“Whatever things may be, never be upset, for upset is poison to the soul and also to the body. Jesus loves you very much. If you are peaceful, Jesus will keep you in His arms, as His child, with His hands He will feed you with Divine Will. But you be careful to take this Heavenly Food, you will do everything together with Jesus, you will never leave Him alone in your heart. You will do everything to please Him and love Him.”
(Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta-An autograph prayer inscribed on the back of a holy picture)
Luisa continues to receive sublime teachings from Jesus regarding how to live in His Divine Will. The first thing Jesus asks of her is to always be peaceful even in the face of the various contrarieties she will encounter.
"My daughter, courage, I don’t want you afflicted; because for one who lives in my Will, the smile of Heaven, the contentment of the Blessed, the peace of the Saints caress the whole of her being. My Will contains the substance of all joys, the fount of all happinesses, and one who lives in my Will, even in sorrow, feels pain and joy, tears and smile, bitterness and sweetness, kneaded together within her. Contentment is inseparable from my Will” (Vol. 13 - August 13, 1921).
Bitterness, oppressions are a slow poison to goodness. They produce such exhaustion that they reduce the soul to extreme agony, so that we feel the agony in our hearts, on our lips, in our hands, in our steps. The Divine Will would like to extend its light into the depths of the soul but It feels jammed, suffers and cannot carry out its divine work in our soul. This is why Jesus always warns Luisa against any state of abasement. He tells her: “disheartenment calls for despondency, which doubles the weight of the pains, so much so, that the poor creature, with this doubled weight, can just barely drag herself on the way that she must cover, while my Will does not want you to drag yourself, but to fly within Its interminable light” (Vol. 28 - August 12, 1930)
A soul who is at peace is always light, and being light, she is always united to the Eternal Light from which she draws ever new light so as to be able to give light to others also. “So, if you want ever new light, be at peace” (Vol. 7 - September 18, 1906).
Luisa must eradicate from her soul any state of disturbance and restlessness to show that He who is all peace and sweetness dwells in her. Only gentleness enchains hearts.
“If one speaks about or deals with things, even of God, with manners that are not sweet and peaceful, it is a sign that he does not have his passions in order; and one who does not keep himself in order, cannot order others. Therefore, be careful with anything which is not sweetness and peace, if you do not want to dishonor Me"(Vol. VII - Dec. 3, 1906).
We can recognize whether God is working in the soul by peace, patience and constancy as the fruit and grace of God's presence. For where there is no God, the soul feels dominated by continual changes, so that now she is in one mood, now in another, now she is all patient, now she is all irascible; in short, the poor creature is tossed about like a reed by a strong wind.
Luisa performed all her daily actions with the intention of wanting and pleasing only Jesus. Her whole focus was to always want Jesus, to love Him and not to offend Him. She never thought about herself, the state she was in, whether she was cold, whether she was parched, whether she was hot, etc., and when this happened Jesus rebuked her saying, "Do you want to waste time? Think of doing your things with God" (Vol. 7- September 2, 1906).
“I keep you on my knees like a little daughter, and so intimately united with Me as to not let you feel yourself. I think and take care of all of you – cleaning you if you are stained, feeding you if you need food; in sum, I anticipate you in everything, in such a way that you yourself do not perceive your needs” (Vol. 7- September 2, 1906).
Luisa banished all fear because she knew that Jesus held her as a little daughter on His lap, He held her tightly in His arms, so intimately united with Him that now He would give her a kiss, now a caress, now He would feed her food with His hands, etc. This was the relationship between Jesus and Luisa, a bond as strong as between father and son, so united that Luisa no longer felt herself, her needs.
"By holding you intimately tight to Me, it is a grace that I give you, because you escape many, many defects, while if you had the thought of yourself – oh, into how many defects you would fall! Therefore, think of doing your office of little daughter toward Me, and have no thought for anything else" (Vol. 7- September 2, 1906).
Luisa surrendered herself completely to Jesus, she was peacefully abandoned in the arms of her Beloved. In this state Luisa performed all her actions with the sole intention of meeting Jesus, working together with Him and relieving Him of all suffering. Luisa was immersed in the Love of Jesus, she came to make divine Love her daily food. This heavenly food is enjoyed by those on earth who consider things and people as nothing, or consider them as all ordered toward God.
Just as the body needs nourishment to live, the soul also needs nourishment. The Divine Will is the food of the soul. With this delicious food the soul is nourished, and the more she takes of it the more she is strengthened and elevated to the likeness of her Creator.
“My daughter, my Will is more than food. Food gives strength to the body, it warms it, it increases the blood, it enlivens the intelligence if it is dim, it puts liveliness in all the members, and pushes the creature to new works and sacrifices. On the other hand, one who is on an empty stomach, not giving the necessary food to her body, is weak, cold, lacking in blood, her intelligence dim, exhausted in all of her members; and this leads her to melancholy and pushes her to do nothing, with no desire to sacrifice herself in anything. Poor one, she feels life missing in all of her person... Now, since the Eternal Wisdom has established that the soul too should have food Now, since the Eternal Wisdom has established that the soul too should have food, she was assigned the Supreme Will as delicious food. So, one who takes this food is strong in doing good; she is as though soaked with love for her God. The food of my Will gives itself in every instant, at each breath, at night, during the day, in each thing, and as many times as one wants…” (Vol. 18 - Oct. 17, 1925).
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