Teresa Helena Higginson and Luisa
Piccarreta
In 1889, Teresa wrote: “And I think it is
that soul that is drooping as the vine under the weight of heavenly gifts and
saturated through and through with the Precious Blood, that is His Infinite
Wisdom, He has ordained to make known His holy Will to the world. For He
continually shows me this precious soul so dear to Him, and frequently
before He makes known to me anything concerning this heavenly devotion (to His
Sacred Head) He comforts me also with it.
For when I feel my poor heart breaking with sorrow at the coldness in
which He is treated and the way He is betrayed even by His priests, He shows me this soul as His consoler and
refuge, this lily in which He delights, and the will of this holy one blending
so completely with His that they seem as one, this understanding in which
the light of God shines as the midday sun in the clear waters of a spring, and
that memory that is always recollected in God, that heart that pants languishes
for Him and wastes itself away in longing
desire to be dissolved and be one with Him for all eternity.
Oh my God, how much You have taught
me in this soul which You drew from the same abyss of nothingness as myself,
and yet, through her ready compliance with Thy adorable Will in all things,
Thou hast raised her to a pinnacle of perfection which but very few saints have
ever reached. Oh my God, how wonderful are Thy
works and how incomprehensible Thy judgments and unsearchable Thy ways. For
this jewel of Thy house is a wonder to the angels and Thou Thyself has shown me
that this soul is one of the center pieces of Thy Sacred Heart. I know not whether this soul is a priest, or
even a male or female saint, but I know you will join with me in thanking God
for all He has done for it, and allowing us, unworthy as we are, to live and
worship before this same tabernacle where in His Love He deigns to listen to us as well as to this great servant of His
Sacred Heart.
I think our dear Blessed Lord shows
me this soul to humble me, for I always feel that I am sinking away in the abyss of my own
nothingness whenever He allows me to see
it, and yet my whole soul seem to overflow with gratitude to Him for raising this soul to such perfection,
and love and admiration at His work and delight beyond utterance at His reserving her to comfort and console
to love and adore Him as she does. And
this last week, after our Beloved Lord has shown me the greatness of His gifts
to this saint, He has made me feel what black ingratitude it would be if she
refused to fulfill His designs. I
understand that, of course, it will be a great humiliation for her to undertake
the great work which I think He intends, and I pray for and compassionate her
exceedingly, yet I burn with desire to see His holy Will accomplished and say
with her and for her ‘Thy holy will be done, for Thou art my light and
strength, Thou art my protector and Helper, what shall I fear.’
Although I have no curiosity to know
who this chosen one is, yet I feel an ardent desire to be near her and to
render her some service, to go and meet her as St. Elizabeth went to meet our
Blessed Lady our dear Mother Mary at the time of the Visitation.
In 1889 at the age of 24, Luisa was granted the grace of a mystical marriage to
Jesus and of living in His Divine Will.
“I had spent about three years in the
state already described, continuing to remain in bed, when one morning Jesus
made me understand that he wanted to renew the marriage — not on earth, like
the first marriage — but in heaven, in the presence of the whole heavenly
court, and that I should be prepared for such a great grace… One morning — it
was the eve of the Nativity of Mary Most Holy [September 7, 1889] — and my always kind Jesus himself came to
dispose me…
While my soul prepared itself with
ardent yearnings for receiving the grace that Jesus himself wanted to give me,
Jesus came back and transported me outside of my body, up into Paradise. And
there, in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity and of all the heavenly court,
he renewed the marriage. Jesus brought out a ring adorned with three precious
stones, white, red and green, and he gave it to the Father, who blessed it and
gave it back to the Son again. The Holy Spirit took my right hand and Jesus
placed the ring on my ring finger. Then I was admitted to the kiss of all three
divine Persons, and each of them blessed me… After this, I remember that a few
days had passed and I received Communion. I lost consciousness, and I saw,
present before me, the Most Holy Trinity whom I had seen in heaven… when a
voice came from their midst and said: ‘Do not fear; have courage. We have come to confirm you as Our own, and
to take possession of your heart’. While this voice was saying this, I saw the
Most Holy Trinity descend into my heart and take possession of it – and there,
they took up their dwelling place. But who could describe the change that
occurred in me? I felt divinized; it was no longer I who lived, but they were
living in me.” (Vol. 1)
L. Bauer, 7/28/2017
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