The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

October 12, 1900

The most powerful enemies of man are the love of pleasures, of riches and of honors.

My adorable Jesus continues to come. This morning He was wearing a thick crown of thorns; I removed it very gently, I put it on my head, and said: ‘Lord, help me to drive it in.’ And He: "This time I want you to drive it in yourself; I want to see what you can do and how you want to suffer for love of Me." I drove it well in; more so, since it was about showing Him how far my love of suffering for Jesus reached; so much so, that He Himself, all moved, clasping me, told me: "Enough, enough, for my Heart cannot bear seeing you suffer more." And as I remained very much in suffering, my beloved Jesus would do nothing but come and go.

After this, He assumed the appearance of the Crucified, He shared His pains with me, and said to me: "My daughter, the most powerful enemies of man are: the love of pleasures, of riches and of honors. These enemies render man unhappy, because they penetrate even into his heart and consume him continuously; they embitter him, they bring him down so much, as to make him lose all happiness. And I, on Calvary, defeated these three enemies, and obtained for man the grace to conquer them too, giving back to him the lost happiness. But man, always ungrateful and heedless, rejects my grace and loves these enemies fiercely, which put the human heart in a continuous torture." Having said this, He disappeared, and I comprehended with such clarity the truthfulness of these words, that I felt abhorrence and hate for these enemies. May the Lord be always blessed, and may everything be for His glory.