The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

February 16, 1900

Mortification must be the breath of the soul.

It continues almost always in the same way.  This morning, after renewing in me the pains of the crucifixion, He told me:  “Mortification must be the breath of the soul.  Just as breathing is necessary to the body, and depending on the air it breathes, whether good or bad, it becomes infected or purified - and also, from the breathing it can be known whether the interior of man is healthy or ill, and whether all the vital parts are in harmony - the same for the soul:  if she breathes the air of mortification, everything in her will be purified, all of her senses will sound with the same concordant sound; her interior will emit a balsamic, salutary, fortifying breath.  If then she does not breathe the air of mortification, everything will be discordant in the soul; she will emit a stinking, disgusting breath; while she is about to tame one passion, another will unbridle… In sum, her life will be nothing but a child’s game.”

I seemed to see mortification as a musical instrument:  if the strings are all good and strong, it produces a harmonious and pleasant sound; but if the strings are not good, one must now fix one, now tune another.  Therefore, all the time is spent fixing, but never playing; at the most, it will produce a discordant and unpleasant sound.  So, nothing good will ever be accomplished.