The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

October 25, 1903

The soul in Grace enamors God.

As the hour for my usual state came, I was thinking to myself that if the Lord would not come I should try to make an effort [to go out of it], also to see whether at least I could manage to. At first I could manage, but then my adorable Jesus came and showed me that when I would think of remaining in it, He would draw near me and bind me to Himself, in such I way that I would not be able to go out; when, on the other hand, I would think of going out of it, He would move away and leave me free, in such a way that I could do it. So I could not make up my mind, and I said to myself: ‘How I wish I could see the confessor so as to ask him what I should do.’ Then, a little later, I saw the confessor together with Our lord, and immediately I said: ‘Tell me, should I stay – yes or no?’ While saying this, I saw in the interior of the confessor that he had withdrawn the obedience he had given me the day before, and so I decided to stay, thinking to myself that if it was true that he had withdrawn the obedience, fine; if then it was my fantasy that made me see it, while it could be false, when the confessor would come things would be taken care of, and I could try another day. So I calmed down.

Then, continuing to make Himself seen, blessed Jesus told me: "My daughter, the beauty of the soul in Grace is so great as to enamor God Himself. The Angels and the Saints are amazed at seeing this prodigious portent of a soul, still terrestrial, possessed by Grace. At the fragrance of her celestial odor, they run around her, and to their highest pleasure they find in her that same Jesus who beatifies them in Heaven, in such a way that it is indifferent for them to be up in Heaven or down near this soul. But who maintains and preserves this portent, giving new shades of beauty, continuously, to the soul who lives in my Will? Who removes any rust and imperfection from her, and administers to her the knowledge of the object she possesses? My Will. Who strengthens her, establishes her and confirms her in Grace? My Will. The living in my Will is the whole point of Sanctity, and gives continuous growth in Grace. However, one who one day does my Will, and another her own, will never be confirmed in Grace; she does nothing but grow and then decrease - and how much evil this brings to the soul! Of how much glory she deprives God and herself! She is the image of one who today is rich and tomorrow poor; she will be confirmed neither in richness nor in poverty, therefore one cannot know where she will end up." Having said this, He disappeared. After a little while, the confessor came, and as I told him what I have written, he assured me that he had truly withdrawn the obedience he had given me.

To obey the confessor, I continue to tell the other meanings I understood on the 24^th of this month. So, the lady represented the Church, who is infirm, not in Herself, but in Her members; but even though She is laid low and insulted by enemies, and rendered infirm in Her very members, She never loses Her majesty and venerability. As for the bed She was in, I understood that while the Church seems oppressed, infirm, opposed, She yet rests with a perpetual and eternal rest, and with peace and safety in the paternal bosom of God, like a child on the lap of her mother. I understood that the headboard of the bed that touched the vault was the divine protection that always assists the Church, and that everything She contains has all come from Heaven: Sacraments, doctrine and other things – everything is celestial, holy and pure, in such a way that between Heaven and the Church there is continuous communication, never interrupted. As for the few religious who offered care and assistance to the lady, I understood that few are those who defend the Church with all of themselves - considering the evils She receives as though given to themselves. The room in which She resided, made of stone, represented the solidity, the firmness, and even the hardness of the Church in surrendering to no one the rights that belong to Her. The dying lady who, with intrepidness and courage, allows herself to be beaten by the enemies, represented the Church which, while She seems to be dying, rises again more intrepid – but how? Through sufferings and shedding of blood – the true spirit of the Church, always ready for mortification, as Jesus Christ was.