The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

May 28, 1904

Mortification knocks everything down and immolates everything to God.

Continuing in my usual state, and with highest bitterness because of the continuous privations of my adorable Jesus, He made Himself seen for just a little, telling me:  “My daughter, the first bomb which must be primed in the interior of the soul is mortification.  When this bomb is thrown into the soul, it knocks everything down and immolates everything to God.  In fact, in the soul it is as though there are many palaces, but all of vices, such as pride, disobedience, along with many other vices; and the bomb of mortification, knocking everything down, rebuilds as many other palaces of virtues, immolating them and sacrificing them all to the glory of God.”  Having said this, He disappeared.

A little later, the devil came, who just wanted to molest me; and I, without becoming fearful, said to him:  ‘Why do you want to molest me?  If you want to show how brave you are, take a rod and beat me up to the point of leaving me not even one drop of blood, provided, however, that each drop of blood I shed be one more proof of love, of reparation and of glory which I intend to give to my God.’  And he:  “I don’t have a rod with me to be able to beat you; and if I go fetch it, you will not wait for me.”  And I:  ‘Go ahead – I’ll be waiting for you here.’  So he went off, and I remained with the firm intention of waiting for him.  But to my surprise, I saw that, as he met with another demon, the two were saying:  “It is useless for us to go back.  Why should we beat her, if this must serve to harm us, and as a loss for us?  It is good to make suffer one who does not want to suffer, because he would offend God; but if one wants to suffer, we would do harm to ourselves with our own hands.”  So he did not come back, and I was left mortified.