The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

August 3, 1916

Each act the creature does is one more paradise she acquires in Heaven.

As I continue in my usual state, my lovable Jesus makes Himself seen in passing, or He says a few words and then He runs away, or He hides in my interior. I remember that one day He told me: "My daughter, I am the center, and all Creation receives life from this center. So, I am life of every thought, of every word, of every action - of everything; but creatures make use of this life I give them to take the occasion to offend Me. I give life, and if they could, they would give Me death." I also remember that as I prayed Him to hold back the scourges, He told me: "Daughter, do you think I am the one who wants to scourge them? Ah, no! On the contrary, my love is so great that I consumed my whole life in redoing what man was obliged to do for the Supreme Majesty; and since my acts were divine, I multiplied them into so many as to redo them for all and for each one, in such a way as to fill Heaven and earth, and to keep man defended so that Justice might not strike him. But man, with sin, breaks this defense, and once the defense is broken, the scourges strike man."

But who can say all the little things He told me? Then, this morning, I was praying and lamenting to Jesus for He was not answering me, especially because He does not stop chastising, and I said to Him: ‘Why pray if You do not want to answer me? On the contrary, You tell me that the evils will get worse.’ And He: "My daughter, good is always good. Even more, you must know that each prayer, each reparation, each act of love, any holy thing that the creature does, is one more paradise that she acquires. So, the simplest holy act will be one more paradise; one act less, a paradise less. In fact, every good act comes from God, and therefore in every good act the soul takes God; and since God contains infinite, innumerable, eternal, immense joys - so many that the very Blessed will not arrive at enjoying them all throughout all eternity - it is no wonder, then, that since each good act acquires God, God is almost bound to substitute them with as many contentments. So, if the soul suffers even distractions for love of Me, in Heaven her intelligence will have more light and will enjoy as many more paradises for as many times as she has sacrificed her intelligence; and so much more will she comprehend God. If she suffers coldness for love of Me, so many paradises will she enjoy of the variety of contentments which are present in my love; if darkness, so many more contentments in my inaccessible light; and so with all the rest. This is what one prayer more or one less means."