Excerpts from Volume 11 of the Book of Heaven by the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta.
Volume 11
11-26 | July 19, 1912
True love must be alone.
(1) This morning, finding myself in my usual state, as soon as the blessed Jesus came, He told me:
(2) “My daughter, I feel your breath and I receive comfort. And not only when I am close to you does your breath give Me comfort, but also when others speak of you and of the things said by Me for their benefit, I feel your breath through them and I am pleased. My comfort is doubled, and I say: ‘Through others too, My daughter sends Me her comfort; because if she had not been attentive in listening to Me, she could never have done good to others—therefore, it is always she who gives Me this comfort.’ For this reason, I love you more and I feel inclined to come and converse with you.”
(3) Afterward He added: “True love must be alone; on the other hand, when it is supported by someone else—even if they are holy, even if they are a spiritual person—it gives Me nausea, and instead of contentment, it gives Me bitterness and annoyance. This is because love only gives Me complete dominion when it is alone, and I can do what I want with the soul. Furthermore, being alone is the very nature of true love. On the contrary, when it is not alone, one thing can be done, but another cannot; it is a restricted dominion that does not give Me full freedom, and therefore love finds itself uneasy and constrained.”
11-27 | July 23, 1912
The heart must be empty of everything.
(1) Finding myself with my always amiable Jesus, I was complaining to Him that, in addition to His privations, I felt my poor heart to be insensible, cold, indifferent to everything, and as if it no longer had life. What a lamentable state is mine! Nevertheless, I myself do not know how to weep for my misfortune; and since I do not know how to have compassion for myself, You have compassion for this heart, which You have loved so much and which promised to receive You so much.
(2) And Jesus: “My daughter, do not be afflicted by things that merit no affliction. Instead of having compassion for these complaints and for your heart, I take pleasure in them and I say to you: Rejoice with Me, because I have made a perfect acquisition of your heart. No longer feeling anything of your own contentments or the life of your heart, I Myself come to enjoy your contentment and your very life. Therefore, you must know that when you feel nothing of your heart, I place your heart within My Heart and I keep it resting in a sweet sleep, and I enjoy it. If you feel it later, then the joy is between the two of us together. If you let Me act, after I have given you rest in My Heart and have enjoyed you, I will come to rest in you and I will make you enjoy the contentments of My Heart. Ah! My daughter, this state is necessary for you, for Me, and for the world.
(3) For you: If you were awake, you would have suffered much seeing the chastisements I am sending and the others I will send; therefore, it is necessary to put you to sleep so as not to make you suffer so much.
(4) It is necessary for Me: How much I would have suffered if I did not please you, if I did not condescend to what you want, and you did not allow Me to send the chastisements; thus, it was necessary to put you to sleep. In certain sad times and times of need for punishments, it is necessary to choose the middle path to make ourselves less unhappy.
(5) It is necessary for the world: If I wanted to pour Myself out with you and make you suffer as I did before—and thereby please you by not giving the world the chastisements—faith, religion, and salvation would have almost disappeared from the world, especially given how minds are disposed in these times.
(6) Ah! My daughter, let Me act—when I must keep you awake and when asleep. Have you not told Me to do with you whatever I wish? Do you perhaps want to withdraw your word?”
(7) And I: “Never, oh Jesus! Rather, I fear that I have become bad and that is why I feel this way.”
(8) And Jesus: “Listen, My daughter, has any thought, affection, or desire entered into you that is not for Me? If any of this had entered, you should fear; but if there is none of this, it is a sign that I have your heart within Me and I am making it sleep. The time will come, it will come, when I will make it wake up, and then you will see that you will take up your former activity; and because you have been at rest, the activity will be greater.”
(9) Afterward He added: “I act in all ways: I make those who are 'asleep with love,' those 'ignorant of love,' those 'mad with love,' and those 'learned in love.' But of all this, do you know what matters most to Me? That everything be love; everything else that is not love is not even worthy of a glance.”
11-28 | August 12, 1912
The Love of God symbolized by the sun.
(1) This morning, as soon as my always amiable Jesus came, He told me:
(2) “My daughter, My Love is symbolized by the sun: The sun rises majestically, but while it appears to rise, it is always fixed and never moves. With its light it invades the whole earth; with its heat it fecundates all plants; there is no eye that does not enjoy it. One could say there is almost no good found on earth that does not come from its beneficial influence—how many things would have no life without it? Nevertheless, it does everything without clamor, without saying even a word, without claiming anything, and it gives no offense to anyone. Moreover, it occupies no space on the very earth it invades with its light; man can do what he wants with that light; indeed, while they enjoy the good of the sun, they pay it no attention and keep it unobserved in their midst.
Such is My Love symbolized by the sun: Like a majestic sun it rises in the midst of everyone. There is no mind not illuminated by My light, no heart that does not feel My heat, no soul that is not embraced by My Love. More than a sun, I am in the midst of everyone, but, alas, how few pay Me attention! I am almost unobserved in their midst, I am not reciprocated, and yet I continue giving light, heat, and love. But if some soul pays Me attention, then I go 'mad'—but without clamor, because My Love, being solid, fixed, and true, is not subject to weaknesses.
I would like your love for Me to be like this; and if it were so, you would also become a sun for Me and for everyone. Because true love has all the qualities of the sun. In contrast, love that is not solid, not fixed, and not true is a symbol of the fire down here: it is subject to variety, its light is not capable of illuminating everyone, and it is a very weak light mixed with smoke. Its heat is limited, and if it is not fed with wood, it goes out and turns to ash; and if the wood is green, it makes noise and smoke. Such are the souls who are not all for Me, nor My true lovers. If they do a little good, the noise they make and the smoke that comes from their actions is greater than the light. And if they are not fed by some human interest—even under the appearance of holiness or conscience—they go out and become cold, more than ashes. Their characteristic is inconstancy: now fire, now ashes.”