The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

March 14, 1899

The evil of man forces God to chastise him.

This morning, my most sweet Jesus, transporting me with Him, made me see the multiplicity of the sins that are committed; they were such and so many, that it is impossible to describe them. I could also see a star of enormous magnitude in the air, and within its roundness it contained black fire and blood. It would strike so much fear and fright in looking at it, that it seemed that death would be a lesser evil than to live in these times so sad. In other places, one could see volcanoes with more mouths opening, which are also to inundate the country nearby. One could also see sectarian people, who will go on causing fires. While I was seeing this, my lovable but afflicted Jesus told me: "Have you seen how much they offend Me, and what I keep prepared? I am withdrawing from man." And as He was saying this, we both withdrew into my bed, and I could see that because of this withdrawal of Jesus, men would give themselves over to more awful actions, more murders; in a word, I seemed to see people against people. Once we had withdrawn, Jesus seemed to place Himself in my heart, and He began to cry and sob, saying: "Oh man, how much I have loved you! If you knew how I grieve in having to chastise you! But my Justice forces Me to this. Ohh man, Ohh man! How I cry and grieve over your lot." Then He would burst into tears and, again, He would repeat those words.

Who can say the pity, the fear, the torment that arose in my soul, especially in seeing Jesus so afflicted and crying! I did as much as I could to hide my sorrow, and in order to console Him I said to Him: ‘O Lord, it will never be that You chastise man. Holy Spouse, do not cry; just as You have done the other times, You will do now: You will pour it into me; You will make me suffer, and so your Justice will not force You to chastise the people.’ Jesus would continue crying, and I would repeat: ‘But, listen to me a little bit – have You not put me in this bed so that I might be victim for others? Have I perhaps not been ready to suffer the other times so as to spare creatures? Why do You not want to listen to me now?’ But with all my poor speaking, Jesus would not calm Himself from crying. So, no longer able to hold it, I too broke the dike of my crying, saying to Him: ‘Lord, if your intention is to chastise men, I too do not have the heart to see creatures suffer so much. Therefore, if You truly want to send the scourges, and my sins no longer make me worthy to suffer in the place of others, I want to come – I want to be on this earth no more.’ Then the confessor came, and as he called me to obedience, Jesus withdrew, and so it ended.

The following morning, I kept seeing Jesus withdrawn within my heart, and I saw that people would come even inside my heart, and would tread upon Him and trample Him underfoot. I would do as much as I could to free Him, and Jesus, turning to me, told me: "Do you see where the ingratitude of man reaches? They themselves force Me to chastise them, and I cannot do otherwise. And you, my dear one, after you have seen Me suffer so much – may you hold crosses more dearly, and pains as delights."