Is Luisa Piccarreta's Kingdom of the Divine Will Catholic?

A devastating critique of the "Kingdom of the Divine Will" movement, based on Luisa Piccarreta's own words, as compared with the teachings of the Church, by a priest of the Diocese of Arlington.

Fr. Terrence Staples

In the following pages, evidence will be given to demonstrate that the writings of Luisa Piccarreta contain many doctrines which are completely contrary to the Catholic faith which comes to us from the Apostles. It seems there are two principal errors from which many others flow. These two principal errors will be documented and some of the other errors will also be briefly mentioned.

The first principal error in Luisa's writings is that they clearly violate the Catholic notion of Divine Revelation. She clearly states that what she has received is a new revelation, never before communicated to the Church, which is necessary for all the faithful to adhere to and understand if they hope to attain to the new and higher level of beatitude which God desires for all his children and has made available solely through her writings. She claims to be the founder of a totally new dispensation, a new way of holiness, a new way of being united with God which has only been lived by three people before Luisa: Adam and Eve (before the Fall) and Mary. These "revelations" cannot be true because they contradict the church's teaching on the nature of divine revelation and the role of private revelation in the Church.

The second principal error in Luisa's writings pertain to her notion of how the human will is related to, and cooperates with, the divine will. Luisa clearly and repeatedly teaches that when one receives this new "Sacrament" of the Divine Will the human will ceases to function as such and the Divine Will acts in the creature in such a way that the action is purely divine. This notion has been condemned by the Church when dealing with the Christological heresy of monothelitism.

The first principal error in Luisa's messages is that they cannot be reconciled with the Church's understanding of divine revelation. The following texts define some of the essential characteristics of divine revelation:

 

1. "The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord, Jesus Christ (cf. I Tim 6:14, 1 Tit. 2:13)." (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), para. 4.)

2. "Everything we need for holiness and increase in faith has been handed on from the Apostles once and for all (cf. Jude 3). What was handed on by the apostles comprises everything that serves to make the People of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes." (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), para. 8.)

    

3. "And Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit." (Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), para. 9.)

    

4. "Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church."

   "Christian faith cannot accept 'revelations' that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such 'revelations.'" (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 67.)

Luisa's writings clearly contradict these teachings of the Church. This contradiction can be seen in the following selections from her writings. The format used in this critique is as follows: first Her words are cited and numbered and a brief commentary follows.

1. Jesus to Luisa: "Having sent forth from the bosom of my Creative Power the first two FIATs, I wish to emit the third FIAT, since I cannot contain my Love any longer. This will complete the work that poured forth from Me. Otherwise, the work of Creation as well as Redemption would remain incomplete. " (Piccarreta, Luisa. When the Divine Will Reigns in Souls, Book of Heaven: A selection of Passages. [Hereafter referenced as BH] The Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will. Jacksonville, FL. 1995. P. 119.)

   Comment: According to Luisa, the first two fiats were the creation and the flat of Mary. This third flat, made by Luisa, completes the work of creation and redemption. Here Luisa is claiming that via her 'private revelation' God is revealing to the entire Church the full meaning of creation and redemption. Furthermore, she is claiming that without her the redemption would remain incomplete! According to Church teaching (cf. Above), Christ's definitive revelation which He entrusted to the Apostles cannot be added to or surpassed.

    

2. Jesus to Luisa: "Now, daughter, you also [i.e. along with Mary] are unique in my Mind; and you will be unique in history. There will not be -- either before or after you -- any other creature for whom I will obligate through necessity the assistance of my Ministers.... How much attention is required from you and them. You, in receiving from Me, as a second mother, The Great Gift Of My Will and to know all Its qualities, and my ministers in receiving It from you To Fulfill In My Church The 'Fiat Voluntas Tua' in Heaven as It is on earth." (p. 12, BH).

   Comment: Luisa is saying that the ministers of the Church must receive from her the message of the Divine Will in order to fulfill God's plan. One cannot be obligated through necessity to follow a private revelation.

    

3. Luisa claims supremacy over all the Church. Jesus to Luisa: "Since my Mother was entrusted to Me and, being a Priest to Her, I entrusted to Her as a sanctuary all the laws, precepts and doctrines that the Church needed to possess. And, faithful as She was and zealous for even one of my words so they would not be lost, She deposited them in my faithful disciple, John. And for that reason my Mother has supremacy over all the Church. In the same way I have done this with you. Being necessary to serve the Fiat Voluntas Tua to all the Church, I have entrusted you to one of my ministers so that you might deposit in him everything I reveal to you about my Will: The Goods that it contains and how the creature should enter into it and how the paternal kindness wants to open another era of grace, putting the goods he possesses in heaven in common with the creature and restoring to man his lost happiness." (p. 14 BH).

   Comment: Luisa is claiming to have received a new "deposit" of faith which parallels the revelation given to the Apostles.

    

4. Luisa: new way of union, new way of praying; Our Lord to Luisa, "...it is certain that I have called you first over other souls. Because to no other souls, however much I have loved them, have I shown How to live in my Will, The effects, the marvels, the riches that the creature receives who acts in my supreme will. Search the lives of the Saints as much as you wish or in books of doctrine and you will not find the wonders of My Will working in the creature and the creature acting in my will. The most you will find will be resignation, abandonment, the union of wills, but the divine will working in the creature and the creature in my will, you will not find this in anyone. This signifies that the time had not arrived in which my kindness would call the creature to live in such a sublime state. Moreover, even the way I ask you to pray is not found in any other..." (p. xix, BH).

   Comment: Notice here that Luisa does not claim that her teachings are in any way connected with the Tradition received. They are coming from outside what has been handed on. There is a genuine development of doctrine within the Church which is described in Dei Verbum, especially paragraph 8. This document says, "The Tradition that comes from the apostles makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on." Every legitimate development in the Church must be organically connected to the Tradition: it builds upon and deepens what is already present. Classically, legitimate development can be compared to the growth of a plant, e.g. Jesus compares the Kingdom to the growth of a mustard seed. Over the years it gradually expands and yet remains the same plant. The First Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, c. 4, sets forth the proper understanding of "the true progress of knowledge, both natural and revealed: "For, the doctrine of faith which God revealed has not been handed down as a philosophic invention to the human mind to be perfected, but has been entrusted as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully guarded and infallibly interpreted. Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding [can. 31.] "Therefore...let the understanding, the knowledge, and wisdom of individuals as of all, of one man as of the whole Church, grow and progress strongly with the passage of the ages and the centuries; but let it be solely in its own genus, namely in the same dogma, with the same sense and the same understanding." (DS 1800).

    

   Luisa's new revelations are not, by her own admission, connected with the mind of the Church which is rooted in the Tradition. They cannot represent a genuine development of doctrine.

    

   Some will argue, "But Luisa's writings fulfill the Lord's prayer, doesn't that imply they are rooted in the Tradition?" This begs the question. The question is, do her writings fulfill the Lord's prayer? And, how do we know? We must interpret the Scriptures with the mind of the Church. We cannot base our interpretation on a private revelation. Vatican II teaches: "But since sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted with its divine authorship in mind, no less attention must be devoted to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture, taking into account the Tradition of the entire Church and the analogy of faith, if we are to derive their true meaning from the sacred texts" (DV #12). Luisa's interpretation of the Lord's prayer is completely novel by her own admission. She says, "It is true that ever since I came to the earth the Church prays the 'Our Father' which asks that my Kingdom come so that my Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven. But who thinks of what they are asking for? It can be said that all the importance of this request remained in my Will and that creatures pray it only to pray it, without really comprehending, nor having real interest in obtaining what they are asking for" (BH, p. 19). Luisa clearly states that the interpretation she is giving to the Our Father is without precedent and is not rooted in Tradition. Her teachings have not developed from the Tradition and are foreign to the analogy of faith. No teaching of the Church or interpretation of Scripture can be based solely on private revelation without reference to the living Tradition. Luisa teaches explicitly that her doctrine is not a development from Tradition but a new revelation. Therefore, her doctrine does not fulfill the Lord's prayer according to Catholic interpretation.

    

5. Jesus to Luisa, "Then the Divine Will will breathe through their soul. It will give the soul the life, the effects, and the value of Life in my Will. But if it is not known, how will they be able to love and to want such a holy life. It is the greatest glory that the creature can give Me."
   
   "The sanctity of the other virtues is quite known throughout the Church and whoever wants can imitate it. For that reason I am in no hurry to disseminate its knowledge. But the sanctity of living in My Will, its effects, the worth that it contains, the final touch that my creative hand will give the creature to make him similar to me is not yet known. This is why it is urgent that all I have said to you be known. And if you do not do this, you would, so to speak, restrict my Will and repress in Me the flames that consume Me and cause Me to delay the complete glory that creation owes Me." (p. 2 BH)

   Comment: Clearly, Luisa is claiming that only through the revelations she has received can someone attain the knowledge necessary to reach the highest degree of sanctity. Without her writings, this knowledge is simply unknown to the Church. The Church teaches otherwise: "Everything we need for holiness and increase in faith has been handed on from the Apostles 'once and for all' (cf. Jude 3): What was handed on by the apostles comprises everything that serves to make the People of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith." (DV 8)

6. Jesus to Luisa: "My daughter, my Will is the Sanctity of Sanctities. Therefore, the soul that does my Will according to the perfection that I teach you, that is, on earth as It is in Heaven, no matter how little, unknown, or ignorant she my be, she will surpass all the other Saints despite their prodigies, striking conversions and miracles. Moreover, the souls who do my Will, as in my Third 'Fiat,' are the queens; and all the others are as if they were at their service. The souls that do my Will in this manner appear as though they do nothing, yet they do everything. Because by remaining in my Will they act divinely, secretly and in a surpassing way. Such souls are the fights that illuminate, winds that purify, fire that bums, miracles that make miracles occur because it is in these souls that the power to perform them resides. Whereas those doing the miracles are only channels" (BH, p. 38).

   Comment: Luisa is very clear in saying that with her "Third Fiat" a new way of doing God's will is opened to the Church. Her new way allows us to surpass all the other saints in holiness. Without this "revelation," the teachings and Sacraments of the Church as they have come to us through Scripture and Tradition are inept to bring us to the level of sanctification God desires us to have. If we want to attain the highest levels of sanctity we must adhere to this private revelation. This is not Catholic teaching.

    

7. Jesus to Luisa: "With three FIATs I will complete the work of sanctification in man.... The generations will not cease until my Will reigns on earth. My Redemptive FIAT will interpose itself between the Creative FIAT and the Sanctifying FIAT. They will entwine, all three together, and bring to fulfillment the sanctification of man. The Third FIAT (i.e. Luisa's) will give creatures such grace that they will return almost to their original state. Only when I have seen man as he emerged from Me, will my work be complete. Then will I enjoy perpetual repose in this, my last FIAT. Only the Life of my Will shall return man anew to his original state. Therefore, be attentive and together with Me, help Me accomplish the sanctification of creatures." (P. 125, BH).

   Comment: Again Luisa claims that without this private revelation the redemption remains incomplete and we cannot understand the full meaning of creation. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 67 cited above (p. 3, #4), even approved private revelations cannot add to the deposit of faith. Based on this fact, the following criteria for judging a private revelation can be given: the teaching given in any private revelation must be demonstrable from Scripture and Tradition apart from any reference to the private revelation itself. In other words, the deposit of faith, "everything we need for holiness and increase of faith," can stand on its own without any private revelation; this is the teaching of the Church. Luisa's revelations cannot be accepted because they attempt to add to the deposit of faith. Where in the Tradition, for example, do we have the teaching that a third Fiat would be necessary to bring our sanctification and redemption to completion? This is not only absent from the deposit of faith, it contradicts it!

    

   John Paul II while visiting Fatima demonstrated how the teachings of private revelations must meet the criteria of being already present in Tradition. He said, "The Church has always taught and continues to proclaim that God's revelation was brought to completion in Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of that revelation, and that "no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord" (Dei Verbum, 4). The Church evaluates and judges private revelations by the criterion of conformity with that single public Revelation. If the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is above all because that message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and the call of the Gospel itself." (Pope John Paul 11. Homily at Mass in Fatima May 13, 1982.)

    

8. Jesus to Luisa: "This is the Supreme Unity. There also exists the poor and lowly union in which the soul is resigned to my Will. Yes, but such a soul does not see my dispositions as her own, as her life. Neither is she happy in my Will; nor does she lose her will in Mine. I see that one, yes; but she does not manage to enamor Me. Nor does she cause Me to become enchanted with love for her, as happens with the one who lives in the Supreme Unity." (BH, p. 38).

   Comment: Luisa claims that Jesus has revealed to her a new way of achieving "Supreme Unity" with God. All the saints that lived before she made her "Third Fiat" could only achieve "the poor and lowly union in which the soul is resigned to my [God's] Will." Thus, St. Joseph, St. Francis, St. John of the Cross, etc..., only achieved a "poor and lowly union" with God; whereas, through Luisa's "Fiat" and through her writings, those who are alive today can achieve a much more sublime "Supreme Unity" with God. This teaching obviously does not come to us from the Apostles.

   St. Thomas Aquinas accurately portrays the Tradition with respect to the possibility of the coming of a "new era" before the Second Corning. He says, "there is a threefold state of mankind; the first was under the Old Law; the second is that of the New Law; the third will take place not in this life, but in heaven." Furthermore, he says, "we are not to look forward to a state wherein man is to possess the grace of the Holy Ghost more perfectly than he has possessed it hitherto, especially the apostles who 'received the first fruits of the Spirit, i.e. sooner and more abundantly than others. . . "' (Summa Theologiae, 1-11, 106).

    

9. Jesus to Luisa: "...in my All-Seeingness I see that these writings will be for my church as a new sun that will rise in her midst. And men, attracted by its radiation light, will strive to transform themselves into this light to become spiritualized and divinized, thereby, renewing the Church, they shall transform the face of the earth." (p. 3,4 BH).

    

10. Jesus to Luisa: "These revelations regarding my Volition will be as a balm to heal the wounds produced by the human will. Whoever has the benefit of this knowledge will feel the flow of a new life of light, of grace and of strength to fulfill my Will in everything.... My daughter, the Kingdom of my Will is invincible. In these writings I have placed superabundant light, grace and attraction to make my kingdom victorious. To the extent that these writings become know, they will wage a sweet battle against the human will and will win." (p. 16, BH).

     

11. Luisa to Jesus: "By living in this Divine Volition, the soul is clothed in a light similar to the light of the One in Whom she lives. And even in Heaven she will shine more brightly than the others and will be for the very Saints the cause of Greater glory." (p. 23).

     

12. "I [Luisa], upon hearing this, said to myself: 'Soon He will say that his Will is more than Sacramental Communion Itself.' Then He immediately added: 'Right! Right! Because Sacramental Communion lasts a few minutes. It is temporary. My Will, on the other hand, is perennial Communion.... That is why I want so badly for my creatures to take my Will. This is what matters most to Me, what interests Me most. And nothing else interests Me so much, not even the most holy things. Only when I obtain that the soul live on my Will do I feel triumphant, because in this is contained the greatest good there can be in Heaven and on earth." (p. 36-37. BH).

    Comment: Here, Luisa claims Jesus told her that God's greatest desire is that we adhere to this private revelation and so enter into the Divine Will. The Church cannot make this teaching her own because she cannot obligate the faithful to adhere to private revelations. For example, the Pope could not embrace Luisa's writings and pronounce: "God's greatest desire is that all the faithful embrace Luisa's private revelations." The following excerpt from Poulain's classic book puts private revelations in their proper perspective:

     

    With regard to the special revelations that have been made to the saints, belief in them is not required by the Church even when she approves them. . . . "It matters little" (says Melchior Cano) "whether or no one believes in St. Bridget's revelations or those of other saints, these things have nothing to do with faith" (De locis theologicis, Book XII, ch. iii).

     

    Benedict XIV is quite clear with regard to this question. "What is to be said of those private revelations which the Apostolic See has approved of, those of the Blessed Hildegard [which were approved [in part by Eugene III], of St. Bridget [by Boniface IX], and of St. Catherine of Siena [by Gregory XI]? We have already said that those revelations, although approved of, ought not to, and cannot, receive from us any assent of Catholic, but only of human faith, according to the rules of prudence, according to which the aforesaid revelations are probable, and piously to be believed [probabiles et pie credibles]" (De canon., Book 111, ch. Liii, No. 15; Book II, ch. Xxxii, No. 11. Eng. trans.: Benedict XIV on Heroic Virtue, Vol. III, ch. xiv).

     

    "Cardinal Pitra says the same: 'Everyone knows that we are fully at liberty to believe or not to believe in private revelations, even those most worthy o credence. Even when the Church approves them, they are merely received as probable, and not as indubitable. They are not to be used as deciding questions of history, natural philosophy, philosophy, or theology which are matters of controversy between the Doctors. It is quite permissible to differ from these revelations, even when approved, if we are relying upon solid reasons, and especially if the contrary doctrine is proved by unimpeachable documents and definite experience.' (Book on St. Hildegard, p. xvi)." (Poulain, A., S.J., The Graces of Interior Prayer. B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, MO., 1950. p. 320-321.)

     

    Jesus is allegedly saying through Luisa that to live according to her revelations is the "greatest good there can be in Heaven and on earth." Furthermore, the gift of the Divine Will, which can only be understood and received through Luisa's 4 revelations', surpasses the Eucharist as an efficacious source of spiritual growth!! [cf. Also citation 913 below]. If this is true, we can no longer say that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the spiritual life. The Second Vatican Council contradicts Luisa:

     

    Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.... From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to which all other activities of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achieved in the most efficacious possible way. (SC, para. 10)

In summary, Luisa's writings claim to complete and surpass the revelation we have received from the Apostles. She also claims that apart from her revelations, the Sacraments and Tradition of the Church are inept to bring the faithful to the highest degree of sanctification which God strongly wills for all His children. The Church teaches that everything we need for holiness and increase in faith has been handed on from the Apostles "once and for all' (cf. Jude 3). Luisa explicitly denies that her doctrine has developed from the Tradition, rather, she insists that it is a new revelation to be given to the whole Church. If Luisa's writings are true we will have to amend the First Eucharistic Prayer: "...We offer them [the gifts] for all who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the Apostles...and Luisa."

To understand the proper relationship between the human and the divine will we must understand how the human and divine wills operated within Christ Himself If anyone operated "in the divine will" as understood in Luisa's writings it would have to be the man, Jesus Christ. In fact, Luisa claims that the whole purpose of the new revelations she has received is to enable human persons to act as Christ Himself acted on the earth. If we examine the nature of Christ as defined by the great councils of the Church, we find that Luisa's writings are fundamentally opposed to, and incompatible with, the teachings of the Church. In the following pages I will present the teachings of the Church regarding the nature of Christ and then present a sample of Luisa's writings which contradict the said teachings.

The following paragraphs are taken from the Third Council of Constantinople (680-681). This council condemned the Monothelites who proposed that in Christ there was in effect only one will, the divine will, and that Christ's human will was totally absorbed into the divine.

Ecumenical VI (against the Monothelites)

Definition of the Two Wills of Christ

Besides both in Synodical letters which were written by blessed Cyril against the impious Nestorius and to the oriental bishops, following also the five holy ecumenical councils and the holy and trusted Fathers, and defining harmoniously with them it confesses that our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, one of the holy and consubstantial Trinity and giving forth the origin of life, perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man, Himself of a rational soul and body; it confesses the same consubstantial with the Father according to Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to humanity, through all things like to us except in sin [Heb. 4:15], before ages, indeed, begotten of the Father according to Godhead, in the last days, however, the same for us and for our salvation of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary properly and truly the mother of God according to humanity, one and the same Christ, the only begotten Lord God in two natures recognized unfusedly, unchangeably, inseparably, indivisibly, never the difference of these natures destroyed on account of union, but rather the property of each nature saved and in one person and in one substance concurring, not into two persons portioned or divided but one and the same only begotten Son of God the Word. our Lord Jesus Christ, just as formerly the prophets taught us about Him, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us [Conc. Chal., see n. 148].

 

And so we proclaim two natural wills in Him, and two natural operations indivisibly, inconvertibly, inseparably, unfusedly according to the doctrine of the holy Father, and two natural wills not contrary, God forbid, according as impious heretics have asserted, but the human will following and not resisting or hesitating, but rather even submitting to His divine and omnipotent will. For, it is necessary that the will of the flesh act, but that it be subject to the divine will according to the most wise Athanasius. For, as His flesh is called and is the flesh of the Word of God, so also the natural will of His flesh is called and is the proper will of the Word of God as He Himself says: "Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of my Father who sent me), [cf. John 6:3 8], calling the will of the flesh His own. For the body became His own. For as His most holy and immaculate animated flesh deified has not been destroyed but in its own status and plan remained, so also His human will deified has not been destroyed, but on the contrary it has been saved according to the theologian Gregory who says: "For to wish of that one an entire deification, which is understood in the Savior, is not contrary to God.

 

But we glorify two natural operations indivisibly, inconvertibly, unfusedly, inseparably 'in our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our true God, that is, the divine operation and the human operation, according to Leo the divine preacher who very clearly asserts: "For each form does what is proper to itself with the mutual participation of the other, that is, the Word doing what is of the Word and the flesh accomplishing what is of the flesh" [see n. 144]. For at no time shall we grant one natural operation to God and to the creature, so that neither what was created, we raise into divine essence, nor what is especially of divine nature, we cast down to a place begetting creatures. For of one and the same we recognize the miracles and the sufferings according to the one and the other of these natures from which He is and in which He has to be as the admirable Cyril says. Therefore we, maintaining completely an unconfused and undivided (opinion), In a brief statement set forth all: that we, believing that He is one of the Holy Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ our true God, and after the incarnation assert that His two natures radiate in His one substance, in which His miracles and His sufferings through all His ordained life, not through phantasy but truly He has shown, on account of the natural difference which is recognized in the same single substance, while with the mutual participation of the other, each nature indivisibly and without confusion willed and performed its own works; according to this plan we confess two natural wills and operations concurring mutually in Him for the salvation of the human race.

 

These things, therefore, having been determined by us with all caution and diligence, we declare that no one is permitted to introduce, or to describe, or to compare, or to study, or otherwise to teach another faith. But whoever presumes to compare or to introduce or to teach or to pass on another creed to those wishing to turn from the belief of the Gentiles or of the Jews or from any heresy whatsoever to the acknowledgment of truth, or who (presumes) to introduce a novel doctrine or an invention of discourse to the subversion of those things which now have been determined by us, (we declare) these, whether they are bishops or clerics, to be excommunicated, bishops indeed from the bishopric, but priests from the priesthood; but if they are monks or laymen, to be anathematized.

Given this clear description of the relationship between the two wills in Christ, we now present Luisa's teachings with a few comments.

 

13. Jesus says to Luisa: "Ah, I repeat and I confirm to you that my Will is Sacrament and surpasses all the sacraments together in a way that is much more admirable, since it needs no one's intervention nor anything material. The Sacrament of my Will is formed between my Will and the will of a soul. When both wills melt into each other they form the Sacrament. My will is Life, and the soul who is disposed to receive Life is holy and receives Holiness, is strong and receives Fortitude, and likewise everything else." (p. 106, BH).

    Comment: In this text, Jesus is explaining what happens when one receives this gift of the Divine will. This statement describing the nature of the union between the human and the divine will cannot be said even of Christ Himself To say His human will was melted into, or was fused with, his divine will, is heretical: "we proclaim two natural wills in Him, and two natural operations indivisibly, inconvertibly, inseparably, unfusedly."

     

14. "When a soul acts in my Will her humanity is, as it were, suspended. Then the Divine Life of my Love takes its place and acts; and, as it acts in a creature, my love finds itself unburdened of its desire for expression." (p. 86, BH).

    Comment: All the human actions of Christ proceed from his human nature in submission to the divine will. You cannot say that when Jesus acted on earth His divine will suspended, or took the place of, his human will and proceeded to act in the creature. The two wills in Christ are "inconvertible."

     

15. "...to live in My Will is to reign in It and with It, while to do My Will is to be at My orders. ...To live in My Will is to live with a single Will -- God's Will -- a Will all Holy, all Pure, all Peace. And since one Will alone reigns, there are no conflicts; all is peace." (Citation taken from a pamphlet: The Kingdom of the Divine will: An Introduction to the Fulfillment of the Lord's Prayer. The Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will. p. 22.)

    Comment: Here Luisa clearly differentiates between acting in submission to God's will, and her new way of acting which entails God's will itself reigning and acting in the person. The Church teaches that the human will acts in submission to the divine: "...the human will following and not resisting or hesitating, but rather even submitting to His divine and omnipotent will. For, it is necessary that the will of the flesh act, but that it be subject to the divine will according to the most wise Athanasius."

16. Jesus to Luisa: "Thus the soul, until she is buried in my Will and dies completely in It, by disintegrating her volition in Mine, cannot come forth again to a new Divine Life with the resurgence of all the virtues of Christ which contain the true Sanctity." (p. 28, BH).

     

17. Jesus says to Luisa: "Although sorrow for one's faults is good and praiseworthy, it does not destroy one's own essence. On the other hand, abandoning oneself completely in my Will destroys one's own essence and causes one to reacquire the Divine Essence.... And in reacquiring God, she reacquires all the benefits that God Himself possesses. It is only when the soul is completely in the Will of God that she reacquires God. And if she leaves my Will, she reacquires her own essence, together with all the evils of her corrupt nature." (BH, p. 29).

    Comment: This obviously contradicts Church teaching: "For at no time shall we grant one natural operation to God and to the creature, so that neither what was created, we raise into divine essence, nor what is especially of divine nature, we cast down to a place begetting creatures."

     

18. Jesus to Luisa: "The only thing that should matter to you is that you dissolve your Will completely in Mine, because for him who lives in my Will, it is intimate union, not just for a quarter of an hour [reference to receiving communion] but always, always. Since my Will is in continuous Communion with the soul, not only once a day, but every hour, every moment, it is always Communion for him who lives in my Will." (BH, p. 34).

     

19. Jesus to Luisa: "They will no longer act on the human plane, but will penetrate into my Will; and their acts, now all divine, will be multiplied for all creatures." (p. 94 BH).

     

20. Jesus to Luisa: "'My daughter, I [Jesus] recommend that you never go out of my Will, because my Will contains such power that It is a new baptism for the soul. It is, moreover, more than Baptism itself For in the sacraments my grace is received in a limited way, whereas in my Will, all the fullness of grace is received. In Baptism, Original Sin is taken away, but the passions, the weakness remain. On the other hand, in my Will, by destroying its own will, the soul destroys her passions, her weakness, and all there is that is human, and lives on the Divine virtues, strength, and all the Divine qualities.' I [Luisa], upon hearing this, said to myself. 'Soon He will say that his Will is more than Sacramental Communion Itself " Then He immediately added: 'Right! Right! Because Sacramental Communion lasts a few minutes. It is temporary. My Will, on the other hand, is perennial Communion.... That is why I want so badly for my creatures to take my Will. This is what matters most to Me, what interests Me most. And nothing else interests Me so much, not even the most holy things. Only when I obtain that the soul live on my Will do I feel triumphant, because in this is contained the greatest good there can be in Heaven and on earth." (p. 36-37. BH).

     

21. Jesus to Luisa: "To enter [into the Divine Will], creatures need but remove the pebble of their own will. Although it lies within my Will, their will does not participate nor enjoy Its effects. It is alien to my Will because that pebble, a soul's own will, hinders the flow of my Will, just as the rocks on a beach keep the ocean water from flowing everywhere. But if a soul removes the rock of her own will, in that very same instant she flows in Me and I in her; and she finds all My goods at her disposal: power, light, assistance and everything she desires. That is why there are no special paths, nor doors, nor keys to my Will. A soul has but to desire it and all is done. My Will assumes all the work, gives the soul what she lacks, and makes her expand into all the limitless boundaries of my Will. With virtues it is just the opposite. How many efforts are needed, how many battles, how many long paths..." (BH, p. 123).

In conclusion it should be pointed out that often the saints will use hyperbole to express their desire to be totally at the service of God. They may speak in "mystical language." For example, St. Paul says, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me"; or someone might say, "the Lord consumed my soul" or "Lord, may my will die in you" etc.... However, Luisa is presenting a theological argument for a totally new way of acting. She is not saying "may God's will be done in me" in the traditional sense of the expression, i.e. "May 1, by grace, faithfully obey God's will." On the contrary, she is saying quite literally "God's will performs good works in me apart from any intervention or cooperation from my human will." As was clearly shown above, this cannot be said of Jesus Himself. His human will always acted in obedience to the Divine. His Divine will did not take the place of the human; the human will was not melted into, or suspended by, the divine. Rather, Jesus' human will acted by its own human power of operation. According to Luisa's description of what it means to "live in the Divine will" we must conclude that Christ Himself did not live such a life...nor can we.

22. "Jesus said to me [Luisa]: 'My dear one, look at how for the one who lives in my Volition there is no grace that goes forth from my Will toward all the creatures in Heaven or on earth in which he [i.e. the one who lives in the Divine Will] is not the first to take part. This is natural because he who lives in the house of his father abounds in his possessions. And if those on the outside receive anything, it is in virtue of him who lives inside." (p.25, BH).

    Comment: Evidently, to live in the Divine Will is to join Our Lady as mediatrix of all graces!

     

23. Living in the divine will: your soul is consecrated in all the Hosts. Luisa: "I complained to Jesus that I couldn't even hear Holy Mass, and Jesus said: 'My daughter, aren't I the sacrifice? When I am sacrificed, the soul that lives with Me in my Will is sacrificed together with Me, not only in one Mass, but in all Masses from the first to the last. Since she lives in my Will the soul is consecrated in all the Hosts. Never leave my Will and I will take you wherever you want. Furthermore, such an electric current of communication will pass between us that you will not do one act without Me. Nor will I do any act without you. Therefore, when you have need of something, such as to hear Mass, enter into my Will and you will immediately find what you seek: as many Masses as you wish, as many Communions as you wish, as much love as you wish. Nothing is lacking in my Will. Not only will you find all things, but you will find them in a divine and infinite manner." (BH, pp. 86-87).

    Comment: To participate fruitfully in the Mass we must be conscious of what we are doing, a human act is involved at some level. We cannot be unconsciously offering ourselves and consecrating ourselves in every Mass all over the world and certainly not in all the Masses which were ever offered before we were born!

     

24. After Jesus tells Luisa how her sufferings and prayers were instrumental in the establishment of the new "Kingdom of the Supreme Fiat," He adds: "The same thing occurred in the Redemption. If our Justice had not found the prayers, the sighs, the tears, the penances of the Patriarchs, Prophets and all the good people of the Old Testament and, moreover, a Virgin Queen who possessed our Will integrally and who took everything upon Herself with so many unceasing prayers, taking upon Herself the work of making satisfaction for all the human race, our Justice never would have conceded to the descent of the desired Redeemer among creatures. Our Justice would have been inexorable and would have given a resounding NO to my coming to earth." (BH, p. 18).

    Comment: Luisa is claiming that God had to first satisfy His justice by looking to the merits of human beings before He could send his Son. This is totally false. The Incarnation and Redemption was completely unmerited. If the Patriarchs, Prophets, Mary, etc..., did anything meritorious it was by the foreseen merits and grace of Christ!

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