"Faithful Perseverance in the State of Victim"

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April 2, 1900 - Volume 3

Luisa writes,
This morning I had to suffer very much because of the absence of my dear Jesus; however, He repaid my pains by granting a desire of mine, of wanting to know something which I had been yearning for, for a long time. Then, I went round and round in search of Jesus; now I would call Him with prayer, now with tears, now with singing - who knows whether He might be wounded by my voice and so let Himself be found; but it was all in vain. I repeated my moans; I asked about Him to whomever I found. Finally, when my heart felt it was dying and could take no more, I found Him. But I could see Him from the back, and remembering about a resistance I made to Him, which I will write in the book of the confessor, I asked for His forgiveness; so it seems we placed ourselves in accord; so much so, that He Himself asked me what I wanted. And I said to Him: ‘Be pleased to let me know your Will about my state, especially what I must do when I find myself with little sufferings and You do not come; and if You do come, it is almost like a shadow. So, not seeing You, I feel my senses present within me, and finding myself in this state, I feel as if I were adding something of my own and as if it were not necessary to wait for the coming of the confessor in order to go out of that state.’ 

And Jesus: “Whether you suffer or not, whether I come or not, your state is always of victim; more so, since this is my Will and yours, and I judge not according to the works that one does, but according to the will with which one operates.” And I: ‘My Lord, it is fine as You say, but it seems to me that I am useless and that much time is wasted, and I feel a bother, a fear… And then, having the confessor come torments my soul, for it may not be your Will.’ And He: “Do you think it is a sin to have the confessor come?” And I: ‘No, but I fear it is not your Will.’ And He: “It is sin that you must shun - even the shadow of it, but about the rest you must have no concern.” And I: ‘If it were not your Will, why remain there?’ And He: “Ah, it seems that my daughter wants to escape the state of victim, doesn’t she?” And I, all blushing, said: ‘No, Lord, I am saying this for those times in which You do not let me suffer and do not come; after all, let me suffer, and I will have no concerns.’ 

And Jesus: “To Me it seems that you want to escape. Besides, do you know when I intend to come and communicate my pains to you, whether at the first, the second, the third or even the last hour? So, by distracting yourself from Me and trying to go out, you occupy yourself with something else, and when I come I will not find you prepared, and will turn around and go somewhere else.” And I, all frightened: ‘May this never be, oh Lord! I want to know nothing but your Most Holy Will.’ And He: “Remain calm and wait for the confessor.” Having said this, He disappeared. 

It seems I feel relieved of a heavy weight by this speaking of Jesus, but in spite of this, the sorrowful pain of when Jesus deprives me of Himself has not decreased in me.
                                                                                       – Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta
 
Buddy Comfort – vocals and guitar from the album, 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon', http://www.buddycomfort.com, words and music by Donovan Leitch. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely. Small beginning, greater and heartfelt work grows purely.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome. This is David Russell and Your Faith Anew. Daily Reflections Guiding You to Live in the Divine Will. Today's reflection is from the Book of Heaven by the servant of God Louisa Picaretta, april second, nineteen hundred, volume three. Let us begin in the will and name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O Jesus, teach us to remain faithful in every state you permit in our lives. Give us the grace to trust in your will whether we feel your presence or endure your absence. Help us to persevere with love, patience, and readiness, so that we may never miss the moment you come to share your divine life with us. Amen. Saint Paul writes in the letter to the Romans chapter eight, verse twenty eight. We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph twenty five sixty five. Prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father. This mystery requires that the faithful should believe in it, that they should celebrate it, and that they should live from it in a vital and personal relationship. Even in times of dryness or absence, the soul continues to seek God. This longing itself is part of God's work within us. As we enter this reading, we see how Jesus teaches that what matters most is not what we feel, but the fidelity of our will united to his Louisa writes This morning I had to suffer very much because of the absence of my dear Jesus. However, he repaid my pains by granting a desire of mine, of wanting to know something which I had been yearning for for a long time. Then I went round and round in search of Jesus. Now I would call him with prayer, now with tears, now with singing. Who knows whether he might be wounded by my voice and so let himself be found? But it was all in vain. I repeated my moans. I asked about him to whomever I found. Finally, when my heart felt it was dying and could take no more, I found him. But I could see him from the back, and remembering about a resistance I made to him, which I will write in the book of the Confessor, I asked for his forgiveness. So it seems we placed ourselves in a cord, so much so that he himself asked me what I wanted. And I said to him, Be pleased to let me know your will about my state, especially what I must do when I find myself with little sufferings, and you do not come. And if you do come, it is almost like a shadow. So not seeing you, I feel my senses present within me. And finding myself in this state, I feel as if I were adding something of my own, and as if it were not necessary to wait for the coming of the confessor in order to go out of that state. And Jesus, whether you suffer or not, whether I come or not, your state is always a victim. More so, since this is my will and yours, and I judge not according to the works that one does, but according to the will with which one operates. And I My Lord, it is fine as you say, but it seems to me that I am useless and that much time is wasted, and I feel a bother, a fear. And then having the confessor come torments my soul, for it may not be your will. And he do you think it is a sin to have the confessor come? And I No, but I fear it is not your will. And he it is sin that you must shun, even the shadow of it. But about the rest you must have no concern. And If it were not your will, why remain there? And he Ah it seems that my daughter wants to escape the state of victim, doesn't she? And I, all blushing, said No, Lord, I am saying this for those times in which you do not let me suffer, and do not come. After all, let me suffer, and I will have no concerns. And Jesus? To me it seems that you want to escape. Besides, do you know when I intend to come and communicate my pains to you? Whether at the first, the second, the third, or even the last hour? So by distracting yourself from me and trying to go out, you occupy yourself with something else. And when I come I will not find you prepared, and will turn around and go somewhere else. And I, all frightened, may this never be, O Lord. I want to know nothing but your most holy will. And he remain calm and wait for the confessor. Having said this, he disappeared. It seems I feel relieved of a heavy weight by this speaking of Jesus, but in spite of this, the sorrowful pain of when Jesus deprives me of himself has not decreased in me. This passage reveals a deep truth about the spiritual life. Our value is not measured by what we feel, but by the fidelity of our will united to God. Louisa struggles deeply with the absence of Jesus. She searches, prays, cries, and longs. Yet when Jesus speaks, he redirects her attention away from feelings and towards something much deeper. Her will. I judge not according to the works, but according to the will. This is the heart of living in the divine will. There are moments when we feel close to God, full of consolation, peace, and clarity. But there are also moments when he seems distant, silent, even absent. In those moments, the temptation is to think we are doing something wrong, or that our prayer is ineffective. But Jesus teaches the opposite. Even when he does not come, even when suffering is light or absent, even when we feel nothing, our state before him does not change if our will remains united to his. What matters is not the experience, but the disposition. How often do we feel the same? We think if I don't feel something, nothing is happening. But in God's eyes, the hidden fidelity of the soul is more precious than visible activity. Jesus warns her. If she distracts herself, if she leaves her state, she may not be ready when he comes. This is a great lesson. God's visits are often subtle. They come quietly, unexpectedly, at the first, second, third, or last hour. If we are not interiorly attentive, we may miss them. To live in the divine will is to remain ready, to stay interiorly disposed, even in dryness, even in silence. It is to say, Lord, whether you come or not, I remain yours. And that fidelity becomes the place where grace multiplies, even when we cannot see it. Let us pray. O Jesus, in your divine will I place my whole being. When I feel your presence I thank you. When I feel your absence, I trust you. When I understand, I rejoice. When I do not understand, I abandon myself to you. Remove from me the need to measure my spiritual life by feelings or visible results. Give me a faithful heart, a heart that remains, a heart that waits, a heart that loves you in silence. Make me ready at every moment, so that when you come, even in the smallest way, I will be attentive, open, and united to you. Let my will be so fused with yours that whether I act, suffer, or remain still, everything becomes an offering of love. Jesus, I want nothing but your most holy will. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Remain faithful in the hidden moments. God is working even when you do not feel him. Your perseverance, your quiet trust, and your steady yes are precious in his sight. Remember, the greatest sanctity is not found in what we feel, but in remaining united to God's will in every moment. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely. Small beginning, greater and heartfelt work grows pure.