Transcription
July 22nd, 1899. Vol. 2. How the cross renders the soul transparent. How to avoid the precipice.
This morning my adorable Jesus made himself seen with the golden cross all shining, hanging from his neck, and in looking at it, he was immensely pleased. In one instant, the Confessor was present, and Jesus said to him, "And the sufferings of these past days have increased the splendor of the cross so much so that in looking at it, I take great delight."
Then he turned to me and told me, "The cross communicates such splendor to the soul as to render her transparent. Just as one can give all the colors he wants to an object which is transparent, in the same way, with its light, the cross provides all features and the most beautiful shapes that can possibly be imagined, not only by others but by the very soul who experiences them. Furthermore, on a transparent object, one can immediately detect dust, little stains, and even a shadow. Such is the cross, since it renders the soul transparent, it immediately reveals to the soul the little defects and the slightest imperfections, so much so that there is no hand of Master more capable than the cross in keeping the soul prepared to make of her a residence worthy of the God of heaven."
Who can say what I understood of the cross, and how enviable is the soul who possesses it!
After this, he transported me outside of myself, and I found myself at the top of a most high staircase. There was a precipice under it, and what is more, the steps of the staircase were movable and so narrow that one could barely put the tips of his toes on it. What terrified the most was the precipice and the fact that one could find no support whatsoever, and if one tried to cling to the steps, they would come out. The sight of other people, almost all of them falling, made one's bones shiver. Yet, there was no way other than going up those stairs. So I tried, but after I did just two or three steps, losing the great danger for me of falling into the abyss, I started to call Jesus to come to my aid. Not knowing how, I found Jesus close to me, and he told me, "My daughter, what you have seen is the path which all men cover on this earth. The movable steps on which they cannot even lean to find support are the human supports, the earthly things. If one tries to lean on them, instead of giving him help, they give him a push to fall more quickly into hell. The safest means is to climb almost flying, without touching the ground, by force of one's arms, with the eyes all fixed on oneself, without looking at others, and also by keeping them all intent on me in order to receive help and strength. In this way, one can easily avoid the precipice."
July 22nd, 1904. Volume 6. Only stability is what reveals the progress of divine life within the soul.
Continuing in my usual state, Melissa. Jesus came for just a little and told me, "My daughter, when the soul proposes either not to sin or to do some good and does not carry out the proposition she made, it is a sign that those things are not done with all of her will and that the divine light has had no contact with the soul. In fact, when her will is true and the divine light makes known to her the evil to be avoided or the good to be done, the soul hardly fails to execute what she has proposed. On the other hand, when the divine light does not see stability in her will, it does not administer to her the necessary light in order to avoid something or to do something else. At the most, there might be moments of misfortune, abandonment by creatures, or some other circumstance, such that it seems that the soul would want to undo herself for God and change life. But as soon as the wind of the circumstances changes, immediately her human will changes. So, instead of will and light, it can be said that there is a mixture of passions according to the changes in the winds. Stability alone is what reveals the progress of divine life within the soul, because since God is immutable, one who possesses him shares in his immutability in good."
July 22nd, 1905. Volume 6. God does not look at the work, but at the intensity of love in working.
I was feeling annoyed for being unable to make certain mortifications, as it seemed to me that the Lord abhorred me and therefore he would not permit me to do them. And blessed Jesus came and told me, "My daughter, one who really loves me never gets annoyed about anything, but tries to convert all things into love. For what reason did you want to mortify yourself? Certainly for love of me, and I say to you, for love of me, mortify yourself, and for love of me, take the reliefs, and both one and the other will have the same weight before me. The weight of any action, be it even an indifferent one, increases according to the dose of love it contains, because I do not look at the work, but at the intensity of love that the working contains. Therefore, I want no annoyance in you, but always peace, because in annoyances, in disturbances, it is always the love of self that wants to come out to reign, or the enemy to do harm."
End of July 22nd. Fiat.