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The Birth of the Little Infant Jesus was Universal

Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp – Adoration of the Shepherds

December 25, 1932
The birth of the little Infant Jesus was universal; He was born in everything and in everyone. How, in order to keep us safe, He came to cover us with the garment of His Humanity. Example of the sun.
My abandonment in the Fiat continues. Today, on the day of Holy Christmas, I spent the whole night without seeing my Celestial Baby, and I felt a pang in my heart without the One who forms my life and my all. Ah! to live without Him is like living as if one had no life – tortured, without strength, without supports, which forms the most terrible of deaths for my poor and little soul. And amid the anxieties and the fear, I prayed the Supreme Volition to unveil to me the One who loved me and who formed my hard martyrdom. Then, while in this state, my mind remained as though captivated by an immense light which filled Heaven and earth; and – oh! marvel, I saw the little Divine Baby reborn in each created thing, in each heart, in everything; the little Infant Jesus, multiplied, bilocated, reborn in the infinite manner, in everything and in each one. So, all had the good of feeling within them, being born, the Celestial Baby. O! how beautiful it was to see Him, tiny little One, in the sun, in the stars, in all the elements, in all creatures; and all sang His praises and had the great honor, the immense good, of His being reborn in each one, and of possessing, as their own, the sweet pledge of little Baby Jesus.

Then, between amazement and stupefaction, I saw that the One whom I was looking for with so many sighs and anxieties, was born in me also, and I squeezed Him so very tightly in my arms; and He let me do it – even more, He enjoyed my doing that; and, all tenderness, told me: “My daughter, love Me, love Me. I am born to love and to be loved; and to do it as God, my birth is universal. I would not have acted as God had I not been born in a universal manner, in a way that all can say, with facts: ‘The Celestial Infant is born for me, He is mine; and this is so true, that I already possess Him.’ My love would remain hampered had I not been able to be reborn for all; my power would have been limited, my immensity restricted, if my re-birth were not universal. And this is no wonder: since my Divinity filled Heaven and earth, in the same way, by incorporating Itself into my little Humanity, It multiplied It and bilocated It, in such a way as to make Me be reborn in all and in each one. These are Our divine and infinite ways that We have, such that all must take the good that We do, and be pregnant with Our works. More so since, having descended from Heaven to earth, I wanted to take on human flesh in order to glorify completely the glory of the Celestial Father, to make up for all that man had not done. Here, then, my little Humanity wanted to be reborn also in the created things, because man had not given Us the glory, the requital of the love for Our having created a heaven, a sun and many other things; and my Humanity, being reborn in them, glorified my Celestial Father completely for the whole work of Creation. Man, by rejecting my Divine Will, had rendered himself impotent to everything; and I came to be his Savior, Repairer, Glorifier, Defender, and I covered him inside the garment of my Humanity, to keep him safe, and to answer for him, I Myself, in each thing, before my Celestial Father. My love was so great, that my Divinity, in order to give vent to my love, led Me to be born in each heart and in all things; and this is so true, that the first to recognize Me and sing my praises were the created things, because, feeling my birth in them, they exulted with joy and made feast for Me. But do you know who the ones are who make feast for Me as I am born in their hearts? Those who possess my Divine Will. These immediately perceive that I am born in their hearts, and they make perennial feast for Me; while the others make Me cry, give Me sorrow and, by sin, prepare for Me the knife with which to wound Me, or to kill Me.”

After this, I remained all immersed in His love. The moving scene of the birth of the Celestial Baby, so universal and in each one, made me comprehend who knows how many things. But I believe it is better to let them pass in silence, because, incapable of saying them well, I might speak nonsense. Then, to make feast to the Celestial Infant, I abandoned all of myself in the Divine Will; and He, coming back again, was so very graceful, of a beauty so rare, such that no other can be found similar to it. And, all love, enclosing Himself in my heart as the place of His birth, He repeated in me His baby crying, the loving moans, His repeated sobs. O! how touching it was to see Him now crying, now sobbing, now wailing. He made His first entrance of re-birth in each one and in everything, with the weapons of His tears, with the stratagems of His sobs, with the pleas of His wailing. By this, He rendered Himself captivating, and by dint of captivating with the strength of a God that He possessed, He entered into the hearts to form His new re-birth. O! Heavens – bow down and, together with me, love and adore the Celestial Infant.

But while my mind was wandering in a mystery so great, the sweet little Baby, amid tears and sobs, mixed with a celestial attitude of smile, added: “Blessed daughter, not only was my birth universal – since, as God, I could not do otherwise – but I found Myself in the condition of the sun, such that, whether they want it or not, all created things, the whole Creation and all creatures must receive its light, its heat. From the height where it descends with its empire of light and with its supremacy, which it holds over everyone and over everything, in its muteness, yet more loudly than if it were speaking, the sun seems to say: ‘Either you receive me with love, or I will invest you with the rights that I possess to give you light. And if you do not want to receive me, I will surround you from all sides, in such a way that you will not be able to escape my light, and I will have the great glory that I have given my light to all.’ The sun, symbol of my birth, since it too is reborn every day for everything and for each one; and I, not only am I reborn in a universal way, but, while being reborn, I make an invasion – not only am I reborn in the heart, but I invade the mind with my thoughts, the eyes with my tears, the voice with my wailing, in such a way as to make the universal invasion of all creatures. I take her from all sides, that she may not be able to escape Me. If they receive Me with love, my life is not only reborn in them, but grows in a surprising way; but if they do not receive Me with love, I am reborn in them with my rights of God that I possess, but I do not grow in them, I remain small and lonely, and I stay there in reserve, waiting that, who knows, with my wailing and tears, they might be induced to love Me. And if I do not succeed, my life changes into justice for them; and – oh! how tortured is my little Heart in seeing my birth, all love, changed into justice for the poor creature. So, since I am born in you, give Me the good of letting Me grow; in this way you will change my tears and my wailing into joys.”

Fiat!!!

4 Rules for A More Perfect Way of Living

Vol. 4 – 11/20/00
Since Luisa Must Live from the Heart of Jesus, He gives her Rules in order to undertake a More Perfect Way of Living.

“My beloved, since you Must Live from My Heart, it is appropriate for you to undertake a More Perfect Way of Living.

Therefore, from you I Want:

      1. Perfect Conformity to My Will, because you shall only be able to Love Me perfectly if you Love Me with My Own Will.
        …by Loving Me with My Own Will, you shall arrive at Loving Me, and your neighbor, with My Same Way of Loving.
      2. Profound Humility, placing yourself, in front of Me and of creatures, as the last among All.
      3. Purity in Everything, because any slightest fault against Purity, both in Loving and in Operating, is reflected All in the heart, and it remains stained….I Want Purity to be like dew upon the flowers at the rising of the sun, which, its rays reflecting upon them, Transmutes those little drops   into as Many precious pearls, such as to enchant the people.
        In the same way, if All your works, thoughts and words, heartbeats and affections, desires and inclinations, are adorned with the Celestial dew of Purity, you shall weave a sweet enchantment, not only for the human eye, but for the whole of Heaven.
      4. Obedience, which Must Be Connected with My Will, because if this Virtue regards the superiors I have Given you on earth, My Will is Obedience which regards Me directly; So Much So, that it can be said that both one and the other are Virtues of obedience – with this difference alone:
                      One Regards God, and the Other Regards Men.
        However, both of them have the Same Value, and one cannot be without the other; therefore you Must Love both one and the other in the Same Way.”

…”Know that From Now On you shall Live with My Heart, and you Must See Things the Way My Heart does, that I may Find My Satisfactions in you.

Therefore be careful, for this is no longer your heart, but Mine.”

 

 

 

 

Participating in the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Participating in the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
through Luisa Piccarreta in the Most Holy Divine Will

Luisa, Who Takes Everything as Though in her Power (V28 – 3.5.30)

A Light on Your Journey: “Each thought of yourself is a Void of Love
that you form; you deny Jesus an Act of Love, and keep Jesus Sighing
for your little Love. Think about it, and be Attentive.”

V6 – 9.17.05
1. “One who, in advance, places herself in the Hands of Providence, offering herself to suffer …Comes to Participate in the First Sorrow of the Prophecy of Simeon.

2. One who actually finds herself amid sufferings, and is Resigned, Clings more tightly to Me and does not offend Me, it is as if she were Saving Me from the hands of Herod – and she Participates in the Second Sorrow.

3. One who feels downhearted, dry and deprived of My Presence, and remains yet Firm and Faithful to her usual Practices – even more, she takes the opportunity to Love Me and to Search for Me More, without tiring – Comes to Participate in the Merits and Goods which My Mother Acquired when I was lost (Third Sorrow).

4. One who, in any circumstance she encounters, especially in seeing Me gravely Offended, despised, trampled upon, tries to Repair Me, to Compassionate Me, and to Pray for the very ones who offend Me – it is as if I Encountered in that soul My Own Mother – and she Participates in the Fourth Sorrow.

5. One who Crucifies her senses for Love of My Crucifixion, and tries to Copy the Virtues of My Crucifixion within herself – and she Participates in the Fifth Sorrow.

6. One who is in a Continuous Attitude of Adoring, of Kissing My Wounds, of Repairing, of Thanking etc., In the Name of All Mankind, it is as if she were Holding Me in her arms, just as My Mother Held Me when I was Deposed from the Cross – and she Participates in the Sixth Sorrow.

7. One who Remains In My Grace and Corresponds to It, giving a place to no one else but Me Within her heart, it is as if she Buried Me in the Center of her heart – and she Participates in the Seventh Sorrow.”

Fiat!

Portiuncola (Porziuncola) Indulgence

The Portiuncola, Assisi

Portiuncola (Porziuncola) Indulgence

According to a legend, the existence of which can be traced back with certainty only to 1645, the little chapel of the Portiuncola was erected under Pope Liberius (352-66) by hermits from the Valley of Josaphat, who had brought thither relics from the grave of the Blessed Virgin. The same legend relates that the chapel passed into the possession of St. Benedict in 516. It was known as Our Lady of the Valley of Josaphat or of the Angels — the latter title referring, according to some, to Our Lady’s ascent into heaven accompanied by angels on the Solemnity of the Assumption. However, a better founded opinion attributes the name to the singing of angels which had been frequently heard there.

​The Portiuncola today is in the “frazione” of Santa Maria degli Angeli in the city of Assisi, located about three-quarters of a mile from the center of the city. The frazione, numbering about 2000 inhabitants, has grown up around the basilica of Our Lady of the Angels and the adjoining Franciscan monastery.

In the early 1200’s, when St. Francis was repairing the small Portiuncola chapel, the basilica which now encloses the chapel was non-existent.  The humble Portiuncola was surrounded by the dense woods which covered the plain of Assisi.

FRANCIS’S CONNECTION WITH THE CHAPEL

Francis, who had previously repaired the chapels of San Damiano and San Pietro della Spina, was enraptured by the Portiuncola, a nick name which means “the little portion.”  He loved its formal name–Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels), its poverty reflective in its nick name, its isolation and silence, and its proximity to the leper hospitals where he tended the pitiable residents.

On February 24, 1208, the Feast of St. Matthias, while hearing Mass at the Portiuncola, St. Francis of Assisi recognized his vocation in the day’s Gospel.  Preach the Gospel. Take nothing for the journey.  Stay with those who are worthy in the towns you visit.

​Francis made the Portiuncola the headquarters of his Order while refusing to accept ownership of it from the Benedictines.  Francis settled on presenting the Benedictines a yearly rent of a basket of fish, thereby feeling comfortable about using the chapel and the huts the friars built around it.

On October 3, 1226, after blessing his friars and asking to be laid naked on the ground so as to come to the Father in utter destitution, Francis died at the Portiuncola after recommending the chapel to the faithful protection and care of his brethren.

THE PORTIUNCOLA INDULGENCE

The Portiuncola Indulgence is a special favor granted by the Pope to St. Francis at his request.

One night in 1216, Francis awoke and felt a strong impulse to enter the chapel of the Portiuncola and pray.  While at prayer, Our Lord and Our Lady appeared to Francis and asked him what he desired.  Thinking of others and recognizing his own sinfulness, Francis spoke.  “0 God, although I am a great sinner, I beseech You to grant a full pardon of all sins to all who, having repented and confessed their sins, shall visit this church.”

Our Lord answered, “Francis, you ask much, but you are worthy of greater things, and greater things you shall have.”

​The Lord granted the Indulgence and Pope Honorius III ratified it.  Originally the Indulgence was attached only to the Porticuncola.  However, subsequent Popes expanded the churches in which the Indulgence can be gained.

 

THE PORTIUNCOLA INDULGENCE TODAY

a.  Intend to gain the Indulgence

b. Be detached from all sin

c. While in the church pray one Our Father, one Apostle’s Creed, and one other prayer of the individual’s choice

d. Pray for the intentions of the Pope (prayerfully saying an Our Father and a Hail Mary will suffice although other prayers may be said)

e. Receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist within one week either before or after August 2.

May we all take advantage of the graces afforded by this Indulgence.