FROM THE HOURS OF THE PASSION
Eighteenth Hour
Jesus embraces the Cross.
My tortured Good, with You I repair, with You I suffer. But I see that your enemies hurl You down the stairs; the people await You with fury and eagerness; they make You find the Cross ready, which You long for with many sighs. And You – with love You gaze on It, and with firm step You approach It and embrace It. But, before that, You kiss It, and as a shiver of joy runs through your Most Holy Humanity, with highest contentment You gaze on It again, measuring Its length and breadth. In It, already, You establish the portion for each creature. You dower them all, enough to bind them to the Divinity with a bond of marriage, and make them heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Then, unable to contain the love with which You love them, You kiss the Cross again, and say:
“Adored Cross, finally I embrace you. You were the longing of my Heart, the martyrdom of my love. But you, O Cross, have delayed until now, while my steps were always toward you. Holy Cross, you were the goal of my desires, the purpose of my existence down here. In you I concentrate my whole being, in you I place all my children, and you will be their life, their light, defense, custody and strength. You will assist them in everything, and will bring them gloriously to Me in Heaven. Oh Cross, Pulpit of Wisdom, you alone will teach true sanctity; you alone will form the heroes, the athletes, the martyrs, the Saints. Beautiful Cross, you are my Throne, and since I have to leave the earth, you will remain in my place. To you I give all souls as dowry – keep them, save them; I entrust them to you!”
FROM THE LETTERS OF THE SERVANT OF GOD, LUISA PICCARRETA
46. In Voluntate Dei!
Most esteemed one in the Lord,
I assure you my poor prayers. Have great confidence, which conquers God, Who surrenders to your needs. Offer some Holy Masses to plead for what you want. Then put everything with filial abandonment into the hands of God and of the Queen – They, who love us so much and want to be loved. All that will happen will be always the best for you and for poor Jesus. Crosses make us be reborn to a new life of sanctity and of Grace; therefore the crosses which are borne with true resignation make us like Jesus and are our rebirths in good, in Love and in the Divine Volition, which wants to be our life. So, let us make everything flow in the Holy Will, if we want It to perform Its prodigies of love in our soul…
I commend myself to your prayers, and from the heart I will do it for you. And sending you the greeting of the Divine Volition, that may bring peace to you and balm to your pains, I say,
most affectionately yours,
the little daughter of the Divine Will
15. To Mrs. Copparo La Scola from Termini Imerese, Palermo.
In Voluntate Dei!
Most esteemed and blessed daughter in the Divine Volition,
Here I am to make you content. I believe that the Queen of Heaven and the great King of sorrows will reward you for your great goodness and charity, and will be generous to you with celestial favors, as you interest yourself so much in promoting His Passion and that which regards His Divine Will. Greater love cannot be given to the Lord.
Now let’s come to us. You say you have many crosses. Good sign, my daughter. Crosses are divine jealousies and little coins that our Lord gives us. His jealousy is the great love He has in making of us saints; He takes everyone away from us and He Himself, God, Maker and Martyr, with little crosses and with His own hands, works our souls and makes of them His images. What love for us, as we can say, through little and large crosses, “I am similar to my dear Jesus”!
But do you want to know why you feel the weight of your miseries? Because many times you do not try to be together with Jesus and to convince yourself that He is already with you, and you do not unite the pains of Jesus with yours. Before the pains of Jesus, yours lose hardness, empty themselves of their weight, become small, and almost smile, because they love to adorn our souls with the same ornaments as those with which we see Jesus being adorned. What pleasure, what joy, to be able to say: “You have suffered for me, and I for You”! Together with Jesus, pains change their look, miseries disappear; and from pains, miseries and weaknesses the most beautiful conquests, celestial riches and the strength of God arise, and the very Angels and Saints envy our lot.
Therefore, my daughter, here is the secret to becoming a saint: be together with Jesus, never deny Him anything, and in everything you do, even in necessary things of life – in the pains you suffer, in the prayers you say, in the work, in the food, in the sleep, say to Him from the heart: “Jesus, I want to do always your Will.” In this way, you will always keep the Fiat on your lips, in your mind, and in your heart.
If you do this, you will form the joy of the Heart of Jesus, and He will not be able to deny you anything, not even the sanctity of your children… It seems that you are very much concerned for them. Do not fear; place them in the hands of Jesus and on the lap of the Celestial Mama. Advise them to read often the book of the Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will, and you will see the great things the Lord will do with them.
I finish by recommending that you never lose peace… Be careful not ever to be disturbed, not even for your miseries, and not even for the illness of your husband. Let us adore the judgments of God, just and holy, Who disposes everything for our good and to make us holy.
I commend myself to your prayers, and from the heart I will do it for you and for all those who buy the book, so that all may become saints. I leave you in the sea of the Divine Volition, and with a thousand regards, I say,
most affectionately yours,
The little daughter of the Divine Will
Corato, November 25, 1934
