"Your Faith Anew!"
Your Faith Anew! exists to help souls grow in their knowledge of the Catholic Faith, strive to remain in a state of grace, and encounter the transforming joy of the Gospel. Its mission is simple yet eternal: to save souls, glorify God, and become saints.
Hosted by David Russell, this daily reflection podcast draws deeply from Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta—especially The Book of Heaven—guiding listeners into a deeper understanding of living in the Divine Will.
David is the author of four spiritually rich works: Magi Theology: The Essence of Illusion, The Little Magician – Discovers Bigger and Better, Our Pilgrimage with the Pilgrim Virgin, and his newest release, Our Mother in the Divine Will. With a lifelong fascination for the mystical, David discovered a profound connection between the art of illusion and deeper spiritual realities—an insight that inspired both his theological and children’s writings. His work Magi Theology received both the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur from the Diocese of Knoxville.
In 2010, David was introduced to the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, which deeply resonated with his own spiritual insights. This encounter helped shape the foundation of his ministry.
In 2017, he founded the Your Faith Anew! prayer and study group to help Catholics rediscover and fall in love with their Faith. At the heart of his message is this conviction:
“The Catholic Faith prepares us to receive the Gift of Living in the Divine Will—and this Gift enables us to live our Faith in a divine manner most pleasing to God.”
Join us daily as we seek not only to understand our Faith—but to live it fully, joyfully, and in union with the Divine Will.
Song: Buddy Comfort - vocals and guitar from the album, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", www.buddycomfort.com
"Your Faith Anew!"
"Recognizing Ourselves Only in God"
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June 27, 1900 – Volume 3
Luisa writes,
I continue to be sleepy. This morning, for a few minutes I found myself awake and I comprehended my miserable state; I felt the bitterness of the privation of my highest and only Good. I was able only to shed a few tears, saying to Him: ‘My always good Jesus, how is it that You are not coming? These are not things to do: to wound a soul and then leave her! And what is more, so as not to let her know what You are doing, You leave her prey to sleep. O please! come, do not make me wait so much!’
While I was saying this and yet more nonsense, in one instant He came and transported me outside of myself; and since I wanted to tell Him about my poor state, imposing silence on me, Jesus told me: “My daughter, what I want from you is that you no longer recognize yourself in yourself, but that you recognize yourself only in Me. So you will no longer remember yourself, nor will you ever again have recognition of yourself, but you will remember Me, and un-recognizing yourself, you will acquire the recognition of Me alone. According to how much you will forget and destroy yourself, so will you advance in the knowledge of Me and will recognize yourself only in Me. Once you have done all this, you will no longer think with your mind, but with mine; you will not look with your eyes, you will no longer speak with your mouth, nor will you palpitate with your heart, work with your hands, or walk with your feet, but will do everything with mine. In fact, in order to recognize herself only in God, the soul needs to go to her origin and to return to her beginning – God, from whom she came - and to conform all of herself to her Creator. And anything which she keeps of herself and which is not conformed to her beginning, she must undo and reduce to nothing. Only in this way, naked, undone, can she return to her origin, recognize herself only in God, and operate according to the purpose for which she was created. This is why in order to conform to Me completely, the soul must render herself indivisible with Me.”
While He was saying this, I could see the terrible chastisement of plants withered, and how it must advance further. I could only say: ‘Ah, Lord, how will the poor people go on?’ And He, so as not to listen to me, escaped me like a flash and disappeared. Who can say the bitterness of my soul in finding myself inside myself, not having been able to speak to Him even one word for myself and for my neighbor; and for my tendency to sleep with which I was again left?
– 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.
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, june twenty seventh, 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. Heavenly Father, through the light of your divine will, teach us to forget ourselves and remember only you. Remove whatever keeps us attached to our own ways and draw us ever more deeply into union with your heart. May our thoughts, words, actions, and desires become conformed to your holy will, so that we may live according to the purpose for which we were created. Through Christ our Lord, amen. In his gospel, chapter fifteen, verses four and five, Saint John records the words of Jesus. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in Paragraph twenty seven. The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God, and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for. As we continue our journey through the book of Heaven, let us remain attentive to the truths Jesus reveals through Louisa, allowing these lessons to deepen our understanding of life in the divine will. These passages help illuminate Jesus' invitation to abide completely in him. Louisa writes I continued to be sleepy. This morning, for a few minutes I found myself awake and I comprehended my miserable state. I felt the bitterness of the privation of my highest and only good. I was able only to shed a few tears, saying to him, My always good Jesus, how is it that you are not coming? These are not things to do, to wound a soul and then leave her. And what is more, so as not to let her know what you are doing. You leave her prey to sleep. Oh please come. Do not make me wait so much. While I was saying this and yet more nonsense, in one instant he came and transported me outside of myself, and since I wanted to tell him about my poor state, imposing silence on me, Jesus told me, My daughter, what I want from you is that you no longer recognize yourself in yourself, but that you recognize yourself only in me. So you will no longer remember yourself, nor will you ever again have recognition of yourself, but you will remember me. And on recognizing yourself, you will acquire the recognition of me alone. According to how much you will forget and destroy yourself, so will you advance in the knowledge of me and will recognize yourself only in me. Once you have done all this, you will no longer think with your mind, but with mine. You will not look with your eyes, you will no longer speak with your mouth, nor will you palpitate with your heart, work with your hands or walk with your feet, but will do everything with mine. In fact, in order to recognize herself only in God, the soul needs to go to her origin and to return to her beginning God, from whom she came, and to conform all of herself to her creator, and anything which she keeps of herself and which is not conform to her beginning, she must undo and reduce to nothing. Only in this way naked, undone can she return to her origin, recognize herself only in God and operate according to the purpose for which she was created. This is why in order to conform to me completely, the soul must render herself indivisible with me. While he was saying this, I could see the terrible chastisement of plants withered, and how it must advance further. I could only say Ah Lord, how will the poor people go on? And he, so as not to listen to me, escaped me like a flash and disappeared. Who can say the bitterness of my soul in finding myself inside myself, not having been able to speak to him even one word for myself and for my neighbor, and for the tendency to sleep with which I was again left. In this passage, Jesus reveals another deep truth about the spiritual life. The closer we draw to Him, the less centered we become on ourselves. This does not mean losing our personality or dignity. Rather, it means allowing God's life to become the source and center of everything we do. Notice that Jesus does not focus on Louisa's suffering, her sadness, or even her questions. Instead, he directs her attention to a greater reality. He wants her to recognize herself only in him. The more she forgets herself, the more she comes to know God, the more she abandons self-interest, self concern, and self reliance, the more she enters into divine life. This teaching reaches its fullness in living in the divine will. Jesus describes a soul who thinks with his mind, sees with his eyes, speaks with his mouth, works with his hands, and walks with his feet. This is not a loss of freedom. It is the perfection of freedom. The human will is no longer acting separately, but is united with the divine will, allowing God to operate more fully within the soul. The image of the vine in the branches from Saint John's Gospel beautifully reinforces this truth. A branch has no life apart from the vine. Its fruitfulness comes entirely from remaining connected to its source. In the same way, Jesus invites us to remain so united with him that his life becomes the life flowing through our own. Many of us spend a great deal of time focused on ourselves, our worries, disappointments, fears, plans, and desires. Yet Jesus gently invites us to lift our gaze. The more we look at ourselves, the more discouraged we often become. The more we look at Him, the more peace we find. Living in the divine will is a daily return to our origin. We came from God, and we are called to live in constant union with Him. Every morning we can make the intention to place our thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings into His divine will. Throughout the day, whenever we become aware of ourselves, we can lovingly turn back to Him and renew that offering. The goal is not self destruction in a negative sense, but the removal of everything that prevents God from fully reigning within us. As this happens, Christ becomes increasingly visible in our lives. Others encounter His patience, His love, His mercy, and His peace through us. Today, let us ask for the grace to remember Him more than ourselves, trusting that in losing ourselves in God we discover who we were created to be. Let us pray. Jesus, my highest and only good, draw me into your divine will. Teach me to remember you more than I remember myself. Free me from attachments, fears and self centered concerns that keep me from complete union with you. Lord, you created me for yourself. Help me return each day to my origin and recognize that every good thing comes from you. May my thoughts be united to your thoughts, my words to your words, my actions to your actions, and my heart to your sacred heart. When I become discouraged, remind me to look toward you. When I become anxious, remind me that you are in control. When I become focused on myself, gently call me back to your presence. Jesus, make me indivisible with you. Let your divine will reign in every part of my life, may all that is not conform to you be transformed by your grace, and may every heartbeat become an act of love, praise, thanksgiving, and adoration in your eternal will. We ask this through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Divine Will. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. The lesson before us is simple yet profound. The more we remain in Jesus and recognize ourselves in him, the more fully we become who He created us to be. Until tomorrow, stay in His will, and your faith will be made anew.