The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

August 19, 1900

Sterile love and operative love.

This morning, after I received Communion, my beloved Jesus made Himself seen in the act of wanting to instruct me.  Making as though an example, He told me:  “My daughter, if a young man got married, and taken by love for him, his wife wanted to be always with him, without detaching herself for one moment, without caring about the other duties of a wife to make this young man happy, what would he say?  He would appreciate her love, but he would certainly not be content with her conduct, because this way of loving would be nothing but a sterile, infertile love, which would bring harm rather than fruit to that poor young man.  And little by little this strange love would cause him bother rather than delight, because all the satisfaction of this love is of the young lady.  And since a sterile love has no wood with which to nourish the fire, very soon it reduces itself to ashes, because only an operative love is lasting, while other loves fly into the wind like smoke, and then one reaches the point of becoming annoyed, and of not caring about, and maybe even despising, that which one loved so much.

Such is the conduct of those souls who care only about themselves – that is, about their satisfaction, about fervors, and anything that pleases them – saying that this is love for Me, while it is all their satisfaction.  In fact, one can see from their deeds that they do not care about my interests and the things that belong to Me; and if what satisfies them is missing, they no longer care about Me, and they even reach the point of offending Me.  Ah, daughter, only an operative love is that which distinguishes the true from the false lovers – everything else is smoke!”

While He was saying this, I saw some people, and it was as if I wanted to pay attention to them, but Jesus distracted me from this by saying to me:  “Do not want to meddle in other people’s business; let us leave them alone, because everything has its time.  When the time of judgment comes, then will be the time to discern all things, which will be sifted well, so that one will come to recognize the grain, the straws and the sterile and noxious seeds.  Oh, how many things that appear to be grain will be found straws and sterile seeds on that day, worthy only of being thrown into the fire!”