nine children, seven girls and two boys. “We lived only for them,” Zelie wrote; “they were all our happiness.”

The Martins’ delight in their children turned to shock and sorrow as tragedy relentlessly and mercilessly stalked their little ones. Within three years, Zelie’s two baby boys, a five year old girl, and a six-and-a-half week old infant girl all died.

Zelie was left numb with sadness. “I haven’t a penny’s worth of courage,” she lamented. But her faith sustained her through these terrible ordeals. In a letter to her sister-in-law who had lost an infant son, Zelie remembered: “When I closed the eyes of my dear little children and buried them, I felt sorrow through and through….People said to me, ‘It would have been better never to have had them.’ I couldn’t stand such language. My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above.”

The Martins’ last child was born January 2, 1873. She was weak and frail, and doctors feared for the infant’s life. The family, so used to death, was preparing for yet another blow. Zelie wrote of her three month old girl: “I have no hope of saving her. The poor little thing suffers horribly….It breaks your heart to see her.” But the baby girl proved to be much tougher than anyone realized. She survived the illness. A year later she was a “big baby, browned by the sun.” “The baby,” Zelie noted, “is full of life, giggles a lot, and is sheer joy to everyone.” Death seemed to grant a reprieve to the Martin household. Although suffering had left its mark on mother and father, it was not the scar of bitterness. Louis and Zelie had already found relief and support in their faith.

The series of tragedies had intensified the love of Louis and Zelie Martin for each other. They poured out their affection on their five surviving daughters; Marie, 12, Pauline, 11, Leonie 9, Celine, 3, and their new-born. Louis and Zelie named their new-born; Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin. A century later people would know her as St. Therese, and call her the “Little Flower.”

The Sacred Scriptures have revealed the proper names of only three Angels, all of whom belong to the Choir of the Archangels. The names are well known to all, namely: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Ancient apocryphal literature of the Old Testament contains several other names of Archangels in addition to the three just mentioned. Like the sources themselves, these other names are spurious. Names like Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jeremiel are not found in the canonical books of Sacred Scripture, but in the apocryphal book of Enoch, fourth book of Esdras, and in rabbinical literature. The Church does not permit proper names of Angels that are not found in the canonical books of the Bible. All such names that were taken from apocryphal writings were rejected under Pope Zachary, in 745. There must have been danger of serious abuses in this regard during that century.

The Church honors the archangels, invokes their intercession and relies on their assistance in the spiritual warfare we daily face. In Hebrew, “Michael” means “Who is like God?” Saint Michael is mentioned four times in Scripture: Daniel 10 and 12, in Jude and in Revelation. Scripture reveals to us that Saint Michael is known as the “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” hence, the leader of all angels. It is to the Prince of the Heavenly that we owe a debt of gratitude for casting down to Hell Lucifer and the evil spirits; he is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil.

Sacred Tradition teaches that there are four offices connected to Saint Michael:

• to fight against Satan, his minions and the power of evil

• to rescue and protect the faithful from evil, especially at the hour of death

• to lead the people of God to full communion with God Himself

• to call our souls to judgment before God. “I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12:15) Saint Raphael, whose name means “God has healed” because of his healing of Tobias’ blindness in the Book of Tobit. This book in the Old Testament is the only book in which Raphael is mentioned. He is the archangel of healing and acts of mercy. Tradition tells us that Saint Raphael is the angel in John 5:1-4 who descended upon the pond and bestowed healing powers upon it so that the first to enter it after it moved would be healed of whatever infirmity he was suffering. 9/29 Feast Day of the Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. RaphaelThe three Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are the only Angels named in Sacred Scripture.T

• Thus Luisa begins Volume One in the “Book of Heaven, The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose for which He was Created by God

• “:. . . Most Holy Virgin, lovable Mother (The Blessed Mother), come to my aid, obtain for me from Your sweet Jesus and mine, grace and strength in order to do this obedience. Saint Joseph, my dear protector, assist me in this circumstance of mine. Archangel Saint Michael, defend me from the infernal enemy, who puts so many obstacles in my mind to make me fail this obedience. Archangel Saint Rafael and you, my Guardian Angel, come to assist me and accompany me, and to direct my hand, that I may write nothing but the truth. . . .

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

  Volume 1

…Now, while seeing Jesus or the priest celebrating the Divine Sacrifice, Jesus would make me understand that in the Mass there is all the depth of our sacrosanct religion. Ah! yes, the Mass tells us everything and speaks to us about everything.  The Mass reminds us of our redemption; It speaks to us, step by step, about the pains that Jesus suffered for us; It also manifests to us His immense love, for He was not content with dying on the Cross, but He wanted to continue His state of victim in the Most Holy Eucharist.  The Mass also tells us that our bodies, decayed, reduced to ashes by death, will rise again on the day of the judgment, together with Christ, to immortal and glorious life.  Jesus made me comprehend that the most consoling thing for a Christian, and the highest and most sublime mysteries of our holy religion are: Jesus in the Sacrament and the resurrection of our bodies to glory. These are profound mysteries, which we will comprehend only beyond the stars; but Jesus in the Sacrament makes us almost touch them with our own hands, in different ways. First, His Resurrection; second, His state of annihilation under those species, though it is certain that Jesus is there present, alive and real. Then, once those species are consumed, His real presence no longer exists.  And as the species are consecrated again, He comes again to assume His sacramental state.  So, Jesus in the Sacrament reminds us of the resurrection of our bodies to glory: just as Jesus, when His sacramental state ceases resides in the womb of God, His Father, the same for us – when our lives cease, our souls go and make their dwelling in Heaven, in the womb of God, while are bodies are consumed.  So, one can say that they will no longer exist; but then, with a prodigy of the omnipotence of God, our bodies will acquire new life, and uniting with the soul, will go together to enjoy the eternal beatitude.  Can there be anything more consoling for a human heart than the fact that not only the soul, but also the body will be beatified in the eternal contentments?  It seems to me that on that day it will happen as when the sky is starry and the sun comes out.  What happens?  With its immense light, the sun absorbs the stars and makes them disappear; yet the stars exist.  The sun is God, and all of the blessed souls are the stars; with His immense light, God will absorb us all within Himself, in such a way that we will exist in God and will swim in the immense sea of God.  Oh! how many things Jesus in the Sacrament tells us; but who can tell them all?  I would really be too long.  If the Lord allows it, I will reserve saying something else on other occasion.