"True Rest in God"

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May 20, 1900 - Volume 3 

Luisa writes,

        Finding myself outside of myself, it seemed to me it was nighttime and I could see the whole universe, the whole order of nature, the starry heaven, the silence of the night.… In sum, it seemed to me that everything had a meaning. While seeing this, I seemed to see Our Lord who, beginning to speak about what I was seeing, said:  “All nature invites one to rest; but what is true rest?  It is the interior rest and the silence of all that is not God.  Look at the stars, twinkling with tempered light, not dazzling like the sun; the sleep and the silence of all nature, of men and also of animals – they all look for a place, a den, in which to be in silence and rest from the tiredness of life.  If this is necessary for the body, much more is it necessary for the soul to rest in her own center, which is God.  But in order to be able to rest in God, interior silence is necessary, just as exterior silence is necessary to the body in order to peacefully fall asleep.  But what is this interior silence?  It is to silence one’s own passions by keeping them in their place; it is to impose silence on desires, on inclinations, on affections – in sum, on all that does not call upon God.  Now, what is the means to reach this?  The only means, and absolutely necessary, is for the soul to undo her own being and reduce herself to nothing, just as she was before being created; and once she has reduced her being to nothing, she must take it again in God. 

        My daughter, all things have their origin from nothing.  If this very machine of the universe which you are admiring with its great order had been full of other things before I created it, I could not have put my creative hand to make it with such great mastery and to render it so splendid and adorned.  At the most, I could have undone everything that might have been there, to then redo it according to my liking.  But we always come to this:  all of my works have their origin from nothing, and when there is a mixing with other things, it is not decorous for my majesty to descend and operate in the soul.  But when the soul reduces herself to nothing and rises to Me, and takes her being within Mine, then I operate as the God that I am, and the soul finds true rest.  And here is how all virtues, from humility to the annihilation of oneself, begin.” 

        Who can say how much I understood about what blessed Jesus told me? Oh, how happy my soul would be if I could reach the point of undoing my poor being to be able to receive from my God His Divine Being!  Oh, how I would ennoble myself, how sanctified I would be!  But what foolishness is mine, where is my brain, if still I do not do it?  What a human misery – instead of looking for its true good and taking wing on high, it contents itself with scrabbling on the ground and with living amidst mud and rot! 

        After this, my beloved Jesus transported me inside a garden in which there were many people preparing themselves to attend a feast, but only those who received a uniform were able to attend, and few were those who received this uniform.  A great yearning arose in me to receive one, and I did so much that I obtained the intent.  So, as I reached the place in which one would receive it, a venerable matronly woman clothed me in white first, and then placed on me a pale blue shoulder band on which a medal was hanging with the imprint of the face of Jesus.  While being a face, it was also a mirror, and in looking at it, one would detect the slightest stains, which the soul, with the help of a light coming from within that face, could easily remove.  It seemed to me that that medal contained a mysterious meaning.  Then she took a mantle of finest gold and covered me all over.  It seemed to me that dressed in this way I could compete with the virgins in Heaven.  While this was happening, Jesus told me:  “My daughter, let us go back to see what men are doing; it is enough for you to be dressed – when the feast begins, I will take you there to attend.”  So, after we went round for a little while, He transported me inside my bed.

– 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_01 0:06

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

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Welcome. This is David Russell and Your Faith A New. 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, may twentieth, 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. Lord Jesus, draw our souls into the silence of your divine will. Teach us to rest in you by surrendering all passions, fears, and earthly attachments into your sacred heart. May we learn the holy silence that allows your divine life to reign within us, so that we may find our true center in you alone. Amen. In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter eleven, verses twenty eight to twenty nine, Jesus says, Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph twenty seven seventeen. Contemplative prayer is silence, the symbol of the world to come, or silent love. Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches. They are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the outer man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate word, who suffered, died, and rose. As we prepare to enter today's reading, we hear Jesus inviting the soul into interior silence and true rest in God alone. Louisa writes. Finding myself outside of myself, it seemed to me it was nighttime, and I could see the whole universe, the whole order of nature. The starry heaven, the silence of the night. In sum, it seemed to me that everything had a meaning. While seeing this, I seemed to see our Lord who, beginning to speak about what I was seeing, said All nature invites one to rest. But what is true rest? It is the interior rest and the silence of all that is not God. Look at the stars, twinkling with tempered light, not dazzling like the sun, the sleep and the silence of all nature, of men and also of animals, they all look for a place, a den, in which to be in silence and rest from the tiredness of life. If this is necessary for the body, much more is it necessary for the soul to rest in her own center, which is God. But in order to be able to rest in God, interior silence is necessary, just as exterior silence is necessary to the body in order to peacefully fall asleep. But what is this interior silence? It is to silence one's own passions by keeping them in their place. It is to impose silence on desires, on inclinations, on affections, in some on all that does not call upon God. Now what is the means to reach this? The only means and absolutely necessary is for the soul to undo her own being and reduce herself to nothing, just as she was before being created. And once she has reduced her being to nothing, she must take it again in God. My daughter, all things have their origin from nothing. If this very machine of the universe, which you are admiring with its great order, had been full of other things before I created it, I could not have put my creative hand to make it with such great mastery and to render it so splendid and adorned. At the most, I could have undone everything that might have been there, to then redo it according to my liking. But we always come to this. All of my works have their origin from nothing, and when there is a mixing with other things, it is not decorous for my majesty to descend and operate in the soul. But when the soul reduces herself to nothing and rises to me and takes her being within mine, then I operate as the God that I am, and the soul finds true rest. And here is how all virtues, from humility to the annihilation of oneself begin. Who can say how much I understood about what blessed Jesus told me? Oh how happy my soul would be if I could reach the point of undoing my poor being to be able to receive from my God his divine being. Oh how I would ennoble myself how sanctified I would be But what foolishness is mine? Where is my brain if still I did not do it? What a human misery. Instead of looking for its true good and taking wing on high, it contents itself with scrabbling on the ground and with living amidst mud and rot. After this, my beloved Jesus transported me inside a garden in which there were many people preparing themselves to attend a feast, but only those who received a uniform were able to attend, and few were those who received this uniform. A great yearning arose in me to receive one, and I did so much that I obtained the intent. So as I reached the place in which one would receive it, a venerable matronly woman clothed me in white first, and then placed on me a pale blue shoulder band on which a metal was hanging with the imprint of the face of Jesus. While being a face, it was also a mirror, and in looking at it, one would detect the slightest stains which the soul, with the help of a light coming from within that face, could easily remove. It seemed to me that that metal contained a mysterious meaning. Then she took a mantle of finest gold and covered me all over. It seemed to me that dressed in this way I could compete with the virgins in heaven. While this was happening, Jesus told me, My daughter, let us go back to see what men are doing. It is enough for you to be dressed. When the feast begins, I will take you there to attend. So after we went around for a little while, he transported me inside my bed. Jesus reveals that true rest is not merely physical sleep or escape from activity, but the deep interior silence of a soul resting completely in God. Nature itself becomes a sermon. The stars, the silence of the night, and the stillness of creation all proclaim that every creature seeks repose in the order established by God. Yet Jesus directs our attention to something even deeper the silence within the soul. Interior rest comes when the passions are brought into order, when fears, anxieties, desires, and attachments no longer dominate the heart. Living in the divine will means allowing God to become the center of every thought, affection, and intention. Jesus explains that the soul must reduce herself to nothing in order to receive everything from God. This is not despair or self hatred, it's humility. It's the recognition that every grace, every virtue, and every act of holiness originates in God alone. When the soul empties herself of self will, the divine will fills the empty space with divine life. The image of the metal bearing the face of Jesus is also profound. The soul who lives in the divine will receives the light to see even the smallest imperfections, not to become discouraged, but to allow grace to purify and transform them. The divine will becomes a mirror, revealing both our poverty and God's mercy. Today, Jesus invites us into silence, not simply the silence of words, but the silence that trusts God completely. In a noisy and restless world, the soul who lives in the divine will becomes a dwelling place of divine peace. Let us pray. Jesus, my rest and my peace. Quiet the noise within my soul. Silence every fear, every attachment, and every movement of my self will that keeps me from resting in you. Draw me into the holy stillness of your divine will, where all things are ordered in love. Lord, reduce within me all that is not of you, so that your divine life may reign in me completely. Make my soul a mirror reflecting your presence. Clothe me in the garments of grace and purity, and prepare me for the eternal feast of heaven. May every heartbeat become an act of love united to your will, and in the silence of my soul may I hear your voice calling me always closer to you. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. May we seek the true rest that comes only from surrendering ourselves completely to God. In the silence of the divine will, the soul discovers peace, clarity, and the beginning of every virtue. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

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