The Divine Will

February 5, 1924
So, while I was in such a hard state, my always lovable Jesus made Himself seen to me with a stick of fire in His hand, telling me: “My daughter, where do you want Me to beat you with this stick? I want to strike the world, therefore I have come to you – to see how many blows you want to receive yourself, so as to give the rest to creatures. So, tell Me where you want Me to beat you.” And I, embittered as I was, said: ‘Beat me wherever You want to beat me, I don’t want to know anything – I want nothing but your Will.’ And He, again: “I want to know from you where you want Me to beat you.” And I: ‘No, no, I will never say that; I want there where You want.’ Jesus returned to ask me again, and seeing that I kept answering: ‘I want nothing but your Will’, He repeated: “So, you don’t even what to say where you want Me to beat you?”
Then, without saying anything else, He beat me. Those blows were painful, but since they were coming from the hands of Jesus, they infused in me life, strength, trust. After He struck me, in such a way that I felt all beaten up, I clung to His neck, and drawing near His mouth, I tried to suckle. But as I did so, a most sweet liquid came into my mouth, which cheered me all up.

 

"Luisa's love for souls was so intense that she often expressly desired to sacrifice her own life for their salvation and offered herself as a victim soul, whom Jesus would, on occasion allow to vicariously participate in his internal sorrows to either eliminate wars or to mitigate their effect that would have otherwise impacted countries or cities." (Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, The Writings of Luisa Piccarreta 1.9)

 

Aaaah, my head hurts just trying to comprehend the nuances involved! I would have been of the same opinion as FS but now you put it out there that sickness is a consequence of original sin...
Aaargh i just want to be a little child ......

 

I haven't listened to many of Fr. Young's talks on Radio Tallahassee and often i struggle to see through the fog - for the want of a better way to put it. But last Saturday's (April 9th) episode i found very accessible and encouraging.
http://www.divinewilltallahassee.com/radio-archives

and then click on #14 for April 09, 2016.

 

About Luisa's sufferings, St. Annibale di Francia (Collection of Letters) says,
"To the sufferings of the soul are added those of the body, the greatest of which is the mystical state. Without any visible sign in her hands, her side or her forehead, she receives from Our Lord Himself a frequent crucifixion....Then this soul experiences what St. Teresa used to describe when she received the wound from the Seraphim; that is, she experiences a most sensitive pain that causes her to faint, and at the same time, enters into an ecstasy of love."

 

I felt the same way when I was taking my first Christology graduate course 4 years ago!

But no worries, being a little child is better than being a theologian

So keep up the good work!

 

Today's Mass reading is Acts 7-8.

Here is a quote from Saint Gemma Galgani (meaning her heroic virtue has been infallibly declared by the Church)

"...with a contrite heart I will go in front of Jesus ready to receive from His hand anything that will please Him in reparation for the many outrages that He receives. Strike me; strike me Jesus. I will bless a million times the hand that will exert upon me a most just chastisement. So dear Dad, I ask Jesus to have me suffer; and to suffer much..."

-St. Gemma

 

Consequence of sin is not a sin. It is part of being human. Early Fathers were very devout on Jesus as God. Nothing wrong with that. Spirituality constantly changes/evolves but stays the same. It is not a sin to be sick or be deformed. It is just part of being human.

When God came to earth he was like us in all ways but sin. He experienced everything human except sin...He even suffered the greatest temptations. On our judgement day...we can't say Lord you don't know what it's like to be human. Then He couldn't judge perfectly. This is not a debate of right and wrong. It's a very classical debate between two spiritual philosophies. God more man than God. Or was God more God than man. I am balanced but understand God had to be human in everyway for perfect judgement. We can debate til we turn blue but this has nothing to do with right or wrong. Some of The visionaries we read about today give very different versions of the life of Jesus and Mary. But that is ok because they use words to try to bring souls closer to Christ.

God is...and to describe God with mere words is virtually impossible...but we try. Many great saints have tried to describe Christ on earth. And many have come to opposite conclusions. Is one more wrong then the other. No...they all do it for the spiritual growths of others.

This is why I loved the seminary...my mind loves to contemplate the mystical. People sometimes say we will know the truth once we get to heaven. The reality is it won't matter. We just need to get to heaven.

Brother al

 

Is sickness not a consequence of sin FS?

 

Much beautiful meditation in this post of yours, as usual, but again, as usual, I must make some points!

First of all, I am sorry, but of two contraries, one must be false. It's that simple. If we cannot acknowledge that, we cannot even think, much less debate. Perhaps what you mean is that "this is not a question of heresy or non-heresy," which would be a fine point (regarding some of these questions, at least).

Indeed there is room for disagreement. And indeed consequence of sin is not a sin (obviously! I would never argue against that.). Clearly Our Lord had some of the consequences of sin (e.g. suffering) but not others (e.g. concupiscence -- which is not itself a sin). To deny either of those would be outright formal heresy (and I know you don't). So clearly the truth lies somewhere in between.

Anyway, a lengthy theological debate regarding precisely which consequences of sin Our Lord and Our Lady had and did not have would hijack this thread, but suffice it to say that Luisa's revelations (this thread indeed is devoted to Luisa's writings!) do indeed assert that even Our Lady did not suffer illness. I will mine out the quote (might take me some time to find) if you don't believe me , when I have more time.

God bless!

 

That's what Conner Daniels said...I think he ment after the fall of Adam and Eve. There was no sickness in the garden but after the fall sickness came to the world. Sickness is part of being human. Not part of our personal sin.

I am sorry lots of layers.

 

Divine Will and Luisa's writings...

1. Her life - Virtuous
2. Her spirituality - Divine Will
3. Her writings - Road maps to her spirituality

As long as her writings have no heresy... then it is just a X-ray into her spiritual life. To take her visions as the only church teaching on the life of Christ is not spiritually sound. It is one saints understanding of the mystical. That does not deminish her spirituality of divine will but enhances the road map to heaven.

Sorry Lynn...didn't mean to take away the core reason for this thread. Just got excited to be able to debate really heavy spirituality. I don't know if it's divine will but it's fun to discuss God and all the layers it entails.

St. Lynnfiat Keep up your good work

 

1John [16] And we have known, and have believed the charity, which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him. [17] In this is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world. [18] Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity.
As Jesus is perfect Love - how can it be that He feared?

 

From the Letters of Luisa:
"If the will is good, the heart is good; if the will is holy, the heart is holy. If our will gives place to the Divine, letting It raise Its throne in our will, the heart acquires the divine qualities by grace."

 

One thing i have noticed about trying to live in the DW is that one's thorn in the side becomes very visible, by that I mean as one's sin life diminishes, the one thing that keeps us humble seems to become very prominent, although the root cause of it may not be what we originally thought it to be.

 

"...in order to enter into my Will there are neither paths nor doors nor keys, because my Will is everywhere. It flows under one’s feet, on the right, on the left, above one’s head - everywhere. The creature must do nothing other than remove the little stone of her own will, which, though it is there in my Will, does not take part in, nor does it enjoy Its effects, rendering itself as though a stranger in my Volition. In fact, it is as if the little stone of her will prevented the water from flowing from the shore to run somewhere else, because the stones are blocking it. But if the soul removes the little stone of her will, at that very instant she flows into Me, and I into her; she finds all my goods at her disposal: strength, light, help - whatever she wants. This is why there are no paths, nor doors, nor keys - it is enough to want it, and everything is done. My Will takes charge of everything, and of giving her what she lacks, and It makes her wander freely within the interminable boundaries of my Will." Vol. 12, February 16, 1921

 

“My daughter, governments feel the ground missing under their feet. I will use all means to make them surrender, to make them come back to their senses, and to make them know that only from Me can they hope for true peace - and lasting peace. So, now I humiliate one, now another; now I make them become friends, now enemies. I will do all sorts of things to make them surrender; I will make their arms fall off; I will do things unexpected and unforeseen in order to confound them and make them comprehend the instability of human things and of themselves - to make them comprehend that God alone is the stable Being from whom they can hope for every good, and that if they want justice and peace, they must come to the fount of true justice and of true peace. Otherwise, they will achieve nothing, they will continue to struggle; and if it seems that they will combine, it will not be lasting, and the brawls will start again, more strongly. My daughter, the way things are, only my omnipotent finger can fix them; and at the appropriate time I will place it, but great trials are needed and will take place in the world. Therefore, it takes great patience.” Vol. 12, Oct. 14, 1918

 

November 5, 1923

The wonderful words of Jesus to Lusia about His sacraments in His Church.

I was feeling oppressed because of the privation of my sweet Jesus, with the addition that the confessor - because I had not had the trust to open up with him, and because I was bad - had denied me the absolution. So, having received Holy Communion, I abandoned myself in the arms of my most sweet Jesus........

Now, while I was pouring out my pain with Jesus, He made Himself seen in my interior, and the sacramental veils formed as though a mirror, and Jesus was inside of it - alive and real. And my sweet Jesus told me: “My daughter, this mirror is the accidents of the bread which keep Me imprisoned within them. I form my Life in the host, but the host does not give Me anything - not one affection, not a heartbeat, not the littlest‘I love you.’It is as though dead for Me. I remain alone, without a shadow of requital, and therefore my love is almost impatient to go out, to shatter this glass, descending into hearts in order to find in them that requital which the host does not know how to give Me, nor can it do so.

And I: ‘My beloved Jesus, isn’t what you are telling something new and singular - that in one who lives in your Will 'You form your real Life'? Isn’t it rather the mystical Life which You form in the hearts which possess your Grace?’ And Jesus: “No, no, it is not mystical Life, as for those who possess my Grace but do not live with their acts identified within my Volition - they do not have sufficient material to form the accidents in order to imprison Me. It would be as if the priest did not have the host and wanted to pronounce the words of the consecration. He could say them, but would say them to the empty space - my Sacramental Life would certainly not have existence. This is how I am in the hearts which, though they may possess my Grace, do not live completely in my Will. I am in them by Grace, but not in reality.” And I: ‘My love, but how can it be that You can live really in the soul who lives in your Will?’ And Jesus: “My daughter, do I perhaps not live in the sacramental host, alive and real, in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?.......

On hearing this, I said: ‘Ah! my Love, Jesus; yet, I feel so bad because of all these contrasts - .........
And Jesus, again: “Daughter, do not worry about this. What I want is that you put nothing of your own, and that you obey as much as you can. It is known that all other sanctities - that is, those of obedience and of other virtues - are not exempt from pettiness, disturbance, conflicts and waste of time, which prevent the forming of a beautiful sun; at the most, they form a little star. Only the sanctity of my Will is exempt from these miseries. And besides, my Will encloses all the Sacraments and their effects; therefore, abandon yourself completely in my Will, make It your own, and you will receive the effects of the absolution, or of anything else which you might be denied. So, I recommend to you - do not waste time, because by wasting time you come to hamper my real Life, which I am forming in you.”

 

"Luisa's affirmation that the accidents of the sacramental Host are not "full of life" does not signify the life of His Real Presence, which is Jesus' Body, Blood, souls and divinity and that replaces the substance of every consecrated Host; rather the life she here refers to signifies His Real Life..." (The Gift of Living in the Divine Will - Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi Notes IV 517)
Listen, my daughter: while I instituted the Eucharistic Supper, I called everyone around Me, I looked at all generations, from the first to the last man, in order to give my Sacramental Life to all - and not once, but so many times for as many as he needs corporal food. I wanted to constitute Myself food for the soul, but I was very troubled at seeing that this, my Sacramental Life, would be surrounded by scorns, by neglects, and even by ruthless death. I felt ill, I experienced all the grips of the death of my Sacramental Life, so harrowing and repeated. I looked more closely, I made use of the power of my Will, and I called around Me the souls who would live in my Will. Oh! how happy I felt. I felt surrounded by these souls, whom the power of my Will kept as though submerged, and who had my Will as center of their life. I saw my immensity in them, and I found Myself well defended from all; and to them I entrusted my Sacramental Life. I deposited It in them, so that they would not only take care of It, but requite Me for each consecrated Host with one life of theirs. And this happens naturally, because my Sacramental Life is animated by my Eternal Will, and the life of these souls has my Will as center of life; therefore, when my Sacramental Life is formed, my Volition, acting in Me, acts in them, and I feel their life in my Sacramental Life. They multiply with Me in each Host, and I feel I am given life for life. July 6, 1922

 

January 15, 1911
Continuing in her usual state, Lusia sees Mary bringing Jesus to Her, so Lusia can consol him, Oh how wonderful is Mary, to realise that only Holy Lusia can console him.

Continuing in my usual state, my adorable Jesus made Himself seen crying. The Celestial Mama brought Him to me to calm Him, and I tried to do as much as I could, kissing Him, caressing Him, squeezing Him to myself, and saying to Him: ‘What do you want from me? Don’t You want love to make You happy and calm your crying? Have You Yourself not told me other times that your happiness is my love? And I love You, very, very much - but I love You together with You, because by myself I don’t know how to love You. Give me your burning breath that it may melt my whole being into a flame of love, and then I will love You for all, I will love You with all, I will love You in the hearts of all.’ But who can tell all my nonsense? Then it seemed that He calmed down a little, and in order to distract my sweet love completely from crying, I said to Him: ‘My Life and my All, be consoled!

October 19, 1911
The love of Lusia renders Jesus more content, then the love of Heaven's saints including the love of His Mother. The love of Lusia forJesus is so great that she no longer needs to love the mother of God, how breathtaking.

This morning, my always lovable Jesus wanted to escape me, so I clasped Him tightly in my arms, and since Jesus wanted to wriggle free, I said to Him: ‘You teach me. The day before yesterday You bound me tightly, in such a way that I was unable to make one movement, and I let You do it, so that at the right occasion I could repay You with the same thing. Now You be quiet – let me do it, I want to speak to You in your ear, more so since I don’t feel like shouting, as it seems that in these last days You wanted to make me shout by playing deaf, by pretending not to understand me, and I was forced to repeat and to shout in order to make myself understood. I don’t know, every once in a while You come up with something new.’

And Jesus: “I was deafened by the offenses of the creatures, and in order to be distracted and cheered I wanted to hear your harmonious voice, and so I pretended not to hear. Ah! you do not know what echo of maledictions comes from the earth! The voices of love, of praises… break this pestilential echo and relieve Me quite a bit.”

In the meantime, it seemed that Mama was coming, and I: ‘Oh! Mama, Mama! Come, Oh Jesus! Oh Mama!’

And She: ‘Love Jesus very much. Keep Him content – love is His happiness.”

And I: ‘It seems that somehow He is content; I do what I can to love Him, but it seems to me that You can make Him content more than I can.’

And She: “My daughter, the love of Heaven is His own, but He wants to gain the love of the earth. This is why, on this side, you can make Him more content, by loving Him and, much more, by suffering.’

And I: ‘If You knew O Mama, what He does to me! He leaves me, He reaches the point of denying sufferings to me in order to chastise others. Listen to what He told me the day before yesterday – that He wants to let foreign people come into Italy. How much ruin will they not produce? He really wants to do impertinences; and to make me surrender, He bound me very tightly to His Will.’

And Jesus: “Are you accusing Me?”

And I: ‘Certainly I have to accuse You before Mama, because She entrusts You to me, recommending that I be well attentive so as not to let You operate chastisements, and She told me even to be daring in order to disarm You. Isn’t it true, Mama?’

And She: “Yes, it is true, and I want you to continue on, because grave chastisements have been prepared. Therefore, love Him very much, for love will sweeten Him, at least.”

And I: ‘I will do what I can. I feel I love Him alone, so much so, that I can be without You Mama!

but without Jesus - no.

And You certainly don’t feel sorry about that, because You know and You want that I must love Jesus the most, among everyone.’ And Mama seemed to be content.