The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

January 1, 1900

The Circumcision of Jesus. The more the soul humiliates herself and knows herself, the closer she draws to the truth.

Being very afflicted because of the privation of my highest and only Good, after much waiting and waiting, finally I saw Him come out from within my heart, crying, and making me understand with His eyes that He was hurting from the wound received in the Circumcision.  So He cried and expected me to dry the blood that was pouring from that wound, and to sweeten the pain of the cut.  I felt all compassion and confusion together, so much so that I did not dare to do it; however, drawn by love, I don’t know how I found a little cloth in my hand, and I tried as much as I could to dry the blood of Baby Jesus.  While doing this, I felt I was all full of sin, and I thought that I was the cause of that pain of Jesus.  Oh, how sorry I felt for Him!  I felt absorbed in that bitterness; and the blessed little Baby, compassionating my miserable state, told me:  “The more the soul humiliates herself and knows herself, the closer she draws to the truth; and being in the truth, she tries to push herself along the path of virtues, from which she sees herself very far away.  And if she sees herself on the path of virtues, immediately she realizes how much there is left for her to do, because virtues have no end – they are infinite, as I am.  So, being in the truth, the soul always tries to perfect herself, but she will never arrive at seeing herself perfect.  And this serves her, and it will make her work continuously, striving to perfect herself more, without wasting time in idleness.  And I, pleased with this work, keep retouching her little by little, in order to portray my likeness in her. 

This is why I wanted to be circumcised – to give an example of highest humility, which rendered the very Angels of Heaven stunned.”