6/2 In 1997 Fr. Professor Antonio Resta, of the Pontifical Theological Institute, found nothing contrary to the Faith and Morals in his evaluation of Luisa Piccarreta’s writings
Closing Homily – The Mother Church, Corato October 29, 2005
Mons. Giovan Battista Pichierri
Archbishop of Trani – Barletta – Bisceglie
Titular Bishop of Nazareth
Italy
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Closing of Diocesan phase of the Cause of Beatification and Canonization
of the Servant of God
“LUISA PICCARRETA”
Homily – The Mother Church, Corato
10/29/2005
Malachia “1,43-2.8-10; Sl 130: Ts 2,7b-9.13; Mt 23,1-12”
Introduction — Dear Bretheren, we thank and praise the Holy Trinity
for the gift of divine life that we have received from the Holy Father through
his only Son, the Word Made Flesh, in the grace of the Holy Spirit.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit is with all of you“.
We give thanks that there are here today so many brothers and sisters from Churches in Italy and from churches abroad, all gathered together in this holy Mass to give thanks and praise to the Holy Trinity for the gift of our Servant of’ God “Luisa
Piccarreta”, daughter of this blessed land of Canto; and daughter of the Church
of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie, she who in the years of her terrestrial life
(23.04.1865 — 04.03.1947), radiated the light of the risen Christ in her
permanent state of suffering. As St. Paul said;” I have been crucified with
Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me,” (Gal 2,20). We also pray to the Holy Trinity that her
glorification in the role as Servant of God as proclaimed by the supreme
authority of the Church, will make the idea of ”livin g in the will of God”
well known to everybody; like Jesus said; “Thy will be done, on earth, as it is
in heaven”. Praise be for the progress of a Christian life to the glory of God
and His Kingdom.
Announcement – God’s Word: in Malachi 1,4b-2, 2b.8-10 God reminded the leaders of their responsibility towards the people of God. The ministry of the Levites in the Old Testament and the priestly ministry in the New Testament is to serve the Kingdom of God and not to serve itself of the kingdom of God. We have heard:
“If you don’t listen to me and you won’t take into your hearts to give glory to
my name, says the Lord of the armies, I will send down on you a curse and your
blessing will become a curse” (v. 2-7). This Word of God, dear brother priests,
admonishes us in the exercise of our office. In the case of the beatification
of the Servant of God “Luisa Piccarreta” we have to ask ourselves if we ar e
all acting for the glory of God and the good of God’s people. Certainly our
cause is not served by divulging news in advance and especially not by the
propagation of the writings of the Servant of God, ignoring the order
guaranteed by the authority of the Church.
If today we affirm, based on the canonical process at the diocese level, that for us the fame of holiness of Luisa is based on authentic and believable testimony, we are not yet able to pronounce upon the reliability of the doctrine of the writings of Luisa because
we don’t have an accepted version including criticism. Prudence is demanded in
speaking of the thoughts of Luisa. Today we can allow Luisa to be known for her
virtues. but it is prudent and sensible not to give teachings based on her
writings. If we dedicate ourselves to studying them with care and in the grace
of the Holy Spirit, and if we await an accepted edition with criticism, with
results conforming to the doctrine of the Church, her writings can he
published, for which the assent of the Congregation of the Saints will also be
needed.
In Matthew’s Gospel, 23,1-12 Jesus Christ is announced as the only true Teacher: Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted “ (vv. 10-11).
In the experience of Luisa’s faith there are phenomena that are above human ability. There was her prolonged suffering (70 years bedridden), there was the writing of her internal sensations under ecclesiastical obedience when supervised by priests as
demanded by the Archbishops of that time, there were her elevated thoughts over
and above the normal abilities of all illiterate creature. Luisa doesn’t believe herself to be any type of teacher. She is a humble servant of God, in total submission to His will. She wants only to live in the will of God.
When the verdict of the Holy See came to her to return all of her writings, she made this act of submission: “If the Church considers that everything I have written is false, you all must consider it false” (Act of Submission written by Luisa Piccarreta in. date 19.10.1938 and sent to Rome through the Archbishop Giuseppe Maria Leo).
We must look beyond the mysticism expressed in her writings, though at a very high level and with some bold verses, they are still waiting to be studied more profoundly and compared with the doctrine of the Church. Now, we must look to the example her Christian life which shines out brightly for all.
As the apostle Paul said in Thessalonians 1; 2,7b-9.13 “For you remember, brethren, our labour and travail; working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.”
In this way Luisa was able to introduce herself at our diocesan Church, as 1 had the opportunity of describing in my intervention on “The holiness of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta” in the discourse given at the 3rd International Conference.
I would like here to underline just one more aspect of the holiness of Luisa. Luisa lived the beatitude; “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God “(Mt 5,8). In the
indescribable joy of contemplation she already saw on earth “What eye has not
seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God
has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Cor 2,9). You shelter in the Lord and
the Lord the granted special gifts.
Conclusion— How can Luisa be an example for us? To trust completely in God, allowing us to take everything from Jesus in the grace of the Holy Spirit; and to show us the presence of God in the world, as Luisa did, above all in welcoming, in listening and encouraging all those people who were in need and in. pain. Luisa was, as was Saint Pio of Pictrelcina, that had so much respect and veneration for her, a living sign of
God’s love for her.
What characterizes the holiness of Luisa is “living in the will of God.”.
Luisa focuses her attention on the invocation: “your will be done, on
earth as in heaven “ (Mt 6, 10). Let’s ask ourselves: How is God’s will to be
done on earth as it is in heaven? In perfect adherence and in harmony with the love of the Trinity. The Saints can be called “blessed zones”, they are uninhabited and possessed in a conscious way by God the Trinity. How must we
carry out the will God on earth? Jesus Christ taught Luisa to live in the
divine will of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit All the powers of
intelligent and free creatures in the exercise of their free will are raised by
the Holy Spirit:
- to understanding
- to adherence
- to welcoming God with love
because tile Holy Sprint manifests itself in the Incarnation of the Word, Jesus Christ Our Lord, in poverty, obedience, chastity and the gift of itself to everybody.
All creatures in full possession of their faculties of intelligence, of will, of memory and of love through Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Rom 8,4).
The experience of Luisa is of a mystic type. And today Christianity has to recover the mysticism. As a well known theologian has said, Christianity cannot be understood without the mystery; you cannot he a Christian ignoring the mysticism.
The holiness of’ Luisa in the light of the “Divine Will” can give to the Christians of our times such a driving power to their interior life that their external life, so engulfed by
materialism and secularism that the true joy of the life has been taken away.
The joy of life is the hope for eternal life, already alight in the soul that
is looking fur God as the deer yearns for the source of water (Sa142,2).
In the knowledge of the holiness of Luisa Piccarreta, let us raise up a prayer to the Holy Trinity, through her worthiness as a faithful hard-working servant.
***
Mons. Giovanni Battista Pichierri
ARCIVESCOVO
di TRANI – BARLETTA – BISCEGLIE
TITOLARE di NAZARETH
PRAYER TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
For the glorification of the Servant of God
LUISA PICCARRETA
Oh Most Holy Trinity
Father-Son-Holy Spirit
We praise and thank You
For the gift of holiness
You granted to Your faithful servant Luisa Piccarreta.
She lived, dear Father, in Your Divine Will
and became, under the influence of the Holy Spirit,
Similar to Your Son, who died on the cross
due to His obedience. She was a victim and a host
welcome to You, thus contributing
to the redemption of mankind.
Her virtues of obedience, humility,
Love to Christ and to the Church
Urge us to ask You for the gift
Of her glorification on earth, so that
Your glory may shine, and Your kingdom
Of truth, justice and Love may spread
All over the world in the particular charisma of
Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra.
We appeal to her merits to obtain
From You, Holy Trinity, the particular grace
For which we pray to You in Your Divine Will. Amen.
Trani, 29 October 2005
XGiovan Battista Pichierri
Archbishop
Tre gloria (Glory be’s) …
Padre nostro (Our Father) …
Regina dei Santi, prega per noi. (Queen of Heaven, pray for us)
***
The following is the transcribed Italian text for the Homily of October 29, 2005:
XXXI Domenica “A” –
s. Messa in chiusura processo diocesano “Luisa PICCARRETA”
Omelia – Chiesa Madre in Corato 29.10.2005
Malachia “1,43-2.8-10; Sl 130: Ts 2,7b-9.13; Mt 23,1-12”
Introduzione – Carissimi, rendiamo grazie e lodiamo la SS.
Trinità per il dono della vita divina che abbiamo ricevuto dal Padre attraverso
il Figlio Unigenito, il Verbo Incarnato, nell’effusione dello Spirito Santo.
“La grazia del Signore nostro
Gesù Cristo, l’amore di Dio Padre, e la comunione dello Spirito Santo siano con
tutti voi”.
Questa santa Messa è caratterizzata
dal particolare rendimento di grazie e di lode che come Chiesa diocesana, uniti
a noi tanti fratelli e sorelle provenienti da Chiese sorelle d’Italia e
dell’Estero, vogliamo elevare alla SS. Trinità per il dono della Serva di Dio “Luisa Piccarreta”, figlia di questa
terra benedetta di Corato, e figlia della Chiesa diocesana di
Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie, la quale negli anni della sua vita terrena
(23.04.1865 – 04.03.1947) ha irradiato la luce di Cristo risorto nel suo stato
permanente di sofferenza che secondo l’espressione paolina così risuona: “Sono stata crocifissa con Cristo e non sono
più io che vivo, ma Cristo vive in me. Questa vita che vivo nella carne io la
vivo nella fede del F iglio di Dio, che mi ha amata e ha dato se stesso per me”
(Gal 2,20). E nello stesso tempo caratterizzata dalla supplica che eleviamo
alla SS. Trinità perché la glorificazione della sua Serva, proclamata
dall’autorità suprema della Chiesa, renda conoscibile e sicuro il particolare
carisma del “vivere nella volontà di Dio” secondo la preghiera di Gesù Maestro:
“Si compia la tua volontà come in cielo
così in terra”, per il progresso della vita cristiana a gloria di Dio e del
Suo regno.
Annuncio – La Parola di Dio: in Malachia 1,14b-2,2b.8-10 ha
richiamato la responsabilità delle guide nei confronti del popolo di Dio. Il
ministero dei Leviti nell’Antico Testamento e il ministero sacerdotale nel
Nuovo Testamento deve servire il regno di Dio e non servirsi del regno di Dio.
Abbiamo ascoltato: “Se non mi ascoltate e
non vi prenderete a cuore di dare gloria al mio nome, dice il Signore degli
eserciti, manderò su di voi la maledizione e cambierò in maledizione le vostre
benedizioni” (v. 2-7). Questa Parola di Dio, carissimi confratelli
sacerdoti, ci ammonisce circa l’esercizio del nostro ministero. Relativamente
al servizio della causa di beatificazione della Serva di Dio “Luisa Piccarreta”, dobbiamo chiederci se
stiamo tutti operando per la gloria di Dio e il bene del popolo di Dio.
Certamente non giovano alla causa di Luisa fughe in avanti ed in particolare la
propaganda degli scritti della Serva di Dio, uscendo fuori dall’ordine
garantito dall’autorità della Chiesa.
Se oggi affermiamo, in base al
processo canonico compiuto a livello diocesano, che a noi consta la fama di
santità di Luisa in base a testimonianze autentiche e credibili; non possiamo
ancora pronunciarci sull’attendibilità di dottrina sicura degli scritti di
Luisa in quanto non abbiamo ancora una edizione tipica e critica degli stessi
scritti. Per cui si esige prudenza nel parlare del pensiero di Luisa. Allo
stato attuale si può far conoscere Luisa nelle sue virtù, ma è quanto mai
prudente e opportuno non dare insegnamenti in base ai suoi scritti. Se ci
impegneremo a studiarli con accuratezza e sotto l’azione dello Spirito Santo,
una volta pubblicata l’edizione tipica e critica, se i risultati saranno
conformi alla dottrina della Chiesa, essi potranno essere pubblicati. In questo
occorre anche l’assen so della Congregazione dei Santi.
Nel Vangelo di Matteo 23,1-12 Gesù Cristo è annunciato
come unico Maestro: “Non fatevi chiamare
‘Maestri’, perché uno solo è il vostro Maestro, il Cristo. Il più grande tra
voi sia vostro servo; chi invece si innalzerà sarà abbassato e chi si abbasserà
sarà innalzato” (vv. 10-11).
Nell’esperienza di fede di Luisa ci sono fenomeni che
superano le capacità umane: una sofferenza prolungata (circa 70 anni nel
letto), illustrazioni interiori espressi per iscritto sotto obbedienza
ecclesiastica e seguita da sacerdoti a ciò demandati dagli Arcivescovi del
tempo, un pensiero così elevato che supera le capacità normali di una creatura
illetterata. Luisa non si ritiene affatto maestra. Lei è una umile serva del
Signore, sottoposta pienamente alla Sua volontà. Vuol vivere soltanto nella
volontà di Dio.
Quando le giunse il verdetto
della Santa Sede di restituire tutti i suoi scritti, fece questo atto di
sottomissione: “Se la Chiesa considera
falso tutto quello che ho scritto, voi lo dovete considerare falso” (cfr
Atto di sottomissione scritto da Luisa Piccarreta in data 19.10.1938 e inviato
a Roma tramite l’Arcivescovo Giuseppe Maria Leo).
Al di là della mistica espressa
negli scritti, molto elevata e per certi versi ardita e bisognosa di essere
approfondita e confrontata con la dottrina della Chiesa, resta luminoso
l’esempio di vita cristiana della Serva di Dio.
Come ci ha detto l’apostolo Paolo
di sé in 1 Ts 2,7b-9.13: “Voi ricordate infatti, fratelli, la nostra
fatica e il nostro travaglio: lavorando notte e giorno per non essere di peso
ad alcuno vi abbiamo annunciato il Vangelo di Dio”(v.9-11), così anche Luisa ha potuto presentarsi alla nostra
Chiesa diocesana come ebbi modo di descrivere nel mio intervento su “La santità della Serva di Dio Luisa
Piccarreta” nella relazione tenuta al 3° Convegno internazionale il 27 u.s.
Vorrei, in questo contesto, sottolineare soltanto un altro profilo della
santità di Luisa alla luce delle Beatitudini. Luisa visse la beatitudine: “Beati
i puri di cuore perché vedranno Dio” (Mt 5,8). Nella gioia ineffabile della contemplazione
ella già vide in terra “quelle cose che
occhio non vide, né orecchio udì, né mai entrarono in cuore d’uomo” (1 Cor
2,9). Si rifugiò nel Signore e il Signore le concesse doni speciali.
Conclusione – In che cosa Luisa può
essere a noi di esempio? Nel fidarci pienamente di Dio, lasciandoci prendere
per intero da Gesù sotto l’azione dello Spirito Santo; e nel renderci presenza
di Dio nel mondo, così come Luisa fece soprattutto nell’accogliere, ascoltare,
incoraggiare tutti coloro che erano nella necessità e nel dolore. Luisa fu,
come s. Pio da Pietrelcina, che di lei aveva tanta stima e venerazioni, un
segno vivo dell’amore misericordioso di Dio
Ciò che caratterizza la santità di Luisa è “vivere nella volontà di Dio”. Luisa focalizza la sua attenzione sulla invocazione: “sia fatta la tua volontà come in cielo così in terra”
(Mt 6,10).
Chiediamoci: come è fatta la volontà di Dio in cielo? Nella perfetta adesione e
in sintonia dell’Amore Trinitario. I Santi vengono chiamati “beati comprensori”, sono inabitati e posseduti in modo consapevole da Dio Trinità.
Come dobbiamo fare la volontà di Dio in terra? Gesù Cristo educa Luisa
a vivere nella divina volontà del Padre, del Figlio, dello Spirito Santo. Tutte
le sue potenze di creatura intelligente e libera nell’esercizio, vengono
elevate dallo Spirito Santo alla
- comprensione
- adesione
- amorosa accoglienza del
Dio Unitrino
che si manifesta nell’Incarnazione del Verbo, Gesù
Cristo Nostro Signore, nella povertà, ubbidienza, castità e dono di sé a tutti.
Ogni creatura in tutte le sue
potenze di intelligenza, di volontà, di memoria, di cuore mediante il
Battesimo, la Cresima, l’Eucaristia vive secondo lo Spirito e non secondo la
carne (cfr Rom 8,4).
L’esperienza di Luisa è di tipo
mistico. E oggi il cristianesimo deve recuperare la mistica. A tale riguardo mi piace citare due autori di mistica:
- “Oggi, se non si è mistici, non si può essere nemmeno cristiani”
(Karl Rahner). - “Non è la conoscenza che illumina il Mistero, è il Mistero che illumina
la conoscenza” (p. Evdokimov).
La santità di Luisa alla luce del
“Divino Volere” può dare ai cristiani del nostro tempo una carica di vita
interiore tale da riformare uno stile di vita ingolfato nella materialità e nel
secolarismo sino a togliere la vera gioia della vita, che è la speranza della
vita eterna, già accesa nell’anima che cerca Dio come la cerva anela alle sorgenti
delle acque (cfr Sal 42,2).
Eleviamo alla SS. Trinità,
riconoscenti della santità di Luisa
Piccarreta, la supplica attraverso i suoi meriti di serva fedele e operosa.
Preghiera…
The following prayer can also be viewed at the website: http://www.causaluisapiccarreta.it/pagine/testo.aspx?codpage=1
 |
Mons. Giovan Battista Pichierri
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| O augusta e santissima Trinità Padre-Figlio-Spirito Santo noi Ti lodiamo e Ti ringraziamo per il dono della santità della tua serva fedele Luisa Piccarreta.Ella ha vissuto, o Padre, nella Tua divina volontà rendendosi, sotto l’azione dello Spirito Santo, conforme al Figlio tuo obbediente sino alla morte di croce, vittima e ostia a Te gradita cooperando all’opera della redenzione del genere umano.Le sue virtù di obbedienza, di umiltà, di amore sommo a Cristo e alla Chiesa ci spingono a chiederTi il dono della sua glorificazione sulla terra, perchè risplenda a tutti la Tua gloria e il Tuo regno di verità, di giustizia, di amore si diffonda sino ai confini della terra nel particolare carisma del Fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra.Ci appelliamo ai suoi meriti per ottenere da Te, SS. Trinità, la grazia particolare che Ti chiediamo intendendo compiere la Tua divina volontà. Amen. |
|
| Trani, 29 ottobre 2005Tre gloria… Padre nostro… Regina dei Santi, prega per noi. |
 PIA ASS.NE “LUISA PICCARRETA P.F.D.V.” Corato (Ba) – Italia |
***
And yet another English translation of the Closing Homily of October 29, 2005:
Mons. Giovanni Battista Pichierri
ARCHDIOCESE of
TRANI – BARLETTA – BISCEGLIE
TITULATOR of NAZARETH
Thirty-First Sunday “A” –
Holy Mass in Closure
of the Diocesan Process “Luisa PICCARRETA”
Homily – Mother
Church in Corato; October 29, 2005
Malachi “l:43—2,8-20;
Psalm 130:1; Thessalonians 2:7b—9:13; Matthew 23:1—12”
Introduction – Very dearest, let us render thanks and praise to the Most Holy Trinity for the gift of Divine Life that we have received from the Father through His only-begotten Son, the Word Incarnate, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
This Holy Mass is characterized by the particular rendering of thanksgiving and of praise that as Diocesan Church united to our brother and sister provincials from the sister Churches of Italy and of abroad, we want to lift up to the Most Holy Trinity
for the gift of the Servant of God “Luisa Piccarreta,” daughter of this
blessed land of Corato, and daughter of the Diocesan Church of
Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie, who in the years of her earthly life (April 23, 1865
– March 4, 1947) radiated the light of the risen Christ in her permanent state
of suffering that so resounds according to the expression of St. Paul in this
way: “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ is living in me. This life that I live in the flesh I live it in the faith of the Son of God, who has loved me and has given Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). And at the same time it is characterized by the supplication that we raise to the Most Holy Trinity so that the
glorification of His Servant, proclaimed by the supreme authority of the
Church, would render knowable and sure the particular charisma of “to live in
the Will of God” according to the prayer of Jesus the Teacher: “Your Will be fulfilled on earth as It is in Heaven,” for the development of the Christian life for the glory of God
and of His Kingdom.
Announcement – The Word of God: In Malachi 1:14b—2:2b,8-10,
it recalled the responsibility of the leaders in the confrontations with the
people of God. The ministry of the Levites in the Old Testament and the Priestly ministry in the New Testament must serve the Kingdom of God, and not use the Kingdom of God. We have heard: “If you do not listen to Me and do not
take to heart to give glory to My Name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send
curses over you and I will change your blessings into curses.” (verses 2-7).
This Word of God, very dear brother Priests, admonishes us about the
exercise of our ministry. As regards the service of the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God “Luisa Piccarreta,” we must ask ourselves if we are all working for the glory of God and the good of the people of God.
Certainly leaks in advance, and in particular the propagation of the
writings of the Servant of God, going outside of the order called for by the
authority of the Church, are not good for the Cause of Luisa.
If today We declare, according to the canonical process completed at the Diocesan level, that the renown of the sanctity of Luisa is proven to us according to authentic and credible witnesses, we can not yet pronounce on the reliability of secure doctrine of
the writings of Luisa in as much as we do not yet have a typical and critical
edition of the same writings. Therefore prudence is required in speaking about the thinking of Luisa. At the present state, one can make Luisa known in her virtues, but it is however prudent and appropriate not to give teachings according to her writings. If
we will dedicate ourselves to studying them with care and under the action of
the Holy Spirit, once the typical and critical edition is published, if the
results conform to the doctrine of the Church, they will be able to be
published. The approval of the Congregation of the Saints is also necessary in this.
In the Gospel of Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus Christ is announced as the only Teacher: “Do not let yourself be called ‘Teachers’, because only one is your Teacher, the Christ.
The greatest among you will be your servant; one who instead will exalt himself will be humbled, and one who will humble himself will be exalted.” (verses 10-11).
In the experience of Luisa’s faith, there are phenomenons that surpass the human
capacities: prolonged suffering (about 70 years in bed), interior illustrations expressed in writing under ecclesiastical obedience—and followed by priests to whom she was transferred by the Archbishops of the time—a thinking so elevated that it surpasses the normal capacities of an illiterate creature. Luisa never considered herself a teacher at all. She is a humble Servant of the Lord, completely submitted to His Will. She wants to live only in the Will of God.
When the verdict from the Holy See reached her to return all her writings, she made
this act of submission: “If the Church considers false everything that I have written, you must consider it false” (refer to Act of submission written by Luisa Piccarreta on the date October 19, 1938 and sent to Rome by means of Archbishop Giuseppe Maria Leo).
Beyond the mystic expressed in the writings—very elevated and, for certain lines,
bold, and it needs to be examined and compared with the doctrine of the
Church—the example of Christian life of the Servant of God remains luminous.
As the Apostle Paul had said of himself in 1 Thessalonians 2:7b—9,13: “Indeed remember, brothers, our toil and our labor: working night and day in
order to not be a burden in any way, we announced to you the Gospel of God” (verses
9-11), so also Luisa can be presented to Our Diocesan Church, as I had an
opportunity of describing in my speech on “The Sanctity of the Servant of
God Luisa Piccarreta” in the report given at the 3rd International Convention the past 27th. In this context I would like to emphasize just one more aspect of the sanctity of Luisa in the light of the Beatitudes. Luisa lived the beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart because they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). In the ineffable joy of
contemplation she already saw on earth “those things that the eye has not
seen, nor the ear heard, nor ever entered into the heart of man” (l
Corinthians 2:9). She took refuge in the Lord, and the Lord granted her special gifts.
Conclusion – In what way can Luisa be an example for us? In
entrusting ourselves completely to God, leaving ourselves to take completely
from Jesus under the action of the Holy Spirit, and in making ourselves
presence of God in the world, in the same way as Luisa did, above all in
welcoming, listening to, and encouraging all those who were in need and in
suffering. Luisa was, like St. Pio of Pietrelcina—one who had so much esteem and veneration of her—a living sign of the merciful love of God.
What characterized the sanctity of Luisa is “living in the Will of God”. Luisa focused her attention on the invocation:
“Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Let us ask ourselves:
How is the Will of God done in Heaven? In perfect
adherence and in harmony with the Trinitarian Love. The Saints can be called “Blessed Regions”; they are uninhabited, and possessed in a conscious way through God the Trinity.
How must we do the Will of God on earth? Jesus Christ taught Luisa to live in the Divine Will of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. All her powers of
creature, intelligent and free in practice, became elevated by the Holy Spirit to the
- understanding
- adherence
- loving welcome of the One God
who reveals Himself in the Incarnation of the Word, Jesus Christ Our Lord, in poverty, obedience, chastity, and gift of Himself to everyone.
Every creature in all her powers of intelligence, of will, of memory, of heart, by
means of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, lives according to the Spirit
and not according to the flesh (refer to Romans 8:4).
The experience of Luisa is of the mystical type. And today Christianity must get back the mystical. In such regard it is my pleasure to cite two mystical authors:
- “Today, if one is not mystical, one can not even
be Christian” (Karl Rahner). - “It is not knowledge that illuminates the Mystery,
it is the Mystery that illuminates knowledge” (P. Evdokimov).
The sanctity of Luisa in the light of the “Divine Volition” can give to Christians of our time
a deep interior life such as to re-form a style of life immersed in materialism
and in secularism, even to taking away the true joy of life, that is, the hope
of Eternal Life, already enflamed in the soul who seeks God as the doe longs
for the source of the waters (Psalm 42:2).
Let us rise up to the Most Holy Trinity, grateful for the sanctity of Luisa Piccarreta, supplication through her merits of faithful and industrious Servant.
Prayer…
† Giovan Battista Pichierri
Archbishop
Mons. Giovanni Battista Pichierri
ARCHDIOCESE of
TRANI – BARLETTA – BISCEGLIE
TITULATOR of NAZARETH
PRAYER TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
For the glorification of the Servant of God
LUISA PICCARRETA
O August and Most Holy Trinity
Father-Son-Holy Spirit
we praise You and we thank You
for the gift of sanctity
of Your faithful servant Luisa Piccarreta.
She lived, O Father, in Your Divine Will
making herself, under the action of the Holy Spirit,
similar to Your Son obedient even to death on the Cross,
victim and host pleasing to You,
cooperating with the work of the Redemption
of mankind.
Her virtues of obedience, of humility,
of highest love for Christ and for the Church
urge us to ask You for the gift
of her glorification on earth,
so that Your glory may shine for all,
and Your Kingdom of truth, of justice, and of love
may spread even to the ends of the earth
in the particular charisma of the
Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra.
(Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven.)
We appeal to her merits in order to obtain
from You, Most Holy Trinity,
the particular grace that we ask of You
intending to fulfill Your Divine Will. Amen.
Trani, October 29, 2005
† Giovan Battista Pichierri
Archbishop
Three Glory be’s …
Our Father …
Our Lady, Queen of Saints, pray for us.
