Reflections On Luisa’s Prayer To Attribute Everything To God

From The Writings of Luisa Piccarreta
“The Little Daughter of the Divine Will”

VOL. 2 – June 2, 1899

The greatest favor that can be done for a soul, is to make her know herself.

This morning, my most sweet Jesus wanted to let me touch my nothingness with my own hands. In the act in which He made Himself seen, the first words with which He addressed me were: “Who am I., and who are you?” In these two words I saw two immense lights: in one I comprehended God, in the other I saw my misery, my nothingness. I saw I was nothing but a shadow, just like the shadow formed by the Sun in illuminating the earth: it is dependent on the Sun, and as the Sun moves from it to other places, the shadow ceases to exist outside of Its splendor. The same for my shadow – that is, my being: it is dependent on the mystical Sun God, who can dissolve this shadow in one simple instant. What to say, then, about how I have deformed this shadow which the Lord has given me, which is not even my own? The mere thought of it was horrifying; it was stinking, putrid, all full of worms. Yet, in such a horrifying state I was forced to stand before a God so holy. Oh, how content I would have been, had I been allowed to hide in the darkest abysses!

After this, Jesus told me: “The greatest favor I can do for a soul, is to make her know herself. The knowledge of self and the knowledge of God go together; the more you know yourself, the more you know God. When the soul has known herself, as she sees that she can do nothing good by herself, her shadow, her being, transforms her in God, and it happens that she does all of her operations in God. It happens that the soul is in God and walks beside Him, without looking, without investigating, without speaking – in a word, as if she were dead. In fact, knowing the depth of her nothingness, she dares to do nothing by herself, but she blindly follows the trajectory of the operations of God.”

It seems to me that to a soul who knows herself it happens as to those people who travel in a steamer: in moving from one point to another, without taking a step of their own, they make long journeys, but everything by virtue of the steamer that transports them. In the same way, the soul, by placing herself in God, just like the people in a steamer, makes sublime flights on the way to perfection, knowing, however, that it is not her, but rather, she does it by virtue of that blessed God who carries her within Himself. Oh, how the Lord favors her, enriches her, and concedes the greatest graces, knowing that she attributes nothing to herself, but everything to Him. Oh, soul, you who know yourself – how fortunate you are!

VOL. 1

And it happened in this way: every morning, after Communion, He would tell me what I was supposed to do during the day. I will say everything briefly, because after so much time it is impossible to say everything. I don’t remember for sure, but it seems to me that He told me that the first thing which was necessary in order to purify the interior of my heart, was the annihilation of myself – that is, humility. And He continued: “See, so that I may pour my graces in your heart, I really want you to understand that you can do nothing by yourself. I am very much wary of those souls who attribute what they do to themselves, wanting to make of my graces as many thefts. On the other hand, with those who know themselves, I am generous in pouring my graces in torrents. Knowing very well that they can attribute nothing to themselves, they are grateful to Me; they hold it in that esteem which befits it, and they live with the continuous fear that, if they do not correspond to Me, I may take away from them that which I gave, knowing that it does not belong to them. It is all the opposite in the hearts which reek of pride. I cannot even enter into their hearts because they are so swollen with themselves that there is no space in which to put Myself. These miserable ones take my graces into no account, and they go from fall to fall, up to their ruin. Therefore, on this day I want you to make continuous acts of humility; I want you to be like a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, who can move neither a foot to take a step, nor a hand to work, but expects everything from his mother. In the same way, you will stay close to Me like a baby, always praying Me to assist you, to help you; always confessing your nothingness – in sum, expecting everything from Me.”

Luisa’s Prayer To Attribute Everything To God

VOL. 12- August 14, 1917

‘I have done nothing – Jesus did. And this is all my contentment: that, miserable as I am, Jesus gave me the honor to keep me in the Divine Will, to let me do what He Himself has done.’

VOL. 12- August 14, 1917

Therefore, one who lives in the Divine Will finds it impossible to do things by himself; even more, he feels nausea for his human works, though holy, because in the Divine Will all things, even the smallest ones, take on a different look. They acquire nobility, splendor, Divine sanctity, Divine power and beauty; they multiply to infinity, and in one instant one does everything. And after he has done everything, he says: ‘I have done nothing – Jesus did. And this is all my contentment: that, miserable as I am, Jesus gave me the honor to keep me in the Divine Will, to let me do what He Himself has done.’ Therefore, the enemy cannot bother this child – whether he has done well or badly, little or much – because Jesus Himself did everything, and he together with Jesus. He is the most peaceful one; he is not subject to anxiety; he loves no one and loves everyone – but divinely. One can say that he is the repeater of the Life of Jesus, the organ of His voice, the heartbeat of His Heart, the sea of His graces.

And when you attribute everything to God you receive Divine Power as Jesus states below

VOL. 4 – December 24, 1902

After this, I saw people who believed themselves to be something greater than others; and blessed Jesus said: “My daughter, one who believes himself to be something before Me and before men, is worth nothing. One who believes himself to be nothing is worth everything – first, before Me, because if he does something, he does not think he does it because he can do it, having the strength and the capacity, but rather, because he receives from God the grace, the helps and the lights; therefore it can be said that he does it by virtue of divine power, and one who has divine power with him is already worth everything. Second, before men, because this acting by virtue of divine power makes him operate in a completely different way, and he does nothing but send forth the light of the divine power he contains within himself, in such a way that the most perverted ones, without wanting it, feel the strength of this light and submit to his volition; and here is how he is worth everything also before men. On the contrary, one who believes himself to be something, in addition to being worth nothing, is abominable to my presence, and because of his ostentatious and particular manners – for he believes he is something and makes fun of others – men keep him pointed out as an object of derision and of persecution.”

Fiat!!!