The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

September 26, 1904

The lamp of Grace. All the pains that Jesus suffered in His Passion were triple.

As I was in my usual state, I heard a voice saying to me:  “There is a lamp which is such that whoever draws near it can light as many little flames as he wants; and these little flames serve to form a crown of honor around the lamp, and to give light to the one who lit them.”  I said to myself:  ‘What a beautiful lamp this is; it has so much light and so much power, that while it gives to others as much light as they want, it remains always what it is, without being impoverished in light.  Who knows who possesses it!’  While I was thinking of this, I heard someone say:  “The lamp is Grace, and God possesses It.  Drawing near it signifies the good will of the soul to do good, because as many goods as one wants to draw from Grace, one can draw.  The little flames that are formed are the different virtues which, while giving glory to God, give light to the soul.”

Then, after this, I saw blessed Jesus for just a little, and He told me:  “My daughter…” (and this, because I was thinking of how Our Lord let Himself be crowned with thorns, not once, but as many as three times; and since those thorns, broken, remained inside His head, as the crown of thorns would be driven in again the thorns which were already there would penetrate deeper.  And I said:  ‘My sweet love, why did You want to suffer this painful martyrdom as many as three times?  Was one time not enough to pay for our evil thoughts?’)  …So, making Himself seen, He said:  “My daughter, not only was the crowning with thorns triple, but almost all the pains I suffered in my Passion were triple.  Triple were the three hours of agony in the garden; triple was the scourging, as they scourged Me with three different types of lashes; three times did they strip Me, and as many as three times was I condemned to death:  at nighttime, early in the morning, and in broad daylight.  Triple were my falls under the Cross; triple the nails; three times did my Heart pour out blood:  in the garden by Itself; in the act of the crucifixion from Its very center, when I was stretched well on the Cross - so much so that my body was all dislocated and my Heart was smashed inside and poured out blood; and after my death, when my side was opened with a lance.  Triple were the three hours of agony on the Cross.  If one wanted to ruminate on everything – oh, how many ‘triples’ he would find!  And this was not by chance, but everything was so because of divine disposition, to render the glory due to the Father complete, as well as the reparation owed to Him by creatures and the good to be earned for creatures themselves.  In fact, the greatest good that the creature has received from God was being created in His image and likeness, and endowed with three powers – intellect, memory and will – and there is no sin that the creature commits in which these three powers do not concur.  So, she stains and disfigures the beautiful divine image that she contains within herself, using the gift to offend the Giver.  And I, in order to restore this divine image in the creature and to give God all the glory that the creature owed Him, concurred with all my intellect, memory and will, in a special way with these ‘triples’ suffered by Me, in order to render both the glory due to the Father and the good which was necessary for creatures complete.”