The incorporeal voice of my inner advisor awakened me at a quarter to six and greeted me like this: “May the Lord manifest Himself more and more to your spirit and instruct you.” He afterwards waited for me to savor this greeting and to become wide awake and then said, “Write.” I sat up, taking the notebook and pen. And he dictated:
“Every action by man always has two witnesses, even if performed secretly: the eyes of God and the angel every man has as a guardian. But there are actions of a special kind which require witnesses among men as well. And they are precisely the actions which, because of their extraordinary nature, make it hard for them to be accepted as ‘simple.’ Simple, as is everything coming from God, who, in his grandiosity, is the simplest Being there is, composed only of Himself and performing pure, upright, straightforward actions: simple actions because they are not contaminated by ulterior motives or disorderly or tortuous. Extraordinary actions and those of Grace are as simple as the Origin they come from. But most men, as a punishment for their willful materiality, can no longer understand this sublime simplicity and deny it or mock it or accuse it of deceit in order to diminish it and thereby diminish God in his manifestations of grace.
“The presence of witnesses taken from among men is, then, required alongside an instrument of God, for the sake of divine prudence. Every instrument of God has witnesses able to testify to the truth and to the way it unfolds before the tribunals having jurisdiction. The great voices and the little voices, the great saints with resounding actions and the saints unknown to most on account of their living in cloisters or the secrecy of their houses have had them. Those called to see apparitions or proclaim a devotion willed by the Lord have had them. And you also have them, a soul chosen to bear the Most Holy Voice to men, who to ‘live’ need to ‘believe, know, and love.’
“Your witnesses are Father, who comforts and aids you, Marta, who takes care of you, and your cousins, saved by you. What witnesses they are of your actions in the Lord! Satan does not work against himself. They belonged to Satan and now belong to God. A testimony thousands of times superior to the one connected with the way you live, eat, and rest. And write without the help of books or other scientific elements suitable for explaining the doctrine as yours, whereas it is given to you by Infinite Wisdom. The world cannot admit this. And it wants to explain everything with a phrase: ‘the help of acquired science.’ No, God - the Most High, whom I worship - is He who speaks and communicates the luminous doctrine. Glory be to the Lord! Other witnesses are the ones that friendships, circumstances, and chance bring to you. In contact with you, knowing, doubting, or completely ignorant of what you are – ‘he spokesman’ - they nonetheless see so much that they can be witnesses tomorrow. And they are needed! They are necessary, soul of mine!
“And here I am ordered by Eternal Wisdom to give you a counsel: when Father Romualdo converses with Superiors of the Order or other persons with proven, secure faith not only in God, but in God’s work in you, let him not keep them from meeting you and questioning you. A painful matter. But even the best men are eternal Thomases. They are convinced only by seeing. What? Why, the instrument, who is simple and balanced in every hour and action. And this counsel, too. In the case of a local Ordinary with a just spirit who offers to examine the writings and asks for explanations and knowledge about you - that cannot move and go - let him be taken the Belfantis’ text as the main proof, and, if necessary, they themselves should get in touch with the one examining. Giuseppe B.’s deposition is of capital importance. Is there already one? It doesn’t matter. If repeated after some time if can only take on ever greater value.
“Dear soul, I have repeated what the Lord said and expanded it by his command. Guide yourself - and Father should guide himself - according to the teaching. For all instruments have and must have their witnesses. May the grace of the Lord always be with you.”
(The sentence concerning the eavesdropping Satan is in the dictation on Satan.)143
Yesterday I was unable to write Jesus’ reply to those questions of mine: “Why, then, must Dora have witnesses? Perhaps because, on emerging from spiritual sleep, she does not recall what she receives during it?”
Jesus then replied to me, although I had directed those questions at myself: “But you, too, have witnesses! Every instrument of God has witnesses. Bernadette as well had her little shepherd companions; Theresa Neumann, relatives and the pastor; and so on. There must be in every case, to testify to the truth.” He said some other things, too, but, not having written it down at once because I was prevented from doing so, I could do nothing but say this so as not to introduce any blunder on my part....
Jesus, who wants this explanation to be clearly understood, commissioned my angelic Advisor to repeat it to me and complete it with two counsels which the day before yesterday were not conveyed, I am sure. With the Angel, I, too, say, “Glory be to the Lord.”
A “voice” - and it does not manifest itself more, but is entirely grace and peace, though forceful and clear, with a distinct Tuscan accent, to the point that I think it is St. Catherine of Siena - says:
“Love stands in relation to the perfection one seeks to reach like breath on coals: it ignites it again, increases its heat, and makes it completely active and splendid. The perfection one seeks to attain just to have peace and glory - that is, out of spiritual egoism - is like extinguished coals; it is black, cold, and useless. Perfection with little love is like a heap of black coals with a single point of flame: one piece of coal.... It languishes, drowses, and risks dying out. But if our love - and it should be pure love, entirely to give glory to God - breathes on it, then all perfection is set aflame and purifies our soul and makes it beautiful and prompt and helpful, like a perfect handmaid for the Divine Will, and worthy, in addition, to burn before the throne where the Lamb shines. The actions of saints - and saints are the perfect doers of the Divine Will - shine together with their prayers in the heavenly thuribles. The more love for the sake of love increases, the more perfection increases. Love totally and you will be completely perfect in the measure the Most Holy Trinity wants from you.
“Who am I? An unknown person among the many. And yet I am your sister because Love made us recluses through our desire to be victims in favor of men, according to his most holy example. I am Giulia. Giulia della Rena, of Certaldo, a virgin and recluse of St. Augustine in the fourteenth century. Blessed in Heaven through the goodness of Love. Today I am remembered in some places. But remembered too little. And I am not grieved because of myself, for I have everything in possessing God. But I am grieved because, if I were remembered, I could say a word of salvation to the world, telling it to go back to love, in which every other virtue is summarized and all peace and glory are concealed.
“Good-bye, sister. Remain in the peace of the Lord.”
12 noon
As regards A.R.,144 my Lord says:
“Satan works and resists and insists a lot and gets a footing, using existing opportunities, for he works on a terrain of caprice and pride. The tears do not reflect repentance over having caused pain, but discouragement over the poor figure he cuts. Pride, then. And coldness of heart. If he loved, he would fight and react to temptation, and it would not get the upper hand so forcefully. But there is no charity towards his mother and sisters. Where love and humility are lacking, the ‘other one’ prospers, and help does little. Without a compassion which would be out of place, make provision by human and supernatural means for combatting in his place, for he does not want to combat. Doctor and priest. And if his pride suffers, all the more is gained. I would like to see it broken in him. I would like to see even him broken rather than see him as my enemy. And to think that he still has so much from Providence! And he curses it! He curses it under the incitement of Satan. But even in the hours of pseudo-calm his subconscious imprecates. And he does so because his conscience is soft and takes pleasure in this habit. That is not right. I am good. But I am not without justice. And the pride and ungratefulness to God of others in the family contribute to A.’s state. Satan truly finds a welcoming atmosphere in certain houses. Demolish pride in him, and it will be easier to free him.”
I say, “I would like to know the difference between him and Dora.”145 Jesus replies:
“Dora is oppressed because Satan would like to terrorize her, separate her from Me, and use her against Me. But she, for the time being, is good. She loves Me in spite of the fact that this love is bringing her afflictions. She is an instrument caught by two opposing forces. But in her there is, for the time being, a desire to belong to a single force. If she perseveres, she will be a useful instrument.
“Ant., who could be in the same condition of double use, lacks the desire to belong to the good Force. And that is because he lacks love for Me. The other thus uses him as he pleases. In the moments of possession he hates Me completely. In the pauses, if he does not accuse Me, he is totally indifferent. In the better moments, the rarest ones, he makes an effort in regard to Goodness, because of his soul’s remembrances. A very sad situation! It would be necessary to stop him before his soul completely consents. Do you remember that lesson on the damned who try to approach God through the just? They feel attraction and repugnance towards God. And it is their torment. He is markedly in this situation. He feels that there is peace in Me and that only God can free him from his torture. But he is unable to love God. Hell is not only in the depths!
“These two points of guidance are for Romualdo and you. Spare the wounded mother, who is not to blame in the fall of her son. Simply exhort her to pray very, very much....”
143 The reference is not clear in this statement, apparently a later addition.
144 The passage may refer to Antonio Raffaelli. See note 127.
145 See note 121.