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9/27 EVERY ACT OF DIVINE WILL IS A WAY BEING OPENED BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

BOOK OF HEAVEN

From the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

the Little Daughter of the Divine Will

VOLUME 36

 July 11, 1938

 How, with True Love, anything one wants the other does too. Every Act of Divine Will is a way being opened between Heaven and earth.  The Breath of God in the creature.

 

I am always in the arms of the Divine Volition, and as I was writing I felt the weight of the great sacrifice of writing, and I offered it to my dear Jesus, to obtain that the Divine Will may be known, wanted and Loved by all. O! How much I would give my life to let It be known by all. 

Since I was suffering, with difficulty I continued to write, and my sweet Jesus, to give me Strength, told me: “My blessed daughter (Luisa), Courage, I am with you (Luisa); I am so pleased when you (Luisa) write that, for each word you (Luisa) write, I give you (Luisa) a kiss, a hug and one of My Divine Lives, as a Gift. Do you (Luisa) know why? Because I see, copied in these Writings, Our Life of Eternal Love, the copy of Our Operating Divine Will.  Also, Our Love, repressed for six thousand years, bursts out, and finds relief for Our Flames, in making known how much It Loves the creature; to the extent that It wants to give her Its own Will as Life. This, so that on both sides we can say: what is mine is yours. 

“Only then True Love is satisfied, when It can say: ‘We Love each other with equal Love.  What I want she wants.  If there were any disparity of Love, it would make both of us unhappy, and if one wanted something and the other something else, the Union, the Love would cease.  Since My Love is True Love, knowing that the creature has a limited love and will, We can say that we Love each other with one Love, that we have only one Will.  If one doesn’t become the will of the other, True Love doesn’t exist and cannot arise.  Therefore, you (Luisa) should be Happy to be used for the Outpouring of My Love—for many centuries repressed—and for the refreshment of My Flames that are such as to make Me delirious. So, let’s Love each other with one Love and let’s say together: ‘What you want I want.’ Say: ‘Jesus, dissolve my will into Yours, and give me Yours to Live.’”

Then, after we promised each other to Live of one Will, my beloved Jesus added with more Tenderness: “My good daughter (Luisa), you (Luisa) must know that the Power of each act done in My Will is such that it opens a way to Heaven for oneself, and others who follow. Therefore every act is a way that leads to Heaven.  All these ways, coming down from Heaven, braid the earth; they spread everywhere and become safe paths and safe guides for anyone who wants to enter, guiding her up to the Womb of her Creator.  See then, what an act in My Will can do:  it is one more way that opens between Heaven and earth.  How Beautiful it is Living in My Will.  The act is not only a way but, as the soul is about to do it, the Divine Breath descends into it and, blowing, fills all Creation with Its Omnipotent Breath.  Everybody feels the Refreshment, the Love and the Power of the Creative Breath, that has the Power to enclose everyone and everything, embalming with Its Divine and Celestial Air My Operating Will, within Ourselves as much as in the creature.  It makes Wonders to the extent that It can say: ‘I am a Divine Act, I can do anything.’ 

“There is no Greater Honor that We can give to the creatures, and no Glory We can receive from the creatures that makes Us more Glorified, Happy and Triumphant, than letting Our Will Operate in their act. We feel locked in her act, while still being free to Operate in the human circle as only God can.  Doing this is an Exuberant Love for Us:  We Love Our Act in which We see the Action of Our Power and Unreachable Beauty, Our Sanctity, Love and Goodness, covering all, kissing and embracing everybody in Our Divine Qualities:  how not to Love such a Great Act?  We Love she who called Us and gave Us her act, allowing Us to do an Act so Great:  how not to Love her?  She, who served as Our Bearer, to Operate so many of Our Wonders.  What wouldn’t We give to her, and who could ever refuse her anything?  It is sufficient to tell you (Luisa) that one who Lives in Our Will leaves everyone behind.  She is first in Sanctity, Beauty and Love.  We can feel Our Echo, Our Breath in hers; she doesn’t pray for, but takes what she wants from Our Divine Treasures.  Therefore, cherish always in your heart to Live in Our Divine Will.”

After this He added: “My daughter (Luisa), Our Will circulates in all created things as blood in the veins. The Primary Act, the motion, the heat is always Its own. But if My Will finds a creature who recognizes It and Lives in It—while It keeps circulating in everything—It concentrates in this creature, forming Its own support to Operate Its Marvels; and while, with Power and Immensity, It never leaves anyone, It opens Its communications with this creature for the benefit of those who will have ears to listen to them, intelligence to understand them, heart to receive them and Love them.  In this creature, It will deposit Its Graces and Its keenness of Love, while the human will Living in It will serve as the room in which to continue Its Operating Act, forming Its Center—Its Divine chamber—for Its continuous Expression of Love.  As the creature does her acts in My Will, she is Reborn in God and God in her, and these Births will make New Horizons arise: more Beautiful Heavens, brighter Suns, New Divine Knowledge.  For every additional act she does in Our Will, We feel more moved to make Ourselves known, We feel more confident in placing Our Trust in her, since Our Will is in her.  She will know how to keep with jealousy what We tell her and what We give her.  Therefore, in every New Birth she will rise to New Love, New Sanctity, New Beauty.  Then, looking at her in a delirium of Love, We say to her:  ‘Our Will makes you more and more Beautiful, more and more Saint, and the more you Live in It the more you grow and Rise Again in Our Divine Being. For every New Act you do, Our Will imposes Itself to make Us give you what is Ours, and to tell you New Secrets, grant you New Discoveries of Our Love.

“If We did not always give to this creature, We would feel motion lacking to Our Divine Life. This cannot be. Neither can she live without receiving, otherwise she would feel lacking the food of Love, the Tenderness of her Heavenly Father.  Therefore, be attentive, and recognize that you (Luisa) are being carried by the arms of the Divine Paternity.”

 

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9/23 FEAST DAY OF ST. PIO OF PIETRELCINA

 

 

9/23 Feast Day of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Today is the Feast Day of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

More Information on the Web can be viewed here or here:

St. Pio of Pietrelcina
and the Servant of God,
Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will

Blessed Padre Pio, Luisa Piccarreta and Rosaria Bucci
( from “A Collection of Memories of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
by Fr. Bucci”)

Luisa Piccarreta and Blessed Padre Pio of Pietrelcina knew one another for some time without ever having met, for Luisa was always confined to the bed where she sat, while Padre Pio was enclosed in the friary of the Capuchin Fathers of San Giovanni Rotondo.
One question naturally arises, how did they come to know one another? This is difficult to discover, yet one thing is certain, that the two did know and esteem one another.
My aunt recounts how Luisa would speak with respect and veneration of the blessed father, describing him as a “true man of God”, who still had great suffering to face for the good of souls.
In about 1930, a well-known figure arrived at Luisa’s house, sent personally by Padre Pio. He was Federico Abresch, a convert of Padre Pio. Federico spoke at length with Luisa. What they said we are not given to know; but one thing is certain. Federico Abresch became an apostle of the Divine Will and regularly visited Luisa, with whom he always had long conversations.
When his little son received his first communion from Padre Pio’s hands, he was also immediately taken to see Luisa who, according to the story, foretold that he would become a priest.
The small boy of that time is now a priest and works at the Congregation for Bishops in Rome; he is known by the name of Mgr. Pio Abresch.
When Luisa was condemned by the Holy Office and her works put on the Index, Padre Pio sent her this message though Federico Abresch: “Dear Luisa, saints serve for the good of souls, but their suffering knows no bounds”. At that time Padre Pio was also in very great difficulties.
Blessed Padre Pio sent many people to Luisa Piccarreta and would say to the people of Corato who went to San Giovanni Rotondo: “What have you come here for? You have Luisa, go to her”.
Padre Pio recommended to certain of his faithful (including Federico Abresch) that they open a spirituality center at San Giovanni Rotondo, inspired by the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
Miss Adriana Pallotti (a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio) is currently an heir to Padre Pio’s wishes. She has opened a House of the Divine Will at San Giovanni Rotondo, keeping alive the torch lit by Padre Pio with Federico Abresch. Miss Adriana Pallotti says that it was Blessed Padre Pio who encouraged her to spread Luisa Piccarreta’s spirituality in San Giovanni Rotondo and to help disseminate the Divine Will throughout the world, as Padre Pio desired.
Aunt Rosaria went regularly to San Giovanni Rotondo, especially after Luisa’s death. Padre Pio knew her very well, and when Luisa was still alive he would ask Aunt Rosaria when he saw her: “Rosa’, how is Luisa?”.
Aunt Rosaria would answer him: “She is well!”.
After Luisa’s death, Aunt Rosaria increased her visits to San Giovanni Rotondo, in order to receive enlightenment and advice from Padre Pio.
Aunt Rosaria was the one lamp that stayed alight to resolve Luisa Piccarreta’s case regarding the sentence of the Holy Office, visiting various ecclesiastical figures and, in addition, confronting the Congregation of the Holy Office. Once she managed – it is not known how – to enter the office of the Cardinal Prefect, Ottaviani, who heard her kindly and promised to take up the case.
Indeed, a few days later, Aunt Rosaria was summoned by Archbishop Addazi of Trani, who said to her: “Miss Rosaria, I do not know whether to reprimand you or to admire you for your courage. You have faced the guard dog of the Church, the great defender of the faith, without being bitten”.
The conclusion was that permission was obtained to move Luisa’s body from the cemetery to the Church of Santa Maria Greca.
Luisa said to my aunt: “You will be my witness” and one day Padre Pio told her point-blank in his Benevento dialect: “Rosa’, va nanz, va nanz ca Luisa iè gran e u munn sarà chin di Luisa” (Rosaria, go ahead, go ahead for Luisa is great and the world will be full of Luisa). My aunt often recounted this episode, but things were not going well: everything indicated that Luisa would soon be forgotten.
After the venerated Padre Pio’s death, my aunt said one day: “Padre Pio prophesied that Luisa would be known throughout the world”. And she repeated the phrase Padre Pio had said in his dialect.
I answered that there would be no easy solution to the case of Luisa Piccarreta Indeed nothing further was said of it in Corato either, and Padre Pio’s words could have been considered merely a comforting remark. But Aunt Rosaria retorted: “No! During my confession Padre Pio told me that Luisa is not a human factor, she is a work of God and he himself will make her emerge. The world will be astounded at her greatness; not many years will pass before this happens. The new millennium will see Luisa’s light”.
I was silent at this assertion and my aunt asked me: “But do you believe in Luisa?”.
I answered her that I did.
Then she said to me: “Come to my house in a few days’ time, because I have something very important to tell you”.
It was during the 70s and Padre Pio had been dead for a several
years.

Aunt Rosaria’s secret

In 1975, on 2 February to be exact – I remember it was a
very chilly day – my aunt summoned me to her house. She was very old and was
beginning to have problems with her sight, due to diabetes. My nephew and niece,
Vincenzo and Sara, went to her house to keep her company.

That day, I found her sitting at the window as she recited the
Rosary.

I sat down next to her, and having greeted her, asked her what
it was she wanted to tell me that was so important.

She looked at me and said: “What I am going to tell you now
is of the utmost importance. Try to use it well and I urge you to meditate on
the miracles of the Lord who gave us Luisa, a precious creature in God’s eyes
and an instrument of his mercy. You would find it hard to discover such a
precious, great soul. Luisa goes beyond herself, and you can only contemplate
her fully in God’s mystery. Mary was the One who brought redemption into the
world with her
Fiat, which is why the Lord enriched her in such a
wonderful way that she became a creature who was raised to the dignity of Mother
of God. Mary is the Mother of God, and no other creature will ever equal
her in greatness and power; after God it is she alone who expresses the Lord’s
marvels to the world. After Our Lady comes Luisa, who brings the world the third
Fiat, the Fiat of Sanctification“.

She said this quietly, marking her words well, convinced of
what she was asserting. I was overwhelmed by these assertions.

“That is why Luisa was always nailed to her bed and every
day offered to the Divine Majesty as a victim of expiation to God’s Most Holy
Will
“, she continued. “God was pleased with this creature and so
jealously guarded her that he removed her from human beings, entrusting her only
to his Church, so that she could preserve her and humanly forge her with
infinite penances and misunderstandings. My Luisa knew no human consolations but
only divine ones; her body was continually suspended between heaven and earth,
and her earthly life was a continuous contradiction in comparison with normal
human lives. Even in her body, she had to belong entirely to God
“.

She then confided to me: “One day the Lord said to Luisa:
‘all those who have seen and known you will be saved
’”.

“Dear Peppino, this is an extraordinary gift of God and it
has remained shrouded in silence because Luisa did not want knowledge of it
broadcast, or she would have become the object of curiosity or veneration which,
she said, she did not deserve. Except that one day her confessor told me that I
could speak of it and spread it with discretion. Now I have told you, in
the hope that you may be able to make good use of it
“.

That day I was left enchanted by the language used by Aunt
Rosaria, who expressed theological concepts perfectly, and even in a poetic
vein.

By accident, the notes I had made were lost and I have limited
myself to writing what I remember.

Her death, almost unexpected, gave me no time to ask her
further questions, which would have provided a clear explanation of what she had
told me.

Aunt Rosaria died in 1978.

9/23 St. Pio of Pietrelcina died on this day in 1968

More Information on St. Pio of Pietrelcina
can be found on this Site’s September 23, 2011 Post,
as well as on the Web at:
http://www.padrepiodevotions.org/
http://www.ewtn.com/padrepio/index.htm

St. Pio of Pietrelcina
and the Servant of God,
Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will

Book of Heaven
The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose
for which He was Created by God
Volume 6 – September 28, 1904

Repressing oneself is worth more than acquiring a kingdom

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

This morning, since my most sweet Jesus was not coming, I went through a very hard time. I did nothing but repress and force myself, and I said to myself: “What am I still here for? What is the value for me of this repressing myself continuously?” While I was thinking of this, He came like a flash and said to me: “Repressing oneself is worth more than acquiring a kingdom.” And He disappeared.

9/23 Tomorrow is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Ransom (Our Lady of Mercy)

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of

Our Lady of Ransom
(also known as Our Lady of Mercy)

Please check out the following web sites here and here
for more information on today’s Feast 

***

Volume 16 – January 14, 1923

The Divine Will was everything for man, and with It he needed nothing. Before the scourging, Jesus wanted to be stripped, in order to give back to the creature her royal garments.

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

I was contemplating the mystery of the Scourging, compassionating my sweet Jesus in the moment when He saw Himself so confused in the midst of enemies – stripped of His garment, under a storm of blows. And my adorable Jesus, coming out from my interior in the state in which He found Himself when He was scourged, told me: “My daughter, do you want to know the reason for which I was stripped when I was scourged? In every mystery of My Passion, first I occupied Myself with adjusting the fracture between the human will and the Divine, and then with the offenses which this fracture produced.

“When man in Eden broke the bonds of the union between the Supreme Will and his will, he stripped himself of the royal garments of My Will, and clothed himself with the miserable rags of his will – weak, inconstant, incapable of doing any good. My Will was a sweet enchantment for him, which kept him absorbed within a most pure light, which made him know nothing but His God, from Whom he came, and which gave him nothing else but immeasurable happiness. And he was so absorbed by all that his God gave him, that he gave no thought to himself. Oh, how happy man was, and how the Divinity delighted in giving him so many particles of His being for as many as the creature can contain, in order to render him similar to Himself. So, as soon as he (Adam) broke the union of Our Will with his, he lost the royal garment; he lost enchantment, light, happiness. He looked at himself without the light of My Will, and in looking at himself without the enchantment which kept him absorbed, he knew himself and felt ashamed. He was afraid of God, to the extent that nature itself felt its sad effects: he was cold, felt his nakedness, and felt the strong need to cover himself. And just as Our Will kept him in the harbor of immense happinesses, so did his will put him in the harbor of miseries.
Our Will was everything for man, and in It he found everything. It was fair that, having been delivered by Us and living in Our Will as Our tender child, he would live of It. And this Will was to make up for all that he needed. Therefore, when he wanted to live of his will, he needed everything because the human will does not have the power to make up for all needs, nor does it contain the source of good within itself. So, he was forced to earn with hardship the necessary things of life.

“See, then, what it means not to be united with My Will! Oh, if all knew It, how they would have one single yearning: that my Will come to reign upon earth!

Therefore, had Adam not withdrawn from the Divine Will, also his nature would have had no need of clothing; he would not have felt the shame of his nakedness, nor would he have been subject to suffer cold, heat, hunger, weakness. But these natural things were almost nothing; they were, rather, symbols of the great good which his soul had lost.

“So, My daughter (Luisa), before being tied to the column to be scourged, I (Jesus) wanted to be stripped in order to suffer and repair the nakedness of man, when he stripped himself of the royal garment of My Will. I felt such confusion and pain within me in seeing Myself stripped in the midst of enemies who were making fun of Me, that I cried over the nakedness of man and I offered my nakedness to My Celestial Father, so that man might be clothed once again with the royal garment of My Will. And as ransom, so that it would not be denied to Me, I offered My Blood, My flesh torn to shreds, and I let Myself be stripped not only of my garment, but also of My flesh, to be able to pay the price and satisfy for the crime of nakedness of man. I poured so much Blood in this mystery that in no other did I pour so much of it – so much as to be enough to cover him with a second garment, a garment of Blood; to cover him again and therefore warm him and wash him, to dispose him to receive the royal garment of My Will.”

On hearing this, surprised I said: “My beloved Jesus, how can it be possible that, because he withdrew from Your Will, man felt the need to clothe himself, was ashamed, was afraid…? And then, You always did the Will of the Celestial Father, You were One with Him, and your Mama never knew her Will – yet, You felt the needed of clothing, of food, and You suffered cold and heat…”

And Jesus added: “Yet, My daughter, it is exactly so. If man felt ashamed of his nakedness and was subject to many natural miseries, it was exactly because he lost the sweet enchantment of My Will; and even though the evil was done by his soul, not by his body, the body, however, was an indirect accomplice in the bad will of man. His nature remained as though profaned by the bad will of man; therefore both one and the other had to feel the pain of the evil done. As far as Myself, indeed I always did the Supreme Will, but I did not come to find an innocent man, a man before sin; rather, I came to find a man sinner and with all his miseries. And so I had to join him, taking upon Myself all the evils of man, and subjecting Myself to all the necessities of life, as if I were one of them. However, in Me there was this prodigy: if I wanted, I would need nothing, either clothing, food or other things. But I did not want to use it out of love for man. I wanted to sacrifice Myself in everything, even in the most innocent things created by Me, in order to prove him My ardent love. Even more, this served to beseech My Divine Father, so that, out of regard for Me and for My will completely sacrificed to Him, He would give back to man the noble royal garment of Our Will.”

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9/21 FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

September 21, A.D. 2017 – Saint Matthew Apostle and Evangelist

Calendar for the Traditional Roman Rite

Matthew the tax-collector and Levi are the same person. The name Matthew, which he received after the call from Jesus, means “Gift of God”. We do not know when or why the Lord gave him the name by which he is now best known in the Church. Out of respect for their fellow apostle, neither Luke nor Mark mentions Matthew’s profession, because taxcollectors were hated. Matthew himself, however, reports that the Lord “saw a man called Matthew, sitting at the taxbooth”, that is a man already known as Matthew. As Saint John Chrysostom notes: “The apostle is deserving of admiration for not concealing his former life, and also giving his name, which the others concealed with another appellation”. The apostle does not deny his former life, but acknowledges his alteration after being called. This demonstrates his humility.

Matthew lived in Capernaum, a of Herod. As a clerk, he would have been in the service of some larger employer who had paid the tax revenues of the city, or even the region, to the Romans and then had the right to keep whatever monies he had raised. Matthew would certainly have known the Aramaic spoken by the Jews in the area, and Greek as well. When the Lord said: “Follow me”, he left immediately, abandoning everything without hesitation This indicates that he already knew and respected the Lord. He, too, belonged to the tax-collectors who approached the Lord and concerning whom the Pharisees condemned Him for being “a friend of tax-collectors” (Luke 7, 35; 15, 1). Matthew must have been a rich man.

This is apparent from the fact that he had his own house. It was there that, to celebrate his call and the abandonment of his profession, he gave a farewell meal, to which he invited a good many people.

Apostle Matthew. Manuscript from Sinai, 12th Century :After his call, he was not prominent among the circle of disciples. Not when the Lord was alive, nor after the resurrection. His name is not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament . This was almost certainly because of his humility. Clement the Alexandrian provides us with details of his strictly ascetic life: “ For the Apostle Matthew ate cereals, nuts and vegetables, without meat”.

After the Lord’s resurrection, Matthew preached Christ for about eight years to the Jews. It was here that, between 60-66 A.D., he wrote the Gospel, originally in Aramaic, and then either translated it himself or had it translated into Greek It contains narratives of the events in the life of the Lord and also teachings which He used in His catechesis. Irinaios is the first to mention that “the Gospel according to Saint Matthew was written to the Jews”.

The purpose behind the writing of the Gospel of Saint Matthew was to make manifest that Christ came “from the seed of Abraham”, which is why the narrative begins with His nativity. As Saint John Chrysostom says: “He wanted nothing more than to show that He was of the seed of Abraham and David… for nothing would soothe a Jew so much as to know that Christ was the descendant of Abraham and David”. This is why he selects important events in the life of Christ, compiles His sayings and presents them in such a way that they demonstrate that Jesus Christ is, indeed, the Messiah Who was foretold for the Jews. By quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament, he makes it clear that they were fulfilled in the person of Christ. Saint Nikodimos the Athonite declares that: “later he was put to death by fire by the infidels”, in Ierapolis, in Syria. It may be that this is confirmed by a verse in his Life: “‘Jesus You also save taxcollectors; grace belongs to You’. This is what Matthew cried, when he was in the midst of the fire”. By the prayers of Your apostle, God, have mercy upon us. Amen.

 

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9/20 NOVENA TO ST. MICHAEL STARTS TODAY!

 

9/20 Novena to St Michael starts Today!

a_st-michael

Novena to St. Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and His People. I/we turn to you with confidence and seek your powerful intercession. For the love of God, Who made you so glorious in grace and power, and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels, be pleased to hear my/our prayer. You know the value of my/our souls in the eyes of God. May no stain of evil ever disfigure it beauty. Help me/us to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me/us. I/We desire to imitate your loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church and your great love for God and people. And since you are God’s messenger for the care of His people, I/we entrust to you these special intentions:  …specific intentions need only be recited on the 1st day….Mention your requests

Lord, hear and grant my/our special intentions for this Novena that I/we bring before You.

Pray for me/us, St. Michael, and also for those I/we love. Protect me/us in all dangers of body and soul. Help me/us in my/ our daily needs. Through your powerful intercession, may I/we live a holy life, die a happy death and reach Heaven where I/we may praise and love God with you forever. Amen.

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be …

Instructions: Pray this prayer daily for nine days.

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9/19 FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE, FRANCE (1846)

 

9/19 Feast of Our Lady of La Salette, France (1846)

Our Lady of La Salette 

Mélanie and Maximin, the two children privileged to see Mary in 1846, came from the town of Corps near Grenoble, in a poor part of south-eastern France. Maximin Giraud was eleven years old at the time and Mélanie Calvat fourteen. On Saturday 19 September, they were looking after their employer’s cattle, high up on the pasture above La Salette, a village near Corps, when they saw a wonderful apparition of Mary.

A globe of light opened to reveal a resplendent woman seated on a stone with her head in her hands. The children later described her as very tall and beautiful, wearing a long, white, pearl studded, sleeved dress, and a white shawl, with some sort of tiara or crown on her head. Hanging from her neck was a large crucifix adorned with a small hammer and pincers, with a brilliantly shining figure of Christ on it. The whole effect was as if she was made of light.

Speaking tearfully she told them that unless people repented she would be forced to let go the arm of her son because it had become so heavy. Mary went on to complain that she had to pray ceaselessly to her son for them, but the people still worked on Sundays and blasphemed. She also spoke of coming punishments for these sins, including crop blights and famine. She confided a secret to each of the children, which they were not to divulge, although eventually these secrets were made known to Pope Pius IX.

Finally she asked the children to spread her message before disappearing. When the children returned home they told their story, an account of which was taken down in writing the next day. They faced much opposition in making known Mary’s message, but they maintained their story with resolution. The local Bishop too faced quite a degree of opposition in investigating the apparition, and it was only after four years, and having set up two commissions of enquiry, that Mgr de Bruillard, as bishop of Grenoble, approved of devotion to Our Lady of Salette, in the following terms.

“We declare that the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two shepherds, on September 19, 1846, on a mountain in the Alps in the parish of La Salette, bears in itself all the marks of truth and that the faithful are justified in believing without question in its truth. And so, to mark our lively gratitude to God and the glorious Virgin Mary, we authorise the cult of Our Lady of La Salette.”

Saint Annibale Di Francia and Melanie Calvat

***

From:   “THE KINGDOM OF THE DIVINE WILL
An Introduction to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta
The Little Daughter of the Divine Will”


1897 – 1898

Saint Annibale and Melanie Calvat with Daughters of Divine Zeal

In the beginning, Saint Annibale entrusted the girls’ orphanage to a distinguished widow who had been converted to a life of piety through one of his sermons: Laura Jensen Bucca was a genuine help to him for several years, but then she resigned. The priest turned to various religious communities, only in vain. So he decided to found his own congregation of nuns whom he called Daughters of Divine Zeal, patterned after the inspiration of the Rogate – the expression of the zeal burning in the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.

The budding community was not without its headaches: tribulation goes hand in hand with all the works of God. Not only that, it is the bright badge of divine favor. In the light of a schism which occurred, the Institute was suppressed by Church authority. Thanks to the offices of a venerable Friar Minor, Fr. Bernard of Portosalvo, a one-year stay on the decree was given to the Fr. Annibale. The Institute was put on trial. During that year, he had as a cooperator for his work none other than Melanie Calvat, the famous young shepherdess to whom the Mother of God appeared on the mountain of La-Salette. Melanie remained at the Institute for one year, from September 1897 to September 1898 – a year which, in the words of Saint Annibale, was a year of blessing. The trial period was weathered successfully, having a healthy and vigorous effect on the community, and the women’s congregation was put on a safe footing.

Melanie died at the age of 72, alone and unattended, on December 14, 1904, at Altamura, near Bari, Italy. She is buried beneath a marble column with a bas-relief depiction of Our Lady welcoming her into heaven. In spite of her unapproved writings, Melanie was always faithful to her original account of the apparition and message of La Salette. She demonstrated this at the Shrine of La Salette during her last visit there September 8-19,1902.

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