The Tabernacle in His Own Heart
In a letter written to Sister Mattia, Luisa Piccarreta writes, “Every thought of yourself is a little escape from the arms of Jesus… It is not our occupations that take us away from Him, but our will – the thought of ourselves – that make us put Jesus aside, even in good… For one who is with Him, the most indifferent things, works, sacrifices – are prayers, adorations and love; he feels the Tabernacle in his own heart, and Jesus living within himself; therefore he finds almost no difference between the Jesus of the altar and Jesus of his heart.
Put yourself aside, and give place to Jesus. We are small; if we think of ourselves, Jesus will find no space in which to put Himself and make us feel His thought, His love, His palpitating life within us. But if we don’t think about ourselves, then we will feel that the actions of life make us find Jesus and lead us to Him.”
What a beautiful reflection from the Little Daughter of the Divine Will. It offers so much for all of us. We must remember that the Kingdom of the Divine Will is not just an event in the future, but its seeds are being planted everywhere in the present moment. One heart at a time. One soul at a time. This is truly God’s greatest gift to His Church in these days, the offer to live within His Divine Will.
How do I explain the gift of the Divine Will? I still do not have all the words to properly describe it, however I did once hear a priest named Fr. Jim Anderson say it this way: “We must strive to live our own lives each day as Jesus Himself would live our lives if He were us. That’s all it is. It’s simple.” That description resonated with me. In my own walks within this spirituality, I have come to see it as a merger of sorts, similar to the experience of Holy Matrimony. Jesus wants to see the world through our eyes, and in turn, He wants us to see the world through His eyes. But even this understanding just scratches the surface.
The context of Luisa’s letter to this religious reveals to us that this nun was going through some sort of trial. She writes, “I answer to your long letter. Its content shows that peace does not smile in your soul and that you are very worried about yourself. Poor daughter, who gets wet with a drop of water, and tangled up and lost in little trifles.”
Luisa responds to this by encouraging her to let go of the self-will, with all its tiresome and troublesome preoccupations. The self-will is always rooted in pride, even with our best intentions. And thus, when something or someone causes us to stir in some way, the first thing we focus on instinctively is our feeling towards the thing or person. “How does it make me feel? Do I feel happy? Sad? Angry?” We begin with ourselves, and then we act accordingly to the sentiment which takes ownership in our soul. This is one of the unfortunate consequences of Original Sin.
However, in the Divine Will, we are living within the very Sacred Heart of Jesus. And in turn, He is ruling as King within our own hearts. And the Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ only beats for one purpose, and that is for the glory of the Father. Everything which proceeds from that as a consequence, including the salvation of souls and the sanctification of His Church, all occurs towards Its end which is the glory of the Father. And so, in our Lord’s Heart, in His Divine Will, we experience all things exterior to us as merely tending towards God’s glory and for His purposes. And when we begin to internalize such things, we do so through the scope and filter of Christ our King.
We must put aside our human will, which again is rooted in pride and tainted by self love and vanity. We must desire only the Divine Will to reign within us, and allow It to do Its work of transforming us from within. This is a life long process, but let us only focus on the Sacrament of the Present Moment, and give it all fully and entirely to Jesus. So that, with St. Paul, we can truly say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Blessed Mother Mary, please help us. We want to say No to our human will, whenever it wants to push God out of our hearts.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
