Hail Mary

When I'm having a hard time I often find myself praying the Hail Mary.  So today I'd like to spend some time on references to the Hail Mary as found in the Volumes.  Firstly, however, I wanted to share this site on the Internet which speaks of the powerful action of the Hail Mary when it is embraced.


http://www.heartsonfire.name/2013/05/the-hail-mary-is-a-powerful-prayer/



When we pray the Hail Mary we return to that moment in which Mary received the word of God becoming Mother of God and Mother of all mankind.  Here Jesus reminds Luisa of that moment.

“This happened also to my Celestial Mama, when She was told:  ‘I hail You, Mary, full of grace; You will conceive the Son of God.’  On hearing this, She was frightened, She trembled, and said:  ‘How can this happen?’  But She ended up saying:  ‘Fiat Mihi secundum verbum tuum.’  She felt all the weight of the All over Her nothing and, naturally, She was frightened.  So, when I manifest to you what I want to do with you, and your nothing is frightened, I see the fright of the Sovereign Queen being repeated; and compassionating you, I lift your nothing, I strengthen it, that it may endure sustaining the All.

Vol. 19, Jun2 15, 1926



He states that Mary was elect from all the generations and made "Full of Grace" so that she might fulfill the special role of taking on this role of "universal Mother."

So We acted in the Queen of Heaven. Everything was put aside – all the evil of the other creatures, and We occupied Ourselves only with Her; and We poured so much, that She was the Full of Grace, because She was to be the universal Mother, and cause of the Redemption of all.
Vol. 26, Aug. 3, 1929

Mary herself in the book, The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will states how it was the power of the Divine Fiat which brought about all of this in that very moment.

My dear child, today I await you more than ever.  My maternal Heart is swollen; I feel the need to pour out my ardent love with my child:  I want to say to you that I am the Mother of Jesus.  My joys are infinite; seas of happiness inundate Me.  I can say:  I am the Mother of Jesus; His creature, His handmaid, is Mother of Jesus - and I owe this only to the Fiat.  It rendered Me full of grace, It prepared the worthy dwelling for my Creator.  Therefore, always glory, honor and thanksgiving be to the Supreme Fiat.

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will,  Day 20




So even when we struggle even saying one Hail Mary is a conduit of grace for us.



After I struggled very much, blessed Jesus came for just a little and told me:  “My daughter, when the soul disposes herself to do some good, be it even saying one Hail Mary, grace concurs in doing that good.
Vol. 6, Oct. 29, 1904




 Luisa was one day complaining to Jesus in that she didn't get to watch the feast of Mary on her Assumption into Heaven.  She discovers that in that moment Mary was first greeted with the Hail Mary, sung by the Angels and the Saints and that there is no greater praise or honor which can be given her than to renew the joy of that moment in which she received Jesus, becoming his Mother.

‘My sole and only treasure, You didn’t even let me watch the feast of our Queen Mama, or listen to the first canticles that the Angels and the Saints sang as She entered Paradise.’

And Jesus:  “The first canticle that they sang to my Mama was the ‘Hail Mary’, because in the ‘Hail Mary’ there are the most beautiful praises, the greatest honors; and the joy which She felt in being made Mother of God is renewed.  Therefore, let us recite it together to honor Her, and when you come to Paradise I will let you find it as if you had recited it together with the Angels and the Saints for the first time in Heaven.”

 

So, we recited the first part of the ‘Hail Mary’ together.  Oh, how tender and moving it was to hail our Most Holy Mama together with Her beloved Son!  Each word He said carried an immense light, through which one could comprehend many things about the Most Holy Virgin.  But who can say them all – especially because of my inability?  Therefore I let them pass in silence.

Vol. 2, August 15, 1899

 

 

 

This reminds me, a bit shamefully, that every word of the Hail Mary is powerful and how I should be mindful in reciting it instead of just rattling them off.  Each time we recite this prayer, especially in the Divine Will, we renew and repeat those moments; in the Annunciation and the Visitation and in her Assumption.  I don't believe that Mary will let one who recites this prayer with the intention of renewing her joy and honoring her ever go without sharing in her same joys, blessings and graces.

 

A very simple prayer but in it is all the power of the human Fiat uniting with the Divine, Heaven on earth, the incarnation.  How grateful we should be to have been given such a holy, blessed, and beautiful Mother.  http://littledivinelights.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-greatness-of-mary.html

 

The Human will, fount of evil or good

It seems easy to me to speak about all the evils the human will has brought about but in stopping to actually understand and define what is the human will is another matter.  In fact although Jesus speaks about how all sin has come about due to the human will he also states that in the beginning he made all things beautiful and this includes the human will.

I was thinking of how much evil the human will has done to the poor creatures, and therefore I abhor it, I do not want to know it ever again, and not even look at it, because it is too nauseating. But while I was thinking of this, my beloved Jesus moved in my interior and told me:

 

“My daughter, the human will on its own is nauseating, but united with Mine is the most beautiful thing I created. More so, since the Divinity could never issue anything created by Us which would be nauseating. United with Ours, the human will would have the continuous motion of good, of light, of sanctity, of beauty; and through Our continuous motion, which never ceases, it would have been the greatest prodigy of Creation. Our motion would purify it from any shadow of stain.

Vol. 23, Jan. 31, 1928



Jesus states that the human will has the capacity to bring about all goods or all evils.

It is the human will that is the life or the death of the creature, her happiness or her tyranny and misfortune into which she hurls herself; her good angel that leads her to Heaven, or the one who, transforming into a demon, hurls her into hell. All evil is in the will, as well as all good, because the will is like the fount of life placed in the creature, which can spring joys, happiness, sanctity, peace, virtue, or spurts from itself little fountains of troubles, of miseries, of sins, of wars, which destroy all goods.
Vol. 23, March 11, 1928

But the human will is more than simply the ability to choose or the desire which leads that choice.  It is the life which directs all acts of the creature, the thoughts, glances, steps...  But more so it is also the depository of all these acts, holding all and losing nothing of them or the intent with which they were sealed.  It is this will which makes man most similar to his Creator.

 

See, in the creature also, her will has supremacy; so, if there is will, she has life, and if there is no will, she seems like a tree which, while having a trunk, branches and leaves, has no fruit. In the creature, the will is not thought, but gives life to the attitude of the mind; it is not eye, but gives life to the gaze, because if it has will, the eye wants to see - wants to know things; otherwise, it is as if the eye had no life. The will is not word, but gives life to each word; it is not hand, but gives life to the action; it is not step, but gives life to the step; it is not love, desire, affection, but gives life to love, to desire, to affection. But this is not all. Though the will is life of all the human acts, once the creature has performed them, she remains stripped of her very acts, like a tree loaded with fruits is stripped by the hands of the one who picks them. On the other hand, the gazes she has given, the thoughts she has formed, the words she has spoken, the actions she has performed, remain as though sealed within her will. So, her hand has operated, but her action does not remain in her hands – it moves beyond, and who knows where it goes; while in the will, it remains there. Therefore, everything is written, formed, sealed in the human will. And if it so in the human will, only because I cast into it the seed, the likeness to Mine, think, yourself, of what my Will must be within Myself, and what it must be if the creature lets herself be possessed by my Will.”

Vol. 16, July 24, 1923

“The will of man is that which makes him more like His Creator.  In the human will I placed part of my immensity and of my power, and giving it the place of honor, I constituted it queen of the whole of man and depository of all of his works.  Just as creatures have chests in which they keep their things to maintain them secured, the soul has her will in which to keep and secure all that she thinks, says and does.  Not even one thought will be lost.  What she cannot do with her eyes, with her mouth, with her works, she can do with her will - in one instant she can will a thousand goods and a thousand evils.  The will makes her thought fly up to Heaven, to the farthest places and deep into the abysses.  She might be prevented from operating, from seeing, from speaking, but she can do all this in her will.  Whatever she does and wants, forms an act which remains deposited in her own will.  Oh! how the will can be expanded.  How many goods and how many evils can it not contain?  This is why, among all things, I want the will of man:  because if I have this, I have everything - the fortress is conquered.”

Vol. 13, Oct. 9, 1921



Jesus also states that the will is not only the deposit of all of one's acts but even of those which it wants to do.

The human will possesses with indelible characters all that which it does and that which it wants to do, and if the memory forgets, but the will loses nothing, it contains the deposit of all her acts without losing anything.  Therefore one can say that all (of) man is in the will, if this is holy, also the most indifferent things are holy for him, if then he is bad, perhaps also the good is changed for him into perverse act, hence if you truly want my Divine Will as life there is not needed much, more so that united to yours there is mine that wants it, there is a power that can do everything, and on your behalf one will see with facts, if in all things you will be involved as possessor of a Divine Will.  Therefore be attentive my daughter, and your flight be always continuous in the Supreme Fiat.”

Vol. 33, March 19, 1935




People tend to attribute the storing of all that which we do to the memory but this is not so.  Furthermore Jesus states that all these things which the will has maintained and conserved will work either to the triumph, honor and glory of the soul or to it's confusion in facing the evils it has created.  A strong reminder of how everything we do, think, want will work toward our greater good or evil in the day of our judgment.

“Beyond this, as the Divine Will is depositary of everyone and everything, thus the human will is depositary of all her thoughts, words, works and steps, et cetera, it looses nothing of all that which she does, rather they form one thing alone with her and with indelible characters every thought, word, suffering suffered, everything remains written and sealed, it can be given that the memory doesn’t keep count of everything, it has forgotten many things, but the will hides everything and loses nothing, so that it is the depositary and bearer of all her acts.  Hence the Divine Volition (is) depositary and bearer of everyone and everything, the human volition (is) depositary and bearer of itself.  What triumph will it be eternally, what honor and glory for one who has piously thought and worked?  And what confusion for one who has deposited in the human volition sins, passions, unworthy works, and rendered herself bearer of her own evils?  And if the evils are very grave she will be pasture of the infernal flames, and if less grave, she will be pasture of the purgative flames, that by way of fire and sufferings will purify that dirtied human will, but she can not restitute the good, the holy works that she has not done.  Therefore be attentive that everything becomes numbered and written, you don’t lose, neither you, nor us anything, even one thought, one word will have its perennial life, and they will be as faithful friends and inseparable of the creature.  Hence it is necessary that you form your holy and good friends, so that they can give you peace, happiness and perennial glory.”

Vol. 32,  March 19, 1933




But truly the human will does not contain the creative power in itself.  If the creative power were there man would not become tired in exercising the virtues.  True creative power comes only from the Divine Will which is stable and not subject to change and volatility.  This comes from the human will acting by itself.

“On the other hand, in the human will there is not a creative power which, if one wants to exercise the virtues, might be able to create patience, humility, obedience, etc.  This is why one feels hardship, fatigue, in order to be able to practice the virtues:  because the divine strength that sustains them, the creative power that nourishes them and gives them life, is missing.  And so inconstancy appears, and one passes easily from virtues to vices, from prayer to dissipation, from church to amusements, from patience to impatience - all this mix of good and evil produces unhappiness in the creature.  On the other hand, one who lets my Will reign within herself feels firmness in good; she feels that all things bring her happiness and joy.  More so, since all the things created by Us carry the mark - the seed of the joy and the happiness of the One who created them; and they were created by Us so that all of them might bring happiness to man. 

Vol. 19, April 9, 1926

But do you know what renders the poor creature mutable? It is her human will that renders her fickle in love, in pleasures, in the good she does. The human will is like an impetuous wind which moves the creature at every blow like an empty reed - now to the right, now to the left. This is why, in creating her, I wanted her to live of my Will – so that, arresting this impetuous wind of the human will, It might render her firm in good, stable in love, holy in operating. I wanted to let her live in the immense territory of my immutability. But the creature was not content; she wanted her own tiny little place, and rendered herself the amusement of herself, of others, and of her very passions. This is why I pray - I supplicate the creature to take this Will of Mine, to make It her own, that she may return into that immutable Will from which she came, so that she may no longer be fickle, but stable and firm. I have not changed - I wait for her, I long for her, I want her always in my Will.”

Vol. 17, Nov. 27, 1924




The human will was not created to act on its own but was made to work as a continuous reflection of the Divine Will.

“See then, how many relations there are between Myself and the creature.  This is why I love her so much:  because I look at her as a birth from Me, exclusively mine.  And then, how did I ennoble the will of man?  I linked it with Mine, giving it all my prerogatives.  I made it free, just like Mine; and if to the body I had given two little lights, limited and circumscribed, which started from my Eternal Light, the human will I made all eyes.  Therefore, as many acts as the human will forms, so many eyes can it say it possesses.  It looks to the right, to the left, to the back and to the front; and if the human life is not animated by my Will, it will do nothing good.  In creating it, I said to it:  ‘You will be my sister on earth; my Will from Heaven will animate yours; we will be in continuous reflections, and whatever I will do, you will do as well - I, by nature, and you, by the grace of my continuous reflections.  I will follow you like a shadow.  I will never leave you.’

Vol. 13, Nov. 4, 1921




So close were the relations between the human will and the Divine Will to be that Jesus compares it to the relation between the sun and the rays which come from it, even to heat and light.

“Now, you must know what bonds of identification exist between the Divine Will and the human will, and therefore why I so much love and want, by right of creation, of paternity, of love and of justice, that the human will would surrender its place to Mine, and throwing itself into Its arms like a little child, would let itself be held, nourished and dominated by It.  In creating man, the Supreme Being placed my Will out into the field, although all of Our attributes concurred with It as a consequence, and naturally.  But the Supreme Volition was the primary act, by which It took to heart the life of all Creation, including man, therefore making Itself the life of all, dominating everything, making everything Its own:  since everything had come out of It, by justice everything was to be Its own.  More than sun, my Will emitted Its rays, and with the tips of these rays, animating the human nature, It formed the will in the creature.  Do you see, then, what the will is in the human generations?  Many different tips of rays, which were like sparks in creatures, to form the will in them - but without detaching these sparks from the ray unleashed by the center of the Sun of the Supreme Volition.  So, all human generations turn around this Sun, because each creature contains the tip of one ray of this eternal Sun of my Will.

“Now, what is not the affront for this Sun, to see the circumference of these rays, whose tips formed the will of each creature, converted – transmuted into darkness, into human nature, denying the light, the dominion and the life of that Sun which gave Its Will with so much love, so that Its Will and those of creatures might be one, and so It might be able to form Divine Life in them?  Can there be a stronger, more stable and inseparable bond than the one between the center of the sun and its rays?  Light is indivisible, and if it could be separated, the detached part would go wandering and would end up turning into darkness.  So, there is such union of identification between the Divine Will and the human, as to be comparable to the union that exists between the sun and the solar ray, between heat and light.

Vol. 19, Sept. 7, 1926

It is only with the union of the Divine Will and the human that the creature and all her acts are placed in safety; safe from mutability,  safe from passions, safe from all disturbances and evils.

“My daughter, it is a prerogative of my Divine Volition to place everything It possesses in safety. When It enters into the soul, as the possessor of her, It places all things in safety: It places sanctity, grace, beauty, all virtues, in safety; and so that everything may be safe, It substitutes them in the soul with Its own Divine Sanctity, Its Beauty, Its virtues – all in a divine manner; and placing on her Its seal, which is untouchable by any change, It renders the creature untouchable by any danger. So, for one who lives in my Will there is nothing to fear any more, because It has secured everything with Its divine security. On the other hand, the human will renders everything unsafe, even sanctity itself. The virtues that are not under the continuous dominion of my Fiat are subject to continuous dangers and continuous oscillations; passions have the ways open to put everything upside down and cast virtues and sanctity to the ground, formed with many sacrifices. If the continuous vivifying and nourishing virtue of my Will is not present, which closes all doors and all ways to all evils, the human will has door and ways to let the enemy, the world, self-esteem, miseries, disturbances, enter, which are the wood worm of virtues and of sanctity; and when there is the wood worm, there is not sufficient strength to remain firm and persevering in good. Therefore, everything is unsafe when my Divine Will does not reign.
Vol. 26, April 28, 1929

So on this Independence Day I think it's appropriate to take a moment to consider how we value our freedom to choose but it is only in choosing God and to live in his Divine Will where we actually find our true freedom.

 

 

Eyes to See, The Intellect

I've spent some time struggling with this post to organize it and make sense of what I found.  I've found it's hard to explore the topic of the intellect without including the topic of faith.  And faith is intrinsically bound to hope and charity which would be another whole spin off of topics.  Just thinking about faith the questions come up:  What is faith?  How does one receive faith?  Why do some not receive faith?  So I will try to cover what I've found in the Volumes on the intellect in this post without veering off too much from the topic.

I think most people have run up on this passage in the Bible and scratched their heads as I have.  Just as Pharaoh's heart was hardened how is it that God allows some to believe while others are blinded from the truth?



When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him; ³⁸ it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed our report,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹ Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah again said,

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart,
lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart,
and turn for me to heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

John 12:36-41



So why do some people seem to understand and know God while others do not.  The Gospel is known by all to exist but so many don't recognize it as being from God.  How is it that people seem to not have the ability to see clearly with their intellect to know that God exists and understand His truths.  Ultimately it is always Will of God and perhaps not given to us to understand.   "God saves whom He will and reprobates likewise; hence no one merits election; election is not because of antecedent merits or foreseen deeds." http://www.romancatholicism.org/jansenism/augustine-194.htm

However here in the Volumes Jesus does speak of belief being the first step to understanding.  Belief appears to be a choice.

 

“My daughter, in order to comprehend a subject well it takes belief, because without belief everything is dark in the human intellect.  On the other hand, the mere believing turns on a light in the mind, and by means of this light one can recognize with clarity truth and falsehood, when it is grace that operates, when it is nature, and when the devil.  See, the Gospel is known to all, but who comprehends the meaning of my words, and the truths contained in It?  Who keeps them in his heart and makes of them a treasure with which to purchase the eternal kingdom?  One who believes.  As for all others, not only do they not understand a thing, but they use my words to mock them and to make fun of the holiest things.  So, it can be said that everything is written in the hearts of those who believe, hope and love, while nothing is written for everyone else.  The same with you:  one who has a little bit of belief sees things with clarity and finds the truth; one who does not, sees things as all confused.”

Vol. 4, Jan. 9, 1903


So belief first is necessary in order to understand a subject.  This is referring to the gift of faith and where faith is found so is found hope and charity.  The three are as tightly bound as the memory, intellect and the will but it is faith which acts as the light to the eyes of the intellect.


“In order to obtain, one must believe.  Just as for the head without the sight of the eyes, everything is darkness, everything is confusion, so much so, that if one wanted to walk, he would stumble now at one point, now at another, and would end up falling completely, the same for the soul without Faith – she does nothing but go from precipice to precipice.  But Faith serves as the sight of the soul, and as the light which guides her to eternal life. 
Vol. 1,   Jesus prepares Luisa for the renewal in heaven of the Mystical Marriage, with the approval of the Blessed Trinity; so he speaks to her of the three theological virtues. 



The intellect of man is endowed by the Son to communicate wisdom and knowledge so that man might come to know and understand God more and thereby come to love Him more.  But with original sin man now uses his intellect to turn away from God to deny God himself.

“Now, as second act, I, Son of God, concurred by endowing man with intellect, communicating to him my wisdom and the knowledge of all things, so that by knowing them, he might enjoy them and delight in what is good.  But, alas, what a bilge of vices is the intelligence of the creature!  He has used knowledge to deny his Creator.
Vol. 14, April 8, 1922

So it seems to me that man without faith turns his intellect in on himself instead of out towards God.  It is this choice that we make.  It is what enchants our eye the most the image of our self or the image of God in whom we were created.  So even further perhaps it is the intrinsic nature within each of us.  But when God finds this character within the creature he then delights in teaching her and drawing her closer to him through his truths.

“My daughter, when I see the character of the purpose of Creation impressed in the soul, feeling satisfied with her because I see so well accomplished the work created by Me, I feel a duty - or rather, not a duty”, He immediately added, “because in Me there are no duties, but my duty is a more intense love to repay her, advancing for her part of the celestial happiness - that is, manifesting to her intellect the knowledge of the Divinity; attracting her with the food of eternal truths; amusing her sight with my beauty, making the sweetness of my voice resound to her hearing; to her mouth, my kisses; to her heart, my embraces and all my tendernesses.  And this corresponds to the purpose for which I created her, which is:  to know Me, to love Me, to serve Me.” 

Vol. 5, Oct. 29, 1903


And here we have an insight into this passage in the Bible.


²⁹ For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
^{Matthew 25:29}


It is in having this character that they then are able to receive and thereby correspond and then receive more.  Where by one who does not even have this character within themselves does not possess the ability to receive.

Now, you must know that as I form my life in the thought of the creature that lives in my Volition, I feel the company of the human intelligence that courts me, and loves me, understands me and gives me its memory, the intellect, the will in my power and since in these three powers was created our image, I feel our eternal memory given to me for company that doesn’t forget anything, I feel the company of my wisdom that understands me, and then the company of the human will fused with mine, that loves me with my eternal love; how not to multiply in every thought of hers as many of our lives, when we find that she understands us and loves us more?  We can say, we find our profit; because how much more life we form so much more we make ourselves understood, we give her double love and she loves us more; if we form our life in the word, we find the company of hers, and since our Fiat is hers, we find all the prodigies that he has worked when our Fiat was pronounced; if we form it in her breath, we find hers that breathes together and the company of our omnipotent breath, when creating we infused life (in) her; if we form it in her motion, we find her hands that embrace us squeezing us strongly, that don’t want to leave us anymore; if we form it in the steps they follow us anywhere.  What beautiful company, one who lives in our Will, there is no peril that they ever leave us alone, we both are inseparable.

Vol. 36,  August 21, 1938




So Luisa wanted to know that if it is through these knowledges on the Divine Will that creatures will come to know God, desire his Will and long for his Kingdom why he didn't allow Adam to know them so that he might pass them on to all the generations to dispose mankind.  Jesus in fact tells her that Adam did know them but in withdrawing from the Divine Will his intellect became obscured and he lacked the ability to pass them on to others.

On hearing this, I said:  ‘My Love, Jesus, if these knowledges on your adorable Will contain so much virtue, why did You not manifest them to Adam, so that, by making them known to posterity, they would have loved and appreciated more a good so great, and this would have disposed the hearts for the time when You, Divine Repairer, would decree to give us this great gift of the Kingdom of the Supreme Fiat?’  And Jesus, resuming His speaking, added:  “My daughter, as long as he remained in the terrestrial Eden, living in the Kingdom of the Supreme Will, Adam knew all the knowledges, as much as it is possible for a creature, of that which belonged to the Kingdom he possessed.  But as soon as he went out of It, his intellect was obscured; he lost the light of his Kingdom, and could not find the fitting words in order to manifest the knowledges he had acquired on the Supreme Will, because that very Divine Volition which would hand to him the necessary terms to manifest to others what he had known, was missing in him. 

Vol. 20, Sept. 17, 1926

 

While in the Kingdom Adam could understand the truths of God but after sinning his intellect became darkened.  So while we remain on earth we must work through the veils that hide the truths and only then will we be able to understand them.  

 

“My daughter, all things down here, both in the supernatural order and in the natural order, are all veiled. Only in Heaven are they unveiled, because in the Celestial Fatherland there are no veils, but things can be seen as they are in themselves. So, up there the intellect does not need to work in order to comprehend them, because of their own they show themselves for what they are; and if there is any work to do in the blessed dwelling – if it can be called work at all – it is that of enjoying and delighting in the things which, unveiled, one sees. On the other hand, down here it is not so. Since the human nature is spirit and body, the veil of the body prevents the soul from seeing my truths; the Sacraments and all other things are veiled. I Myself, Word of the Father, had the veil of my Humanity; all my words, my Gospel, in the form of examples and of similes; and only those who drew near Me to listen to Me with faith in their hearts, with humility and with the will to know the truths that I manifested to them in order to put them into practice, could comprehend Me. By doing this, they tore the veils that hid my truths, and found the good that was in them. Through faith, through humility and by wanting to know my truths, it was a work that they were doing; and with this work they would tear the veil and find my truths as they are in themselves; and therefore they remained bound to Me and to the good that my truths contained. Others, who would not do this work, would touch the veil of my truths, not the fruit that was inside; therefore they remained on an empty stomach, they could not understand anything; and turning their back to Me, they departed from Me.
So are my truths which, with so much love, I have manifested to you about my Divine Will. So that they may shine like unveiled suns, as they are, creatures must do their work, walk the way in order to touch them – which is faith; they must desire to want to know them, and pray, and humble their intellect in order to open it, so as to let the good and the life of my truths enter into them. If they do this, they will tear the veil and will find them, more than refulgent sun; otherwise, they will remain blind, and I will repeat the saying of the Gospel: ‘You have eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear, tongue and are mute.’
See, also in the natural order all things are veiled. Fruits have the veil of the skin. Who enjoys the good of eating them? One who does the work of drawing near the tree, of picking it, of removing the skin that hides the fruit. This one enjoys and makes the desired fruit his food. The fields are veiled by straws. Who takes the good that those straws hide? One who uncovers them of those straws has the good of taking the grain in order to form the bread to make of it his daily food. In sum, all things down here have the veil that covers them, to give to man the work and the will, the love to possess them and enjoy them. Now, my truths surpass natural things by far, and they present themselves to the creature like noble queens, veiled, in the act of giving themselves to them. But they want their work; they want them to draw near them by the steps of their will, in order to know them, possess them and love them – necessary conditions in order to tear the veil that hides them. Once the veil is torn, with their light, of their own they make their way, giving themselves in possession to those who have searched for them.
This is the reason for those who read the truths on my Divine Will and show that they do not comprehend what they read - even more, they are confused: because the true will of wanting to know them is lacking. It can be said that the work in order to know them is lacking; and without work nothing can be acquired, nor do they deserve such a great good. And I, with justice, deny to them that which I abundantly give to the humble and those who yearn for the great good of the light of my truths. My daughter, how many truths of mine, suffocated by those who do not love to know them and do not want to do their little work in order to possess them. I feel that they want to suffocate my very Self, if they could. And I, in my sorrow, am forced to repeat what I said in the Gospel, and I do it in deed: I take away from those who do not have, or who might have a little something of my goods, and I leave them in squalid misery, because, not wanting them and not loving them, these would hold them without esteeming them and without fruit; and I will give more abundantly to those who have, because these will hold them as precious treasures which will bear fruit more and more.”
Fiat!!!
Vol. 28, Aug. 2, 1930

 

 

The little work we must do to understand God's truths is spelled out above:  one must have "faith; they must desire to want to know them, and pray, and humble their intellect in order to open it, so as to let the good and the life of my truths enter into them."  Here we see Faith, Hope and Charity in act.  The belief of Faith, the Hope beyond our limited intellect, and the active Love of wanting the good of these truths in act.  But in order for us to possess we must want with the Will of God, in order to want we must hope in God beyond our own limitations and it all begins with the simple but huge leap of faith or the belief in the absence of firm knowledge.  In this way the intellect will understand when it first has the light of faith.

The Power of the Memory

In "The Memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection"  Father Cajetan Cuddy, O.P. wrote:

"When we hear the word 'memory' we naturally tend to think of mental activity - like the act of recalling an event or conversation from yesterday.  When we recall such events, however, we do not have actual contact with the previous day.  The past remains truly past.  We have, rather, an idea or an impression that reminds in our mind.

When the Church 'keeps he memory' of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection (CCC 1163), however, the situation is quite different.  She does have real contact with the Lord.  Indeed, Christ's saving works 'become in a certain way present and real' in the Church's liturgy (CCC 1363).  This is why the Catechism describes the Mass as a Eucharistic 'Memorial" (CCC 1409).  The Eucharist is a real memorial of the Lord's saving work.  Why?  The Eucharist is the same Savior who sacrificed himself for our sins and rose again for our salvation.

The Church alone is able to keep the memory of the Lord in this real and sacramental way.  The Church is the ride of Christ - a bride always united to her heavenly Bridegroom.  And her Bridegroom always remembers his Passion and Resurrection.  Indeed, our Lord remembers all of this so profoundly that his ver humanity bears the marks of his sacrificial love.  The very glorified body of Christ memorializes his Passion, for even in his glorified state in heaven, Jesus' resurrected body still retains the wounds of his love.

Through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Lord's glorified body is made really present.  The Church does not recall Jesus or his Passion in an airy or fanciful manner.  The divine Savior truly comes at every Mass - and, in his resurrected body, so do the Passion and the Resurrection he underwent.  The Body and Blood really present on the altar are the Body and Blood of the same Savior who suffered, die, and rose again 'for us men and for our salvation.'

How then do Catholics regard and enter into the memorial of the Lord's Passion at Mass?  The first and most important step is to be present with the Real Presence - to attend Mass at church on Sunday, the 'Lord's Day.'  Sunday is the sacred day on which the Church 'keeps the memory of the Lord's resurrection' (CCC 1163).  Jesus does not withhold himself from the Church - neither two thousand years ago on Calvary nor today, here and now, in the sacraments.  And all Catholics are called to avail themselves of the sacraments through with we truly encounter our loving Savior.

Second, Catholics apply their mins to the sacred mysteries commemorated through the Mass.  We do this by embracing Jesus with our loving thoughts and affections.  Thus, not only are we physically present at Mass, but we are also spiritual and prayerfully present at Mass.  We meditate upon the sacred mysteries present before us in the sacraments with a spirit of love and gratitude.

Third, we draw consolation from the fat that the Church never forgets the Bridegroom.  This is one of the reasons the Church is so precious for Catholics.  The Mystical Body of Christ is bigger than her members.  Even if a Catholic forgets - or even if many Catholics forget - about Jesus, the Church always remembers.  She makes up for our frailties.  Moreover, she is always happy to receive us when we recall how much we need our Savior - even if after many years.

In sum , the Church's Eucharistic memorial helps individual Catholics themselves to remember what she never forgets:  Jesu suffered, died, and rose again - for us."

I've heard it said by Fr. Robert that the memory is one of the least understood abilities of man.  That the memory often is simple regarded as reminiscing over the past but empty of any substance.  Therefore since beginning on this topic of the three powers of man I wanted to use a post to explore in the Volumes what the power of the memory consists in.

Luisa was taught early in the Volumes the power of the memory in overcoming temptation.

Jesus Christ taught me that the most effective means for the soul to be freed of every vain apprehension, of every doubt, of every fear, was to protest before Heaven, earth and the very demons, that she does not want to offend God, even at the cost of her life, and that she does not want to consent to any temptation of the devil.  And this, as soon as the soul feels the coming of the temptation, in the act of the battle, if she can, and as she begins to feel free - and also during the course of the day.  By doing this, the soul will not waste time in thinking about whether she has consented or not, because the mere memory of her promise will already give her peace; and if the devil tries to disturb her, she will be able to answer that if she had the intention of offending God, she would not have protested the opposite.  In this way, she will remain free of any concern.

Vol. 1,     Jesus teaches Luisa how to drive away the infernal spirits, thus overcoming the test she was subjected to.



So memory serves in this case to renew and reaffirm a promise.  And here, also in Vol. 1, Jesus teaches Luisa that the memory is meant to be centralized in Him.  His presence is to be brought to mind which will nurture a growing love of Him in the creature.  So that all things and people are looked at only through the lens of Jesus.

So, I say that first of all Jesus directed me to totally detach myself from all creation, and even from my own self, almost as though I was to live in perfect forgetfulness of all things.  With this, my interior would become disposed to have his sweet memory ever present to me, and a living and beating affection of love toward him, so that, being pleased with all my acts, he might form his permanent dwelling in my heart.  Outside of him, he said, I was no longer to know anyone:  not friends, not even my own self.  Only in him was the memory of everything and of everyone to be reawakened, since the creature necessarily can be found in him.  To achieve this, he added that I was always to act with holy indifference, mindless of what may be happening around me.  In other words, I was always to act uprightly and with the greatest simplicity, not keeping account of the pros and the cons of creatures.

Vol. 1,      Jesus gives four rules of life to the soul.

 

But memory is more than renewing a promise, nurturing love of God and shielding the creature from unholy attachments and judgments.  Here Jesus tells Luisa how memory gives the beginning to a good in making it her own.   Remembering Jesus' life leads to taking the fruits of those acts for oneself.  And these goods, when acquired, continue into the next life as a fount of goods which overflow from the soul for the good of others.

‘My daughter, how much great good does the memory of Me and of everything I did, suffered and said in my Life, procure for the soul. By compassionating Me and making my intentions her own, and by remembering, one by one, my pains, my works, my words, she calls them into herself and places them in neat order within her soul, in such a way as to come to take the fruits of what I did, suffered and said.     ....

The memory is the beginning of a good. The memory forms many sips for the soul in order to give her life. When some good - when things are forgotten, they lose the vital virtue for the soul, they lose their attractiveness, the gratitude, the correspondence, the esteem, the love, the value. And not only does this memory produce the origin of every good in life, but after one’s death also it produces the origin of glory. Have you not heard your late confessor – how he delighted in speaking about the graces I have given you? This is because during his life he cared about hearing them, he remembered them, and his interior remained filled with them to the point of overflowing outside. And now, how much good did this not procure for him in the next life? It is for him like a fount of good which overflows for the good of others. So, the more the soul remembers what belongs to Me, my graces, the lessons I have given her, the more the fount of my goods grows within her, to the point that, unable to contain them, they overflow for the good of others.”

Vol. 16, June 1, 1924

 
By remembering the acts done by the Saints and by Jesus, which are conserved in His Will, we participate in this fount by renewing the goods accomplished in these acts.   Not only do we renew the glory that was obtain through these acts but we double it for God and for the one who worked it and for the benefit of those still on the earth.

“My daughter, there is no thing suffered and worked by all the saints in the story of the world, in which my Will has not had his part doing as actor and concurrent with strength, with help, with support, with that sacrifice or work that they have done.  Now the soul offering them to God as homage of glory, recalls the memory of that sacrifice and work, and my Divine Will recognizes that which he has put forth of his in such acts and he gives the virtue to double the glory of that sacrifice, for God and for the one who has had the good of sacrificing themselves and of working in order to complete my Divine Will.  True good never ceases, neither in Heaven nor in earth, one creature who remembers and offers them is enough he renews the glory in Heaven and the effects of that good descend in earth to the benefit of creatures.  Therefore the life of true good is not subject to die.  In fact who is the life of my Church?  Who feeds her and acts as Teacher, if not the brief course of my life down here?  I can say that it is my sufferings that sustain her, it is my doctrines that teach her.  So that all the good that I did didn’t die, but remained with the fullness of life and life that vivifies, conserves, feeds and grows continually, and gives itself to whoever wants it.  And as the creature remembers, she already puts herself in rapport with my goods, and as she goes offering them, thus they double themselves in order to give themselves to her, and I feel the glory doubled of that which I did for love of creatures. 

Vol. 29,  March 2, 1931



With remembering all the acts of the past and using them to call anew the Kingdom of the Divine Will we renew them, honor them and we also act as a guard to them to protect them, but not only this but they in turn act as a guard to us to protect us.

“My daughter, when the creature remembers, honors, glorifies that which her Creator and her Redeemer has done for her love in order to put her in safety, and (that) all the saints have done, she becomes protectress of all these acts.  The sky, the sun and all the creation feel protected by the creature.  My terrestrial life down here, my sufferings, my tears feel sheltered in her and they find their protectress; the saints not only find protection in her memory, but the acts of them vivified, renewed in the midst of creatures, in short they feel life re-given in their acts.

“Oh, how many beautiful works and virtues remain as buried in the base world, because there is no one who remembers and honors them!  The memory recalls the works of the past and makes them as present.  But do you know what happens?  An exchange happens:  the creature becomes protectress with her memory; all our works, the creation, the redemption and all that which the saints have done, they make themselves protector of their protector.  They put themselves around Her in order to protect her, to defend her, they do as sentinel, and while they shelter themselves in her in order to be protected, every work of ours, all my sufferings and all the works and virtues of my saints, make competition giving the exchange to make (an) honor guard for her, so that she remains defended by everything and by everyone.  And then there is no greater honor that you can give when you make use of them to ask for in every act the Kingdom of the Divine Will.  They feel called and put themselves to do as messengers between heaven and earth to a kingdom so holy.  You should know that (the) past, present and future, all must serve to the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat.  Now [with] your memory, asking for this kingdom through means of our works, virtues and acts of everyone, all feel put to the service of Him and they take their office and post of honor.  So that your turning is necessary, because it serves to prepare the Kingdom of the Divine Will.  Therefore be attentive and continuous.”

Vol. 30, Feb. 24, 1932




Where the Divine Will reigns he brings with Him all that which belongs to Him and this includes all the lost and forgotten acts of the past saints and all his own unknown acts.  Only one who lives in the Divine Will has the ability to bring to the present again all these lost and unknown acts. 

And in all things he turns around her, and it seems that he says to her:  ‘look at me it is I, know me, I come in order to form my life in you’; and doing as (an) assailant to her he assails her inside and outside, in a way that one who pays attention, feels my Divine Will regurgitate inside and outside of herself, that is forming the prodigy of his divine life which is not given to them to resist his power, and do you know what this Divine Will of mine does? he re-gives life, recalls everything to life, makes arise in this life all that which he has done, and what has been done of good by all creatures, he arouses the sweet remembrance of his works, as present and in act, as if he might repeat them, nothing escapes from this life, she feels the fullness of everything, and oh! how the creature feels happy, rich, powerful, holy, she feels outfitted with all the good acts of the others, and she loves for all, glorifies the Divine Fiat as if they might be hers, and my Volition feels his works re-given to him by her, hence the love, the glory of his divine works, and repeats with the memory the glory and the love of the other creatures.  Oh! how many works put in oblivion, how many sacrifices, how many forgotten heroic acts, that have been done by the human generations, that they don’t think of anymore and hence there is neither the continuous repetition of the glory, nor one who renews the love of those acts, and my Divine Will forming his life in the human littleness, makes arise the memory of everything, in order to give and in order to receive everything, centralizes everything in her and forms his divine encampment.  Therefore be attentive to receive these waves of my Volition, they re-pour themselves over you in order to change your fate, and if you receive them, you will be his fortunate creature.”

Vol. 32,  Sept. 17, 1933



The power of the memory working in concert with the intellect and the will of the creature living in the Divine Will is much more than a simple reminiscence of past events.  The memory has the power to renew past promises and intentions, re-strengthening these bonds.  When centered on God it focuses the love of the creature in God.  Memory allows the creature to make it's own the goods that it sees both in the Creation and in the acts of others.  And in remembering these acts the creature redoubles the glory of God and of the Saint whom had the great benefit of preforming the act.  These in turn then go and act as a shield and protector to the creature.  It seems to me that our time here on earth is so short we should take advantage of it to use the power of our memory to win eternal founts of good.  How often I know I've used it instead to dwell on past hurts and judgments and idle day dreams.  When I see in the world all the people who become robbed of their memory through disease and accidents it is always a reminder to me of how little time we might actual have to put this power to use to do good.  And to know that we have the power to make a feast for all, the saints, those creatures still on the earth, the holy souls in Purgatory, all of Creation and a feast for God himself, it overwhelms me how great is the potential of the memory in a creature living in the Divine Will.  In conclusion I wanted to end with a reading where Jesus talks to Lusia about his great joy in seeing the creature remember the love with which she was created and the great gifts that he makes to her.

“Blessed daughter, the sweetest memory that I enjoy more immensely is when the creature remembers my love in the Creation, in a special way that of man; our love eviscerated itself more than a mother when she puts forth her dear child to the light.  Our love raced, raced, in order to enclose it in Himself, so that wherever, inside and outside of himself, he might be able to find the knoll of our love that says to him:  ‘I love you, I love you.’  The sweet sound of our love whispers to the ear, beats in his heart, resounds strongly and kisses ardently the lips, tightly embraces (him) in our Paternal arms, as triumph of our love, that at whatever cost wants to love the creature.  So that there is nothing more sweet, more pleasant, than remembering with how much love we created man and all things.  And so much is our pleasure, that the fortunate creature that comes before our Adorable Majesty, in order to remember this love of ours so great, we redouble our loving bonds with her, we give her new graces, new light and we call her the repeater of our feast, because in the Creation everything was feast for us and for everyone.  And the creature with remembering that which we did in the Creation puts in feast our love, our power, our creative wisdom, that had created the whole universe with so much inimitable mastery, and then the mastery in creating man, that exceeds everything.  Hence all our Divine qualities celebrate, and the creature looking, has put in feast with her memory and with her little exchange of love, she makes competition between them and some double the love, some the goodness, some the sanctity, in short every single Divine quality of ours wants to give of his, in order to repeat with her that which we did in the Creation.

“Therefore repeat often the sweet memory of our insuperable love, that we had in the Creation, it was a creature of ours, one of our images, one child of ours that we put forth to the light, and therefore we showed off so much in love, and to feel the remembering of it we feel (ourselves) love her more.  So that all the Creation is none other than a display of our loving Will toward the creature, and in his loving display he goes repeating:  ‘Fiat, Fiat’, in order to pearl all the Creation with his display of love.

Vol. 29,  June 8, 1931