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DIVINE WILL SNIPPET
(Extracts from the Book of Heaven by Luisa Piccarreta)
Compiled by Ann Ellison
February 22, 2021
POINT # 7 OF
RAPID GROWTH IN THE DIVINE WILL
Dear Divine Will Family,
Point #7 is one of the hardest for us to get a handle on. It seems things in this world only want us to think of ourselves all the time. The world wants us thinking about our weight, our face, our skin, our love life, our personality, etc., etc., and so on and so forth!
I am only sending out this one point in this Snippet because it is one that we should ponder and try to over come almost more than all the rest. If we could get over thinking of ourselves, and seeking our own holiness and where we will be when we go to Heaven, what do I seem to be to my cenacle members, what do people think of me, etc., etc., and so on and so forth. We all do it; we all want the respect of others and to look good in other’s eyes. This is normal for today’s society. They have trained us this way. It is always all about me, me, me! So, don’t blame yourself, it really isn’t your fault. Even our parents wanted us to be someone respected by all their friends and the world, etc.
But we know that this kind of thinking is not going to make us holy, it is not leading to our sanctification, which is what we all desire with all our hearts. Although we seem to revert back to how we were raised or how we are to be and act and look as taught by the television!
OK, so we know this is a fact, so this Lent let’s give it our best effort to think only of Jesus, of doing our acts only in His Will, of doing everything for the glory of the Father and for His Kingdom to come! If you find yourself thinking of yourself, pray a Hail Mary quickly! And pray a Hail Mary every time you find yourself thinking of yourself…She will get us out of it and help us think of what is important, what is going to glorify our Heavenly Father the most! What will bring His Kingdom to earth as It is in Heaven. She, as our Mother, will help us tremendously.
I had Fr. John Brown tell me to say a Hail Mary every time I thought of anything but holy things….really Divine Will, Jesus, Mary and God, our Father. It was an order and I had to do that most of my time in Corato. He finally released me but by that time I had gotten in the habit of it and it wasn’t easy to get out of the habit. I wasn’t trying to get out of the habit, but it was easy to sustain while I was over there because that was all I did working with Sr. Assunta for the Divine Will. But, when I got back to America, I lost the habit very quickly because of so many distractions.
Luisa had the immense grace of having the constant thought of God, and I believe Thomas Fahy also had that grace! That is our goal, to train ourselves to have the constant thought of God, and to pray for this immense Gift! But I don’t think it will come without us showing God through our efforts how much we want this Gift. So, call on your Heavenly Mother for help with this very important endeavor!
We love you all so very much and keep each of you in our daily prayers. Please keep us in yours! May God grant us the immense grace of having the constant thought of Him and Living in His Holy Will!
Ann Ellison
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POINT #7 (Avoiding thinking of one’s self and seeking self-interest)
Volume 12
December 6, 1917
Jesus: ….how could other things, outside of my Will, ever please Me, no matter how beautiful they might be? Such things are always low, human and finite acts. Instead, acts in my Will are noble, divine, endless, and infinite as is my Volition. They are similar to Mine, and I give them the same value, love, and power as my own acts; I multiply them in everyone; and I extend them to all times and to all generations. What do I care if they are small? They are still the repetition of my acts—and that is enough for Me. With these acts the soul enters into her true nothingness—not merely in humility, in which she always retains some awareness of herself. But as a nothing she enters into the All, and works with Me, in Me, and as I do–completely stripped of herself, not caring about merit or self-interest, but all intent only on making Me happy, giving Me absolute lordship over her acts, without even wanting to know what I do with them. Only one thought consumes her: to live in my Will. And she prays to Me that I may give her the honor. This is why I love her so much, and why I direct all my love and my delight toward this soul who lives in my Will. And if I love the others, it is by virtue of the love that I have for this soul, and which descends from her—just as the Father loves other creatures by virtue of the Love that He has for Me.
February 13, 1919
Then I entered into Jesus and did what Jesus was doing. I remained present with Him in everyone, even in the Saints… But as I came back into my body, I began to have some doubts, and Jesus added: “One single act of my Will—even a single instant—teems with creative Life, and whoever contains this Life can, in that instant, give life to everything and preserve everything. From that act of my Will alone the Sun receives the life of the light, the earth preservation, the creatures life. Why do you doubt, then?” Indeed, I have my court in Heaven and I want another court on earth. Now guess: Who is going to form this Court?
And I answered: “The souls who will live in your Will.” And He said: “Brava! They are precisely the ones who will live for the good of their brothers—without a shadow of self-interest or ambition for personal sanctity—but in a way that is entirely divine. And they will form one single echo with Heaven”.
August 16, 1912
The harmfulness of thinking about oneself and the blessedness of thinking only of Jesus.
This morning my always adorable Jesus told me: “My daughter, the thought of yourselves blinds your minds; it forms a sort of human enchantment in you, and this enchantment spins a web around man. This web is made of weaknesses, oppressions, melancholies, fears and all the evils that human nature contains. The more one thinks of herself, even under the guise of good, the thicker the web becomes—and the blinder the soul becomes.
On the other hand, not thinking of oneself but thinking only of Me, and only of loving Me in everything, makes light for the mind and forms a sweet divine enchantment. It also forms a web, but this web is formed of light, fortitude, joy and trust—in short, of all the goods that I Myself possess. The less one thinks of herself, the thicker this web becomes, to the point where the soul will no longer recognize herself. How beautiful it is to see the soul wrapped in this web which has been woven by Divine enchantment! How delightful, how gracious and how dear to all of Heaven! And how totally different for the soul who remains fixed on herself!”
August 17, 1912
Thinking of oneself and thinking of Jesus.
As I was praying, my blessed Jesus told me: “My daughter, the thought of oneself makes the soul smaller, and from her littleness she measures my greatness, almost wanting to limit Me. On the other hand, one who does not think of herself but thinks of Me becomes greater within my immensity and renders Me the honor due to Me.”
September 2, 1912
How harmful it is to think about oneself, and how blessed it is to think only of Jesus. Souls who are united to the Divine Will, whose only thought is to love Jesus, are like the rays of the sun for Him.
I was saying to my always adorable Jesus: “My only fear is that, somehow, You might leave me and abandon me.” And Jesus replied: “My daughter, I cannot leave you because you are fixed in Me and that is why nothing you do is self-centered or inappropriate, and you do not worry about yourself. For the soul who really loves Me, self-concern and self-absorption—even in regard to good things—are like so many voids in her love. That is why my Life cannot fill the soul completely. It is as if I were banished or set to one side and put in the position of having to withdraw from time to time. On the other hand, the soul who is not inclined to worry about herself but who thinks only of loving Me, takes care of Me, and I fill her with everything. There is not a moment in her entire life when she does not experience my Life—and if I wanted to withdraw from her, I would have to destroy Myself—which can never be.
“My daughter, if souls only knew how harmful it is for them to reflect on themselves in certain ways! They bend and lower their souls, making them keep their faces turned within. The more they look at themselves, the more human they become. The more they think of themselves, the more they feel their miseries and become miserable. But if they think only of Me, of loving Me and of being all abandoned in Me, their souls straighten up. And, by keeping their eyes fixed on Me alone, they rise and grow. The more they look at Me, the more Divine they become. The more they meditate on Me, the richer, stronger and bolder they feel. Their union with the Divine Volition leads them from self-forgetfulness to contemplation of God.”
Then He added: “My daughter, the souls who are united with my Will, who allow Me to pour out my Life within them, and who think only of loving Me, are united to Me like rays to the Sun. If the Sun were unable to form its rays, it could not radiate its light and heat. And its rays enhance its beauty. That is why, only through the souls who form these rays—and who form one single thing with Me—do I extend Myself into every region, giving light, Grace and heat, and I feel more beautifully adorned than if I had no rays.
“Now one could ask a ray of sunlight how many courses it has run and how much light and heat it has given. And if it had a mind it would answer: ‘I don’t want to worry about that. The sun knows and that’s good enough. If I had to give light and heat to more lands, I would do so, because the sun that gives me life can do anything.’ But if that ray wanted to worry and look back at what it had done, it would lose its way and plunge into darkness.
The same thing is true of the souls of those who love Me. They are my divine rays. They don’t worry about what they do. They seek only to remain steadfast within the Divine Sun. If they wanted to think about themselves, they would suffer the same fate as the sun’s ray—a great loss.
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A little Prayer that might help during Lent:
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in and through the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of my Heavenly Mother, I gather all souls, from the first to the last, and entering into the very Center of Your Heart, I pray: please forgive our sinfulness, heal our brokenness and renew our hearts in the faith, peace, love and joy of Your Kingdom that we may all become one in You, as He is in You and You are in Him! Amen!