The Divine Indwelling in Mary

"The divine indwelling in Mary" is the title of a section of a doctoral dissertation by Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, granted by the Gregorian Pontifical University Faculty of Theology and authorized by the Holy See.  Fr. Iannuzzi, who has given permission for it to be presented below, has been awarded five post-graduate degrees.  This particular dissertation has recently been published as The Gift of Living in the Divine Will in the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta, by St. Andrew's Productions.

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In her dictations to Luisa, Mary explains how she continuously bilocated her soul among the three divine Persons, whose Divine Will continuously operated within her to form in her God’s «full, complete and perfect life»:

As I took possession of the Kingdom of the Divine Will, its steps within me ended and its full, complete and perfect full life began within my soul […] My Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit longed for me to be in their arms to enjoy their little daughter […] They felt the power and the strength of their Divine Will emerging from me and rendering us inseparable^[i] […]  

I brought myself into the arms of the divinity […] They awaited me and rejoiced in seeing me, and loved me so much that upon my arrival they poured out into my soul more seas of love and sanctity^[ii].

The Divine Will of the three divine Persons continuously engaged in Mary, established in her soul its indwelling^[iii]. To Luisa Mary reveals that immediately after her Immaculate Conception the three divine Persons poured themselves out on her. God the Father poured out in her his power, the Son, his wisdom and the Holy Spirit, his love^[iv]. The indwelling in Mary of the three divine Persons, whose one operation maintained the continuity of her divine acts and established within her the Divine Kingdom, was a phenomenon that Adam forfeited with sin. Because she lived in this Divine Kingdom and knew no sin^[v], Mary’s life in the Divine Will and its effects over the entire human race and creation far surpassed those of Adam and, as noted, of all other creatures combined^[vi]. As in prelapsarian Adam, so in Mary God’s indwelling empowered both her body and soul^[vii]. In examining the singular role of her Immaculate Conception and perfect obedience to the Divine Will that rendered continuous her divine acts, Mary emerges from Luisa’s text as the first human creature from conception to «live in the Divine Will», and she constitutes the paradigm of perfect and complete cooperation with the Divine Will.

 

Notes

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[i] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 7.

[ii] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 8.

[iii] L. PICCARRETA, XV, December 8, 1922: «It was the power of Our [Triune] Will operating in her [Mary] that, while dominating her, made her the possessor of God himself […] We could see Our divine qualities in her, and the reflections of Our sanctity, divine manners, love, power and all else flow over her like waves. Our Will, which is the center of all of these reflections [...] made itself the crown and bulwark of the divinity dwelling within her [...] We confirmed in her all graces and all gifts to make her surpass all other souls combined».

[iv] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 2 (Mary reveals to Luisa): «As soon as the Divine Fiat poured itself over my human seed to prevent the sad effects of sin, the divinity smiled and rejoiced in seeing that my seed was a pure and holy human seed, just like the one that came forth from God’s creative hands at man’s creation. So the Divine Fiat took the second step in Me by carrying my human seed that it had purified and sanctified before the divinity. It did this in order for the divinity to pour itself forth in torrents upon my lowliness in the act of my [Immaculate] Conception. Recognizing in me its beautiful and pure creative work, the divinity smiled with satisfaction and, wanting to rejoice with me, the heavenly Father poured forth upon me seas of power; the Son, seas of wisdom; the Holy Spirit, seas of love. So I was conceived in the never-ending light of the Divine Will. Amidst these divine seas that my lowliness could not contain I, in exchange, formed the highest waves of homage I could by loving and glorifying the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

«The divinity unceasingly gazed upon me and, as if not to be outdone by me in love, while smiling and imparting divine touches, it inundated me with yet more seas that so adorned me, that no sooner was my little humanity formed, than I acquired the enchanting virtue of enrapturing my Creator [...]».

[v] L. PICCARRETA, XVIII, November 12, 1925: «A Virgin was needed, conceived without Original Sin, innocent and holy, enriched by God with all graces, who possessed all the good acts accomplished during the previous four thousand years, and who covered them with her innocence, sanctity and purity. By this means the divinity would see the good acts of all [souls] through the [divine] acts of this innocent and holy soul, who not only embraced all the acts of the ancients, but surpassed them all with her own [divine] acts. Thus she obtained the descent of the [eternal] Word to earth».

[vi] L. PICCARRETA, XIX, May 31, 1926: «Her smallest acts done in the unity of this light were superior to the greatest acts and to all the acts of all souls combined. That is why when compared to the acts of the Holy Queen, the sacrifices, works and love of all other souls can be called little flames before the sun, or little drops of water before the sea». Cf. also ID., XVII, May 1, 1925.

[vii] L. PICCARRETA, XXXIV, March 1, 1926.

Separation of Church and State? Never!

In the light of the many confusing and modernist notions that have emanated from Rome since the Second Vatican Council, it is useful to turn to approved and classic works dealing with various aspects of true Catholic doctrine. For that reason I have re-read Fr. Denis Fahey's The Social Rights of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ the King, which I first studied in 1990. This book was originally published, with Imprimatur, in 1932, and was adapted by Fr. Fahey from an earlier work in French by the Rev. A. Phillipe. In essence, it expounds the Catholic doctrine on the rights of Our Lord Jesus Christ in society.

The following quotes demonstrate the logical progression of Fahey's thought.  They are from the first section of the book, Chapters 1 through 6, which deal with the fundamental doctrine on Church and State. Subsequent chapters are concerned with the errors introduced into the modern mentality by the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” of 1789, and of ways to remedy them.

“Now the first truth – on which all others depend, and which imposes obligations on the creature – is that of the sovereign dominion of God over every creature and the absolute dependence of every creature on God.”   

“We can never lose sight of the fact that man is placed on earth to prepare for eternal happiness. All institutions, divine or human, have for their last end the glory of God and the salvation of souls”

“The constitutions of nations, their legislation . . . must like everything else, on account of this last end, be in conformity with the Eternal Law of God, with the Creed and with the Ten Commandments.”  

“The Sovereign Pontiffs have always taught that there should be a perfect understanding between Church and State. The reason of this is simple enough: Church and State are two institutions established by God.”

“Pius IX and Leo XIII have explicitly condemned the doctrine of the separation of Church and State.”   [Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors and Leo XIII's Immortale Dei and Libertas, are quoted in later chapters of the book.]

“Public homage of adoration and love, thanksgiving and reparation, is in fact owing to Christ in His Godhead. This homage is laid upon Christ as man, and upon all men by Christ as King.”

“It belongs then to His kingship to lay upon men and upon human society those various kinds of spiritual worship, for they are the only means, both for man and for society, to attain their final end, union with God in the Three Divine Persons.”  

“The Divine Master wants His Church to be in the world the instrument for the salvation of souls.” 

 

 “Every Society then must obey the Church as Christ Himself, for the Church is commissioned to explain His mind and will just as much to men gathered in society as to the individual.” 

A nod to the late Fr. Luigi Villa for inspiring the title of this post.

Theologian Upholds Catholicity of "Divine Will" Revelations

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.

Theologian Stephen Patton (M.A. Franciscan University) has been one of the foremost defenders of the orthodoxy of the writings on the Divine Will transcribed by the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta (1865 – 1947). It was his 1999 monograph on these revelations that successfully responded to the doctrinal objections that had been raised during that decade by many well-meaning critics, including a handful of priests. Now he has expanded on his original work by tackling some of the weightier theological issues raised in Piccarreta's writings. In his new book, which he terms a “study guide,” he attempts to answer any lingering concerns about the compatibility of her work with Catholic doctrine, especially regarding the terminology and expressions that she uses.

Some indications of a more favorable climate in which one can study her writings include the positive assessment of her work given in 2010 by two theologians appointed by the Holy See, the canonization of her spiritual advisor St. Annibale Di Francia, and the recent acceptance by the Pontifical Gregorian University of a doctoral thesis defending her work. In addition, now for the first time a book explaining Luisa Piccarreta's teaching on the Divine Will has been officially cleared for Catholic readers, with the granting by the Diocese of Sacramento of the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur on this important study by Stephen Patton. However, the author advises that while the book “does not contain matter contrary to the Catholic faith and morals, still, these official marks should not be understood as an official adoption or endorsement by the Church of Luisa's writings.”

Stephen Patton, A Guide to the Book of Heaven, Luisa Piccarreta's writings evaluated in the light of Catholic doctrine (2013, Jacksboro TN).  This book can be obtained via the Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will, 423-566-5178 or email tomfahy@comcast.net.  Coming soon to Amazon.com as well. The complete review of Mr. Patton's book can be read at this link.

Luisa Piccarreta demonstrated an extraordinary level of obedience to the priests and spiritual directors who guided her, giving them authority even over the voice of Jesus that she heard in her visions. She was born in southeastern Italy in the small town of Corato. Luisa had little formal education, was graced with the invisible stigmata, and for most of her adult life was bedridden, and lived almost exclusively on the Holy Eucharist. During a period of nearly 40 years, under obedience from her Confessors, she kept a diary of her intimate visions and communications with Jesus, Mary, and certain saints. The diary comprises 36 volumes, and the title given to this opus by Jesus Himself is: Book of Heaven – the Call of the Creature to Return to the Order, to the Place, and to the Purpose for Which it was Created by God.” The first 19 volumes were officially approved by her Bishop's Imprimatur, for which St. Annibale Di Francia granted the nihil obstat. The purpose of these revelations, as explained to her by the Lord, is to reestablish the Kingdom of His Divine Will on earth and in souls, as it existed before man's fall from grace.

Under the "spell" of the Mass

An excerpt from a letter to his wife by John Adams, second President of the United States:

     "This afternoon, led by curiosity and good company, I strolled away to mother church, or rather grandmother church. I mean the Romish chapel. I heard a good, short moral essay upon the duty of parents to their children, founded in justice and charity, to take care of their interests, temporal and spiritual. This afternoon’s entertainment was to me most awful and affecting; the poor wretches fingering their beads, chanting Latin, not a word of which they understood; their pater nosters and ave Marias; their holy water; their crossing themselves perpetually; their bowing to the name of Jesus, whenever they hear it; their bowings, kneelings and genuflections before the altar. The dress of the priest was rich white lace. His pulpit was velvet and gold. The altar-piece was very rich, little images and crucifixes about; wax candles lighted up. But how shall I describe the picture of our Savior in a frame of marble over the altar, at full length, upon the cross in the agonies, and the blood dropping and streaming from his wounds! The music, consisting of an organ and a choir of singers, went all the afternoon except sermon time, and the assembly chanted most sweetly and exquisitely.
     Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination–everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant. I wonder how Luther ever broke the spell. Adieu."

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"Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination." Yes, that truly was the genius of the Old Mass!  But don't worry President Adams - thanks to the aggiornamento of Vatican II and the modernist changes that followed in its wake, we have finally updated the liturgy.  No more Latin mumbo-jumbo, no more pious hocus-pocus and chanting, no richly decorated altars. We have Protestantized the liturgy to accommodate people like you Mr. Adams, rather than the "simple and ignorant." Regarding that graphic portrait of the Crucified Christ, you will be pleased to know that we have downplayed the sacrificial nature of the Mass, emphasizing instead the communal meal aspect. You may rest assured that there is little chance that anyone will ever come under the "spell" of the new liturgy.   

John Adams excerpt thanks to Dr. William Zambrano's "Tribulation Times."  Subscribe here.

Walt Disney the man: pro-life

Every conception is immaculate because a child is involved

Although Walt Disney considered himself to be a religious person, he did not attend any church.  He had a strong belief in God, and respected the religion of others.  Once one of his employees, apparently a Catholic, asked him if he believed in the Immaculate Conception.  He answered that he believed that every conception is immaculate, since a child is involved.

He and his wife Lilly sent both of their daughters, Diane and Sharon, to Sunday school, but did not impose their religious views on them.  When Diane began to attend a Catholic school, Walt wrote to his sister Ruth that Diane seemed to enjoy it, being quite taken up with the various rituals and the catechism. She had not made up her mind on whether to be Catholic or Protestant, but Disney was not concerned about this.  He felt that his daughter was intelligent enough to decide what she wanted, and that it was her privilege to make the decision. 

During his lifetime he never made a religious film, since he did not want to mix religion with entertainment.  Churchmen were seldom portrayed in his pictures.

Based on information from Walt Disney an American Original, by Bob Thomas, 1994, New York, Disney Editions.

Serving the Holy Mass of Padre Pio

"The Mass of Padre Pio!  No one will be able to describe it.  Only one who has had the privilege of living it can understand. . . "

Fra Modestino Fucci (1917-2011) was a saintly lay brother who lived alongside Padre Pio at the Friary in San Giovanni Rotondo for many years.  He often had the privilege of serving at the traditional Latin Mass celebrated by St. Pio.   The saint's death in 1968 signified the culmination and close of a great era in the Church.  The very next year Pope Paul VI issued the missal for the Novus Ordo liturgy, almost putting an end to the Mass that made Padre Pio.  

 

Brother Modestino carefully recorded his impressions of what it was like to serve at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by St. Pio, and they have been published in the Spring 2014 issue of the Friary's magazine, "The Voice of Padre Pio."  The following excerpts are presented, with permission, from the article "Witness to the Padre," pp. 19-20.

I would watch and observe Padre Pio closely every time, from the moment he left his cell at dawn to celebrate Mass.  I would see him in a state of suffering and anxiety.  He seemed restless.  As soon as he reached the sacristy where he put on the sacred vestments, I had the impression that already he was no longer aware of what went on around him.  

He was totally absorbed and conscious of what he was about the fulfill.  His face which was of normal color became frighteningly pale when he put on the amice.  From that moment onwards he paid no more attention to anyone.  Clothed in the sacred vestments he made his way to the altar.  Even though I walked ahead of him, I was aware that his gait became more dragging, his face sorrowful.  He seemed to stoop always more, as if, I thought, crushed beneath the weight of a gigantic invisible cross. 

Once he arrived at the altar he kissed it lovingly and his pale face became inflamed.  His cheeks would become crimson, his skin translucent so that one almost saw the flow of blood that rushed to his cheeks.  After the Confiteor, he beat his breast with hollow and heavy blows as if accusing himself of all the worst sins committed by man.  His eyes remained closed without being able to prevent big tears that disappeared into his thick beard.

At the Gospel, as he announced the Word of God, it seemed as if he fed himself with these words, tasting their infinite sweetness.  Immediately after, the colloquy between Padre Pio and the Eternal began.  This colloquy caused Padre Pio to weep abundant tears, that I saw him wipe with a big handkerchief.  Padre Pio, who had received the gift of contemplation from the Lord, entered into the abysses of the mystery of the Redemption.  The veils of that mystery having been torn by the suffering of his faith and love, all things human disappeared from his sight.  Before his gaze was God alone!

Everyone saw Padre Pio suffering.  He pronounced the liturgical prayers with  difficulty and interrupted by sobs.  The embarrassment the Padre felt at being in the presence and the searching gaze of others was enormous.  He would probably have preferred to celebrate Mass in solitude so as to be able to give free rein to his suffering and to his indescribable love.  

In those moments Padre Pio lived sensitively and really felt the Passion of the Lord.  Time went quickly, but he was outside time!  That was why his Mass lasted an hour and a half or probably more.  At the Elevation his suffering reached its height.  Watching his weeping, his sobbing, I was afraid his heart would burst, that he was about to faint from one moment to the next. God's Spirit had by now penetrated his whole body.  His soul was rapt in God.  He offered himself with Christ, victim for his brothers in exile.  

Each gesture of his denoted his relationship with God.  His heart must have burned like a volcano.  He prayed intensely for his spiritual children, for the sick, and for those who had already left this world.  Every now and then he leaned on the altar on his elbows, probably to relieve his wounded feet from the weight of his body.  I heard him repeat often through his tears: "My God! My God!" A spectacle of faith, love, suffering and emotion that reached the point of drama when the Padre raised the Host.  The sleeves of the surplice came down and his torn, bleeding hands were in the sight of all, whereas his gaze was on God!  

At Communion he seemed to calm down.  Transfigured in a passionate, ecstatic abandon, he fed on the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. How much love emanated from his face!  The people, astounded, could not but kneel before that mystical agony, to that total annihilation of himself. The incorporation, the assimilation, the fusion was total!  Padre Pio would remain as if stunned as he tasted all the divine sweetness that only Jesus in the Eucharist knows how to give. 

So the sacrifice of the Mass would be completed with a real participation of love, of suffering and blood.  And it brought about many conversions.  At the end of the Mass another suffering would devour him - that of going to the choir loft to remain alone and in silence, recollected in prayer to be able to thank Jesus.  He would remain immobile as if without life.  If someone had shaken him he would not have noticed, so absorbed was he in divine contemplation. 

The Mass of Padre Pio! No one will be able to describe it.  Only one who has had the privilege of living it can understand. . . 

 

"The Voice of Padre Pio" is a quarterly magazine published by his Friary in Italy. For Subscriptions you may  contact the Padre Pio information center nearest you HERE. 

 

Or visit the web site of the magazine directly HERE. 

 

View my four Padre Pio books and others HERE.

 

 

The "humble" Holy Grail that belonged to Padre Pio

In light of the recent articles about a purported Holy Grail in Spain, one of many throughout the world claimed to be the true one, the story about the humble "cup" possessed by St. Padre Pio seems especially relevant.  In 2003, an Italian magazine made the spectacular claim that Padre Pio possessed the Grail, and had willed it to a Capuchin priest named Padre Cristoforo, from a nearby friary.  

As you can see from the pictures below, this is a truly humble grail, something that the Teacher of Humility might have actually used at the Last Supper.  According to the article, Padre Pio wrote a letter to Padre Cristoforo, which has been authenticated.  It reads in part: "To Padre Cristoforo da Vico del Gargano, I entrust the remaining humble secrets given to me by the Christian faithful...I leave you the small Greek vase belonging to the Apostle Peter, kept a secret by me because it was a gift from God to my father and a witness of the great light, guard it for the poor faithful". 

When this article was published, I translated parts of it and reported about it on my Padre Pio web site.  It states that one of the friars who was then involved in Padre Pio's process for canonization believed that the phrase "to my father" in the letter, refers to Padre Pio's spiritual father, St. Francis of Assisi.  Thus this small vase or cup was transmitted over the centuries from St. Peter, to St. Francis, and eventually to St. Padre Pio.  Significantly, Padre Pio also mentions that this cup was "a witness of the great light."

It sounds incredible but could this little, humble cup actually be the chalice of the Grail?  Well, it might not be the main chalice, but according to the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, the large chalice contained within it a small cup.  Further, at the Last Supper, the Apostles consumed the Precious Blood from separate beakers, there were six of them. Emmerich's writings state that the Precious Blood that remained was placed into the small cup, and that cup was returned to its place inside the large chalice.  These relics eventually were distributed among the Apostles according to Emmerich, as reported in the fourth volume of her Life of Christ and Biblical Revelations.

 

Padre Pio's cup was recently on display in Rome along with other Padre Pio relics at a special exhibit.  The exhibit will be travelling to the USA.  It is coordinated by Alberto Festa, grandnephew of Dr. Giorgio Festa, Padre Pio's physician and author of the classic book on his stigmata.  Festa's researches have established that the cup dates from the time of Christ.  A book has also been written in conjunction with the exhibit, see link. 

That original posting from 2003 is still there on my web site at this link, with an important update about this exhibit.  In view of the letter by Padre Pio with its reference to St. Peter and veiled reference to St. Francis, the authentication of the letter and of the age of the cup, and in light of Emmerich's revelations, I conclude that there is an extremely high probability that the "humble cup" of Padre Pio was actually used on Holy Thursday, and did contain the Precious Blood consecrated by Jesus Himself. 

                                                    (from video found at this link)

 

(from video found at this link)

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