"Book of Heaven" by Luisa Piccarreta Quotes

The interior voice told me: “Do you see how much I have loved you? O please! Make Me a little space in your heart; remove everything which is not mine, so you will give Me more freedom to move and to breathe.” My heart was consumed; I asked for His forgiveness, I promised to be completely His own, I poured myself out in crying; but …  I would go back to my usual defects. Oh! Jesus, how good You have been with this miserable creature.

See, I want to purify your soul from every slightest spot which might hinder my love in you; I want to test your faithfulness. But how can I see if this is true, other than by placing you in the midst of the battle? Know then, that I want to put you in the midst of demons. I will give them freedom to torment you and to tempt you, so that after you have fought the virtues with the opposite vices, you may already find yourself in possession of those very virtues which you think you are losing. And then, your soul, purged, embellished, enriched, will be like a king returning victorious from a most fierce war, who, while he thought he would lose what he possessed, comes back more glorious and filled with immense riches. Then will I come; I will form in you my dwelling, and we will be always together.

I want you to enter the battle with intrepidity. The thing that an opposing army fears the most is to see courage, strength, the way in which one confronts the most dangerous fights, without fearing anything. So the demons are; there is nothing they fear more than a courageous soul who, all cleaving to Me, with a strong spirit, goes into their midst - not to be wounded, but with the firm resolve to wound them and to exterminate them. The demons are left frightened, terrified, and would rather flee; but they cannot, because they are bound by my Will, and they are forced to stay, to their greater torment. Therefore, do not fear them, for they can do nothing to you without my Will.

Promise Me that you will be all mine, and I Myself will put my hand in the work. You are right that you can do nothing. Do not fear, I will do everything; give Me your will - this is enough for Me.

February 28,1899

Luisa says: The sun is fire, but it is also light and heat - here is the Most Holy Trinity veiled in the sun: the fire is the Father, the light is the Son, the heat is the Holy Spirit.. .. 

April 3,1899

He told me:“If you knew how much I like humility…. Humility is the littlest plant that can be found, but its branches are so high as to reach Heaven, wind their way around my throne, and penetrate even into my Heart.

This little plant is humility, and the branches that this plant produces are confidence; so, there cannot be true humility without confidence. Humility without confidence is false virtue.” 

April 12, 1899

Today, without making me wait too long, Jesus came quickly and told me: “You are my tabernacle. Being in the Sacrament is for Me the same as being in your heart; or rather, in you I find something more: I am able to share my pains with you and to have you together with Me, a living victim before Divine Justice, which I do not find in the Sacrament.” And while saying these words, He enclosed Himself inside of me.

While being inside of me, Jesus would make me feel, now the pricks of the thorns, now the pain of the cross, the labors and the sufferings of His Heart. Around His Heart I could see a braid of spikes, which made Jesus suffer very much. Ah! how much pity I felt in seeing Him suffer so much. I would have wanted to suffer everything myself, rather than let my sweet Jesus suffer; and from the heart I prayed Him to give to me the pains, to me the suffering.

May 6, 1899

This morning, Jesus hardly made Himself seen; I felt my mind so confused, that I almost could not comprehend the loss of Jesus, when I felt surrounded by many spirits – maybe they were Angels, I cannot tell for sure. While I was in their midst, every now and then I would investigate - who knows, I might feel at least the breath of my beloved; but as much as I did, I perceived nothing that would reveal the presence of my loving Good. Then, I felt a sweet breath coming from behind my shoulders, and immediately I cried out: ‘Jesus, my Lord!’

He answered: “Luisa, what do you want?”

‘Jesus, my beautiful One, come, do not remain behind my shoulders for I cannot see You. I have been waiting for You and investigating for the whole morning – who knows, I might see You amidst these angelic spirits that surrounded my bed. But I could not, therefore I feel very tired, because without You I cannot find rest. Come, for we will rest together.’ So Jesus placed Himself near me, and sustained my head.

Those spirits said: “Lord, how quickly she recognized You. Not even at your voice, but at your mere breath, immediately she called You.” Jesus answered them: “She knows Me, and I know her. She is so very dear to Me, like the pupil of my eyes.” And while He was saying this, I found myself in the eyes of Jesus. Who can say what I experienced, being in those most pure eyes? It is impossible to manifest it with words. The very Angels remained stunned.

May 16,1899

“The cross disposes the soul to patience. The cross opens Heaven, and unites Heaven and earth together – that is, God and the soul. The virtue of the cross is powerful, and when it enters into a soul, it has the virtue of removing the rust of all earthly things. Not only this, but it causes her boredom, bother and contempt for the things of the earth, giving her, instead, the flavor, the enjoyment, of celestial things. However, few are those who recognize the virtue of the cross; therefore they despise it.”

“My daughter, what I look at in the soul is when she strips herself of her will. Only then does my Will invest her, divinize her, and make her all mine."

October 22,1899

“My daughter, the way of the cross is a way strewn with stars, and as one walks through it, those stars change into most luminous suns. What will be the happiness of the soul for all eternity in being surrounded with these suns? Furthermore, the great reward I give to the cross is such that there is no measure, either of width or of length – it is incomprehensible to the human minds; and this, because in bearing crosses, there can be nothing human - all is divine."

December 2,1899

My love is fire, but not like the terrestrial fire which, wherever it penetrates, renders things sterile and reduces everything to ashes. My fire is fecund, and it renders sterile only that which is not virtue; but to everything else it gives life, it makes beautiful flowers bloom in it, makes the most delicious fruits mature, and renders it the most delightful celestial garden. The Cross is so powerful, and I communicated to It so much grace, as to render It more effective than the very Sacraments; and this, because in receiving the Sacrament of my Body, the dispositions and free concourse of the soul are needed in order to receive my graces, and many times these may be lacking; while the Cross has the virtue of disposing the soul to grace.”

December 21,1899

He seemed all content, and added: “From the moment I was born, I always kept my Heart offered in sacrifice, to glorify the Father, for the conversion of sinners, and for the people who surrounded Me, and who were my most faithful companions in my pains. In the same way, I want your heart to be in continuous attitude, offered in spirit of sacrifice for these three purposes.”

January 1,1900

This is why I wanted to be circumcised – to give an example of greatest humility, which made the very Angels of Heaven stunned."

January 12, 1900

My Divinity, united to my Humanity, could operate prodigies at each step, word and work; yet, I voluntarily constrained Myself within the circle of my Humanity, I showed Myself as the poorest, and I reached the point of mingling even with sinners. I could have done the work of Redemption in very little time, and even with one single word; yet, during the course of many years, with many hardships and sufferings, I wanted to make the miseries of man my own… 

March 10,1900

“Just as the fire burns according to the wood that is placed in it, thus exercising greater activity in burning and consuming the objects that are thrown into it; and the greater the fire, the greater the heat and the light it contains – the same with suffering and obedience: the greater they are, the more the soul becomes capable of destroying what is material, and obedience gives her the shape it wants, like soft wax.”

March 17, 1900

 “My daughter, the more you lower yourself within yourself, the more I feel drawn to lower Myself toward you, and to fill you with my grace. Here, then, how humility is bearer of light.”

April 20,1900

The cross must not only be loved, desired, but one must hold the very cross as an honor, a glory. This is to operate as God and to become like God by participation, because I alone gloried in the cross and considered suffering an honor for Me, and I loved it so much that in my whole life I did not want to be one moment without the cross.”

April 21,1900

He added: “My daughter, how precious is the cross! Take a look: the Sacrament of my Body, in giving Itself to the soul, unites her with Me, It transmutes her to the point of becoming one with Me. But as the species are consumed, the union, truly established, ceases. Not with the cross. The cross takes God and unites Him with the soul forever, and it places itself with greater security as the seal. Therefore, the cross seals God in the soul, in such a way that there is never separation between God and the crucified soul.”

May 1,1900

You too, my daughter - take pains as delights, and delight in being crucified on my cross. No, no, I do not want you to fear suffering, almost wanting to act like a sluggard. Up, courage, be brave, and, of your own, expose yourself to suffering.”