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10/1 OCTOBER IS THE MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY

 

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Rosary, Biblical Basis

Q: Is there a biblical basis for the Rosary?

A: As you know the bible does “not” tell us to pray the rosary because this form of prayer originated only during the middle ages. However, important elements of the Rosary are biblical and/or belong to the common Christian beliefs. Judge for yourself.

1) The “creed” or profession of faith at the beginning of the Rosary is nothing else but the earliest baptismal profession still common to all Christian documentation.

2) The “Our Father”–also part of the Rosary–is literally biblical.

3) Among the “fifteen mysteries” there are very few which are not directly biblical, namely the Assumption of Mary and her crowning. The Assumption is related to Gen 3,15; the crowning can be assimilated to Apoc 12.1.

4) The first part of the “Hail Mary” corresponds to the Angel’s salutation at the Annunciation and that of Elisabeth at the Visitation (Lk 1:28 and 2:42).

5) The second half, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” might be understood as follows:

“Holy Mary” again corresponds to the biblical passage of the Annunciation (Lk 1:28: “full of grace”)

“Mother of God” is the very meaning of the biblical annunciation even if the term as such was approved at Ephesus (431)

“Pray for us”: although not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, the intercession can be related to the Wedding Feast at Cana where Mary intercedes with her Son for the young couple in trouble. See also Lk 18:13. The earliest prayer of intercession regarding Mary (Sub Tuum) dates from the fourth century. It was common to all Christian traditions for more than one thousand years, until the Reformation. It is important to remember that Mary intercedes for us only in and through Jesus Christ.

“Now and at the hour of our death”: these concluding words were added only in the ninteenth century. They are not in the bible but can be related to Mary’s station at the foot of the Cross as refuge of hope.

6) Finally, the “Glory be to the Father” makes direct reference to the Trinity. It is not mentioned as such in the Bible but nobody would question Father, Son and Spirit and the praise due to them.

 

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

In the Divine Will

 rosary-in-the-divine-will From the Writings of

The Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

 

Dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

 

Volume 25 – October 7, 1928 The opening of the House of the Divine Will in Corato. Simile of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.  My entrance into it.  The eucharistic lamp and the living lamp of one who does the Divine Will.  The prisoner near the Prisoner.  Jesus’ delight at this company.

My Jesus, Life of my poor heart, You who know in what bitternesses I find myself, come to my help! Overwhelm the little newborn of your Divine Volition into your flames, that You may give me, again, the strength to be able to begin another volume, and your Divine Fiat may eclipse my miserable will, that it may have life no more, and your Divine Will may take over, and It Itself may write, with the characters of Its light, that which You, my Love, want me to write.  And so that I may make no mistake, act as my prompter; and only if You commit Yourself to accepting to be my word, thought and heartbeat, and to lead my hand with yours, can I make the sacrifice of returning to write what You want.  My Jesus, I am here, near the Tabernacle of love.  From that adored little door which I have the honor to gaze at, I feel your divine fibers, your Heart palpitating, emitting flames and rays of endless light at each heartbeat; and in those flames I hear your moans, your sighs, your incessant supplications and your repeated sobs, for You want to make your Will known, to give Its life to all; and I feel myself being consumed with You and repeating what You do.  Therefore I pray You, while You gaze at me from within the Tabernacle, and I gaze at You from within my bed, to strengthen my weakness, that I may make the sacrifice of continuing to write.

Now, in order to be able to say what Jesus told me, I have to make a brief mention – that here in Corato a House has been founded, which was wanted and started by the venerable memory of father canonical Annibale Maria di Francia, and which his children, faithful to the will of their founder, have executed and given the name of House of the Divine Will, as the venerable father wanted.  And he wanted me to enter this House; and on the first day of its opening, by their goodness, his sons and daughter, the reverend mothers, came to take me and brought me into a room which is such that, as the door of this room is opened, I can see the Tabernacle, I can listen to Holy Mass, I am just under the gazes of my Jesus in the Sacrament.  Oh! how happy I feel, that from now on, if Jesus wants me to continue to write, I will write always keeping one eye on the Tabernacle and the other on the paper I write on.  Therefore, I pray You, my Love, to assist me and to give me the strength to make the sacrifice that You Yourself want.

So, as this House was about to be opened, one could see people, nuns, little girls – people coming and going, all in motion. I felt all impressed, and my sweet Jesus, moving in my interior, told me:  “My daughter, this group of people whom you see all in motion for the opening of the House of my Divine Will is symbolic of that group of people when I wanted to be born in Bethlehem, and the shepherds were coming and going, to visit Me, a little Baby.  This pointed out to all the certainty of my birth.  In the same way, this group of people, all in motion, points out the rebirth of the Kingdom of my Divine Will.  Look at how all of Heaven echoes my birth, when the Angels, celebrating it, announced Me to the shepherds, and putting them in motion, made them keep coming to Me, and I recognized in them the first fruits of the Kingdom of my Redemption.  So now, in this group of people, of little girls and nuns, I recognize the beginning of the Kingdom of my Divine Will.  Oh! how my Heart exults and rejoices, and all of Heaven makes feast.  Just as the Angels celebrated my birth, so do they celebrate the beginning of the rebirth of my Fiat in the midst of creatures.  But, look at how my birth was more neglected, more poor – I had not even one priest near Me, but only poor shepherds.  On the other hand, at the beginning of my Volition, there is not only a group of nuns and little girls from out of town, and a people rushing up to celebrate the opening, but there is an archbishop and priests representing my Church.  This is symbol and announcement to all, that the Kingdom of my Divine Volition will be formed with more magnificence, with greater pomp and splendor than the very Kingdom of my Redemption; and everyone, kings and princes, bishops and priests and peoples, will know the Kingdom of my Fiat and will possess It.  Therefore, you too, celebrate this day in which my sighs and sacrifices, and yours, to make my Divine Will known see the first dawn and hope for the Sun of my Divine Fiat to soon rise.”

Then, the evening came of this day consecrated to the Queen of the Rosary, Queen of victories and of triumphs. And this is another beautiful sign that, just as the Sovereign Lady conquered Her Creator, and bejewelling Him with Her chains of love, She drew Him from Heaven to earth, to make Him form the Kingdom of Redemption, so will the sweet and powerful beads of Her Rosary make Her victorious and triumphant again before the Divinity, conquering the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat, to make It come into the midst of creatures. 

I had not at all thought that, on that very evening, I would move to the House of Divine Will, near my Prisoner Jesus; only, I prayed Him not to let me know when this would be, so as not to profane such an act with my human will, so that I might put nothing of my own, but do the Divine Will in everything.  It was eight o’clock in the evening when, out of the ordinary, the confessor came, who, prayed by the reverend mothers superior, imposed out of obedience that I should surrender and make the superior content.  I resisted quite a bit, because I thought that if the Lord wanted so, it would be in the month of April, a warmer season, and so we would think about it then.  But the confessor insisted so much that I had to surrender.  So, around nine thirty in the evening, I was brought to this House, near my Prisoner Jesus.  And this is the little story of why I find myself in the House of the Divine Will.

Now I resume my speaking. At night, I remained alone with my Jesus in the Sacrament; my eyes were fixed on the little door of the Tabernacle.  It seemed to me that the lamp, with its continuous flickering, was about to go out, but then it would revive again; and my heart gave a jump, fearing that Jesus might remain in the dark.  And my always lovable Jesus, moving in my interior, clasped me in His arms and told me:  “My daughter, do not fear, for the lamp will not go out; and if it did go out, I have you, living lamp – a lamp which, with your flickering, more than with the flickering of the eucharistic lamp, tells Me:  ‘I love You, I love You, I love You….’  Oh! how beautiful is the flickering of your ‘I love You’; your flickering says love to Me, and uniting with my Will, from two wills we form one alone.  Oh! how beautiful is your lamp and the flickering of your ‘I love You’.  It cannot be compared to the lamp that burns before my Tabernacle of love.  More so since, my Divine Will being in you, you form the flickering of your ‘I love You’ in the center of the Sun of my Fiat, and I see and hear, not a lamp, but a sun burning before Me.  My prisoner be welcomed.  You have come to keep company with your Prisoner; we are both in prison – you, in bed, and I, in the Tabernacle.  It is right that we be close to each other; more so, since one is the purpose that keeps us in prison – the Divine Will, love, souls.  How pleasing will the company of my prisoner be to Me; we will feel it together, to prepare the Kingdom of the Supreme Fiat.  But, know, my daughter, that my love has anticipated you; I was first in putting Myself, prisoner, in this cell, to wait for my prisoner and your sweet company.  See, then, how my love was first in running toward you; how I have loved you, and I love you, for in so many centuries of imprisonment in this Tabernacle I never had a prisoner who would keep Me company, who would remain so very close to Me; I have always been alone, or, at the most, in the company of souls who were not prisoners, in whom I did not see my same chains.  Now, finally, the time has come for Me to have a prisoner, to keep her constantly near Me, under my sacramental gazes – one whom the chains of my Divine Will alone keep imprisoned.  A sweeter and more pleasing company could not come to Me.  And so, while we are together in prison, we will occupy ourselves with the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat, and will work together, and will sacrifice ourselves together, to make It known to creatures.”

 

Volume 34 – December 20, 1936       

…“Now you should know that, our love is not content, it never says enough, how much more it gives more it wants to give and when we give it is our feast, we prepare the table to one who loves us and we press her to remain with us, in order to have life together.  Now my daughter, listen to another prodigy of our Fiat in this Holy Creature, and how She loved us and made her Maternity extend to all creatures.  In every act that she did, if she loved, prayed, adored, if she suffered, everything even the breath, the heartbeat, the step, being our Fiat, they were triumphs and victories that our Supreme Being made in the acts of the Virgin, the Celestial Lady triumphed and conquered in God, in every instant of her admirable and prodigious life they were triumphs and victories between God and the Virgin; but this is nothing, doing as True Mother she called all her children, and covered and hid all their acts in hers and covered them with her triumphs and with her victories, giving all her acts as dowry, with all her victories and her triumphs. And then with a tenderness and love as to break hearts and feel ourselves conquered she said to us:  Adorable majesty, look at them, they are all my children, my victories and triumphs are of my children, they are my conquests that I give to them, and if the Mama has conquered and triumphed, the children have conquered and triumphed.  And so many triumphs and victories she did in God, for how many acts all creatures would have done, so that everyone might be able to say:  I am endowed by the acts of my Queen Mama, and for seal she has invested them with me with her triumphs and victories that she made with her Creator.

“So that who wants to make herself holy finds the dowry of her Celestial Mother and her triumphs and victories in order to arrive to the greatest sanctity, the weak one finds the strength of the sanctity of her Mama and her triumphs in order to be strong, the afflicted one, the suffering one finds the dowry of the sufferings of her Celestial Mother in order to obtain the triumph, the victory of resignation, the sinner finds the victory and the triumph of pardon, in short everyone finds in this Sovereign Queen the dowry, the support, the help to the state in which they find themselves. And oh, how beautiful it is, it is the most moving scene, enrapturing and enchanting, to see this Celestial Mother in every single creature, that she does as Mama, we feel her that she loves and prays in her children. This is the greatest prodigy between Heaven and earth, good more great we could not give to creatures.

 

Luisa’s Day

Her day began at about 5.00 a.m., when the priest came to the house to bless it and to celebrate Holy Mass. Either her confessor officiated, or some delegate of his: a privileged granted by Leo XIII and confirmed by St. Pius X in 1907.   After Holy Mass, Luisa would remain in prayer and thanksgiving for about two hours.

At about 8.00 a.m. she would begin her work which she continued until midday; after her frugal lunch she would stay alone in her room in meditation.

In the afternoon – after several hours of work –

 she would recite the holy Rosary.

In the evening, towards 8.00 p.m., Luisa would begin to write her diary; at about midnight she would fall asleep.

In the morning she would be found immobile, rigid, huddled up on her bed, her head turned to the right, and the intervention of priestly authority would be necessary to recall her to her daily tasks and allow her to sit up in bed.

 

Excerpt from Letter 35. To Mr. Vincenzo Messina, imprisoned in the jail of Favignana, Trapani

Know that I am your sister in prison. For more than fifty years the Supreme Fiat has kept me imprisoned in a bed. Yet, I am glad – I am happy; but what makes me happy? The Divine Will, Which I try to do always. You too can be happy, if you do the Divine Will. Oh, how It will change your bitterness! You will feel a true divine strength that will ease your painful state. Never neglect the Rosary to the Celestial Mother, and if you can, be a missionary in the prison, by making known that the Queen of Heaven wants to visit all the prisoners to give them the gift of the Divine Will. And if you need some more copies and you cannot pay, I am willing to send them for free. I leave you under the mantle of the Celestial Mother, listening to Her lessons of Heaven – and with a thousand regards, I say,

your most affectionate sister,

LUISA PICCARRETA

The Round of the Soul in the Divine Will

 

Meditations for the Holy Rosary From the Writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

 

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES

  1. The Annunciation (Humility)

Our Celestial Mother: “Your Mama felt ignited with love, and echoing the love of my Creator, I wanted to form one single sea of love, so that the Word might descend upon earth within it. My prayers were incessant, and while I was praying in my little room, an angel came, sent from Heaven as messenger of the great King. He came before me, and bowing, he hailed me: “Hail, O Mary, our Queen; the Divine Fiat has filled you with grace. He has already pronounced His Fiat, for He wants to descend; He is just behind my shoulders, but He wants your Fiat to form the fulfillment of His Fiat.”

At such a great announcement, so much desired by me – although I had never thought I was to be the chosen one – I was stupefied and I hesitated one instant. But the angel of the Lord told me: “Do not fear, our Queen, for you have found grace before God. You have conquered your Creator; therefore, to complete the victory – pronounce your Fiat.”

I pronounced my Fiat, and – oh, marvel! The two Fiats fused together and the Divine Word descended into Me. My Fiat, receiving the same value as the Divine Fiat, from the seed of my humanity, formed the tiny little humanity which was to enclose the Word, and so the great prodigy of the Incarnation was accomplished.” (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Day 19)

  1. The Visitation (Charity)

Our Celestial Mother: “…So I departed from Nazareth, accompanied by Saint Joseph, facing a long journey, and crossing mountains to go visit Elisabeth in Judea, who, in her advanced age, had miraculously become a mother.

I went to her, not to make a simple visit, but because I burned with the desire to bring her Jesus. The fullness of grace, love and light which I felt in me, pushed me to bring, to multiply – to increase a hundredfold the life of my Son in creatures.

Yes, my child, the love of Mother which I had for all men, and for you in particular, was so great that I felt the extreme need to give my dear Jesus to everyone, that all might possess Him and love Him. The right of Mother, given to me by the Fiat, enriched me with such power as to multiply Jesus as many times as there are creatures who want to receive Him. This was the greatest miracle I could perform: to have Jesus ready to give to whomever desired Him. How happy I felt!

How I wish that you too, my child, in approaching and visiting people, would always be the bearer of Jesus, capable of making Him known, and yearning to make Him loved.”

“Dearest child, the Divine Will does great and unheard-of things wherever It reigns. If I worked many prodigies, it was because It had Its royal place in me. If you let the Divine Will reign in your soul, you too will become the bearer of Jesus to the creatures – you too will feel the irresistible need to give Him to all!” (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Meditation 1, Appendix)

3.The Birth of Jesus (Love of God)

Luisa: “As I was in my usual state, I found myself outside of myself; after wandering around, I found myself in a cave, and I saw the Queen Mama giving birth to Little Baby Jesus. What a wonderful prodigy! It seemed that both Mother and Son were transformed into most pure light. But in that light one could see very clearly the human nature of Jesus containing the Divinity within Itself, and serving as a veil to cover the Divinity; in such a way that, in tearing the veil of human nature, He was God, while covered by that veil, He was man. Here is the prodigy of prodigies: God and Man, Man and God! Without leaving the Father and the Holy Spirit – because true love never separates – He comes to live in our midst, taking on human flesh. Now, it seemed to me that Mother and Son, in that most happy instant, remained as though spiritualized, and without the slightest difficulty Jesus came out of the Maternal womb, while both of them overflowed with excess of Love. In other words: those Most Pure bodies were transformed into light, and without the slightest impediment, Light Jesus came out of the Light of the Mother, while both One and the Other remained whole and intact, returning, then, to their natural state. Who can tell of the beauty of the Little Baby, who, in the moment of His birth, transfused, also externally, the rays of the Divinity?” (From Vol. 4; December 25, 1900)

  1. The Presentation and Consecration of Jesus in the Temple (Obedience) Our Celestial Mother: “Forty days from the birth of little King Jesus are about to sound – when the Divine Fiat calls us to the temple in order to fulfill the law of the Presentation of my Son. So, we went to the temple. It was the first time that we went out together with my sweet baby. A vein of sorrow opened in my heart: I was going to offer Him as victim for the salvation of all! We entered the temple, and first we adored the Divine Majesty; then we called the priest, and placing Him in his arms, I made the offering of the celestial baby to the eternal Father – offering Him in sacrifice for the salvation of all. The priest was Simeon, and as I placed Him in his arms, he recognized that He was the Divine Word and exulted with immense joy; and after the offering, assuming the attitude of prophet, he prophesied all my sorrows… Oh, how the Supreme Fiat sounded over my maternal heart – thoroughly, with vibrating sound, the cruel tragedy of all the pains of my little Son! But that which pierced me the most were the words that the holy prophet said to me: “This dear baby will be the salvation and ruin of many, and will be the target of contradictions.”

If the Divine Will had not sustained me, I would have died instantly of pure pain. But It gave me life, and used it to form in me the Kingdom of sorrows, within the Kingdom of Its Will. Therefore, in addition to the right of Mother which I had over all, I acquired the right of Mother and Queen of all Sorrows. Ah, yes, with my sorrows, I acquired the little coin to pay the debts of my children, and even those of the ungrateful children…

“Now, listen to your Mama: in your sufferings, in the painful encounters which are not lacking for you, never lose heart; but with heroic love let the Divine Will assume Its royal place in your pains, so that It may convert them into little coins of infinite value, with which you will be able to pay the debts of your brothers – to ransom them from the slavery of the human will, and make them enter again, as free children, into the Kingdom of the Divine Will.” (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Day 23)

  1. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Joy)

Our Celestial Mother: “…After three days of most bitter sighs, tears, anxieties and fears, we entered the temple. I was all eyes and looked everywhere, when, finally, overcome with jubilation, I saw my Son in the midst of the doctors of the law! He was speaking with such wisdom and majesty as to make those who were listening remain enraptured and amazed. Only in seeing Him, I felt life come back to me, and soon I understood the secret reason of His being lost.

And now, a little word to you, dearest child. In this mystery, my Son wanted to give to me and to you, a sublime teaching. Could you perhaps assume that He was ignoring what I was suffering?

On the contrary, my tears, my searching, and my cruel and intense sorrow, resounded in His heart. Yet, during those hours, so painful, He sacrificed to the Divine Will, His own Mama, the one whom He loves so much, in order to show me how I too, one day, was to sacrifice His own Life to the Divine Will.

In this unspeakable pain, I did not forget you, my beloved one. Thinking that it would serve as an example for you, I kept it at your disposal, so that you too, at the appropriate time, might have the strength to sacrifice everything to the Divine Will. As Jesus finished speaking, we approached Him reverently, and addressed Him with a sweet reproach: “Son, why have you done this to us?” And He, with divine dignity, answered us: “Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I came to the world to glorify my Father?” Having comprehended the high meaning of His answer, and adored in it the Divine Will, we returned to Nazareth. Child of my maternal heart, listen. When I lost my Jesus, the pain I felt was so very intense; yet, a second one added to this – that of losing you.

In fact, in foreseeing that you would have gone far from the Divine Will, I felt at one time deprived of the Son and of the daughter, and so my maternity suffered a double blow.

My child, when you are in the act of doing your own will rather than that of God, think that by abandoning the Divine Fiat, you are about to lose Jesus and me, and fall into the kingdom of miseries and vices.

Keep then, the promise you made me – to remain indissolubly united to me – and I will grant you the grace of never again letting you be dominated by your will, but only by the Divine.” (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Meditation 5, Appendix)

 

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES

  1. The Baptism of Jesus (Rebirth in the Holy Spirit)

The baptism administered by St. John the Baptist was a call for repentance and purification, the sign of the desire of the soul to be cleansed and to prepare the way and the space within herself for the gift of Redemption, the life of grace, the means of Salvation, which the longed-for Messiah, the Son of God made Man, would bring upon earth. The Sacramental Baptism instituted by Jesus frees the soul of the stain of original sin and activates the gift of grace within her, making her a child of God. However, the life of grace received through Baptism can be rendered sterile by lack of correspondence, or even suppressed by sin, since all Sacraments produce their effects within the soul according to her dispositions. But when the Divine Will reigns in the soul as her very life, baptizing every fiber of her being, she comes to possess the very source of grace, she lives of Divine Life; and that very Divine Will which has the power to purify, to baptize, to generate Divine Life is her Will too.

2.The Miracle at the Wedding of Cana (Mary’s Intercession)

The gift of the Divine Will is the choicest and most delicious wine, which the Master of the house, Our God and Father, keeps for last to the amazement and delight of His children, invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb. It is the greatest prodigy in Heaven and on earth, it is the miracle of miracles: the Sun of the Divine Will, transforming the human will into Sun, acts within it as in Its own center. All the miracles which Jesus performed during His public life are similes, shadows and images of the greatest miracle of all – that of making a creature live in His Divine Will. And just as the first miracle, which He performed at Cana, was obtained through Mary, so will the greatest miracle of the Divine Will be given through Her, who laid the foundation of Its Kingdom within Her soul, and who, untiringly, guides Her children toward It.

3.The Preaching of Jesus (Thy Kingdom Come!)

Because of original sin, Adam lost the gift of the Divine Will as his life, which he had received in creation, and could no longer transmit it to the human generations. However, in His infinite love for man, God promised the Redemption of mankind – not only from the slavery of sin, but from that of the human will; a complete Redemption (=restoration, restitution) – not only of grace, but of the Divine Will Itself as the life of man: nothing less than the restoration of man’s original state. In order to do this, He had to begin to manifest His Will again, little by little, which had been rejected and forgotten by man; and He did so by means of the word – first by communicating to His unruly children His laws and rules through the prophets; and then, by announcing the Gospel, the Good News of Redemption, through the Incarnation and the Sacrifice of the Word Himself, who is the revelation of the Father and of His Will to humanity. But Jesus has not stopped His preaching, nor can He do so until the purpose of His coming upon earth, the complete Redemption of man, has been fulfilled. The Truths on the living in the Divine Will – the words concerning Its Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, which Jesus has manifested through Luisa, and which, like the creating Fiat, possess the virtue of communicating the good which they contain to those who, being disposed, want to receive them – brings about the fulfillment of Redemption, of the coming of the Word Incarnate upon earth: the establishment and the confirmation of the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth as It is in Heaven.

  1. The Transfiguration (Glory of Jesus)

Through the knowledges and truths on the living in the Divine Will, Jesus manifests His Divinity to the soul; He manifests how His Divine Will operated with His human will, He manifests the interior life of the Incarnate Word, He transfigures Himself before her eyes – and not just to give her simple news, but to let her share in His very Divinity, to transform her and transfigure her within Himself. And the soul who lives in His Will is not frightened as were the disciples in hearing the voice of the Father; she does not need to descend from the high mountain of the Divine Will, because the Divine Will dwells within her; she cannot keep quiet about this manifestation, but will proclaim and effuse the Divinity of Christ through each of her acts; and the tent which she prepares as permanent dwelling for Jesus and the whole Celestial Court is her very being.

  1. The Institution of the Eucharist (Love of God)

He let me see, as though in act in His Most Holy Will, the moment in which my sweet Jesus, in instituting the Most Holy Sacrament, communicated Himself. How many wonders, how many prodigies, how many excesses of love in this act of communicating Himself. My mind wandered amid so many divine prodigies, and my always lovable Jesus told me: “Beloved daughter of my Supreme Volition, my Will contains everything, It preserves all of the divine works as though in act, and It lets nothing escape It; and to one who lives in It, It wants to make known all the goods It contains. Therefore, I want to make known to you the reason for which I wanted to receive Myself when I instituted the Most Holy Sacrament. The prodigy was great and incomprehensible to the human mind. For the creature to receive a Man and God, to enclose the infinite in a finite being, and to give to this infinite Being divine honors, decorum and a dwelling worthy of Him – this mystery was so abstruse and incomprehensible, that the Apostles themselves, while they easily believed in the Incarnation and in many other mysteries, remained troubled before this one, and their intellects were reluctant to believe. And it took my repeated saying for them to surrender. So, what to do? I, who instituted it, was to take care of everything, since, when the creature would receive Me, the Divinity was not to lack honors, divine decorum and a dwelling worthy of God. Therefore, my daughter, as I instituted the Most Holy Sacrament, my Eternal Will, united to my human will, made present to Me all the hosts which were to receive the sacramental consecration until the end of centuries. And I looked at them, one by one; I consumed them, and I saw my Sacramental Life palpitating in each host, yearning to give Itself to creatures. In the name of the whole human family, my Humanity took on the commitment for all, and provided a dwelling within Itself to each host; and my Divinity, which was inseparable from Me, surrounded each sacramental host with divine honors, praises and blessings, to give worthy decorum to my Majesty. So, each sacramental host was deposited in Me, and contains the dwelling of my Humanity and the cortege of the honors of my Divinity; otherwise, how could I descend into the creature? And it was only because of this that I tolerated sacrileges, coldness, irreverences, ingratitudes, since, in receiving Myself, I secured my own decorum, the honors and the dwelling which befitted my very Person. Had I not received Myself, I could not have descended into creatures, and they would have lacked the way, the door, the means to receive Me.

 

THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

  1. The Agony in the Garden (True Repentance)

I was thinking about the Passion of my always lovable Jesus, especially of what He suffered in the Garden. I found myself all immersed in Jesus, and He told me: “My daughter, my first Passion was of Love, because the first step with which man, in sinning, gives himself to evil is the lack of Love; so, since Love is missing, he falls into sin. In order to be repaid through Me for the lack of love of the creatures, Love made Me suffer more than anyone; It almost crushed Me, more than if I were under a press. It gave Me as many deaths for as many creatures receiving life.

The second step that occurs in sin is defrauding God of His Glory. So, in order to be repaid for the Glory taken away by the creatures, the Father made Me suffer the Passion of sin, such that each sin gave Me a special Passion. Although there was one Passion, I suffered for sin as many Passions as there would be sins committed until the end of the world. So, the Glory of the Father was restored.

The third effect produced by sin is the weakness in man. Therefore, I wanted to suffer the Passion from the hands of the Jews – my third Passion – to restore in man his lost strength.

Therefore, with the Passion of Love, Love was restored and placed at the right level; with the Passion of sin, the Glory of the Father was restored and placed at Its level; with the Passion of the Jews, the strength of the creatures was placed at its level and restored. I suffered all this in the Garden, and the pain was so much, so many the deaths – the atrocious spasms inflicted upon Me that I really would have died if the Will of the Father for my death had arrived.” (From Vol. 11; January 22, 1913)

  1. The Scourging at the Pillar (Purity)

Finding myself in my usual state, I was thinking about the Passion of Our Lord; and while I was doing this, He came and told me: “My daughter, one who meditates continuously on my Passion and feels sorrow for it and compassion for Me, pleases Me so much that I feel somehow comforted for all that I suffered in the course of my Passion; and by always meditating on it, the soul arrives at preparing a continuous food. In this food there are many different spices and flavors, which form different effects. Therefore, if in the course of my Passion they gave me ropes and chains to tie Me, the soul releases Me and gives Me freedom. They despised Me, spat on Me, and dishonored Me; she appreciates Me, cleans Me of the spit, and honors Me. They stripped Me and scourged Me; she heals Me and clothes Me. They crowned Me with thorns, mocking me as King, embittered my mouth with bile, and crucified Me; while the soul, meditating on all my pains, crowns Me with glory and honors Me as her King, fills my mouth with sweetness, giving Me the most delicious food, which is the memory of my own works; and unnailing Me from the Cross, she makes me rise again in her heart. And every time she does so, I give her a new Life of Grace as recompense. She is my food, and I become her continuous food. So, the thing that pleases Me the most is meditating continuously on my Passion.” (From Vol. 7; November 9, 1906)

  1. The Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage)

Jesus: “My daughter, the pains which I suffered were incomprehensible to created mind. Much more painfully than by those thorns, my mind was pierced by all the evil thoughts of creatures, in such a way that none of these thoughts could escape Me – I felt them all inside Me. Not only did I feel the pricks of the thorns, but also the disgust of the sins which those thorns represented.”

So, I looked at my lovable Jesus and I could see His Most Holy head being surrounded by spokes of thorns which came through from behind. All the thoughts of the creatures were in Jesus; they went from Jesus to them, and from them into Jesus, remaining almost linked together – the evil thoughts of the creatures with the most holy thoughts of Jesus… Oh, how Jesus suffered!

Then He added: “My daughter, only the souls who live in my Will can give Me true reparations and soothe Me from thorns so sharp. In fact, since they live in my Will, and since my Will is everywhere, they find themselves in Me and in everyone; they descend into the creatures and rise up to Me; they bring Me all the reparations; they soothe Me. And in the sick minds they turn darkness into light.” (From Vol. 11; April 24, 1915)

  1. The Carrying of the Cross (Patience)

Jesus: “Adored Cross, finally I embrace you. You were the longing of my Heart, the martyrdom of my love. But you, O Cross, have delayed until now, while my steps were always toward you. Holy Cross, you were the goal of my desires, the purpose of my existence down here. In you I concentrate my whole being, in you I place all my children, and you will be their life, their light, defense, custody and strength. You will assist them in everything, and will bring them gloriously to Me in Heaven. Oh Cross, Pulpit of Wisdom, you alone will teach true sanctity; you alone will form the heroes, the athletes, the martyrs, the Saints. Beautiful Cross, you are my Throne, and since I have to leave the earth, you will remain in my place. To you I give all souls as dowry – keep them, save them; I entrust them to you!” (From “The Hours of the Passion”; 18th Hour)

“Please, O Cross, receive Me soon into your arms, I am impatient of waiting! Holy Cross, upon you I shall come to give completion to all. Hurry, O Cross, fulfill the burning desire that consumes Me, to give life to souls. Delay no more; I anxiously yearn to lay Myself upon you in order to open the Heavens to all my children.

Oh Cross, it is true that you are my martyrdom, but in a little while you will also be my victory and my most complete triumph; and through you I will give abundant inheritances, victories, triumphs and crowns to my children.” (From “The Hours of the Passion”; 19th Hour)

  1. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus on the Cross

(Final Perseverance)

Jesus: “Holy Father, here I am, loaded down with all the sins of the world. There is not one sin which does not pour upon Me; therefore,  no longer unload the scourges of your divine Justice upon man, but upon Me, your Son. O Father, allow Me to bind all souls to this Cross, and to plead forgiveness for them with the voices of my Blood and of my wounds. O Father, do You not see how I have reduced Myself? By this Cross, by virtue of these pains, concede true conversion, peace, forgiveness and sanctity to all. Arrest your fury against poor humanity, against my children. They are blind, and know not what they are doing. Look well at Me, how I have reduced Myself because of them; if you are not moved to compassion for them, may You at least be softened by this Face of mine, dirtied with spit, covered with Blood, bruised and swollen by the so many slaps and blows received. Have pity, my Father! I was the most beautiful of all, and now I am all disfigured, to the point that I no longer recognize Myself. I have become the abject of all; and so, at any cost, I want to save the poor creature!”

“My Father, look at Me, from head to foot; there is not one part of Me which is left whole, I do not know where else to let them open more wounds and to procure more sufferings. If You do not appease Yourself at this sight of love and suffering, who will ever be able to appease You? O creatures, if you do not surrender to so much Love, what hope remains for you to convert? These wounds and Blood of Mine will be voices that constantly call from Heaven to earth, graces of repentance, forgiveness and compassion for you!” (From “The Hours of the Passion”; 19th Hour)

 

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES

  1. The Resurrection (Faith)

Jesus: “My daughter, in my Resurrection, the right was given to creatures to rise again in me to new life. It was the confirmation, the seal of my whole life, my works and my words. If I came on earth it was to give to each and every one my Resurrection, as their own – to give them life and make them rise again in my own Resurrection.

But do you want to know where is the real resurrection of the creature? Not in the end of her days, but while she is still living on earth. One who lives in my Will rises again to light and says: ‘my night is over.’ She rises again in the love of her Creator, so that there is no more cold or snow for her, but the smile of the Heavenly Spring; she rises again to sanctity, which puts to rushed flight all weaknesses, miseries and passions; she rises again to all that is Heaven, and if she looks at the earth, Heaven and Sun, she does it to find the works of her Creator – to take the opportunity to narrate to Him His glory and His long love story.

Therefore, one who lives in my Will can say, as the Angel said to the holy women on the way to the sepulcher, ‘He is risen. He is not here any more.’ One who lives in my Will can also say, ‘my will is not with me any longer – it is risen again in the Fiat.’ And if the circumstances of life, opportunities and sufferings surround the creature, as if they were looking for her will, she can answer: ‘my will is risen again, it is not in my power anymore. I possess, in exchange, the Divine Will, and I want to cover with Its light all things around me – circumstances and sufferings, to make them like many divine conquests.’ The soul who lives in our Will finds life in the acts of her Jesus, and as always, in this Life, she finds our operating, conquering, triumphant Will. She gives Us so much glory that Heaven cannot contain it. Therefore, live always in our Will – never leave It, if you want to be our triumph and our glory.” (From Vol. 36; April 20, 1938)

 

  1. The Ascension (Hope)

Jesus: “Daughter of my Will, as your Jesus said, in descending from Heaven to earth: ‘I leave and I stay’; when He ascended into Heaven He said: ‘I stay and I leave.’ My word repeats upon descending as Sacrament in the creatures: ‘I leave and I remain in the Tabernacles.’ In the same way, the creature who lives in my Will can repeat my word in all her acts. As soon as she begins her act, her Jesus is formed in that act. My Life has the virtue of multiplying Itself to infinity as many times as I want. Therefore, in all truth, she can say: ‘I leave and I stay. I leave for Heaven to beatify It, to reach my home and to make known to everyone my dear Jesus, Whom I enclosed in my act so that all may enjoy Him and love Him. I stay on earth, as my life, support and defense for all my brothers and sisters.’ How beautiful one act in my Will!” (From Vol. 35; January 24, 1935)

  1. The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (Zeal)

Our Celestial Mother: “…Then the time came for the descent of the Holy Spirit, promised by my Son in the cenacle. What a transformation, my child! As they were invested, they acquired new science, invincible strength, ardent love. A new life flowed within them, which rendered them brave and courageous, in such a way that they scattered throughout the whole world to make Redemption known, and to give their lives for their Master. I remained with beloved John, and was forced to leave Jerusalem, as the storm of persecution began.

My dearest child, you must know that I still continue my Magisterium in the Church. There is nothing which does not descend from me. I can say that I pour myself out for love of my children, and that I nourish them with my maternal milk. Now, during these times, I want to display an even more special love by making known how my whole life was formed in the Kingdom of the Divine Will. So I call you onto my knees, into my maternal arms, so that, forming your ship, you may be sure to live in the sea of the Divine Will. Greater grace I could not give you. I beg you, make your Mama content! Come to live in this Kingdom so holy! And when you see that your will wants to have an act of life, come and take refuge in the safe boat of my arms, saying to me: “My Mama, my will wants to betray me, and I deliver it to you, that you may put the Divine Will in its place.”

Oh, how happy I will be, in being able to say: “My child is all mine, because she lives from Divine Will.” And I will make the Holy Spirit descend into your soul, that He may burn away from you all that is human; and by His refreshing breath, He may rule over you and confirm you in the Divine Will. (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Day 30)

 

  1. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven

(Grace of a Happy Death)

Jesus: “My daughter, the true name of this Feast [of the Assumption] should be ‘Feast of the Divine Will’. It was the human will that closed Heaven, broke the bonds with its Creator, made miseries and suffering enter the field, and put an end to the feast that the creature was to enjoy in Heaven. Now, this Creature, Queen of all, by doing the Will of the Eternal One, always and in everything – even more, it can be said that Her life was Divine Will alone – opened the Heavens, bound Herself to the Eternal One, and restored in Heaven the feasts with the creature. Every act She did in the Supreme Will, was a feast that She started in Heaven; it was Suns that She formed to adorn this feast; it was melodies that She sent to delight the Celestial Jerusalem.

Therefore, the true cause of this feast is the Eternal Will operating and fulfilled in my Celestial Mama. It operated such prodigies in Her as to astonish Heaven and earth, chain the Eternal One with indissoluble bonds of love, and enrapture the Word, even from Her womb. The very Angels, enraptured, repeated among themselves: “From where comes so much glory, so much honor, such greatness and prodigies never seen before – in this excelling Creature? Yet, she is coming from the exile!” Astonished, they recognized the Will of their Creator as life operating in Her; and, trembling, they said: “Holy, Holy, Holy! Honor and glory to the Will of Our Sovereign Lord! And glory to Mary, trice Holy, She who let this Supreme Will operate!” (From Vol. 18; August 15, 1925)

  1. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother, as Queen of Heaven and Earth and Queen of the Divine Will.

Our Celestial Mother: “…As I gave my last breath of pure love in the endlessness of the Divine Will, my Son received me in His arms and took me to Heaven, in the midst of the angelic choirs which praised me as their Queen. I can say that Heaven emptied Itself to come toward me. All celebrated, and in looking at me, remained enraptured and said in chorus: “Who is She, who comes from the exile, all cleaving to her Lord? All beautiful, all holy, with the scepter of Queen? Her greatness is such that the heavens have lowered themselves to receive Her. No other creature has entered the celestial regions so adorned and so striking – so powerful as to hold supremacy over all.”

Now, my child, do you want to know who She is – for Whom the whole of Heaven sings and remains enraptured? It is I – She who never did her own will. The Divine Will abounded so much with me as to extend more beautiful heaven, more refulgent suns, seas of beauty, of love, of sanctity, with which I could give light to all, love and sanctity to all, and enclose everything and everyone within my heaven. It was the work of the Divine Will operating in me to accomplish such a great prodigy; I was the only creature entering Heaven, to have formed Its Kingdom in my soul.” (From “The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will”; Day 31)

The Little Rosary of the Divine Will

As in the 1st edition, the little rosary is composed of six sections. It will be used four times in order to do a complete round (24 Hours).

On the three small beads, we recite a Pater, Ave, Gloria; and on the large bead (rhombus with the FIAT), the ejaculatory prayer:

“Come, O Supreme Will, to reign upon earth! Invest all generations!

Win and conquer all!”

(Vol. 35 – Nov. 20, 1937)

This is the prayer that allows us to give voice to all the creatures of the universe.

We will hold hands with all of them in order to reach the Creator, with the purpose of loving Him, adoring Him, thanking Him and glorifying Him – of intensifying the prayer of life: “Come, O Supreme Will…”

THE ROSARY OF THE ROUNDS

The rosary of the rounds is a braid of all created things that hold hands and go around their Creator, because they are sustained by the same force, by the same Divine Life, with which the Supreme Being has released His FIAT.

When man unites to the Creation and penetrates into the Life of the Supreme Fiat that sustains It, he enters into the Divine Act, he unites to Its FIAT, to Its Divine Will in act, and his natural act is transformed into a Divine Act. So, his actions are gradually molded and divinized because they have received the direct transmission of the Life of God Himself.

When God made the Creation He prepared a worthy dwelling for man. And when He created man, he intended to prepare a worthy dwelling for Himself, for His Divinity, for His Supreme Being, for His Glory.

 

 

 

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9/30 FEAST OF ST. JEROME, LATIN FATHER AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

 

Saint Jerome, Latin Father and Doctor of the Church

 

St. Jerome

Saint Jerome and the Angel, Simon Vouet, c. 1622/1625.

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

— St. Jerome

September 30th, is the feast day of Saint Jerome, one of the four original doctors of the Latin Church, who is best known for translating the Bible from Greek (the Septuagint) into Latin (the Vulgate). He is widely regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. A remarkable scholar and a sometimes prickly man, St. Jerome nevertheless believed deeply in the mercy of Christ.

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One of the greatest Biblical scholars of Christendom, Saint Jerome was born of Christian parents at Stridon in Dalmatia around the year 345. Educated at the local school, he then studied rhetoric in Rome for eight years, before returning to Aquilea to set up a community of ascetics. When that community broke up after three years Jerome went to the east. He met an old hermit named Malchus, who inspired the saint to live in a bare cell, dressed in sackcloth, studying the Scriptures.

He learned Hebrew from a rabbi. Then he returned to Antioch and was reluctantly ordained priest. With his bishop he visited Constantinople and became friendly with Saints Gregory Nazianzen and Gregory of Nyssa. And then in 382 he went again to Rome, to become the personal secretary of Pope Damasus. Here he met his dearest friends, a wealthy woman called Paula, her daughter Eustochium and another wealthy woman named Marcella.

Here too he began his finest work. Commissioned by the pope, he began to revise the Latin version of the psalms and the New Testament, with immense care and scholarship. Jerome eventually translated the whole of the Bible into the Latin version which is known as the Vulgate. But when Damasus died, his enemies forced the saint to leave Rome.

Accompanied by Paula and Eustochium, Jerome went to Bethlehem. There he lived for thirty-four years till his death in 420, building a monastery over which he presided and a convent headed first by Paula and after her death by Eustochium. The saint set up a hospice for the countless pilgrims to that place. His scholarship, his polemics, his treatises and letters often provoked anger and always stimulated those who read them. ‘Plato located the soul of man in the head,’ he wrote, ‘Christ located it in the heart.’

Excerpted from A Calendar of Saints by James Bentley.

Prayer of Saint Jerome for Christ’s Mercy


O Lord, show Your mercy to me and gladden my heart. I am like the man on the way to Jericho who was overtaken by robbers, wounded and left for dead. O Good Samaritan, come to my aid. I am like the sheep that went astray. O Good Shepherd, seek me out and bring me home in accord with Your will. Let me dwell in Your house all the
days of my life and praise You for ever and ever with those who are there. Amen.

(St. Jerome is the patron saint of: Archeologists, archivists, Bible scholars, librarians, libraries, schoolchildren, students, translators.)

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9/29 FEAST OF THE ARCHANGELS ST. MICHAEL, ST. GABRIEL AND ST. RAPHAEL

 

St. Michael
The name of the archangel Michael means, in Hebrew, who is like unto God? and he is also known as “the prince of the heavenly host.” He is usually pictured as a strong warrior, dressed in armor and wearing sandals. His name appears in Scripture four times, twice in the Book of Daniel, and once each in the Epistle of St. Jude and the Book of Revelation. From Revelation we learn of the battle in heaven, with St. Michael and his angels combatting Lucifer and the other fallen angels (or devils). We invoke St. Michael to help us in our fight against Satan; to rescue souls from Satan, especially at the hour of death; to be the champion of the Jews in the Old Testament and now Christians; and to bring souls to judgment.

This day is referred to as “Michaelmas” in many countries and is also one of the harvest feast days. In England this is one of the “quarter days”, which was marked by hiring servants, electing magistrates, and beginning of legal and university terms. This day also marks the opening of the deer and other large game hunting season. In some parts of Europe, especially Germany, Denmark, and Austria, a special wine called “Saint Michael’s Love” (Michelsminne) is drunk on this day. The foods for this day vary depending on nationality. In the British Isles, for example, goose was the traditional meal for Michaelmas, eaten for prosperity, France has waffles or Gaufres and the traditional fare in Scotland used to be St. Michael’s Bannock (Struan Micheil) — a large, scone-like cake. In Italy, gnocchi is the traditional fare.

Patron: Against temptations; against powers of evil; artists; bakers; bankers; battle; boatmen; cemeteries; coopers; endangered children; dying; Emergency Medical Technicians; fencing; grocers; hatmakers; holy death; knights; mariners; mountaineers; paramedics; paratroopers; police officers; radiologists; sailors; the sick; security forces; soldiers; against storms at sea; swordsmiths; those in need of protection; Brussels, Belgium; Caltanissett, Sicily; Cornwall, England; Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Florida; England; Germany; Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama; Papua, New Guinea; Puebla, Mexico; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Sibenik, Croatia; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington; Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Symbols: Angel with wings; dressed in armour; lance and shield; scales; shown weighing souls; millstone; piercing dragon or devil; banner charged with a dove; symbolic colors orange or gold.


St. Gabriel
St. Gabriel’s name means “God is my strength”. Biblically he appears three times as a messenger. He had been sent to Daniel to explain a vision concerning the Messiah. He appeared to Zachary when he was offering incense in the Temple, to foretell the birth of his son, St. John the Baptist. St. Gabriel is most known as the angel chosen by God to be the messenger of the Annunciation, to announce to mankind the mystery of the Incarnation.

The angel’s salutation to our Lady, so simple and yet so full of meaning, Hail Mary, full of grace, has become the constant and familiar prayer of all Christian people.

Patron: Ambassadors; broadcasting; childbirth; clergy; communications; diplomats; messengers; philatelists; postal workers; public relations; radio workers; secular clergy; stamp collectors; telecommunications; Portugal; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington.

Symbols: Archangel; sceptre and lily; MR or AM shield; lantern; mirror; olive branch; scroll with words Ave Maria Gratia Plena; Resurrection trumpet; shield; spear; lily; symbolic colors, silver or blue.


St. Raphael
Our knowledge of the Archangel Raphael comes to us from the book of Tobit. His mission as wonderful healer and fellow traveller with the youthful Tobias has caused him to be invoked for journeys and at critical moments in life. Tradition also holds that Raphael is the angel that stirred the waters at the healing sheep pool in Bethesda. His name means “God has healed”.

Patron: Blind; bodily ills; counselors; druggists; eye problems; guardian angels; happy meetings; healers; health inspectors; health technicians; love; lovers; mental illness; nurses; pharmacists; physicians; shepherds; against sickness; therapists; travellers; young people; young people leaving home for the first time; Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa; Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington.

Symbols: Staff; wallet and fish; staff and gourd; archangel; young man carrying a staff; young man carrying a fish; walking with Tobias; holding a bottle or flask; symbolic colors, gray or yellow.

Luisa 7

Prayer of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will at the beginning of Volume One in “The Book of Heaven”:

Most Holy Virgin, lovable Mother, come to my aid, obtain for me from your sweet Jesus and mine, grace and strength in order to do this obedience (write the Volumes). 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.
May everything be for the honor and glory of God 

 

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9/28 THE LOVE OF THE SACRED HEART

the-love-of-the-sacred-heart

Link to This site

 GLORIFICATION OF THE SACRED HEART 35

Our Lord deigned to make them known to His humble Spouse in giving her a foretaste of them even here below. On Easter Sunday evening Jesus appeared to Mechtilde and said to her : ” This evening I am come to serve you all. At your meal I would serve five different dishes. ”

The first is the joy My divinity received on this day from My humanity and My humanity from my divinity.

The second, the joy I felt when in the place of all the bitterness that love poured on Me during my Passion, it now spread an immeasurable happiness and the fulness of its joy through all my members. ”

The third, the joy I felt in offering to My Father the most precious gift, in a transport of delight. I mean My soul and all the souls I had just redeemed. “

The fourth, the joy I experienced when My Father gave Me the power to honour, enrich and reward the friends whom I had redeemed with so much pain and at so great a cost. ”

The fifth, the joy I felt in seeing My Father associate with Me, in the everlasting glory of My throne, those whom I had redeemed, making them coheirs with Me and guests at My table. Other kings, after having dined with their friends, leave them once the repast is over, but My friends will remain with Me eternally. ”

To everyone who shall remind Me of these joys, for the first, provided he desires it before death, I will give him a foretaste of My divinity. For the second, I will give him the gift of knowledge. For the third, I will offer his soul to My Father at the hour of his death. For the fourth, I will share with him My labours and the fruit of,all My sufferings, and for the fifth, I will associate him in the happiness of the Saints.”

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9/23 TODAY IS THE FEAST DAY OF ST. PADRE PIO OF PIETRELCINA

Padre Pio

Biography

Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born to Mamma Peppa and Grazio Forgione in the little town called Pietrelcina, in Southern Italy, during the month of flowers, May 25th 1887. He was fifth of eight children. His Mamma Peppa confided he was different from other boys: “he was never impolite or misbehaved”. He had celestial visions and diabolical oppressions from the age of five years and he saw and spoke with Jesus and Our Lady and with his Guardian Angel, but unfortunately this heavenly life was interwoven with hell and with the devil.

In 1903, Discipline and ill health had been woven together to crown the youth of Pio. Doctors diagnosed him as consumptive and were sure he would die. Strong in spirit Pio received the Capuchin Franciscan garb initialling religious life and therefore; Noviciate with its intense study, prayer, austerity, penance and finally vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

In 1909, we find him at Pietrelcina because of his illness, at his mother’s side. Now another intense chapter of extraordinary life opens with mystical afflictions an invisible stigmata and terrible battles with devils that wanted to destroy him began. Yet, “It all happened here”, he said, his whole future was prepared here. On August 10, 1910, he was ordained a Priest in the Cathedral of Benevento.

In 1916, we find him in the church of San Giovanni Rotondo, soon to become his Jerusalem, with the mystical and historical calvary of Gargano, where he was soon recognised as the “saintly friar” by the locals. Here he became a “victim of love”, by the reparation for sin, propitiator and regenerator of the many crowds who flocked to him, to venerate his bleeding wounds of his hands and feet. This very important event occurred in Father Pio’s life on September 20, 1918, while he was praying in front of a Crucifix located in the choir in the little old church, when a strange personage like an angel, gave him the stigmata. Those stigmata have been remained opened and bleeding for fifty years. This was one of the reasons for which doctors, scientists, journalists and common people have gone to San Giovanni Rotondo for years, in order to meet the “Saintly friar “.

In a letter dated October 22, 1918, Padre Pio told his experience of crucifixion: “… What I can tell you about my crucifixion? My God! What a confusion and what humiliation I feel when I try to show somebody else what you have done in me your scanty creature! It was the morning of the 20th. (September) and I was in choir, after the celebration of the Holy Mass, when a rest, similar to a sweet sleep surprised me. All the inside and external senses, as well as the same faculties of the soul were in an indescribable quiet. There was a depth silence around me and inside me; a peace overcame me and then it all happened in a flash I felt abandonment with the complete deprivation of everything. While all this was taking place, I saw before me a mysterious appearance, similar to the one I had seen on August 5th, differing only because His hands, feet and side were dripping blood. The sight of Him frightened me: what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I would die, and would have died if the Lord hadn’t intervened and strengthened my heart, which was about to burst out of my chest!     The appearance disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were pierced and were dripping with blood”. You can imagine the torment that I experienced then and that I am almost experiencing every day. The wound of the heart assiduously bleeds, particularly from the evening of Thursday until Saturday. My God, I die of pain, torment and confusion that I feel in the intimate of the soul. I am afraid I’ll bleed to death!     I hope that God listens to my moans and withdrawals this operation from me… “

He usually woke up in the early morning (we could say at night) in order to get himself ready for the Holy Mass. In fact, every morning, at 4 a.m. there were always hundreds and sometimes even a thousand people waiting for the door of the church to open. After the Mass he used to spend most time of his day in prayer and confessions. After fifty years of stigmata he died September 23, 1968, thus he closed his mission of the Heart’s desire, with the real cross and the real crucifixion of his body.

Then, for years, from every part of the world, the believers went to this stigmatised priest, to get his powerful intercession from God. Fifty years lived in the prayer, in the humility, in the suffering and in the sacrifice, whether to effect his love, Padre Pio had two initiatives in two directions: the vertical one toward God, with the constitution of the “Groups of prayer”, the horizontal one toward his suffering community, with the construction of a modern hospital: “House Relief of the Suffering.”

In September 1968, thousands of devotees and Padre Pio’s spiritual children were assembled in conference at St. Giovanni Rotondo to commemorate together the 50 anniversary of the stigmata and to celebrate the fourth international conference of the Prayer Groups. Nobody would have imagined that at 2:30 a.m., September 23, 1968 we the earthly life of Father Pio of Pietrelcina would end.

 

Ersonal Reflection pic

St. Padre Pio and Luisa

an excerpt from the book

LUISA PICCARRETA  collection of memories of the Servant of God

BERNARDINO GIUSEPPE BUCCI, O.F.M.

 

Blessed Padre Pio, Luisa Piccarreta and Rosaria 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.5

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.

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