An Introduction to Living in the Divine Will:
33 Lessons from Luisa Piccarreta
St. Joseph's Solutions
ISBN 9781957168081
eISBN 9781957168098
ASIN B0DJTZTXPB
This was my first volume by Daniel but it will not be the last. I have already picked up another and added a couple more to my ‘wish list’. I read this as part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading. I picked up the eBook to follow along, as a part time student. I fell behind on the readings at first because work and home life were both very busy. But once I got going reading this and following along with Daniel’s videos was an excellent experience. It was a very hard volume to put down. The description of the bookm is:
““Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”(Matthew 6:10) These words are found within the supreme prayer of Christianity—the Our Father—and they are the very climax of History’s Greatest Prayer. The great Father of the Church, St. John Cassian, said of these eleven words, “There cannot be a greater prayer.” Jesus told the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta that within these eleven words is found everything He taught her about “Living in the Divine Will.” Although Jesus’ words to her span thousands of pages, they can be accurately described as simply “a commentary on Matthew 6:10.” And this short book before you now is a commentary on that commentary—an introduction to these messages which Jesus entrusted to Luisa.
With 33 simple lessons of exactly 3 pages each, this short book serves as a straightforward introduction to the topic that can also be effectively used for group study, book clubs, and for a 33 Day Consecration to the Divine Will.”
The sections in the volume are:
1. Lesson One: Introduction
Housekeeping Notes and 33 Day Consecrations
Ch. I: On Luisa Herself
2. Luisa’s Early Life
3. St. Hannibal and Luisa
4. Luisa’s Condemnation and Triumph
5. Luisa’s Advice
Ch. II: Catholic Foundations
6. Sacred Scripture
7. The Fathers of the Church
8. The Doctors of the Church
9. The Final Preparations
Ch. III: The Gift in Other Mystics
10. St. Faustina
11. Blessed Conchita
12. More Saints in the Divine Will
13. Fr. Walter Ciszek
Ch. IV: The Gift of Living in the Divine Will
14. Still More Heralds of the Gift
15. The Gift Itself
16. Preparing for the Gift
17. Asking for the Gift
Ch. V: The Virgin & the Passion
18. The Passion of the Christ
19. The Hours of the Passion
20. The Glories of Mary
21. The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom
Ch. VII: Growing in the Gift
22. Acts in the Divine Will
23. Rounds in the Divine Will
24. Knowledge and Virtue
25. Humility, Peace, and Courage
Ch. VII: The Era of Peace
26. Why the Era?
27. No Fear!
28. The Story of History
29. Prophecies Abounding
Ch. VIIII: Proclaiming the Kingdom
30. Our Mission, Should We Choose to Accept It
31. Evangelization in the Divine Will
32. Till the Soil And Cry Out Continuously
33. Be Evangelists of the Third Fiat
Appendices
1. Continuing Your Journey in the Divine Will
2. On the Concerns
3. The Rosary and the Moment of Death
4. God’s Final Effort: Divine Mercy and Divine Will
5. 33 Day Consecration
Consecration Day
A Prayer of Consecration to the Divine Will
6. Selected Prayers
Endnotes
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this book, some of them are:
“The Gift, Jesus tells Luisa, contains within itself everything you could ever legitimately want: security in salvation, fullness of sanctification, the deliverance from any stay in Purgatory, complete happiness even here on earth, an invincible peace that will render even the heaviest of crosses easy to shoulder, and a call to engage in a world-changing mission that surpasses all other missions, so much so that undertaking it makes it impossible to experience boredom or a sense of meaninglessness ever again.”
“The only “downside” is that you must die. That is, you must die to self; to the self-will: for you must give your total “Fiat” to God. He can only give you His Divine Will if you give Him your own human will. He needs from us a blank check; not a generous one.”
“Jesus will make up for what we lack, and give us infinitely more than we deserve. If we let Him.”
“We must obey and make ourselves saints, not for our interest, but for the glory of God. So, banish every doubt, since doubt, fear and agitation do not come from God, but from the devil; rather, think of loving and doing the Will of God, because with doubts we displease the Lord much more than if we sinned...”
“Here and elsewhere, Luisa was intent on reminding people not to dwell on their sins, their past, their weaknesses, or their miseries and doubts; but instead to focus on trusting in and loving Jesus.”
“If your will is in God’s, everything else is accomplished.”
“At this unique moment in the history of the world, the fitting time has at long last arrived in which God wishes to give us His Own Will—the Gift that contains every imaginable gift—the true Crown and Completion of all Sanctity both in Heaven and on earth. This Gift entails not only the grace to do God’s Will perfectly but also the total immersion of your human will within His Will, so that this Divine Will becomes the life principle of your soul even as your soul is the life principle of your body.”
““Jesus, I Trust in You. Thy Will be Done. I give You my will, please give me Yours in return.””
“Therefore, Fiat in everything. After experiencing any pain, suffering, disappointment, or the like, we should immediately respond, “Thank you, Jesus. Your Will be done.” This approach to life will quickly render you completely invincible.”
“Yes, God really does extend this unfathomable honor to us. And even if it is such a glorious invitation as to baffle the mind, it is entirely orthodox. We remain exactly what we are—even the Gift of Living in the Divine Will is a grace, not an “ontological change”—yet we are drawn into the highest calling that can possibly exist.”
“Perhaps, right now, the only thing needed for the Kingdom to come is one more zealous soul; one more missionary of the Divine Mercy and Divine Will whose heart is on fire for the glory of God, the salvation and sanctification of His children, and the Reign of Christ. Perhaps that soul is you.”
“As we noted from the onset, various bad interpretations of Luisa’s writings have unfortunately long circulated, and these bogus, even heretical, interpretations have also prompted a number of prominent but misled critics to condemn Luisa’s writings themselves. Although the Church has ruled against these critics by the Vatican bestowing its own approval (via the August 2024 announcement of a Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Nihil Obstat; currently the highest level of approval the Church gives to a private revelation), it is also true that the critics’ arguments themselves have been definitively addressed and refuted.”
“Remember that, thus far, we have already had a Pope—St. John Paul II—who declared that the very purpose of his Pontificate was the Divine Mercy revelations of St. Faustina. And I believe that we will also have a Pope who takes a similar approach to Jesus’ words to Luisa.”
“Prayer for Luisa’s Beatification O Most Holy Trinity, Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us that, as we pray we should ask that our Father’s Name be always glorified so that his will be done on earth and that his Kingdom should come to reign among us. In our great desire to make known this Kingdom of love, justice and peace we humbly ask that You glorify your Servant Luisa, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will who, with her constant prayer and suffering, deeply yearned for the salvation of souls and the coming of God’s Kingdom in the world. Following her example, we pray to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to help us joyfully embrace the crosses of this world so that we may also glorify your Name and enter into the Kingdom of your Will.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. It is a whose who of saints and mystics over the last 200 years. It was so hard to put this book down. It was an excellent read a wonderful way to finish off the year in the school or reading. IT was like an advent retreat. It could have been interesting to read this volume over 33 days, and do the concertation work over the same time. In fact I might do that in the New Year.
This volume draws from many saints, mystics, and popes tying together the thoughts and threads of the different people into this concept of Divine Will and specifically living divine will. My prayer life changed while I was reading this book. And those changes will have a lasting impact. I have ordered copies to give to my priest and our transitional deacon.
This is one of those books guaranteed to change lives. You cannot read this and come away the same. It will have a lasting impact on your faith, your prayer life and through that the world around you. It is an excellent volume I can easily recommend. I challenge you to give it a read!
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books by Daniel O’Connor:
The First and Last Deception: Aliens, UFOs, AI, and the Return of Eden's Demise
An Introduction to Living in the Divine Will: 33 Lessons from Luisa Piccarreta
Thy Will Be Done: The Greatest Prayer, the Christian's Mission, and the World's Penultimate Destiny
The Crown of History: The Imminent Glorious Era of Universal Peace
The Crown of Sanctity: On the Revelations of Jesus to Luisa Piccarreta
Only Man Bears His Image: The Biblical, Catholic, & Scientific Case Against Aliens, UFO Deceptions, Sentient AI, and Other Sci-Fi Disguised Demons & Psyops Heralding the Antichrist
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