Sister Assunta is President of the Pious Association
“Luisa Piccarreta – Piccoli Figli del Divin Volere“,
located in Corato, Italy,
and Promoter of the Cause of Beatification of Luisa Piccarreta.
Note: The Pious Association Luisa Piccarreta
Little Children of the Divine Will in Corato, Italy
is in Italian
but is translated into English by clicking on that flag
in the upper right section of that Site
TO BE LINKED
WITH THE PIOUS ASSOCIATION LUISA PICCARRETA
First and foremost the members of this Association must understand that this is God’s work, not ours, and littleness on the part of each member is indispensable to this work.
In order to be little one needs to be empty of oneself, and God will fill the soul with the Divine Will. This is the fundamental aspect that fills and strengthens the word: Association. It has as its principle of life the prayer of the “Our Father”, and as a specific focus “Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6,10). This part of the Prayer of prayers constitutes the secret for the fulfillment and the completion of the Kingdom of God “on earth as It is in Heaven“,
Entering and belonging to the family of the Association means being called to live a spirit of communion with God and with the brothers and sisters in Him. It is a call, It is a gift which starts from the unity of wills, for the accomplishment of this purpose: to
live the Divine Will, according to the message that Jesus gave us though
Luisa. It is important to maintain a spirit of humility, in which each one feels smaller than the other, or rather, maintains a sense of nothingness before God and the creatures. The key to live this associative life is faith, pure, stable, disinterested, which leads to the possession of God; the humility which brings the awareness of our nothingness before God and before man.
The great and common responsibility among all the associates is:
-To live the spirituality of Luisa:
The model to imitate is our older sister Luisa Piccarreta, God’s chosen one, chosen precisely for her smallness, to be messenger and bearer of the Gift of the Divine Will.
Luisa will guide and sustain us as we walk in the Divine Fiat.
We must always keep in mind that this is Luisa’s Work; this is her Association, therefore it will walk in the shadow of her soul, small and hidden, a simple creature in customs and culture. The Association will grow only in Luisa’s wake with a gradual development depending entirely on the willingness of each member and their personal level of humility.
In front of God, the HolyChurch and the Association, we have the obligation of dedicating ourselves with all our strength to follow Luisa, witnessing and living in her spirituality and not falling into the practice of devotion.
– To be disposed to live this spirituality, always gradually and in its integrity
This Associative family is based upon the foundation of a great spirituality: the Divine Will. It is an Association which invites souls with varying degrees of age, spiritual maturity, cultures and personalities, including one’s problems, weaknesses and limitations produced by the human will. We are inspired by the Divine Will to look at our life under It’s Light, and begin a gradual growth towards conversion and perfection.
Empty from your life and from the associative life you have with the Association every prejudice, because it is this that creates problems and discord.
We should accept everything as from God’s hands because everything He does is for the good of our souls.
Those who work with constant commitment and sincerity of heart acquire a spirit of joyful charity and submission which, together with humility, form that vacuum within oneself, allowing God to fill it with His Sanctity: this means letting the Divine Will reign.
-To make a commitment to know it well:
“Knowledge will give life to the fruits of My Will…” Vol 19 6-15-1926
“Knowledge is the bearer of the Gift.” Vol 19, 7-1-1921
“Knowledge prepares the way…” Vol 18, 12-25-1925
“Knowledge generates esteem and appreciation for My Truths…” Vol 35, 9-12-1937
To this gradual accumulation of knowledge we arrive at the reason for our Association. We exist to live in the Divine Will and divulge the knowledge of it. If we do not live what we intend to give to others, we lack the substance of our spiritual lives, and our jobs and our apostolate will be without fruit.
– To read the writings of Luisa, only source of that knowledge
The Writings of Luisa should be for us our daily nourishment, second only to the Word of God. That is why it is so necessary to commit ourselves to know and understand it.
The Kingdom of the Divine Will cannot be complete on earth without a growing spiritual association in the knowledge and the diffusion, ordered and compact, of the writings of Luisa.
Only knowledge leads to possession.
– To be disposed and opened more and more to the Light that transmits this great Gift of God, remaining always aware of our nothingness.
Littleness purifies the spirit, freeing it and placing it inside the Heart of God the Father, because only to the little ones is it given to enter the Kingdom
of Heaven; and this, also being on earth, by growing in the Light of the Divine Will.
The Association must be in a constant “re-birth” of spirit. In this family there is no room for ourselves, but only an intense interest in God’s Kingdom and the triumph of His Most Holy ruling on earth as it is in heaven.
It is absolutely necessary that we put ourselves on the road to obedience, and let ourselves be guided by the Will of God. And this can be assured to us only by means of a priest. It is only with priestly guidance that we can bring about union with God and with our neighbor, union of the human will with the Divine, and create with Him constant communication.
The divine life of the Divine Will requires a solid discernment and excludes every personal interpretation. It is a very delicate work, as all Work of the Holy Spirit is delicate and silent. It is just that these priests, chosen by God, assume the weight of the coordination and responsibility received by the Ecclesiastical authority to work towards
unity in God by fighting the division which the enemy seeks to create.
It will be quite difficult for those who do not see the need or the place of the priest to be associated with us in Corato, because in that case the person would be blind to the example of Luisa (and Jesus said that Luisa would be the first and the others would be a copy of her), who remained tied to obedience all the years of her existence even in the smallest circumstances, and on both physical and spiritual levels, always in
submission to the priest who assisted her daily.
Stay close to your personal spiritual director, and live in peace with your neighbor.
Those who have opened their hearts to this Gift, kept by God in spite of human ingratitude, just need to cherish the desire of living it.
Our miseries and limitations must not suffocate the so many graces the Lord wants to give. The darkness of our human will must not obscure the Light emanated by the Divine Will, and cannot stop the course of our self-offering.
-To remain in the peace of Jesus Christ.
“Don’t you know that I am Spirit of Peace, and the first thing I recommend is that you do not disturb the peace of the heart?” Volume 1
“…My Kingdom is a Kingdom of peace…” Volume 2, July 4, 1899
“Ah yes, there is no true peace without obedience…” Volume 2, August 17, 1899
“Peace, peace, do not want to disturb yourself.” Volume 3, January1, 1900
“Therefore, be at peace, let Me do…” Volume 3, February 23, 1900
“Remain inside of Me – only there will you find true peace and stable contentment, because nothing penetrates into Me which does not belong to peace and contentment.” Volume 4, November 2, 1900
“Peace puts all passions in their place…” Volume 5, May 11, 1903
“…only one who constitutes Me King of her heart enjoys peace and happiness…” Volume 5, October 12, 1903
“My daughter, peaceful souls eat at My same table and drink at My cup, and the Divine Archer does nothing but dart through them continuously, and no dart is wasted….So, a peaceful soul is the delight and the amusement of God…” Volume 8, March 29, 1908
-To be attentive to Jesus and to His Truths in the Most Holy Divine Will.
“Therefore, be attentive so that nothing of My Being which flows within you may escape you, and that each one of your acts may be united with My Will…”
Volume 11, October 20, 1914
“Therefore, be attentive – your mission is great and fully Divine.”
Volume 12, February 4, 1919
Be attentive, and do not move from the point at which I call you and want you.”
Volume 12, February 27, 1919
“Therefore, be attentive in practicing the virtues of My Heart, so as to let Me open the springs of My Graces.”
Volume 12, June 27, 1919
“…these are My truths which I communicate to you. Be attentive in receiving them, and more attentive in communicating them, in order to give course to the light of My truths.” Volume 12, September 25, 1920
“Therefore, be attentive; never go out of My Will, that you
may receive all the fragrances of My Divinity…”
Volume 13, October 21, 1921
“Therefore, be attentive and let Me do, so that I may accomplish my great design – that the creature be animated by My Will.”
Volume 13, October 27, 1921
“Be attentive, My daughter, My ray, because every time you enter into My Will and operate, it happens as when the Sun hits the glass: many suns are formed in it.” Volume 13, November 12, 1921
“Be attentive, and in everything you do, think that it is an outpouring of your Jesus that comes to you.”
Volume 13, December 27, 1921
“Therefore, be attentive, and do not prevent Me from extending the light of My truths.” Volume 13, January 30, 1922
As the members of this family grow and strengthen more and more the bond with the Will of God, just as between Father and son, so they also reinforce the tight relation of charity and union of wills among themselves.
This happens in a real way for those who, disinterested and in pure faith, become members of this family, holding the certainity of having found the keys of the Kingdom, the precious stone: the Divine Will as life.
The growing aspect of the Association is the constant “Yes” which takes life from the unity of wills. The spirit of service and charity must prevail, always keeping in mind the
sweetness of the service of Jesus with the apostles and all other souls. It is a simple path made of love and charity. Love has no limits but, only the desire to please the person who inspires to love.
“The members of the Association, even though they live in their own states of life, in their own family, must feel themselves tied by a full and stable charity, founded upon the common spirituality of the Divine Will and dedicated to the apostolate which is inherent in the heart of the Association.” (From the Statutes, art. no. 7)
*We must find refuge in the Immaculate Heart of our Most Holy Mother, and we ask that She nourish us with the food of the Most Holy Will of God.
***
Letter from Archbishop Carata on a Retreat by the Association:
November 12, 1997
Dear friends,
What a joy it is to have arrived at the best years of life and to
reflect on so many years of having lived in the land of the saints, as our
beautiful Apulia is often called. One of my greatest joys has been able to work
so close with the Association which I co-founded in Corato, together with Sister
Assunta Marigliano, and to now see that, we are ever closer to having a new
saint. For us here in Corato she will never be “Saint Luisa,” but will always be
“Luisa the saint.” As a seminarian in the late 1930’s, our spiritual director
shared Luisa’s Writings with us students on a daily basis, and we were awed that
a soul so intimate with God resided in our very midst.
During my many years of ministry in this Archdiocese I have seen
Luisa loved, crucified, risen, and I know my days will not end until I see her
exalted to the honor of the altar as, without any shadow of doubt, she deserves.
The theology of her spirituality brings confusion to the intelligent, wonder and
hope to the simple, and now brings a depth of understanding to the Church which,
as I have always held, could very well be a new heavens and a new earth for all
the faithful. The praises which I offer do not come from having served as rector
of our pontifical seminary for fifteen years, but from many years of meditating
our Lord’s own prayer – let Your Will be done on earth as it is in
heaven!
Be gentle with our Luisa, for she is our pride and joy. Honor the
inheritance she has passed on to the world in her Writings. Pray for her
intercession before the Trinity for your sanctification in God’s very own
Spirit, for this is the reason why we were created. It is a matter of glory –
given, and shared – which will shepherd us through eternity. “If you only knew
what it means not to live in the divine Fiat you would die rather than give life
to your own will.” These words, often spoken by our Lord to Luisa, have led me
through my own episcopacy, and now that I may rest in my aged reflections, I can
see that it is a wine in which I greatly delight.
God bless you all in your retreat. May you mature in love and
holiness in your days of friendship and rejoicing.