Click here for the link to the Blessing of the Home on the Feast Day of the Epiphany

From the Writings of

The Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”  When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child.  When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”  After their audience with the king they set out.  And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.  They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.”  – Matthew 2:1-12

The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will: Day 23

What was not the astonishment of these Magi Kings, in recognizing in that divine infant the King of Heaven and earth.

Now, my child, another surprise:  a new star shines under the vault of the heavens, and with its light it is searching for adorers, to lead them to recognize and adore baby Jesus.  Three individuals, each distant from the other, are touched by it, and invested by supernatural light, follow the star, which leads them to the grotto of Bethlehem, to the feet of the baby Jesus.  What was not the astonishment of these Magi Kings, in recognizing in that divine infant the King of Heaven and earth – the One Who had come to love and to save all?  In fact, when the Magi were in the act of adoring Him, enraptured by that celestial beauty, the newborn baby made His Divinity shine forth from His little humanity, and the grotto turned into paradise; so much so, that they were not able to separate themselves from the feet of the divine infant – not before He again withdrew the light of the Divinity within His humanity.  And I, exercising the office of mother, spoke at length of the descent of the Word, and fortified them in faith, hope and charity, symbolized by the gifts offered to Jesus.  Then, full of joy, they withdrew to their regions, to be the first propagators.

The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will: Day 24

You know of the coming of the Magi Kings, who caused rumor in Jerusalem

My dearest child, today the heart of your Mama is swollen with love and with sorrow, to the extent that I cannot refrain from crying.  You know of the coming of the Magi Kings, who caused rumor in Jerusalem, asking for the new King.  And cruel Herod, for fear of being removed from his throne, has already given the order to kill my sweet Jesus, my dear life, together with all of the other children.

My child, what pain!  The One who has come to give life to all, and to bring into the world the new era of peace, of happiness and of grace…they want to kill Him!  What ingratitude!  What perfidy!  Ah, my child, to what extent reaches the blindness of the human will!  To the extent of becoming ferocious, of tying the hands of the Creator Himself, and of becoming the owner of the One who created it.  Give me your compassion, my child, and try to calm the crying of the sweet Baby.  He cries because of human ingratitude, because, only a newborn, they want Him dead; so, in order to save Him, we are forced to flee.  Dear Saint Joseph has already been advised by the angel to leave for a foreign land.  Accompany us, dear child; do not leave us alone, and I will continue to give you my lessons on the great evils of the human will. 

The Epiphany The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will:
Meditation 4

A New Star, with Its Sweet Glittering, calls the Magi to adore Jesus. 

Dearest child, you are right in saying that you see me as more beautiful.  You must know that when I saw my Son being circumcised and His blood pouring from the wound, I loved that blood, that wound, and I became Mother twice:  Mother of my Son, and Mother of His blood – of His cruel pain.  Therefore I acquired a double right of maternity – a double right of graces before the Supreme Majesty, for myself and for all mankind.  This is why you see me as more beautiful.

My child, how beautiful it is to do good, to suffer in peace for love of the One who created us.  This binds the Divinity to the creature, and gives her so much grace and love – to the extent of drowning her.  This love and these graces cannot remain idle, but want to run and give themselves to all, to make known the one who has given so much.  This is why I felt the need to make my Son known.

Now, my blessed child, the Divinity, Who can deny nothing to one who loves It, makes a new star, more beautiful and radiant, arise under the blue heavens.  And with its light, it goes in search of adorers, to say to the whole world, with its mute glittering:  “The One Who has come to save you is born!  Come to adore Him and to know Him as your Savior!”

But…human ingratitude!  Among many, only three People paid attention, and without considering the sacrifices, put themselves on the path to follow the star.  And just as a star guided their persons along the path, so also my prayers, my love, my sighs and my graces, in my desire of making known the Celestial Baby – the Awaited One from all centuries – like many stars descending into their hearts, illuminated their minds and guided their interiors, in such a way that, without yet knowing Him, they felt that they loved the One for whom they were looking, and they hastened their step in order to reach and see the One whom they so much loved. 

My dearest child, my heart of a Mother rejoiced for the faithfulness, the correspondence and the sacrifice of these Magi Kings, to come to know and adore my Son.  But I cannot hide from you a secret sorrow of mine:  among many, only three.  In the history of the centuries, how many times is this sorrow of mine and this human ingratitude not repeated!  My Son and I do nothing but make stars arise, one more beautiful than the other, to call some to know their Creator, some to sanctity, some to rise again from sin, some to the heroism of a sacrifice… But do you want to know what these stars are?  A painful encounter is a star; a truth that one comes to know is a star; a love unrequited by other creatures is a star; a setback, a suffering, a disillusion, an unexpected fortune, are many stars which shed light in the minds of creatures.  Caressing them, they want to make them find the Celestial Infant, who is fidgeting with love, shivering with cold, and seeking a refuge in their hearts to be known and loved.  But, alas, I who hold Him in my arms, wait in vain for the stars to bring me the creatures, in order to place Him in their hearts – and my maternity is restrained, hindered.  While I am the Mother of Jesus, I am prevented from being the mother of all, because they are not around me, and do not look for Jesus.  So the stars hide, and they remain in the Jerusalems of the world, without Jesus.  What sorrow, my child, what sorrow!  It takes correspondence, fidelity and sacrifice to follow the stars; and if the sun of the Divine Will rises within the soul – how much attention does it not take.  Otherwise, one remains in the darkness of the human will.

Now, my child, as they entered Jerusalem, the holy Magi Kings lost the star, but, still, they did not stop looking for Jesus.  But as they went outside the city, the star reappeared and led them, festive, into the grotto of Bethlehem.  I received them with the love of a Mother, and the dear Baby looked at them with great love and majesty, letting His Divinity shine through His little humanity.  Bowing down, they knelt at His feet, and adoring and contemplating that celestial Beauty, they recognized Him as true God.  They remained enraptured, ecstatic – enjoying Him; so much so, that the Celestial Baby had to withdraw His Divinity into His Humanity, otherwise they would have remained there, unable to move from His divine feet.

Then, as they came round from their rapture, in which they offered the gold of their souls, the incense of their faith and adoration, the myrrh of all of their beings and of any sacrifice He might have wanted, they added the offering of the external gifts, symbol of their interior acts:  gold, incense and myrrh.  But my love of Mother was not yet content; I wanted to place the sweet Baby in their arms, and – oh, with how much love did they kiss Him and press Him to their chests!  They felt paradise, in advance, within them.  Through this, my Son bound all the gentile nations to the knowledge of the true God, and placed the goods of Redemption, the return to faith of all peoples, in common for all.  He constituted Himself King of the dominators, and ruling over all, with the weapons of His love, of His pains and of His tears, He called the Kingdom of His Will upon earth.  And I, your Mama, wanted to be the first apostle.  I instructed them; I told them the story of my Son, of His ardent love; I recommended that they make Him known to all, and assuming the first place of Mother and Queen of all Apostles, I blessed them, I had them blessed by the dear Baby, and happy and in tears, they left again for their regions.  I did not leave them, I accompanied them with maternal affection, and to repay them, I let them feel Jesus in their hearts.  How happy they were!  You must know that only when I see that my Son has dominion, possession, and forms His perennial dwelling in the hearts of those who search for Him and love Him – only then do I feel a true Mother.

Now a little word to you, my child:  if you want me to act as your true Mother, let me place Jesus in your heart.  You will make Him happy with your love; you will feed Him with the food of His Will, because He takes no other food; You will clothe Him with the sanctity of your works.  And I will come into your heart, I will raise my dear child again together with you, and I will perform for you and for Him, the office of Mother.  In this way, I will feel the pure joys of my maternal fecundity.  You must know that anything which does not begin with Jesus, who is inside the heart – even though they may be the most beautiful works on the outside – cannot please me, because they are empty of the life of my dear Son. 

Volume 3 – January 6, 1900

Today is the Epiphany, and in the example of the Holy Magi, I was to offer something to Baby Jesus.  Confidence, the staircase to ascend to the Divinity.

This morning I received Communion, and as I found myself together with Jesus, the Queen Mama was also there, and – oh, marvel! – I looked at the Mother and I could see Her Heart transmuted into Baby Jesus; I looked at the Son and I could see the Mother in the Heart of the Baby.  In the meantime, I remembered that today is the Epiphany, and in the example of the Holy Magi, I was to offer something to Baby Jesus, but I saw myself as having nothing to give Him.  So, in seeing my misery, the thought came to me of offering my body as myrrh, with all the sufferings of the twelve years in which I had been in bed, ready to suffer and to remain there as much longer as He pleased; as gold, the pain I feel when He deprives me of His presence, which is the most painful and sorrowful thing for me; as incense, my poor prayers, united to those of the Queen Mama, so that they might be more pleasing to Baby Jesus.  So I made the offering with full confidence that the Baby would accept everything.

Jesus seemed to accept my poor offerings with great pleasure, but that which He enjoyed the most was the confidence with which I had offered them.  Then He said to me:  “Confidence has two arms:  with one it embraces my Humanity, and it uses my Humanity as a staircase in order to ascend to my Divinity; with the other it embraces the Divinity and draws celestial graces in torrents, in such a way that the soul remains all inundated within the Divine Being.  When the soul is confident, she is certain to obtain what she asks.  I let my arms be bound, I let her do whatever she wants, I let her penetrate even into my Heart, and I let her take, by herself, that which she has asked from Me.  If I did not do so, I would feel Myself in a state of violence.”  While He was saying this, many rivulets of a liqueur (I call it ‘liqueur’, but I can’t really tell what it was) came out from the breast of the Baby and of the Mother, which inundated my soul completely.  Then the Queen Mother disappeared.

After this, together with the Baby I went out into the vault of the heavens.  I saw that His gracious face was sad, and I said to myself:  ‘Maybe He wants milk, this is why He is sad.’  So I said to Him:  ‘Do You want to suckle from me since the Queen Mama is not here?’  But before doing this, I became concerned that it might be the devil; so, in order to be reassured, I signed him several times with the cross and I said to him:  ‘Are you really Jesus the Nazarene, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Son of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God?’  And the Baby assured that He was.  Therefore, being assured, I placed Him to suckle from myself.  The Baby seemed to revive, assuming a merry appearance, and I saw that He was suckling part of those rivulets with which He Himself had inundated me.  And while He was doing this, I felt my heart being pulled, as it seemed that that milk which Jesus was drawing from me was coming out from it.  Who can say what passed between me and Baby Jesus?  I have no tongue to be able to manifest it, no words to be able to describe it.

Volume 4 – January 6, 1901

Jesus communicates Himself to the three Magi through love, through beauty and through power.

As I was outside of myself, I seemed to see the moment when the holy Magi arrived at the grotto of Bethlehem.  As they arrived in the presence of the Baby, He pleased to let the rays of His Divinity shine externally, communicating Himself to the Magi in three ways – through love, through beauty and through power – in such a way that they remained enraptured and engrossed in the presence of Little Baby Jesus; so much so, that if the Lord had not withdrawn the rays of His Divinity internally again, they would have remained there forever, unable to move any more.  Then, as the Baby withdrew His Divinity, the holy Magi returned into themselves; they stirred themselves, stupefied, in seeing an excess of love so great, because through that light the Lord had let them understand the mystery of the Incarnation.  Then they stood up and offered their gifts to the Queen Mother, and She spoke at length with them, but I am unable to say everything She said.  I can only remember that She inculcated into them, strongly, not only their own salvation, but also taking to heart the salvation of their peoples, having no fear even to lay down their lives to obtain the intent.

After this, I withdrew inside myself and I found myself together with Jesus.  He wanted me to tell Him something, but I saw myself so cattiva [bad] and confused that I would not dare to tell Him anything.  Seeing that I was not saying anything, He Himself continued to speak about the holy Magi, telling me:  “By having communicated Myself to the Magi in three ways, I obtained three effects for them, because I never communicate Myself to souls uselessly; rather, they always receive some profit for themselves.  So, as I communicated Myself through love, they obtained detachment from themselves; through beauty, they obtained contempt for earthly things; and through power, their hearts remained all bound to Me, and they obtained the bravery to lay down their blood and lives for Me.”

Then He added:  “And you, what do you want?  Tell Me – do you love Me?  How would you want to love Me?”  Not knowing what to say, as my confusion increased, I said:  ‘Lord, I would want nothing but You, and if You say to me, ‘do you love Me?’, I have no words to be able to manifest it.  I can only say that I feel this passion that no one may be able to prevail over me in loving You, and that I should be the first in loving You, above everyone, and no one may be able to surpass me.  But this does not content me yet; in order to be content, I would want to love You with your own love, so that I may be able to love You as You love Yourself.  Ah, yes!  Only then would my concerns about loving You cease.’  Content, one could say, with my nonsense, Jesus clasped me so tightly to Himself, that I could see myself transmuted in Him, inside and out, and He communicated part of His love to me.  After this, I returned inside myself, and it seemed to me that for as much love as I am given, so much do I possess my Good; and if I love Him little, I possess Him little.

Volume 10 – December 25, 1910

Then came the Magi, but no priest showed up, while they should have been the first to form my cortege.

This morning blessed Jesus made Himself seen as a tiny Little One, but so gracious and beautiful as to enrapture me in a sweet enchantment.  Especially, then, He rendered Himself more lovable because, with His tiny little hands, He took little nails and nailed me with a mastery worthy only of my always lovable Jesus.  Then He filled me with kisses and with love, and so I did with Him.

Then, after this, I seemed to find myself in the grotto of my newborn Jesus, and my little Jesus told me:  “My beloved daughter, who came to visit me in the grotto of my birth?  Only shepherds were my first visitors – the only ones who kept coming and going, offering Me gifts and their little things.  They were the first to receive the knowledge of my coming into the world and, as a consequence, the first favorites to be filled with my grace.  This is why I always choose poor, ignorant, abject people, and I make of them portents of grace – because they are always the ones to be more disposed, the ones who more easily listen to Me and believe Me without raising so many difficulties, so many quibbles as, on the contrary, learned people do.

Then came the Magi, but no priest showed up, while they should have been the first to form my cortege.  In fact, more than anyone else, according to the Scriptures which they studied, they knew the time and the place, and it was easier for them to come to visit me.  But no one – no one moved; rather, while they indicated the place to the Magi, they did not move, nor did they trouble to take one step to follow the traces of my coming.  This was a most bitter sorrow for Me at my birth, because in those priests the attachment to riches, to interest, to families and to exterior things was so great as to blind their sight like a glare, harden their hearts, and render their intelligence dazed to the knowledge of the most sacrosanct and most certain truths.  They were so engulfed in the low things of the earth, as to never be able to believe that a God could come upon earth in the midst of so much poverty and so much humiliation.  And this, not only at my birth, but also during the course of my life.  When I performed the most sensational miracles, no one followed me; on the contrary, they plotted my death, and killed Me on the cross.  And after using all of my art in order to draw them to Myself, I put them into oblivion and chose poor and ignorant people as my apostles, forming my Church in them.  I segregated them from their families, I released them from any bond of riches, I filled them with the treasures of my graces, and I rendered them capable of governing my Church and souls.

However, you must know that this sorrow of Mine is still lasting, because the priests of these times have banded together with the priests of those times.  They have been holding hands in their attachments to families, to interest, to exterior things, and they care very little, or not at all, about that which is interior.  Even more, some have degraded themselves so much as to make even secular people understand how unhappy they are with their state, lowering their dignity down to the bottom, and below the secular themselves.  Ah! my daughter, what prestige can their word still have among the peoples?  Even more, because of them, the peoples keep deteriorating in the faith and into abysses of worse evils, groping their way in darkness, because they see no more light in priests.  This is the reason for the necessity of houses of reunion of priests, so that, freed from the mist of darkness by which he is invaded – families, interest, and cares for exterior things – the priest may give out light of true virtues, and the peoples may turn back from the errors in which they have fallen.  These reunions are so necessary, that every time the Church has reached the bottom, this has almost always been the means in order to make Her rise again, more beautiful and majestic.”

On hearing this, I said:  ‘My highest and only Good, sweet Life of mine, I compassionate your sorrow and I would like to soothe it with my love, but You know well who I am – how poor, ignorant, bad I am, and also extremely taken with my passion for hiddenness.  I would love it if You could hide me so much within You, that no one might ever again believe that I existed; and You, instead, want me to speak about these things which so much grieve your most loving Heart, and which are so necessary for the Church.  Oh! my Jesus, to me, speak of love, and go to other good and holy souls to speak about these things which are so useful for your Church.’

And good Jesus continued:  “My daughter, I too loved hiddenness, but there is a time for everything.  When the honor and the glory of the Father, as well as the good of souls, became necessary, I revealed Myself and I did my public life.  So I do with souls:  sometimes I keep them hidden, other times I manifest them; and you must be indifferent to everything, wanting only that which I want.  Even more, I bless your heart and your mouth, and I Myself will speak in you, with my own mouth and with my own sorrow.”  And so He blessed me, and He disappeared.

 Fiat! 

(See the page on Twelfth Night first
for the basics of the meaning of this Feast)

As described on the page on Twelfthnight, this Feast — also known as the . “Theophany” or “Three Kings Day” — recalls Christ revealing Himself as Divine in three different ways: to the Magi, at His Baptism, and with His miracle at the wedding feast at Cana.

For families who practice traditions involving “the Magi” or “La Befana” leaving gifts for children, the day begins with the wee ones discovering what was left for them while they slept on Twelfth Night.

At today’s Mass, there will be a blessing of gold, frankincense, myrrh, Epiphany Water, and, after Communion, a blessing of chalk. Bring small special items of gold to have with you during the Mass, and they will be blessed if they are exposed as you sit in your pew with them (wedding rings, rosaries, an heirloom piece of gold jewelry, for example).

When Mass is over, you will take some of the blessed chalk, frankincense, myrrh, and Epiphany Water home with you, so it’s good to bring a container to transport Holy Water and one to put some grains of incense and a piece of chalk into. (Note: if you can, take and keep 5 pieces of blessed incense for your Paschal Candle this Easter),

When you get home, sprinkle some Epiphany water (otherwise and afterwards used as regular Holy Water) in the rooms of your house to protect it and bring blessings. This Holy Water recalls the waters of the Jordan, and is a visible reminder of Christ’s Divinity, of Jesus’s revealing Himself as God at His Baptism, when were heard the words from the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” This rite of blessing the home — led by a priest, if possible, or the father of the house if no priest is available — goes like this:

It is customary in some religious orders to choose a new patron Saint today for the coming year. Families can do this, too, choosing a new Saint by designating someone (e.g., father or mother, etc.) to select the new Patron, by determing by lots who will select the new patron, by having family members write down their choices and choosing at random, by allowing the person to choose who presents the best argument for a particular Patron, etc. It would be very beneficial if the person who chooses teaches the rest of the family about that particular Patron, perhaps looking up the Saint in Butler’s works, finding art work depicting the Saint, etc., and sharing it.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first person in the United States
to be Cannonized a Saint.

Book of Heaven: Volume 36; May 6, 1938

(Luisa Piccarreta):  My poor mind is under a crowd of thoughts regarding the Divine Will.  They seem to me like many messengers that bring lots of news about this Will so holy.  I felt amazed, and my sweet Jesus, returning to His little daughter, all goodness told me:  “My good daughter, in order to enter into my Will the way is so very simple, because your Jesus never teaches difficult things.  My Love makes Me adapt greatly to the human capacity, so that the creature may do what I teach and want without difficulty.  Now, you must know that the first indispensable thing in order to enter into my Fiat is wanting and yearning with all firmness to live in It.  The second thing is to take the first step.  Once the first is done, my Divine Will surrounds the creature with light and with such attraction, that she loses any desire to do her own will.  In fact, as soon as she takes a step she feels dominator; the night of passions, of weaknesses, of miseries has turned into daylight, into divine strength; therefore she feels the extreme need to take the second step, which calls for the third one, the fourth, the fifth, and so on and on.

These steps are steps of light, which embellishes the creature, sanctifies her, makes her happy; it clears the way for her and lets her share in the likeness of her Creator; so much so, that she not only feels the extreme need to live in my Will, but she feels It as her own life, unable to detach from It.  See then, how easy it is, but it is necessary to want it, just as my Paternal Goodness wants it; and I endow that will with grace, with love, with goodness.  And since I too want it, I place something of my own – my very Life if necessary – to give her all the aids and means, and even my Life as her own, in order to make her live in my Will.  I hold nothing back when it comes to making the creature live in my Will.

Virgin Mary in the Kingdom – Day 23– “My daughter, Saint Joseph and I felt a shiver of pain, but intrepid and without hesitating, we called the minister and we had Him circumcised with a most painful cut. At the bitter pain, Baby Jesus cried and flung Himself into My Arms, asking for My Help. Saint Joseph and I mixed our Tears with His; we gathered the First Blood shed by Jesus for Love of creatures, and we gave Him the Name of Jesus—Powerful Name, which was to make Heaven and earth tremble, and even hell; a Name which was to be Balm, Defense, Help for every heart.”

Book of Heaven
1/2/19 – Vol. 12

This morning my lovable Jesus made Himself seen under a storm of blows; and with His sweet gaze He looked at me, asking for help and refuge. I flung myself toward Him to extract Him from those blows and enclose Him inside my heart; and Jesus told me: “My daughter, my Humanity remained silent under the blows of the scourges. Not only did my mouth remain silent, but everything was silent in Me. Esteem, glory, power and honor were silent; but in a mute language my patience, my humiliation, my wounds, my Blood, the annihilation of my Being, almost to dust, were eloquently speaking. And my ardent Love for the salvation of souls gave an echo to all my pains.

Here is, my daughter, the true portrait of loving souls. Everything must remain silent in them, and around them: esteem, glory, pleasures, honors, greatness, will, creatures. And if the soul had these things, she must remain as though deaf, and as if she did not see anything. On the other hand, my patience, my glory, my esteem, my pains, must take over within her; and everything she does, thinks and loves, will be nothing other than love, which will have one single echo with Mine, and will ask Me for souls. My Love for souls is great, and since I want everyone to be saved, I go in search for souls who love Me and who, taken by the same follies of my Love, would suffer and ask Me for souls. But alas!, how scarce is the number of those who listen to Me!”

By Luisa Piccarreta, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will
At the beginning of her mystical life

Introductory Note:  These “Yearnings”, ardent prayer filled with longing and trust, were dictated by Luisa to a soul by the name of Rosa, who would go Luisa’s home to learn the art of embroidery at the tombolo, and was a little disciple of Luisa.  Each soul who yearns to live in the Divine Will, the Sanctity of sanctities, is a little Rose, who longs for Living Water – Sanctity in the Will of her Jesus. 

My most sweet Jesus, my Delight and my Life, O please! by your Mercy, make me holy!  I pray You, O Jesus, for the sake of each beat of your adorable Heart, make me holy.  This is really about your Glory, the loving purpose of your Passion, of your most ardent yearning.  If I am saved, will there perhaps not be in Heaven one more soul that sings your praises for eternity?  Oh! make me holy then! 

O my Jesus, make me holy!

I am a member of that Spouse of Yours, the Church, whom You purchased with your Divine Blood.  O please, do not suffer in Her a bad daughter like me, poor one; but for love of your Church, make me holy, O my God….

I come often to unite myself to You, ineffably, in that Divine Sacrament of Yours, which is called the Bread of Angels, and the Testament of your Love.  O please, do not suffer in me any stain or tepidness, but for love of your Flesh and of your Divine Blood, make me holy, O my God.

O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

You demand of me to edify my family, my neighbor, my friends; You ask that I make virtue loved, that I draw souls to You.  And how can I ever make it, poor as I am, so lacking in fervor, humility and patience?  O please, for love of those souls, at least, who cost blood to your Heart, make me holy, O my God, make me holy.

But what need do I have to present to You so many reasons?  Are You not infinite Goodness and Generosity?  Could You, O beloved of my soul, allow that a daughter of yours, who opens her heart to You, entrusts to You her yearnings, asks You only that she may be holy, would remain prostrated before You without answering her?  Would You not listen to her in the greatness of your Mercy?

And even when, because of my constant ingratitude, You would want to reject me, could You deny this grace to your Blessed Mother Mary and mine, who asks You for it on my behalf, presenting all of Her compassion for your sorrows?  Could You deny it to my Guardian Angel, who continually offers You His celestial adorations in order to obtain it for me? 

O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

O my Jesus, I confess myself unworthy of any favor, but when I ask You that I may be holy, what do I ask of You, after all, other than that the designs of your Redemption be fulfilled in me, and that your goodness may triumph in my malice, in my rejections and in my reluctance?

O my Love, You are Omnipotent – set me afire, burn me to ashes, consume me in your flames, let it be that I may never again offend You!  That I may die to myself; that I may make of this little while of my life that is left one single act of expiation, of gratitude, of adoration and of apostolate – one single act of immolation and of most pure love.  O Jesus, may I live all absorbed in You, drawn and genuflected with my spirit, always before your Sacramental Majesty.  Even more, may I, O Jesus, truly live of your very Sacramental Eucharistic Life, which is all an affable mystery of hiddenness, of operosity and of love.   

 O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

I know… I must do violence to myself in many motions of my spirit, and conquer myself in a thousand ways, on a thousand occasions….

I will need to love prayer, silence, work, mortification.

I will need to operate always and in everything with a live spirit of Faith and of holy fear of God.

I will need to make space, empty of every creature, around me and inside of me.

I will need to keep my heart always up high, keeping it immaculate, adorning it with lilies, with roses, with violets and with hyacinths….

But what is ever impossible for love?  O please! You Yourself, O Lord, make me comprehend how easily I can become holy, if only I embrace with love that daily cross which your love offers me; if only I do, as best I can, the daily actions which duty or charity require of me.

Oh, how sublime it is to become inebriated with pain out of love….  How perfect it turns out to be doing everything with a most pure intention, under the most holy gaze of my God, and in union with my Guardian Angel, as if I were to do that action alone; as if, after that one, I were to appear before the Divine Judgment – as if from it alone depended my eternal salvation.

 O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

Instruct me, You Yourself, O my Jesus, like a patient Teacher.  Make me – I pray You with St. Thomas – to be without reluctances in my humility, without dissipation in my joys, without disheartenments in my sadnesses, without inconstancy in my piety, without bitterness in my conversations, without laments in my sufferings, without hesitation in my obedience, without preferences in my charity, without artifice in my virtue.

Teach me – I will say to You with Saint Ignatius – to be generous unto heroism, to serve unto sacrifice, to give without measuring, to fight without being afraid of the wounds, to consume myself without lamenting.

O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

O my Love, who will give me enough to repay You and to satisfy You if not Yourself?  O please, reign, You alone, in this heart of mine, so meager.  May I love You alone, O Jesus, and may I love You equally, when your love caresses me and when it scourges me.  May my spirit rest in You alone, O Jesus.  And when the whirlwind of my passions or the breath of your tests put my soul in agitation, even then, let it be, O Jesus, that each beat of my heart be a praise, a thanksgiving, an adoration for your Divine Heart.  Let is be that, any tie being broken, I may once and for all make a generous leap, and immerse myself inside your Crucified Heart, divine center of charity, of zeal, of purity, of annihilation and of most perfect abnegation….

O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

O Mary, Mother of sweet Hope and of beautiful Love, I hide myself in the pious shadow of your mantle.

Saint Joseph, my dear most perfect example of the highest sanctity, You be my singular protector, and my model in the interior life of holy sorrow and of holy love….

In the midst of your three Hearts, O Jesus, O Mary, O Joseph, I remain secure and will fear no more on my journey.

O Jesus, O Mary, O Joseph, make me holy, I implore You, O please, make me holy!

O Jesus, by your infinite Mercy, make me holy!

Fiat!

Letters of Luisa #6 – “I return to you the wishes for the new year.  But my wishes are always the same – that in all things you may always do the Divine Will.  It will be your breath, your heartbeat, your refuge.  In It you will find True Peace, and you will give it to others; more so, since by doing the Divine Will, a Sweet Blood will Descend into your veins, which will put to flight all troubles of soul and body.”

Fiat!