Importance of the Knowledges

 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGES

Vol. 13, August 25, 1921

"Every time I speak to you about my Will and you acquire new understanding and knowledge,

your act in my Will receives more value and you acquire more immense riches. It happens as

to a man who possesses a gem, and knows that this gem is worth a penny: he is rich one penny.

Now, it happens that he shows his gem to a skilled expert, who tells him that his gem has a

value of five thousand liras. That man no longer possesses one penny, but he is rich five

thousand liras. Now, after some time he has the opportunity to show his gem to another expert,

even more experienced, who assures him that his gem contains the value of one hundred

thousand liras, and is ready to buy it if he wants to sell. Now that man is rich one hundred

thousand liras. According to his knowledge of the value of his gem, he becomes richer, and feels

greater love and appreciation for the gem; he keeps it in custody more jealously, knowing that

the gem is all his fortune, while before he held it as a trifle. Yet, the gem has not changed – that

which it was, so it is now; he is the one who has changed, by understanding the value that the

gem contains.

Now, the same happens with my Will, as well as with virtues. According to how the soul

understands their value and acquires knowledge of them, she comes to acquire new values

and new riches in her acts. Therefore, the more you know my Will, the more your act will

acquire value. Oh, if you knew what seas of graces I open between you and Me every time I

speak to you about the effects of my Will, you would die of joy and would make feast, as if

you had acquired new reigns to dominate!"

Volume 18, December 25, 1925

I was thinking about what is said above – that the Divine Will is a gift, and, as gift, one possesses

It as one’s own; on the other hand, one who does the Will of God must submit to commands,

and ask very often what he must do, and to be lent the gift - not to be owner of it, but to do

that action which God wants, and, once it is done, give back the gift he had borrowed. Many

images and similes formed in my mind about one who lives in the Divine Volition and possesses

It as a gift, and one who does the Most Holy Will of God, who not only does not possess the

fullness of the gift, but, if he possesses It, it is at intervals and as a loan. I am going to tell some

of those similes.

I imagined I had a gold coin, which had the virtue of making arise as many coins as I wanted.

Oh! how rich I could become with this gift. On the other hand, someone else receives this gift

as a loan for one hour, or in order to carry out one action of his, to then give it back

immediately. What difference between my richness because of the gift I possess, and that of

one who receives it as a loan! Or, [I imagined] I had received the gift of a light which never goes

out; so, both at night and during the day, I am safe, I always have the good of seeing this light,

which no one can take away from me. It becomes as though a natural part of me, and it gives

me the good of knowing what is good in order to do it, and what is evil in order to escape it. So,

with this light that I received as gift, I sneer at all – at the world, at the enemy, at my passions,

and even at myself. This light is perennial source of happiness for me; it is without weapons,

and it defends me; it is without voice, and it instructs me; it is without hands and feet, and it

directs my way, making itself the sure guide to bring me to Heaven. On the other hand,

someone else has to go and ask for this light when he feels the need for it, therefore he does

not have it at his disposal. Not being used to always looking with this light, he does not possess

the knowledge of good and evil, and has not enough strength to do good and to avoid evil. So,

not possessing the light, turned on and continuous, in how many deceptions, dangers and

narrow ways does he not find himself? What difference between one who possesses this light

as his own gift, and one who has to go and ask for it when he needs it.

Now, while my mind wandered amid many similes, I said to myself: ‘So, the living in the Will of

God is to possess the Will of God, and this is a gift. Therefore, if the goodness of God does

not condescend to give It, what can the poor creature do?’ At that moment, my lovable Jesus

moved in my interior, as though clasping me all to Himself, and told me: “My daughter, it is true

that the living in my Will is a gift, and it is to possess the greatest gift; but this gift - which

contains infinite value, which is currency that arises at each instant, which is light that never

goes out, which is sun that never sets, which puts the soul in her place, established by God in

the divine order, and therefore she takes her place of honor and of sovereignty in the Creation –

is given but to one who is disposed, to one who will not waste it, to one who will esteem it so

much and love it more than his own life; even more, he must be ready to sacrifice his own life

so that this gift of my Will may have supremacy over everything, and be held as more than life

itself - even more, his life be nothing compared to It.

Therefore, first I want to see that the soul really wants to do my Will and never her own, that

she is ready to make any sacrifice in order to do Mine, and that in everything she does, she

always asks Me for the gift of my Will, even just as a loan. Then, when I see that she does

nothing without the loan my Will, I give it as gift, because by asking for it over and over again,

she has formed the void within her soul, in which to place this celestial gift; and by becoming

used to living with the loan of this divine food, she has lost the taste for her own will, her palate

has been ennobled and will no longer adapt itself to the vile foods of her own self. Therefore, in

seeing herself in possession of that gift which she longed for, yearned for, and loved so much,

she will live of the Life of that gift, she will love It, and will give It the esteem It deserves.

Would you not condemn a man who, taken by a childish affection for a child, only to have him

around a little bit, to amuse himself with him, would give him a banknote worth a thousand;

and the little boy, not knowing the value of it, tears it to a thousand pieces after a few minutes?

But if, on the other hand, first he makes the child desire it, then he makes him know its value,

then the good which that banknote of a thousand can do for him, and then he gives it to him -

that child will not tear it to pieces, but will go put it under lock and key, appreciating the gift and

loving the giver more; and you would praise that man who had the ability to make known to the

little child the value of money. If man does so, much more I do, who give my gifts with wisdom,

with justice and with true love. Here is, therefore, the necessity of the dispositions, of the

knowledge of the gift, of the esteem and appreciation, and of love for the gift itself. Therefore,

knowledge of It is like the herald of the gift of my Will which I want to give to the creature.

Knowledge prepares the way; knowledge is like the contract I want to make of the gift I want

to give; and the more knowledge I send to the soul, the more she is spurred on to desire the

gift and to solicit the Divine Writer to place the final signature – that the gift is hers and she

possesses it. So, the sign that in these times I want to give this gift of my Will is the

knowledge of It. Therefore, be attentive not to let anything escape you of what I manifest to

you about my Will, if you want Me to place the final signature on the gift which I yearn to give

to creatures.”

The Great Difference between Living in the Divine WIll and Doing the Divine Will

The Great Difference Between Living in the Divine Will and Doing the Divine Will

Volume 3 - July 10, 1900

Difference between living for God and living in God.

While I was in the same confusion, He made Himself seen like a flash and made me

understand that I had not written everything He had told me the day before – that is, that the soul

must not only live for God, but in God. So, blessed Jesus repeated to me the difference that

exists between living for God and living in God, saying to me: “In living for God, the soul can

be subject to disturbances, to bitternesses, to being inconstant, to feeling the weight of

passions, to meddle in earthly things. But the living in God – no, it is completely different,

because the most important thing so that one person may enter to dwell inside another

person is to lay down all that belongs to him – that is, to strip himself of everything, to leave

his own passions; in a word, to leave everything in order to find everything in God.

Now, when the soul has not only stripped herself, but has slimmed down well, then will

she be able to enter through the narrow door of my Heart to live in Me, according to my way

and from my own Life. In fact, even though my Heart is immense, so much so, that there is no

end to Its boundaries, Its door, however, is extremely narrow, and only one who is stripped of

everything can enter into It. This, with reason, because since I am Most Holy, I would never

admit anything to live in Me which is extraneous to my sanctity. Therefore, my daughter, try

to live in Me and you will possess Paradise in advance.”

Who can say how much I understood of this living in God? But then He disappeared and

I was left in my same state.

Volume 12 - August 14, 1917

Jesus did nothing other than give Himself prey to the Will of the Father. Difference

between living resigned to the Will of God, and living in His Will.

As I was in my usual state, my sweet Jesus just barely came, passing by, and told me:

“My daughter, I did nothing other than give Myself prey to the Will of the Father. Therefore, if I

thought, I thought in the mind of the Father; if I spoke, I spoke in the mouth and with the tongue

of the Father; if I worked, I worked in the hands of the Father. I even breathed my breathing in

Him, and everything I did was ordered the way He wanted. Therefore, I could say that I carried

out my Life in the Father, and that I was the bearer of the Father, because I enclosed everything

in His Will and I did nothing by Myself. My main point was the Will of the Father, because I did

not care about Myself, nor did I interrupt my course because of the offenses I received; rather, I

kept flying more and more toward my center. Only then did my natural Life end, when I fulfilled

the Will of the Father in everything.

The same for you, my daughter. If you give yourself prey to my Will, you will no

longer have concerns for anything. The very privation of Me, which torments you and

consumes you so much, flowing in my Will, will find support, my hidden kisses, my Life in you,

clothed with you. In your very heartbeat you will feel Mine - burning and sorrowful; and if you

don’t see Me, you feel Me; my arms hold you tightly. How many times you feel my motion, my

refreshing breath, which refreshes your ardors! You do feel all this; and when you try to see who

squeezed you, who breathes on you, and you do not see Me, I smile at you, I kiss you with the

kisses of my Will, and I hide more within you, in order to surprise you again, and let you jump

once more into my Will. Therefore, do not sadden Me by afflicting yourself - but let Me do.

May the flight of my Volition never cease in you; otherwise you would hinder my Life within

you. On the other hand, as you live in my Will, I do not find any hindrance, and I make my

Life grow, and I carry out my Life as I want.”

Now, out of obedience, I want to say a few words on the difference between living

resigned to the Divine Will, and living in the Divine Will.

First: living resigned. According to my poor opinion, this means to be resigned to the

Divine Will in everything, both in prosperous and in adverse circumstances, seeing in

everything the Divine Will, the order of the divine dispositions which the Divine Will has over

all creatures, such that not even one hair can fall from our head if the Lord does not want it so.

It seems to me like a good son, who goes wherever his Father wants, and suffers

whatever his Father wants. Poor or rich, it is indifferent to him; he is happy just being what his

Father wants. If he receives or asks for an order to go somewhere to carry out some business, he

goes only because his Father wanted it so. But in the meantime, he has to take some

refreshment, stop to rest, have some food, deal with people; therefore he has to put much from

his own will, even though he goes because his Father wanted it. However, in many things he

finds himself in the circumstance of doing them by himself; so it may happen that he is far away

from his Father for days, for months, without receiving specification of the Will of his Father in

all things.

Therefore, for one who lives resigned to the Divine Will, it is almost impossible not to

mix his own will with It. He will be a good son; however, he will not have the thoughts, the

words and the life of his Father fully portrayed within himself, in everything. In fact, since

he has to go, return, follow and deal with people, love is already broken - because only a

continuous union makes love grow, and it never breaks - and the current of the Will of the

Father is not in continuous communication with the current of the will of the son. During those

intervals the son may get used to doing his own will. However, I believe that this is the first

step toward sanctity.

Second: living in the Divine Will. I would like the hand of my Jesus to write this. Ah,

He alone could say all the beauty, the goodness and the sanctity of living in the Divine Will! I

am not capable; I have many concepts in my mind, but I lack the words. My Jesus, pour

Yourself into my word, and I will say what I can.

Living in the Divine Will means being inseparable, doing nothing by oneself, because

in the face of the Divine Will one feels incapable of anything. He does not ask for orders, nor

does he receive them, because he feels incapable of going by himself. So he says: ‘If You

want me to do this, let us do it together, and if You want me to go, let us go together.’

Therefore, he does all that his Father does. If the Father thinks, he makes the thoughts of the

Father his own, and does not add one thought to those of his Father. If the Father looks, if He

speaks, if He works, if He walks, if He suffers, if He loves, he too looks at what the Father is

looking at; he repeats the words of the Father; he works with the hands of the Father; he walks

with the feet of the Father; he suffers the same pains of the Father, and he loves with the love of

the Father. He lives inside his Father, not outside of Him; therefore, he is the reflection and

the perfect portrait of his Father - which is not, for the one who lives only resigned. It is

impossible to find this son without his Father, nor the Father without him; and not only

externally, but all his interior is as though interwoven with the interior of the Father -

transformed, dissolved completely, completely, in God.

Oh, the rapid and sublime flights of this child in the Divine Will! This Divine Will is

immense; in every instant It circulates within everyone; It gives life and order to everything.

And the soul, wandering within this immensity, flies to all, helps all, loves all, but as Jesus

Himself helps and loves - which cannot be done by one who lives only resigned.

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.

True Sanctity, I believe, consists only in this. All other things are shadows, larvae,

specters of sanctity.

In the Divine Will, virtues take their place in the Divine order; while, outside of It, in

the human order, they are subject to self-esteem, to vainglory, to passions. Oh! how many good

works, how many attended Sacraments are to be cried over before God, and to be repaired,

because they are empty of Divine Will, and therefore without fruits. Heaven willing that all

would understand true sanctity. Oh! how all other things would disappear.

So, many find themselves on the false way of sanctity. Many place it in the pious

practices of piety - and woe to those who move them! Oh, how they deceive themselves! If their

wills are not united with Jesus and transformed in Him - which is the continuous prayer - with

all of their pious practices their sanctity is false. And it shows how these souls pass very easily

from pious practices to defects, to amusements, to the sowing of discord, and other things. Oh,

how dishonoring this kind of sanctity is! Others place it in going to church, in attending all the

services, but their will is far from Jesus. And it shows how these souls have little care for their

own duties; and if they are hindered, they get angry, they cry that their sanctity goes up in the air.

They complain, they disobey, they are the wounds of families. Oh! what a fake sanctity. Others

place it in frequent confessions, in scrupulous spiritual directions, in having scruples for

everything; but they do not have any scruple if their will does not run together with the Will of

Jesus - and woe to those who contradict them! These souls are like inflated balloons: a little

hole is enough for the air to come out, and their sanctity goes up in smoke, and falls to the

ground. These poor balloons always have something to say; they are mostly inclined to sadness.

They live always in doubt, and therefore would like to have a director for themselves, who would

advise them, give them peace and console them in every little thing. But they are soon more

agitated than before. Poor sanctity, how forged it is.

I would like the tears of my Jesus in order to cry together with Him over these false

sanctities, and make everyone know how true sanctity is in doing the Divine Will and in living

in the Divine Volition.

This sanctity puts its roots so deeply that there is no danger that it may oscillate, because

it fills Heaven and earth, and finds its support everywhere. This soul is firm, not subject to

inconstancies or voluntary defects. She is attentive to her duties; she is the most sacrificed and

detached from everyone and everything, even from spiritual directions themselves; and since her

roots are deep, she rises up so high that the flowers and fruits bloom in Heaven. She is so hidden

in God that the earth sees little or nothing of this soul. The Divine Will keeps her absorbed

within Itself; only Jesus is the author, the life, the form of the sanctity of this enviable creature.

She has nothing of her own, but everything is in common with Jesus. Her passion is the

Divine Will; her characteristic is the Will of her Jesus, and ‘FIAT’ is her continuous motto.

On the other hand, the poor and false sanctity of the balloons is subject to continuous

inconstancies, and while it appears that the balloons of their sanctity swell up so much as to seem

to be flying in the air at a certain height, to the point that many, and even their directors, are

amazed - soon they are disillusioned. One humiliation, one favor of the directors toward

someone else, is enough to deflate these balloons, because they see this as a theft against them,

considering themselves the neediest. So, while having scruples for silly things, they then reach

the point of disobeying. Jealousy is the woodworm of these balloons, which, consuming the

good they do, keeps sucking air from them, and the poor balloon deflates and falls to the ground,

reaching the point of dirtying itself with earth. Then the sanctity that was in the balloon appears.

And what can one find in it? Love of self, resentment, passions, hidden under the aspect of

good, almost to have occasion to say: they have become the amusement of the devil; so, of all

their sanctity, nothing was found but a mass of defects, apparently disguised as virtues. But then,

who can say everything? Only Jesus knows the worst evils of this fake sanctity, of this devout

life without foundation, because it leans on false piety. These fake sanctities are spiritual vines

without fruit - sterile, and cause of who knows how much crying for my lovable Jesus. They are

the ill feeling of society, the worry of very directors, and of families. One can say that they bring

with themselves a noxious air that harms everyone.

Oh! how so very different is the sanctity of the soul who lives in the Divine Will! These

souls are the smile of Jesus. They are far away from everyone, even from the very directors.

Only Jesus is everything for them; therefore, nobody worries for them. The beneficial air

which they possess embalms everyone; they are the order and the harmony of everyone. Jesus,

jealous of these souls, becomes actor and spectator of whatever they do – there is not one

heartbeat, breath, or thought which He does not regulate and dominate. Jesus keeps this soul so

absorbed in the Divine Will that she can hardly remember that she is living in exile.

L. Bauer