Theologian Stephen Patton (M.A. Franciscan University) has been one of the foremost defenders of the orthodoxy of the writings on the Divine Will transcribed by the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta (1865 – 1947). It was his 1999 monograph on these revelations that successfully responded to the doctrinal objections that had been raised during that decade by many well-meaning critics, including a handful of priests. Now he has expanded on his original work by tackling some of the weightier theological issues raised in Piccarreta's writings. In this new book, which he terms a “study guide,” he attempts to answer any lingering concerns about the compatibility of her work with Catholic doctrine, especially regarding the terminology and expressions that she uses.

Some indications of a more favorable climate in which one can study her writings include the positive assessment of her work given in 2010 by two theologians appointed by the Holy See, the canonization of her spiritual advisor St. Annibale Di Francia, and the recent acceptance by the Pontifical Gregorian University of a doctoral thesis defending her work. In addition, now for the first time a book explaining Luisa Piccarreta's teaching on the Divine Will has been officially cleared for Catholic readers, with the granting by the Diocese of Sacramento of the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur on this important study by Stephen Patton. However, the author advises that while the book “does not contain matter contrary to the Catholic faith and morals, still, these official marks should not be understood as an official adoption or endorsement by the Church of Luisa's writings.”

The author's goal is to summarize and evaluate Luisa's voluminous work within the framework of Catholic doctrine. It is written to be comprehensible to the layperson, while at the same time substantial enough to address the concerns of theologians and those in religion. He breaks the book down into three major sections, followed by a chapter with his conclusions and recommendations.

The first part is an overview of the life of Luisa, with an emphasis on her extraordinary level of obedience to the priests and spiritual directors who guided her, giving them authority even over the voice of Jesus that she heard in her visions. She was born in southeastern Italy in the small town of Corato. Luisa had little formal education, was graced with the invisible stigmata, and for almost all of her adult life was bedridden, living almost exclusively on the Holy Eucharist. During a period of nearly 40 years, under obedience from her Confessors, she kept a diary of her intimate visions and communications with Jesus, Mary, and certain saints. The diary comprises 36 volumes, and the title given to this opus by Jesus Himself is: Book of Heaven – the Call of the Creature to Return to the Order, to the Place, and to the Purpose for Which it was Created by God.” The first 19 volumes were officially approved by her Bishop's Imprimatur, for which St. Annibale Di Francia granted the nihil obstat. The purpose of these revelations, as explained to her by the Lord, is to reestablish the Kingdom of His Divine Will on earth and in souls, as it existed before man's fall from grace.

The second section of Patton's book describes what she means by “living in the Divine Will,” It is the fullest response to, and complete unfolding of, the meaning of the petition “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven, the saints not only do the Divine Will, but live in it. Living in the Divine Will is the highest mystical state possible for man. It is the state of the original innocence of Adam and Eve, and that of the Lord and his Mother; it is the state to which Jesus raised Luisa, in order to lead others to it by her writings and example. It goes far beyond conformity to, or doing, God's Will, since the soul partakes in the activity of the Divine Will which exists in eternity, and also in the acts that the Divinity performed in the Humanity of Jesus.

The state of living in the Divine Will is “a state of mystical union in which man – with, through and in Christ – becomes so completely absorbed in God that he shares in God's own eternal act.” However, this does not entail “a literal obliteration of the human will.” Rather, according to Patton, Luisa “promoted a coordination of wills that essentially corresponds to, even if it would appear to exponentially exceed, the forms of mystical union to which the saints have testified over the centuries.” Patton writes that Jesus, in His human life, lived every moment united with his divine will, and

“... made himself present to all men at all times and moments of human history. And so, by the very act of his Incarnation, and in every human act that followed It, the Son of God eternally creates and redeems man. Luisa's diary proposes that God gave man, from the beginning, the capacity to join with him in a similar, eternal mode of action; through the redemption he restored that capacity; and through his revelation to Luisa, he invites man to discover and live it anew” [p. 59].

In order to attain this, Luisa offers “a new pattern of discursive prayer (or meditation) especially intended to aid the creature in ascending to the eternal mode of participation in the divine life.”

The next section is titled “The Third Fiat of God.” God's first two fiats are the creation and the redemption, and the third fiat is the sanctification – the return of the soul and the Church to the state of man's original innocence, before he rejected the divine will in favor of his human will. While this review cannot go into the details of the theological ramifications of the concept of a third fiat, this is where Patton excels. He carefully demonstrates that the concept of a third fiat is not strictly a new Revelation. Rather, the sanctification completes and actualizes the purpose of the creation and redemption. According to Patton,

“In short, nothing in divine Revelation precludes the possibility that the Lord could bestow upon, i.e., draw forth form within the same, continuous life of the Church a new form of the gift of mystical union that had not been manifested earlier. It is even possible that the new manifestation could express and accomplish the core purposes of the redemption in a way that nothing before it ever had. To propose as much is not to call into question the continuity and totality of God's generous love for his Church and his saints” [pp. 120-121].

The fiat of the sanctification is not a shortcut to sanctity, since the traditional stages of the spiritual life and the practice of the virtues are still necessary. Nor does it replace Baptism, the Eucharist, and the other sacramental gifts of the Church.

The author adds about half-a-dozen study questions at the end of each of the main sections. In this way the reader, in addition to studying about Luisa and her writings, can better reflect on her doctrine of the divine will, and apply it to one's own life. An example of the type of question Patton asks is the last question for section one:

“No authentic private revelation is properly understood unless it leads Catholics to a more devout, regular and grateful participation in the sacramental life of the Church. Consider how this was the case with Luisa. How can living in the divine will deepen your appreciation for each of the sacraments?” [p. 35].

In the final chapter, which Patton titles “Conclusions and Recommendations,” he begins by stating that “the core theme of Luisa's literature – union with the divine will – is unambiguously orthodox.” However, some form of guidance from the Church is needed to properly interpret what Luisa means by living in the divine will. Further, such guidance is “acutely important” to correctly understand what she means by the expression “the third fiat of God.” Since this third fiat is meant to, in some sense, “complete” God's fiats of creation and redemption, the Church must insist “that such a claim not call into question the sufficiency of Christ's saving work and the associated sufficiency of divine Revelation.” He adds:

“For instance, the Church could clarify that since God's works of creation and redemption are already complete, anything that Luisa's revelation might “complete” about them would have to relate only to the perfection of the creature's response, and not to the perfection of the Creator's initiatives.” [p.145].

In the final pages Patton asks, and then answers in the affirmative, the question as to whether it is likely that God would have waited two millennia to teach man how to fully respond to Revelation, then tie this into the fulfillment of creation and redemption, and do so by means of a private revelation to a simple, uneducated bed-ridden woman?

Stephen Patton's motivation for presenting this book to the public now, well over a dozen years since his original work appeared, was the concern expressed in a letter to the faithful by Archbishop Giovanni Pichierri on November 1, 2012. Archbishop Picchieri of Trani, the diocese in which Luisa lived, oversees the Cause of Luisa's Process of Beatification and Canonization. In his letter, he reiterated concerns he had made previously, that “the doctrine of the Divine Will has not always been presented in a correct and respectful way . . . putting remarks in the mouth of Luisa that are not even implicitly found in her writings.” He adds: “I invite you to make more serious and in-depth meditations and reflections in your personal reading of these writings in light of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church.” Patton's book is a welcome and much-needed response to the Archbishop's concerns.

The Archbishop also affirmed that her writings are exclusively the property the Archdiocese, and he has mandated that a team of experts produce “a typical and critical edition” of her works. He laments the unchecked number of translations and publications of her work in print and on the Internet, and for that reason, and because of the delicacy of the current phase of her Process, “any and every publication of her writings is absolutely forbidden at this time.” Thus, the widely misunderstood “moratorium” associated with Luisa Piccarreta refers only to any further publication of her writings. However, it is not prohibited, but “rather very much desirable” to spread the knowledge of her work and her saintly life, and to pray for her beatification. In compliance with these directives, Patton offers his book as a “stopgap” until the final, official edition of her writings and any accompanying guidance is presented. Should the Church issue a definitive commentary, the author affirms that, “everything I offer in this guide should be interpreted – and indeed rejected if necessary – in light of it.”

Patton's dramatic summation of his impression of the work of Luisa is that, within her writings there “shines a sublimity that is, to my reckoning, unparalleled in the annals of mystical literature.”

Stephen Patton's A Guide to the Book of Heaven, Luisa Piccarreta's writings evaluated in the light of Catholic doctrine (2013, Jacksboro TN)  can be obtained via the Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will, 423-566-5178, or email tomfahy@comcast.net.  Coming soon to Amazon.com as well.