Flowing with Milk and Honey

I really like this image of a person looking out over a beautiful valley.  It evokes the longing of looking for the beautiful promised land.  How the Jewish people must have rejoiced to have finally reached it, after such a long journey, spanning both time, space, and generations.  A land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.  People interpret it to be a land of prosperity and abundance, even a second Eden.  But like most things there is another meaning here and as mush as the Jewish people longed for the promised land God's longing for His promised land in us is even greater.  

Now the requirement for the Jewish people to enter this land was to cast off the old gods and idols and to be faithful to the one true God.

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

Exodus 32:13

Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob—making myself known to them in the land of Egypt—I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God.  On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.  And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

Ezekiel 20:5-7

But milk and honey, in the Old Testament, have other meanings as well besides abundance and prosperity.  Jesus explains in the Volumes that honey refers to sweetness and love and milk to a state of peace.  In the Old Testament they are spoken of as a state of near intoxication of love in the Song of Songs.  It refers to a land of abundance, a place being in a state of peace and fraternal love where the one is required to receive the other.

How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!

how much better is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!

Your lips distill nectar, my bride;

honey and milk are under your tongue;

the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.  

A garden locked is my sister, my bride,

a garden locked, a fountain sealed.

Song of Solomon 4:10-12

I come to my garden, my sister, my bride;

I gather my myrrh with my spice,

I eat my honeycomb with my honey,

I drink my wine with my milk.

Eat, friends, drink,

and be drunk with love.

Song of Solomon 5:1

Jesus states in the Volumes that Abraham is a symbol of the privileges of heroism of those who will  live in the Divine Will who will inherit a rich land, "flowing with milk and honey," of which all nations will be envious.

Abraham was a symbol of the privileges of heroism of the children of my Volition, and as I called Abraham to a promised land flowing with milk and honey, making him lord of that land which was so rich that all the other nations were envious and wanted it, it was all a symbol of that which I would have done for the children of my Will.  

Vol. 21, April 8, 1927

In the early Volumes Luisa reports that Jesus would give her milk which produced in her the sweetness of love for Jesus and gave her the satiety of peace.  This happened on more than one occasion.

 

He continued:  “Come, come to Me.  Today is the New Year, I want to give you a present.”  (That morning was precisely the first day of the year).  So, He drew His most pure lips to mine and poured a most sweet milk; He kissed me, He took a ring from within His side and said to me:  “Today I want to show you the ring I have prepared for you, for when I espouse you.”  Then He told me:  “Tell the confessor that it is my Will that you continue to stay in bed, and as a sign that it is I, tell him that there is a war between Italy and Africa, and if he gives you the obedience to continue to suffer, I will not do anything on either side – they will reconcile.”

In the very act of these words being spoken, I felt surrounded by sufferings as if by a garment, and I was unable to free myself by myself.  I thought to myself:  ‘What will the confessor say?’  But it was no longer in my power.  That milk which Jesus had poured into me produced in me such love for Him, that I felt languor; and I felt such satiety and sweetness, that after the confessor came and I came round from that state, and the family brought me food, I felt so full that the food would not go down.  But in order to do the obedience, which wanted it so, I took a little bit, and I was immediately forced to bring it up - but mixed with that sweet milk that Jesus had given me.  And Jesus, almost jokingly, told me:  “What I gave you was not enough?  You are not content yet?”  I blushed all over, but immediately I said to Him:  “What can I do? It’s the obedience.’

Vol. 1, Luisa resists Jesus when he wants her to suffer, because the confessor’s consent is lacking.  Finally, Jesus imposes himself, communicating the state of suffering to her; and as proof to the confessor that this is his Will, he announces the outcome of the war between Italy and Africa.

Now, since I too felt my mouth bitter from the bitternesses He had poured into me, I felt like I wanted to suckle from the breasts of Jesus, but I did not dare to.  But Jesus invited me to do it, and so I plucked up courage and I began to suckle.  Oh, what sweetness of paradise came from that holy breast!  But who can express it?  Then I found myself inside myself, all inundated with sweetnesses and contentments.

Vol. 2, June 8, 1899

The sweetness of love which Jesus poured into Luisa in these early days was necessary in order to bind and order all the virtues in her.

This morning my most sweet Jesus came all festive, carrying a bundle of most graceful flowers in His hands; and placing Himself in my heart, now He would surround His head with those flowers, now He would hold them in His hands, amusing and delighting His whole self.  While He was celebrating with these flowers, and it seemed He had made a great gain, He turned to me and told me:  “My beloved, this morning I have come to place in order all virtues in your heart.  The other virtues may remain separate from one another, but Charity binds and orders everything.  Here is what I want to do in you – to order Charity.”

I said to Him:  ‘My sole and only Good, how can you do this since I am so bad and full of defects and imperfections?  If Charity is order, aren’t these defects and sins disorder that keeps my soul all messy and upside-down?’  And Jesus:  “I will purify everything, and Charity will put everything in order.  Besides, when I let a soul participate in the pains of my Passion, there cannot be grave sins; at most, some venial involuntary defects, but my love, being fire, will consume everything that is imperfect in your soul.”  So it seemed that Jesus purified me and ordered all of me; then He poured as though a rivulet of honey from His Heart into mine, and with that honey He watered all of my interior, in such a way that everything that was in me remained orderly, united and with the mark of Charity.

Vol. 2, August 15, 1899

When Jesus gives He also wants to receive.  In giving Luisa His milk of sweetness and peace He also wants to receive milk from Luisa.  She gives back to Him that which she has received from Him. 

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.

Vol.3, January 6, 1900

Jesus tells Luisa in the early Volumes how perfect resignation is as sugar and honey which unites us to God, but even a small resistance to God's Will will cause separation.  So resignation is not enough.  The soul must have the firm knowledge that her greatest good and what glorifies God is to always do God's Will.  This knowledge only comes through humility.

Perfect resignation to my Will is wax which melts our wills and forms a single one; it is sugar and honey. However, at a small resistance to my Will, the wax separates, the sugar becomes bitter, and the honey turns into poison.

Now, it is not sufficient to be resigned, but the soul must be convinced that the greatest good for herself and the best way to glorify Me is to always do my Will.  Here is the necessity of the signature of humility, because humility produces this knowledge. 

Vol. 3, April 16, 1900 

We can see that Jesus wants our reciprocation. He wants our love, but He wants love that is worthy of Him, complete acts, which can only come from acts done in the Divine Will. This is the fruit that He is looking for from His creatures, His earths which He works tirelessly in to make them productive.

for one who doesn’t live in our Volition, how many broken acts of ours, without conclusion, how many divine lives of ours hardly conceived or at the most born without growing.  [Creatures] break the continuation of our work and bind our arms without being able to go ahead; they put us in the impotence of a master who holds his earth and is prevented by his ungrateful servants from doing the work that he wants to in his earth, to sow it, to plant the plants that he wants; poor proprietor, to hold sterile earth, without the fruit that he could receive, for reason of his iniquitous servants.  Our earths are creatures and the ungrateful servant is the human volition, which opposing ours with hers puts us in impotence from forming our divine life in them.  Now you should know that in Heaven one doesn’t enter if one doesn’t possess our divine life, or at least conceived or born, and such will be the glory, the beatitude of the blessed, for how much growth has been formed of our life in them.  Now what will be the difference for one who has hardly let him be conceived, be born or grown with little proportions, from one who has let us form complete life?  So much will be the difference, that it is incomprehensible to the human creature.  Those will be as the people of the Celestial kingdom, instead our images will be as princes, ministers, the noble court, the regal army of the great King.  Therefore one who does my Divine Will and lives in Him can say:  ‘I do all and I also belong from this earth to the family of my Celestial Father.’”

Vol. 29, October 12, 1931

Mary, who is the only creature who has lived in the fullness of the Divine Will since her conception, narrates how she enclosed within herself all of creation so that her own humanity was the earth.  We are each an earth to our God and thereby each of us has the potential to be His promised land.

'Child of my Heart, my birth was prodigious; no other birth can be said to be similar to mine.  I enclosed within Myself the Heaven, the Sun of the Divine Will, and also the earth of my humanity - but a blessed and holy earth, which enclosed the most beautiful flowerings.  And even though I was just newly born, I enclosed the prodigy of the greatest prodigies:  the Divine Will reigning in Me, which enclosed in Me a Heaven more beautiful, a Sun more refulgent than those of Creation, of which I was also Queen, as well as a sea of graces without boundaries, which constantly murmured:  “Love, love to my Creator.” '

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will, Day 10

The soul needs to be like Jesus who showed nothing but milk and honey flowing out of Him, that is peace and sweetness. This is the sign of the finger of God which can win over hearts. If the soul is not sweet and peaceful in all things it's a sign that her passions are out of order.

Now, while I was fidgeting, He came out, in passing, from within my interior, and He said to me: “What is the matter with you? Calm yourself, calm yourself; here I am - not only with you, but in you. And then, I do not want this restless heart. Everything in you must be sweetness and peace, in such a way that it may be said of you that which is said about Me: that nothing but milk and honey flows within Me, symbolizing sweetness with honey, and peace with milk. I am so filled and soaked with them, that they pour out from my eyes, from my mouth, and from all of my works. And if you are not likewise, I feel dishonored by you, because, while the One who is all peace and sweetness dwells within you, you do not honor Me by showing even the slightest shadow of a resentful and restless heart. I love this sweetness and peace so much, that even if it were about something great concerning my honor and glory, I do not want, I never approve, resentful, violent, fiery manners, but rather, sweet and peaceful manners. In fact, sweetness alone is that which binds hearts like a chain, in such a way that they cannot unbind themselves. It is like pitch that sticks to them and they cannot free themselves, and are forced to say: ‘In this soul there is the finger of God, for we cannot act otherwise.’ And then, if I do not like a resentful manner, not even creatures will like it. If one speaks about or deals with things, even of God, with manners that are not sweet and peaceful, it is a sign that he does not have his passions in order; and one who does not keep himself in order, cannot order others. Therefore, be careful with anything which is not sweetness and peace, if you do not want to dishonor Me.”

Vol. 7, December 3, 1906

Jesus wants souls to be in perennial peace and He, out of His love for them, makes miracles in order to keep them in peace so that He can lean on them and so be able to reduce the chastisements.  Without them everything would be cast into ruin.

 

As I was feeling oppressed, I was almost about to be surprised by the poisonous waves of disturbance.  My lovable Jesus, my faithful sentry, immediately ran to prevent disturbance from entering into me, and scolding me, told me:

 

“Daughter, what are you doing?  The love and the interest I have to maintain the soul at peace are such and so great that I am forced to make miracles in order to keep the soul at peace; and those who disturb these souls would want to confront Me and prevent this miracle of mine, all of love.  So, I recommend to you – be balanced in everything.  My Being is in full balance in everything, and yet I see and feel evils, and bitternesses I do not lack.  Nevertheless, I never become unbalanced, my peace is perennial, my thoughts are peaceful, my words are honeyed with peace, the beating of my Heart is never tumultuous, even in the midst of immense joys or interminable bitternesses; the very operating of my hands in the act of scourging flows over the earth as enveloped in waves of peace.  So, if you do not maintain yourself at peace, since I am in your heart I feel dishonored, and my way and yours are no longer in accord; I would feel hindered in you from carrying out my ways in you, and therefore you would render Me unhappy.  Only peaceful souls are my staffs on which I lean; and when the many iniquities snatch scourges from my hands, by leaning on these staffs I always do less than what I should do.  Ah! if – may it never be – I lacked these staffs, in lacking my supports I would send everything to ruin.”

Vol. 11, May 18, 1914

The Promised Land for the Jewish people was the promise of a safe place of super abundance and peace where they could live their lives in the freedom that God was calling them to live it.  Jesus as well is looking to find His home in each creature, where He can be free to enrich them, love them and be loved, to form them as He Wills.  As we saw earlier, even perfect resignation can leave an opening were there can be disunity.  Only by living in the Divine Will can we give to God that promised land, that home, that He is longing for.

“You should know that when I elect a soul, I form there my residence, and I want to be free in my house to do that which I want, and to remain as pleases me, nor do I want restrictions from the part of the creature; I want absolute liberty, otherwise I would become unhappy and impeded in my way of acting.  It would be the greatest misfortune, even to the poorest (person), to not enjoy liberty in his little hovel, and I would incur the misfortune of a poor individual, that having formed a residence with so much love, when he has equipped it and put it in order he enters in order to live there, but with his sorrow there becomes made impositions and restrictions for him; it is said to him:  ‘In this room you can not sleep, in this one you can not receive, in this other one you are not able to pass.’  In short he can not remain as he wants nor do that which he wants, so that the poor little one feels unhappy, because he has lost his liberty, and he has repented of the sacrifices that he has made (in order) to build this residence.  Such am I; how many labors, how many sacrifices, how many graces have I not poured out in order to adapt one creature for my residence, and when I take the possession of her, more than everything I love and want liberty in my house, and when I find now the repugnancies, now the restrictions, instead of the residence adapting itself to me, I must adapt myself to her, hence I can’t develop either my life or my divine ways, nor is it given to me to complete the purpose for which with so much love I selected this residence.  Therefore I want liberty, and if you want to make me happy leave free to do that which I want.”

Vol. 29, May 4, 1931

When a soul lives in the Divine Will, God is free to give to us as He would and we are able to give to Him as well.  We have life in common, giving and receiving.  God gives us the liberty to grow in Divine life as much as we want and we give God the liberty of being able to give unrestrained and to receive love back.  In this way both God and man truly find their Promised Land.  

“My daughter, the Creation of man was the center where our Divinity centralized all the goods that should rise in the creature, we put in her Divine Life and Divine Will, human life and human will; human life should serve us as residence, and the two Wills fused together should make life in common with highest accord, indeed the human will should take from ours in order to form her acts, and ours should remain in the continuous act to give of his, in order to make that the human will might remain modeled and all informed in the Divine Will.  Now, there is no life, as much human, spiritual and divine, that doesn’t have need of food in order to grow, in order to become stronger, to embellish and to felicitate himself.  More so that we put our Divine life in man, [and] because he was incapable of receiving the whole fullness of our Divine Being, we put in him how much he could contain of our life, giving him the liberty to let him grow how much more he could and wanted.  Hence our life in man for growth had need of food, behold the necessity to put in him a Divine Will; our Divine life would not have adapted himself to foods of the human will.  Behold therefore all the acts of the creature done in virtue of and in our Divine Will, would serve to feed and to make our Divine Life grow in her, in a way that as soon as she went doing her acts in our Fiat, now she took our love and fed us, now she took our fortitude, now our infinite sweetness, now our Divine joys in order to feed us.  What order, what harmony put between him and us in creating man between him and us, even to ask of him our own foods through his means, not because we had need, no, but in order to maintain the enthusiasm of love, the correspondence, the inseparable union between him and us.  And while he occupied himself with us, we occupied ourselves with feeding him and with conserving our dear residence, not only, but making him other more beautiful gifts in order to render him more happy, to love him more and make ourselves more loved.  But do you want to know what are our most beautiful gifts that we make the creature?  To manifest to her a knowledge of our Supreme Being, a truth that pertains to us, one secret of ours is the most beautiful gift that we make her; each of these gifts is one more bond that we put between Her and us, our every truth is a property that we put in her soul.  Behold therefore that in the soul where our Will reigns we find our Divine foods, our property for how much it is possible for a creature, our residence, hence we find ourselves in our house, in our center, in the midst of our properties. 

Vol. 29, Aug. 3, 1931