The Book of Heaven
—Unofficial Version—

August 26, 1908

Constancy in good makes Divine Life grow in the soul.

As I was in my usual state, I was all afflicted and almost dazed because of the usual privations. Then He came, just in passing, and told me: "My daughter, that which I want you to take to heart is constancy in good, both internal and external, because the repetition of the act of loving Me, of many interior acts and of constant good, makes Divine Life grow ever more in the soul – but with such energy, that she can be compared to a child who, growing in good air and with healthy foods, keeps growing well, in full health, until he reaches his proper stature, without needing either doctors or medicines. Even more, he is so robust and strong, that he relieves and helps others.

On the other hand, one who is not constant grows like a child who is not always fed with healthy foods and lives in putrid air. He grows sickly, and since his members do not have the strength to develop and grow due to lack of good nourishment, they develop with defects; and so a tumor forms in one place, an abscess in another. He walks with a limp, he speaks with difficulty; one can say that he is a poor cripple. Though one can see good members mixed in, those with defects are more; and even though he consults doctors and takes medicines, they do him little or no good, because his blood is infected by the putrid air, and his members are weak and defective from malnutrition. So, he will be a man, but he will not reach a proper stature, and will always need help, without being able to help others. Such is the inconstant soul. With inconstancy in good, it is as if the soul nourished herself with foods which are not good; and by applying herself to other things which are not God, it is as if she breathed putrid air. So, Divine Life grows with difficulty and poorly, because It lacks the strength and the vigor of constancy."