The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

March 6, 1903

The meaning of the words: ‘Ecce Homo’.

After I had struggled very much, blessed Jesus made Himself seen within my interior, telling me: "Shall we go see whether creatures want Me?" And I: ‘Surely they must want You, because You are the most lovable Being. Who would have the daring of not wanting You?’ And He: "Let us go, and then you will see what they do." So we went, and as we arrived at a place in which there were many people, His head came out from within my interior and He said those words which Pilate spoke when he showed Him to the people: ‘Ecce Homo’ [‘Here is the Man’]. I understood that the meaning of those words was to ask them whether they wanted the Lord to reign as their King, and to have dominion in their hearts, minds and works. And they answered: "Take Him away, we do not want Him; or rather, crucify Him, so that every memory of Him may be destroyed." Oh, how many times these scenes are repeated!

So the Lord said to everyone: "Ecce Homo". As He said it, a murmuring - a confusion arose. Some were saying: "I do not want Him as my King – I want riches"; another, "pleasure"; another, "honor"; some, "dignities"; and some, many other things. I listened to those voices with horror, and the Lord told me: "Have you seen how no one wants Me? Yet, this is nothing; let us turn to the religious class, and let us see whether they want Me." So I found myself in the midst of priests, bishops, religious women and devout ones, and with sonorous voice, Jesus repeated: "Ecce Homo". And they said: "We want Him, but we also want our comfort." Others: "We want Him, but together with our own interest." Others answered: "We want Him, but together with esteem and honor." …What does a religious do with esteem? Others replied: "We want Him, but together with some satisfaction from creatures – how can one live alone and without anyone that satisfies us?" Some wanted satisfaction at least in the Sacrament of Confession, but almost no one wanted Him alone, nor was someone lacking who did not care about Jesus Christ at all. So, all afflicted, He told me: "My daughter, let us withdraw; have you seen how no one wants Me? Or at the most, they want Me together with something that pleases them. I am not content with this, because true reigning is when one reigns alone." As He was saying this, I found myself inside myself.