The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

March 10, 1900

Effects of suffering and of obedience.

This morning, having received Holy Communion, I saw my dear Jesus as a Child with a lance in His hand, in the act of wanting to pierce my heart through; and since I had said something to the confessor, wanting to reproach me, Jesus told me:  “You want to shun suffering, and I want you to begin a new life of sufferings and of obedience.”  And while saying this, He pierced my heart through with the lance, and then He added:  “Just as the fire burns according to the wood that is placed in it, thus being more active in burning and consuming the objects that are thrown into it, and the greater the fire, the greater the heat and the light it contains – the same with suffering and obedience:  the greater they are, the more the soul becomes capable of destroying what is material, and obedience gives her the shape it wants, like soft wax.”