The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

January 31, 1900

Grace, and correspondence to It.

After He came quite a few times, but always in silence, I felt a void and a pain for I could not hear the most sweet voice of my sweet Jesus; and He, coming back, almost to content me, told me:  “Grace is the life of the soul.  Just as the soul gives life to the body, so does grace give life to the soul.  However, in order to have life it is not enough for the body to have the soul; it also needs food with which to nourish itself and grow to the proper stature.  In the same way, it is not enough for the soul to have grace in order to have life, but food is needed to nourish her and raise her to the proper stature.  And what is this food?  It is her correspondence.  So grace, and correspondence to it, form the links of the chain which lead her to Heaven, and according to the measure in which the soul corresponds to grace, she keeps forming the links of this chain.”

Then He added:  “What is the passport to enter into the kingdom of grace?  It is humility.  Through humility, by always looking at her nothingness and seeing that she is nothing but dust or wind, the soul will place all her trust in grace, so much so, as to make of it her master.  And grace, taking dominion over all of the soul, leads her along the path of all virtues, and makes her reach the summit of perfection.”

What would a soul without grace be like?  It seemed to me that she would be like the body without the soul, which becomes stinking and spews worms and rot from all parts, so much so, as to become an object of horror to the human sight itself.  In the same way, without grace, the soul becomes so abominable as to be horrifying to the sight – not of men, but of God Trice Holy.  Ah, Lord, free me from such misfortune, and from the abominable monster of sin!