{"id":1315,"date":"2024-09-13T15:01:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/?p=1315"},"modified":"2024-08-12T16:14:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T21:14:13","slug":"september-14-feast-day-of-the-exaltation-of-the-holy-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/?p=1315","title":{"rendered":"9\/14 Feast Day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Exaltation of The Holy Cross<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 We adore You O Christ and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world!<\/p>\n

The faithful bow, venerate and devoutly kiss The Holy Cross.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCome, all you faithful, let us adore the Life-giving tree, upon which Christ the King of glory willingly stretched out His arms and raising us up, restored us to that original happiness, the enemy stole from us in the past, seducing us by vain pleasures so that we became estranged from God.
\nCome, all you faithful, let us bow down before the tree, through which we have become worthy to crush the heads of invisible enemies.
\nCome, all you nations, let us extol the Cross, perfect salvation of fallen Adam.
\nOur most faithful kings glory in you, for by your power they overcame their enemies.
\nToday we Christians with awe kiss you, we glorify the crucified God upon you and say,
\n\u2018O Lord, crucified on the Cross, have mercy on us, for you are good and you love mankind.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To arouse ourselves to a greater veneration and love for The Holy Cross, let us frequently call to mind those profound thoughts expressed by the great venerator of The Holy Cross, St. Ephrem the Syrian (+373) in the following hymn:<\/p>\n

The Cross is \u2013 the Resurrection of the dead.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Staff of the lame.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Consolation of the poor.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Dethronement of the proud.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Hope of the hopeless.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Helm of those who sail.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Harbor of the storm-tossed.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Father of orphans.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Comfort of the afflicted.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Protector of youth.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Glory of men.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Crown of the aged.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Purity of virgins.<\/strong><\/span>
\n The Cross is \u2013 the Bread of the hungry and the fountain of the thirsty.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 Therefore, let us make the sign of this Life-Giving Cross on our forehead, lips and breast\u2026
\nLet us not do anything without it, but whether we are going to sleep, or getting up; whether we are eating or drinking, whether we are traveling on land, sailing the sea, or crossing rivers, we should adorn all the members of our body with the sign of the Life-Giving Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this day The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta receives the last bond with Jesus in \u201cthe Marriage of the Cross\u201d<\/p>\n

Fiat!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Feast Day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, Little Daughter of the Divine Will, receives the last bond with Our Lord Jesus Christ:\u00a0 the Marriage of the Cross<\/p>\n

Book of <\/strong>Heaven
\n<\/strong>The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose
\n<\/strong>for which He was Created by God
\nVolume One<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:<\/em><\/p>\n

One morning \u2013 it was the day of the Exaltation of the Cross<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 my sweet Jesus transported me to the holy sites; and first, He told me many things about the virtue of the cross. I don\u2019t remember all, but just a few things: “My beloved, do you
\nwant to be beautiful? The cross will give you the most beautiful features that
\ncan possibly be found, both in Heaven and on earth; so much so, as to enamor
\nGod, who contains all beauties within Himself.”<\/p>\n

Jesus continued: “Do you want to be filled with immense riches – not for a short<\/strong>\u00a0time, but for all eternity? Well then, the cross will administer to you all<\/strong>\u00a0kinds of riches – from the tiniest cents, which are the little crosses, up to<\/strong>\u00a0the greatest amounts, which are the heavier crosses<\/strong><\/span>. Yet, men are so greedy to\u00a0earn a temporal penny, which they soon will have to leave, but do not give a\u00a0thought to earning one eternal cent. And when I, having compassion for them, in\u00a0seeing their carelessness for all that regards eternity, kindly offer them the
\nopportunity – instead of cherishing it, they get angry and offend Me. What
\nhuman madness \u2013 it seems that they understand it upside down. My beloved (Luisa), in the cross are all the triumphs, all the victories, and the greatest gains. You must have no aim other than the cross, and it will be enough for you, in everything<\/strong><\/span>. Today I want to make you content; that cross which until now has\u00a0not been enough to lay you on and crucify you completely, is the cross that you\u00a0have carried up to now. But since I have to crucify you completely, you need\u00a0new crosses which I will let descend upon you. So, the cross you have had until\u00a0now, I will bring to Heaven, to show it to the whole celestial court as pledge
\nof your love, and I will make another one descend from Heaven \u2013 a larger one,
\nto be able to satisfy the ardent desires I have upon you.”<\/p>\n

While Jesus was saying this, that cross which I had seen the other times made itself\u00a0present before me. I took it and I laid myself on it. As I was in this way, the
\nHeavens opened and Saint John the Evangelist came down, carrying the cross that\u00a0Jesus had indicated to me. The Queen Mother and many Angels, when they arrived\u00a0near me, lifted me from that cross and placed me over the one which they had\u00a0brought me, which was much larger. Then, an Angel took the cross I had before\u00a0and took it to Heaven with him. After this, with His own hand, Jesus began to\u00a0nail me to that cross; Queen Mama assisted me, while the Angels and Saint John\u00a0were handing the nails. My sweet Jesus showed such contentment, such joy in\u00a0crucifying me, that just to be able to give that contentment to Jesus, I would\u00a0have suffered not only the cross, but yet more pains. Ah! it seemed to me that\u00a0Heaven was making new feast for me, in seeing the contentment of Jesus. Many souls were freed from Purgatory and took flight toward Heaven, and quite a few\u00a0sinners were converted, because my Divine Spouse let everyone participate in\u00a0the good of my sufferings. Who can tell, then, the intense pains I felt while\u00a0being stretched so well over the cross, and pierced through by the nails in my\u00a0hands and feet? But especially the feet \u2013 the atrocity of the pains was such\u00a0that they cannot be described. When they finished crucifying me and I felt I\u00a0was swimming in the sea of pains and sufferings, Queen Mama said to Jesus: \u00a0“My Son, today is a day of grace – I want You to let her share in all of
\nYour pains. There is nothing left but to pierce her heart through with the\u00a0lance, and to renew for her the crown of thorns.” So, Jesus Himself took\u00a0the lance and pierced my heart through; the Angels took a crown of thorns, well\u00a0thickened, and handed it to the Most Holy Virgin \u2013 and She Herself drove it\u00a0into my head.<\/p>\n

What a memorable day that was for me \u2013 of sufferings, yes, but of contentments; of\u00a0unspeakable pains, but also of joy. It is enough to say that the intensity of\u00a0the pains was such, that for that entire day Jesus did not move from my side,\u00a0but remained close to me in order to sustain my nature, which was failing at\u00a0the liveliness of the pains. Those souls from Purgatory who had flown up to\u00a0Heaven, descended together with the Angels and surrounded my bed, cheering me\u00a0with their canticles, and thanking me affectionately because through my\u00a0sufferings I had freed them from those pains.<\/p>\n

It happened, then, that after five or six days of those intense pains, to my great\u00a0regret, they began to diminish, and so I would solicit my beloved Jesus to\u00a0renew the crucifixion. And He, sometimes quickly, and sometimes with some\u00a0delay, would be pleased to transport me to the holy sites and to let me share\u00a0in the pains of His Sorrowful Passion\u2026 now the crown of thorns, now the\u00a0scourging, now the carrying of the cross to Calvary, now the crucifixion \u2013\u00a0sometimes one mystery per day, and sometimes everything in one day, as He\u00a0pleased. This would be of highest pain and contentment for my soul. But it\u00a0would become very bitter for me when the scene would change, and instead of I\u00a0being the one who suffered, I would be the spectator, watching most loving\u00a0Jesus suffer the pains of His Sorrowful Passion. Ah! how many times I found\u00a0myself in the midst of the Jews together with Queen Mama, seeing my beloved\u00a0Jesus suffer. Ah! yes, it is indeed true that it is easier for one to suffer\u00a0himself, than to see the beloved suffer.<\/p>\n

Other times, I remember that, in renewing these crucifixions, my sweet Jesus would\u00a0say to me: “My beloved (Luisa), the cross allows one to distinguish the reprobates<\/strong>\u00a0from the predestined. Just as on the day of judgment, the good will rejoice<\/strong>\u00a0upon seeing the cross, so even now it can be seen whether one will be saved or<\/strong>\u00a0lost. If, as the cross presents itself to the soul, she embraces it, carries it<\/strong>\u00a0with resignation and patience, kissing and thanking that hand which is sending<\/strong>\u00a0it \u2013 here is the sign that she is saved<\/strong><\/span>. If, on the contrary, as the cross is\u00a0presented to her, she gets irritated, despises it, and even reaches the point\u00a0of offending Me \u2013 you can say that that\u2019s a sign that the soul is heading on\u00a0the way to hell. So will the reprobates do on the day of judgment: upon seeing\u00a0the cross, they will grieve and curse. The cross tells everything<\/span>; the cross is<\/strong>\u00a0a book that, without deception and in clear notes, tells you and allows you to<\/strong>\u00a0distinguish the saint from the sinner, the perfect from the imperfect, the<\/strong>\u00a0fervent from the lukewarm. The cross communicates such light to the soul that,<\/strong>\u00a0even now, it allows one to distinguish not only the good from the evil, but<\/strong>\u00a0also those who are to be more or less glorious in Heaven \u2013 those who are to<\/strong>\u00a0occupy a higher or a lower place. All other virtues remain humble and reverent<\/strong>\u00a0before the virtue of the cross, and grafting themselves to it, they receive<\/strong>\u00a0greater glory and splendor<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Who can tell what flames of ardent desires this speaking of Jesus would cast into\u00a0my heart? I felt devoured by hunger for suffering, and in order to satisfy my\u00a0yearnings – or rather, to say it better, in order to satisfy that which He\u00a0Himself infused in me – He would renew the crucifixion.<\/p>\n

I remember that sometimes, after renewing these crucifixions, He would say to me:
\n“<\/b>Beloved of My Heart (Luisa), I ardently desire not only to crucify your soul and<\/span>\u00a0to communicate the pains of the cross to your body, but also to mark your body<\/strong>\u00a0with the mark of my wounds<\/span>; and I want to teach you the prayer in order to<\/strong>\u00a0obtain this grace. This is the prayer: \u2018I present myself before the supreme<\/strong>\u00a0throne of God, bathed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, praying Him, by the merit<\/strong>\u00a0of His most luminous virtues and of His Divinity, to concede to me the grace of<\/strong>\u00a0being crucified\u2019.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, I (Luisa) have always had an aversion for anything that might appear externally \u2013 and I still do<\/strong> \u2013 but in the act in which Jesus was saying that, I would feel such yearnings being infused in me to satisfy the desire that He Himself was\u00a0expressing, that I would yet dare to ask Jesus to crucify me in the soul and in\u00a0the body. And sometimes I would say to Him: “Holy Spouse, I would rather<\/strong>\u00a0not have external things<\/strong><\/span>; and if sometimes I dare to ask for that, it is\u00a0because You Yourself tell me to, and also to give a sign to the confessor that\u00a0it is You who operates in me. But for the rest, I would like nothing but those=\u00a0pains which You make me suffer when You renew the crucifixion. If only they\u00a0were permanent – I would rather not have that diminution after some time. This\u00a0alone is enough for me. As for the outward appearance, the more You (Jesus) can keep me (Luisa) <\/strong><\/span>hidden, the more You will make me content<\/strong><\/span>.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, Little Daughter of the Divine Will outside
\nat the St. Anthony Orphanage in Corato, Italy.\u00a0 <\/strong>
\nNormally invisable, the stigmata Luisa received can be seen
\nin her hand holding the Holy Rosary,<\/strong>
\nit looks like a line.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 The Exaltation of The Holy Cross \u00a0\u00a0 We adore You O Christ and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world! The faithful bow, venerate and devoutly kiss The Holy Cross. \u201cCome, all you … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7779,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-september-2011","category-prayers-novenas-and-indulgences","category-divine-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1315"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22238,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315\/revisions\/22238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luisapiccarreta.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}