Why Faith is God in the understanding of the Servant of God Louisa Piccarreta

In her second volume of The Book of Heaven, the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta writes: Faith is God. But what does she mean when she puts forward such a claim?

Louisa gives her first explanation in the following way:  

In the word “Faith”, I comprehended that Faith is God Himself. Just as material food gives life to the body so that it may not die, Faith gives life to the soul – without Faith, the soul is dead. Faith vivifies, Faith sanctifies, Faith spiritualizes man, and makes him keep his eyes fixed on a Supreme Being, in such a way that he learns nothing of the things of down here; and if he learns them, he learns them in God. Oh, the happiness of a soul who lives of Faith! – her flight is always toward Heaven. In everything that happens to her she always looks at herself in God; and so, just as in tribulation, Faith raises her in God and she does not afflict herself, not even with a lament, knowing that she is not to form her contentment here, but in Heaven; in the same way, if joy, riches and pleasures surround her, Faith raises her in God, and she says to herself: “Oh, how much more content and rich I will be in Heaven!” So, she feels bothered by these earthly things, she despises them, and tramples them underfoot. It seems to me that to a soul who lives of Faith, it happens as to a person who possessed millions upon millions of coins, and even entire kingdoms, and someone else wanted to offer him a cent. What would he say? Would he not disdain it? Would he not throw it in his face? I add: and what if that cent were all muddy, just as earthly things are? Even more: what if that cent were only lent to him? This person would say: “I enjoy and possess immense riches, and you dared to offer me this miserable cent, so muddy, and only for a short time?” I believe he would quickly remove his gaze from it, and would not accept the gift. So does the soul who lives of Faith with regard to earthy things.

In other words, faith is God in the sense that it is a sheer gift from God to connect us with God. Thus, God becomes the object, the point of departure and the process of our faith. For the person who opens his heart for God, faith takes the sense of the Pauline concept of God may be everything to every one (1 Cor 15:28).

Faith is God because essentially it is the food which makes the soul participate in its deification. Since faith is God faith is the very deification of the soul. It unifies forever both God and the individual soul. Louisa writes:

Now, let us go back again to the idea of food: by taking food, the body is not only sustained, but shares in the substance of the food, which transforms into the body itself. The same for the soul who lives of Faith: since Faith is God Himself, the soul comes to live of God Himself; and by nourishing herself with God, she comes to share in the substance of God; and by sharing in Him, she comes to resemble Him and to be transformed with God Himself. Therefore, it happens to the soul who lives of Faith, that, just as God is holy, the soul is holy; powerful God – powerful the soul; wise, strong and just God – wise, strong and just the soul; and so with all the other attributes of God. In sum, the soul becomes a little god. Oh, the blessedness of this soul on earth, to then be more blessed in Heaven!

Finally, faith is God because thanks to it all the other virtues are grafted within the soul. Faith masters the other virtues are directed them towards their ultimate end, God himself. Louisa writes:

The life of the soul is God – Faith is God, and the soul, by possessing Faith, comes to graft all the other virtues into herself, in such a way that Faith is like a king in her heart, and the other virtues remain around It, as the subjects that serve Faith. So, without Faith, virtues themselves are virtues that have no life.

Lord Jesus, increase my faith. Amen.

 

 

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap