Little Daughter of the Divine Will, Luisa Piccarreta

11/12/06 – Vol. 7

Continuing in my usual state, I was saying to blessed Jesus: ‘Oh, how I wish to love You, to be loved more by You!’

And He, in my interior, told me: “I love you so much that I never leave you, and I dwell in you continuously.”

And I: ‘Thank You for your benignity in dwelling in me, but I am not so content; I would be more content and would feel safer if I could dwell in You.’

And He (Jesus): “Ah, my daughter, in time you give a dwelling to Me (Jesus), and in Eternity I will give it to you; and be well content and sure that the One who dwells in you has the power to maintain your dwelling fortified and free of any danger.”

Click here for website

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of Our Lady Refuge of Sinners.

The Refuge of Sinners Madonna is a painting by the Italian artist Luigi Crosio. It was painted in 1898 originally for the Kuenzil Brothers of Switzerland. In 1964 the Swiss province of the Schoenstatt Sisters purchased the original painting. It was then also called the Mother Thrice Admirable Madonna.

Collect Prayer:

O Almighty and merciful God, Who in the Blessed Virgin Mary hast given sinners a refuge and a help, grant us, who are protected by her, the forgiveness of all our sins and the blessings of Thy mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

There are three sources for our knowledge of and devotion to Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners:

St. John Bosco was given a vision wherein it was revealed that Our Lady is the resort of sinners and also the Lady of the Blessed Eucharist.

St. Alphonsus Liguori had a tremendous devotion to the Mother of God and suffered from scruples. He is known as the Doctor  of the Church who has promoted devotion to Our Lady as the hope or refuge of sinners and in his book, the Glories of Mary, he has several pages devoted to her as that refuge; the pages are scattered throughout, almost as a running theme within the overall theme.

There are specific devotions and feast days associated with our Lady of Refuge and or Our Lady of Confidence. The first is known as Our Lady of Montserrat [Spain]. The other is closely associated with Montserrat and Our Lady of Guadalupe and is a main devotion in Mexico. We have obtained a copy of the most famous of all of the Refuge images, that of the artist, Joseph de Paez. The image there is not quite as dark as Our Lady of Montserrat. All images of Our Lady of Refuge have her wearing the same crown as Our Lady of Confidence and also Jesus in her arms with His crown also, again just like the image of Confidence. So Our Lady must want sinners to also have confidence in her. While our Lady appears differently depending on the culture of the time, she really looks just like herself; thus, there is some resemblance in all her appearances and it is as if she is showing us all as we need to see her yet being herself physically speaking. I do not think it is a coincidence that her image as Refuge and Confidence are so similar. This presentation will focus on what St. Alphonsus instructs us regarding confidence in Mary as the refuge of sinners.

People outside the Church cannot endure our calling Mary our hope. They say that God alone is our hope, and that he curses those who put their trust in creatures according to Jeremiah the prophet in chapter 17, verse 5. They argue that since mary is a creature, she cannot be our hope. Yet, despite of this, the Church recommends that all priests and religious raise their voices every day in the name of the faithful and call mary by the sweet name of “Our Hope.”

St. Thomas Aquinas says that we can place our hope in a person in two ways—–as a a principle cause and as a mediate cause. Thus, those who expect something from a king put their trust in him as their sovereign, and in his ministers or his favorite intercessors. When the favor is granted, it really comes from the king, though the favorite is the intercessor or intermediary. hence the petitioners have a right to call this intermediary through whom they received the favor, their “hope.”

The King of Heaven, being infinite Goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with His graces. But because confidence is a necessary condition for being heard, and because He wants to increase our confidence, He has given us His own mother as our Mother and intercessor, and granted her all power to help us. Those who put their trust in creatures alone, apart from God, as sinners are tempted to do, and who do not hesitate to outrage the Divine Majesty, just to gain the friendship and patronage of another human being, are certainly cursed by god in the sense intended by Jeremiah.

But those who place their trust in Mary, who [being the Mother of God] is able to secure grace and eternal life for them, are truly blessed and acceptable to the heart of God. he desires to see this greatest of all His creatures honored, since she honored and loved Him in this world more than all human beings and Angels together.

St. Bernard expounds the reason behind this when he says: “See the designs of God—–designs which make it possible for Him to dispense His mercy more abundantly. For, desiring to save the whole human race, He has laid the full price of redemption in Mary’s hands, letting her dispense it at her pleasure.”

And who needs this special intercessor and Mediatrix of all graces more, than the sinner, especially one tempted by despair? Mary does not know how to refuse compassion, she does not let the comfortless go away uncomforted, and she will persuade her Son to pardon the penitent and grieving sinner.

Vol. 14 – 3/16/22

(Jesus) …”External actions do not satisfy Me, nor do they please Me, if they do not start from an interior whose life is formed by Me.”…

Vol. 15 – 1/5/23
Attentiveness is the way to knowledge. 

(Jesus)  …”My Will must be like the air that one breathes which, while it cannot be seen, can be felt.  It cannot be seen, and it gives life; it penetrates everywhere, even into the most intimate fibers, to give life to each beat of the heart.  Wherever it enters – into darkness, into the abysses, into the most secret receptacles – it constitutes itself life of everything.  In the same way, my Will will be more than air within you, which, coming out of you, will constitute Itself life of everything.  Therefore, be more attentive, and follow the Will of your Jesus, because attentiveness will make you know where you are and what you are doing.  Knowledge will make you appreciate and esteem more the divine royal palace of my Will.  Suppose that someone finds himself in the royal palace of a king, and that he does not know that that residence belongs to the king.  He will have no appreciation; he might even walk distractedly, talking, laughing; nor will he dispose himself to receive the gifts of the king.  But if he knew that that is the royal palace of the king, he would look at things with attention, and would appreciate them; he would walk on tiptoe, speak in a low voice, be all eyes to see whether the king comes out of some room, and would put himself as though in waiting, to receive great gifts from the king.

“See, attentiveness is the way to knowledge, and knowledge changes a person, as well as things, disposing him to receive great goods.  So, by knowing that you are in the royal palace of my Will, you will always receive, and will take so much as to be able to give to all of your brothers.”

11/12/06 – Vol. 7

Continuing in my usual state, I was saying to blessed Jesus: ‘Oh, how I wish to love You, to be loved more by You!’ And He, in my interior, told me: “I love you so much that I never leave you, and I dwell in you continuously.” And I: ‘Thank You for your benignity in dwelling in me, but I am not so content; I would be more content and would feel safer if I could dwell in You.’ And He: “Ah, my daughter, in time you give a dwelling to Me, and in eternity I will give it to you; and be well content and sure that the One who dwells in you has the power to maintain your dwelling fortified and free of any danger.” 

Book of Heaven
1/12/02 – Vol. 4

It seems that my adorable Jesus continues to come a little bit. This morning, then, transporting me outside of myself, He showed me the great evils of society, and His great bitternesses; and He poured into me, abundantly, part of what embittered Him. Then He said to me: “My daughter, see now where the blindness of men has reached – to the point of wanting to make laws which are iniquitous and go against themselves and their own social welfare. My daughter, this is why I am calling you to sufferings again – so that, as you offer yourself with Me to Divine Justice, those who must fight this law of divorce may obtain light and efficacious grace in order to be victorious. My daughter, I tolerate that they make wars and revolutions, and that the blood of the new martyrs inundate the world – this is an honor for Me and for my Church; but this brutal law is an affront to my Church, and it is abominable and intolerable to Me.”

Now, while He was saying this, I saw a man who was fighting against this law – tired and exhausted in his strengths, in the act of wanting to withdraw from the enterprise. So, together with the Lord, we encouraged Him, and he answered: “I see myself almost fighting alone, and unable to obtain the intent.” And I said to him: ‘Courage, for contradictions are as many pearls which the Lord will use to adorn you in Heaven.’ And he took heart and continued the enterprise. After this, I saw someone else, all weary and concerned, not knowing what to decide, and someone saying to him: “Do you know what you should do? Get out – get out of Rome.” And he: “No, I cannot, this is the word given to my father; I will lay down my life, but as for getting out – never.” Afterwards, we withdrew; Jesus disappeared, and I found myself inside myself.

Book of Heaven
1/11/12 – Vol. 10

After I received Communion, my always lovable Jesus made Himself seen all around me, and I was in the middle, as if within a flow. Jesus was the flow and I the nothing which was in the middle of this flow. Now, who can say what I experienced in this flow? I felt I was immense, yet nothing existed of me but nothingness; I felt breathed upon by Jesus; I felt His breath around me and everywhere… But I don’t have the words to express myself, I am too ignorant; I wrote this to obey. Then, afterwards Jesus told me: “My daughter, see how much I love you and how I keep you safe within my flow – that is, within Me. This is how you should keep Me safe and sheltered within you. Love wants to be matched by Love, so as to have the contentment of making a greater surprise of Love. Therefore, never go out from within my Love, from within my desires, from within my works, from within my all.”