BIOGRAPHY
Sr. Benigna Consolata, a Visitation nun of Como, Italy, was born on August 6, 1885, on the Feast of The Transfiguration of Our Lord. Throughout her life she demonstrated heroic kindness, humility, charity, mortification and obedience, which are evident in her constant sacrifice and submission to the Will of God and her superiors, of whom Jesus said: “Where there is greater union between religious and their Mother, religious souls receive more graces, because I give them to the Mother as into a depository of love…”
Sr. Benigna Consolata’s childlike confidence and humility attracted Jesus like a magnet. Her spirituality, and indeed the revelations given to her by Our Lord, are remarkably similar to the life and writings of St. Therese, through whom God has deigned to reveal “THE TENDERNESSES OF THE LOVE OF JESUS FOR A LITTLE SOUL”, a title which He gave to Sr. Benigna for one of her two books of revelations (the other book being titled, ‘Vademecum Proposed to Religious Souls’). Compare, for example, the following words:
“… the Fire of Love is more sanctifying than is the fire of Purgatory.” – St. Therese
“Thou shalt make thy Purgatory in the flames of My pure love.” – Our Lord to Sr. Benigna Consolata, July 14, 1903
Jesus was pleased to communicate very familiarly with his favoured child, calling her by the sweetest names, such as “My Nigna”, “Nigna of gold”, “My joy”, “My lily”, “My queen”, and “the apple of My eye.” Jesus frequently conversed with her intimately, and revealed to her the secrets of His Sacred Heart, saying, “… thy writings are destined to make it (God’s mercy) known. Every word thou writest is a chanter of My mercy. Write as much as possible, since I wish to make use of thee, poor little nothing… Nigna, little secretary of My love for My creatures, thou shalt write, others shall publish thy writings… for the glory of God… he who makes a book does not keep the manuscript for himself; he has it printed that all the world may have it; so also, My Benigna, will thy writings be printed and will do good to a multitude of souls, which will augment thy accidental glory in Paradise.”
At the end of 1915, after a life of charity and self-denial, Jesus spoke thus to His dear daughter: “This will be thy last Christmas; I am going to take thee to Paradise.”(On the day of Sr. Benigna’s passing into eternal life): “At three o’clock, while she rested peacefully in the arms of our Mother, Sister Benigna Consolata opened her eyes suddenly, appeared to fix them on a distant and luminous point, and expired sweetly. The confidant of Jesus had gone to be united to the Heart of her God!” Sr. Benigna Consolata passed from this life to her Heavenly reward in 1916; she died in the odour of sanctity, and has since had an influence on Fr. Thomas de St. Laurent, Bl. Mother Teresa, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, as well as countless other souls, who, through even a brief perusal of her writings, have been inflamed with a greater yearning for the things of God.
May Our Lord bless you through the reading of the following revelations, which proceed from His most tender Heart:
REVELATIONS (with Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat)
Words on why Our Lord chose Sr. Benigna
“I have chosen thee because thou art wretched and miserable, in order that thou mayst attribute nothing to thyself and know that all good comes from God.”
“I use the vilest and most miserable instruments that all may recognise the action of My grace.”
“Having no need of strength, I shall lean upon thy weakness. I use the ignorant to confound the strong.”
“I want thee to lend Me thy mind, thy life, thy faculties, which are My gifts, that thou mayst become wholly the instrument of My mercy. The desire of seeing My Adorable Heart ever more known and loved ought to move thee to receive this mission with docility. Accept it, then, through the love thou hast for My Sacred Heart…”
Words on Humility
“… as long as thou remainest engulfed in thy nothingness- and it is this which attracts to thee so many graces- I shall be to thee always a God of goodness, a God of mercy, a God of love; by the day in which thou art elated by pride, I shall become to thee a God of justice. I tell this not to frighten thee, but to warn thee, because I love thee so tenderly.”
“There is no way that conducts more directly, more securely, more swiftly, and more sweetly to God than humility. But it is the humility studied in the Gospel, humility learned in My life, humility profoundly taught in the Holy Eucharist. If thou seek humility in these three sources, thou wilt ever find it.”
“If thou dost practice humility, thou wilt find peace; if thou wilt practice it more perfectly, thou wilt find more peace; and if thou wilt live and breathe only humility, thou shalt be pursued by My Love, My predilection and My favours, more than a robber is sought for by the police. O Religious Soul, I would wish to be able to call thee My Humility, and I shall succeed if thou art faithful to Love.”
“When a soul here below is called to converse with God, she ought to be clothed with humility as God is clothed with glory.” “My Jesus, what shall I do?” “I am going to explain to thee, My Benigna; thou art the Benjamin of Love. Thou shouldst be clothed with humility, that is, all in thee should breathe humility. Humility will lead thee never to judge anyone; humility will lead thee to regard thyself as the servant of all; humility will lead thee to ever accuse thyself. When a soul has been introduced by Love into this profound abyss of humility, she walks securely and makes progress, for nothing can stop her.”
Sr. Benigna: ‘My Jesus, is it not pride and presumption on my part to aspire to an end so elevated, I who am weakness itself?’ Jesus: ‘It would be indeed, if thou didst depend on thy own strength; but if thou wilt hope for all from God, He will sustain thee in thy conflicts and will help thee to surmount all the obstacles that could hinder the reign of pure love in thy soul.’
“When there is humility, I give; when I find more, I give more; and when I see a soul that lives only of humility, desiring only humiliations, that soul draws Me like a magnet.”
“Benigna, the more a soul humbles itself, the more it approaches to Me.”
“A soul truly obedient is very dear to My Heart; she rests in the arms of God; the God of Love lavishes upon her kisses and caresses, she makes much headway without growing weary, because she is carried forward as by her own weight.”
Words on Temptation
“When I permit temptation, it is not through cruelty, but to give the soul an opportunity of merit.”
“Thou art in such aridity thou canst not see what passes within thee; but be tranquil, these difficulties will disappear; arm thy will! And hast thou not thy God to sustain thee and make thee triumph? O how I love to see thee combat! Therefore I shall be on my guard against freeing thee from occasions. Do not be astonished that I speak to thee so familiarly; I act thus with My children for in them I take My delights; but the greater number know not how to receive and put in practice My words of eternal life. Do thou at least receive them and put them to profit for thyself and others.”
Words on Mortification
“If there are few saints it is because there are few mortified souls.”
Sr. Benigna: “How sad it is to think that by our immortification and self seeking we may be guilty, so to say, of much evil which would not have been committed if we had the generosity to conquer ourselves and thus draw down the divine light and grace upon souls.”
“My Benigna, if souls had more faith, they would live on mortification as they live on bread, whereas they fly it as they would the plague… My Benigna, the farther thou dost advance in the way of mortification, the nearer thou wilt draw to God; it is only the first step that costs. Cast a glance upon Jesus on the Cross, and thou wilt see thy program of mortification. Spiritual consolations will be thee recompense; the more thou dost mortify the flesh, the more capable thou wilt be of comprehending the things of God. Jesus will dwell in thee according to the capacity He finds there.”
“Why are there so few contemplatives, so few souls, even among religious, to whom I can impart extraordinary graces? It is because there is not enough mortification. I have sought in vain, I find very few. This does not do you honour, My spouses! I love you so much, I compassionate you; what I say to you, I say through love; for My desire is to bestow on you great graces, but I cannot do so unless you are mortified.”
“Benigna, few souls walk with a rapid step in the way of love, because there are very few who enter generously into the way of sacrifice. If one is constant in sacrifice, she is constant in love: if she falters in sacrifice, she falters in love.”
(June 13, 1915, the Feast of the Sacred Heart): ‘He said to me in a sweet, sad tone: ‘My Benigna, give Me souls!’ ‘The plaintive words of my Adorable Master moved me profoundly- How shall I give Thee souls, my Jesus’- ‘By sacrifices,’ He responded. ‘Souls are not saved if nothing is done for them. I died on the Cross to save them. I ask of thee no great thing- only a word withheld, a look repressed, a pleasant thought banished, in a word all that restrains and mortifies nature. These little things, united to My infinite merits, acquire a great value.’
“The touchstone of sanctity is mortification; and the love of comforts is the ruin of sanctity.”
“There is an austere sanctity and these souls honour Me by their sanctity. There is a sanctity more sweet, more accessible, and these honour Me by their sweetness.” “My Jesus, and which pleases Thee the most?” “O My Benigna, it always pleases Me most where there is most love. I prefer less austerity and more charity than more austerity and less charity. I love more the heart which beats only for Me than a body exterminated by fasts, but in which there still resides a little self-love.”
Words on Reparation
“What is here written in My Heart? LOVE ME! If thou lovest Me, thou wilt repair; if thou repairest, thou wilt console Me; and then thou wilt be a faithful spouse: LOVE, REPARATION, CONSOLATION, FIDELITY… Thou wilt not be truly a repairer if thou art content to gaze superficially on the wounds sinners make in My Heart; they must be examined closely. Sinners hate Me; do thou love Me with all thy strength; sinners blaspheme My Holy Name; do thou praise Me; sinners banish Me from their memory; do thou keep Me ever present before thy mind…”
Words on Love and Mercy
“Write, My Benigna, Apostle of My Mercy, write this: The principal thing I desire to make known is that I am all Love; the greatest pain souls can give Me is to doubt My goodness. Not only does My Heart feel compassion, but It rejoices when there is much to repair, provided souls have no malice. If thou couldst know how powerfully I would operate in a soul, even filled with miseries, if she would let Me! Love has need of nothing, but it must find no resistance. Often all that is required of a soul to render it holy is to let Me act. Imperfections cannot displease Me, unless the souls loves them. She should use them as so many steps of the ladder to mount to Me by means of humility, confidence and love; I descend to the soul that humbles herself, and go to seek her in her nothingness to unite Myself to her.”
“Thou canst not conceive the pleasure I take in fulfilling My mission of Saviour. When sins have been pardoned, they become for the soul fountains of graces because they are perpetual sources of humility. Everything contributes to the advancement of a soul, everything; even her imperfections are in My Divine Hands like so many precious stones, because I change them into acts of humility, which I inspire the soul to make. If those who build houses could transform the debris and all that obstructs their work into materials of construction, how fortunate they would consider themselves! Well, the faithful soul does this with the aid of My divine graces; and her faults, even the gravest and most shameful, become fundamental stones of the edifice of her perfection.”
“My Benigna, the thirst I experience of saving the greatest possible number of souls, impels Me to seel generous ones whom I can associate in My work of love.”
“Provided I find good will in a soul, I am never tired of looking upon its miseries. My love is fed by consuming miseries; the soul that brings Me the most, if the heart is contrite and humble, is the one that pleases Me most, because she gives Me an opportunity of exercising more fully My office of Saviour. But what I wish particularly to say to thee, My Benigna, is that the soul ought never to be afraid of God, because God is all-merciful; the greatest pleasure of the Sacred Heart of thy Jesus is to lead to His Father numerous sinners; they are My glory and My jewels. I love poor sinners so much! Listen, My Benigna, My Joy, write this:- The greatest pleasure souls can give Me is to believe in My love; the more they believe in it, the greater is My pleasure; and if they wish that My pleasure should be immense, let them place no limits to their faith in My love.”
Meditation on the eighth station of the Cross (Jesus consoles the pious women): “The attraction of the most sweet Heart of Jesus is to console those who suffer, to compassionate the miseries of His poor creatures, and ever to show them mercy. Let him who wishes to prove it, come to Me, He says. Let him who would purchase relief and mercy, go to Jesus and present for payment his very miseries; and the merciful Jesus will accept them provided they are offered with humility, confidence and love.”
“Love and mercy are, as it were, the breath of My most meek Heart. I inspire, that is, I draw into Myself the miseries of My poor, weak creatures to consume them in the fire of My Divine Charity; and then I respire, that is, I breathe forth from My most Loving Heart that fire which devours it and is capable of inflaming many hearts. I must needs consume the miseries of My poor, weak creatures, and I never tire of cleansing souls again and again, because I cleanse them in My most Precious Blood. Thou canst not believe, O Benigna, the pleasure I experience in the office of Saviour; it is My happiness; and I make the most beautiful masterpieces precisely from souls that I have drawn from the lowest things, from the mud, because I have more material to work upon.”
“The more a soul loves purity of heart, the better is she fitted for converse with God. God acts with the pure of heart as a mother acts with her little babe.”
“I love men so much! Yes, they have too narrow an idea of the goodness of God, of His mercy, of His love for His creatures. They measure God by creatures, and God has no limits; His goodness is without bounds. O that man are able to use God and will not do it! Why is this? Because the world knows Him not. I am an infinite treasure which My Father has placed at the disposal of all… I love men; I love them tenderly as My dear brethren; although there is an infinite distance between them and Me, I make no account of it.”
Words on Distrust
“Write, My Benigna, that all may know this: It is certain that a hundred sins offend Me more than one alone; but if this single sin is distrust of Me, it wounds My Heart more than the hundred others, because distrust wounds My Heart to Its innermost core.” (These words come directly before the previous words of Our Lord (“I love men so much!” This highlights the reason why distrust wounds Our Lord; it is because He loves us and wants to bestow His grace upon us!)
“The greatest injury the demon can cause a soul after having made it fall into sin, is to incite it to distrust. As long as a soul has confidence, her return is easy; but if the demon succeeds in closing the heart with distrust, O how I have to struggle to reconquer it.” (Recall the ‘Conversation with a Despairing Soul’ from the diary of St. Faustina, which has been posted in a previous article: ‘Divine Mercy: Hope for the Despairing’).
(October 23, 1903): ‘He sent me to say to a soul as discouraged as myself: Have confidence, Jesus loves you. I confessed to Him my embarrassment, never having seen the person. He answered by pointing her out to me; ‘This is she.’ I experienced a moment of hesitation as usual, but my sweet Master reassured me, adding that I ought to obey without fearing that the inspiration might come from the enemy; it being opposed to his plot, for he was trying to cause the loss of this soul by distrust.’
Words on Confidence
“Know that in those painful moments in which it seems as if the demon is about to tear thee from My Heart, thou art more closely united to Me by the strong bonds of love. Art thou not the happy prey of Love? How canst thou be afraid of the demon when the Almighty is with thee? I am the cuirass (armour) of thy soul; then fear not the blows destined for thee; a soldier fears not the snares of the enemy when he knows he is powerfully defended. And what I say to thee is not for thyself alone, but also for so many souls who are in the same state. I repeat it; I wish thee to make known to souls what I teach thee;
CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY WHICH OPENS THE TREASURE OF MY MERCY.”
Meditation on the seventh station of the Cross (Jesus falls the second time under the Cross):
“He (the devil) is overcome by unlimited confidence in Jesus; the more frequent the falls, the more should confidence grow in the divine Mercy.”
Words on the Will of God
“Maria, no longer go begging the love of creatures; were they to give themselves entirely to thee thou wouldst not be satisfied. God alone can suffice for thee. Maria, thou hast need of a heart which loves thee, which understands thee; it is the Heart of God thou needest. Speak to Me as thou wouldst to an earthly friend, to whom one tells everything. I know thee, I share thy sufferings, I offer Myself to be thy Model and on this thou must carefully fully form thyself. Live in such a manner that Jesus may truly live in thee and rule all thy actions, thy desires and thy will. Dost thou understand with what perfection thou shouldest act if thou wouldst manifest Jesus living and reigning in thee? Even when thou art enduring cruel sufferings, thy countenance must appear smiling. I desire thou shouldst be sweet and cordial toward all, but especially toward those who give thee occasions of immolation and sacrifice.”
“Love causes the death of Nature to make it rise again to Grace.”
Words on Virtue
(March 12, 1905): “Learn for thine own benefit and teach it to others, that to obtain solid virtue it must be sought in the Heart of Jesus. Whosoever wishes to be saved has only to take refuge in this Blessed Ark whence he can look out upon the tempest without being shaken by its fury. O beloved spouse, discover to all the place of refuge thou hast chosen for thy perpetual Abode; do Me this charity to teach it to other souls that they may come and find Me. I have immense treasures of grace for all: and whoever comes to Me shall be overwhelmed with them.”
Words on Future Times
“I am preparing the work of My mercy; I desire a new resurrection of Society but it will be a work of love.”
Words on Suffering
“When thou art suffering, whether interiorly or exteriorly, do not lose the merit of thy pain; suffer only for Me. The greater number of souls, often even pious souls, lose much merit by relating what they suffer to anyone who will hear them; and although they do not complain, they desire no less the sympathy of creatures. When My Divine Heart sends suffering It wills that the soul accept it with patience and resignation. Such persons believe that their trials will be relieved by pouring them out to the creature; nature is satisfied, but grace is weakened, and courage fails them afterward to bear their sufferings through pure love. I am going to dictate to thee Myself the sentiments which should animate thee in the greatest trials. Thou shalt say to thy Spouse:- O Jesus, only Love of my heart, I wish to suffer what I suffer and all Thou wilt have me suffer, for Thy pure love, not because of the merits I may acquire, nor for the rewards Thou hast promised me, but only to please Thee, to praise Thee, to bless Thee, as well in sorrow as in joy.”
Sr. Benigna: “Jesus tells me that after His grace, the Cross is the most precious gift He can make to a soul.”
Meditation on the twelfth station of the Cross (Jesus dies on the Cross): “If souls knew what it means to suffer, and suffer for God, not a soul would be found who would not be willing to suffer for Him.”
Meditation on the thirteenth station of the Cross (Jesus is taken down from the Cross): “Whenever a soul receives with faith and love any occasion of suffering, it is as if she received Me in her arms when taken down from the Cross; the two arms with which the soul receives Me are resignation and love for My divine Will.”
Words on Intimacy with God
(September 15, 1904): “Thou canst not imagine, O My spouse, the pleasure I experience in remaining with My creatures! I am always in search of hearts that love Me, and I find only a small number. I lavish upon them the plenitude of My graces; I have so great a love for the souls who are faithful to Me and let Me do what I please with them, that I am as ready to gratify them as if it were a law to Me.”
Words on the Sorrow of Our Lord’s Heart
Sr. Benigna: “He revealed to me the sorrow of His Heart at being robbed of the love which is due to Him, while souls are making so bad a use of it everywhere. He compared Himself to a beggar who sees food thrown away and spoiled right before His eyes, food which would prevent Him from dying of starvation.”
(August 31, 1904): “Behold. I beg the love of My creatures, who refuse it to Me and squander it upon things which pass away. They do not even think of giving it to Me. If thou knewest, Maria, how painful it is to love so much and not to be loved! I do not grow weary, I am always seeking love and no one gives it to me; not only will they not love Me; they hate Me. Dost thou know what hinders Me from striking sinners? It is the prayers of the just; they disarm My divine Justice.”
“O My Benigna! what gives Me most pain is to see the indifference, the hatred they have for Me. They fly from Me as they would from a robber or an assassin; from Me, who ask only to replenish souls with My graces: but I cannot do it because they do not desire them. My Benigna, I thirst for the love of My creatures. The Seraphim love Me ardently, the saints love Me, and their love is pure and perfect. I have great love in Heaven, yet I come to earth to seek it because on earth their love is free.” As Jesus saw His Benjamin afflicted at what she had just heard, He consoled her: – “Benigna, I have good souls, even in the world; and in them I take My delight. They are the oases in which I repose in the midst of the desert.”
(October 17, 1904): “The wicked triumph; few souls remain faithful; they abandon Me to seek for happiness where it is not to be found. O My spouse, can they be happy while violating a law so holy, so good and easy as Mine?”
Words on Divine Justice
“… I take away everything that is spoiled and corrupted so that the evil may not become greater.”
Other Words of Our Lord
(After suffering much aridity): ‘My Jesus, what is it that leads Thee to speak to me again?’ ‘Benigna, it is the humiliation of thy soul and thy constant fidelity in spite of aridity; if thou findest no joy in it, I find it, My Benigna.’ ‘My Jesus, how couldst Thou suffer this state to last so long a time?’ – ‘It was for thy good; I wish to prepare thee to receive new graces; I have taken away consolations so as to give thee an opportunity to practice perfect charity. One Ave Maria (Hail Mary) said without sensible fervour, but with a pure will in time of aridity, has much more value in My eyes, than an entire Rosary recited in the midst of consolations.’
“O, My Benigna! be the Apostle of My love! Cry aloud so that all the world may hear, that I hunger, I thirst, I die to be received by My creatures, and they make so little account of it! O do thou at least, My Benigna, make as many spiritual communions as possible to supply for the Sacramental communions which are not made. One every quarter of an hour is not enough. Make them shorter, but more numerous. If a wife saw her spouse dying of hunger, she would go from door to door to beg for Him. My Benigna, seek to draw souls to receive Me in Holy Communion… Thou art the Apostle of My Love; but when thy body shall be under the earth, and thy soul in Heaven like a little atom in My Heart for all eternity, then it will be thy Mother who will make known to souls what thou shalt have written.”
Meditation on the fifth station of the Cross (Jesus is aided by the Cyrenean): “Religious soul,” says Jesus, “thou art My Cyrenean whom, in My infinite love, I have chosen that I may lay upon thee the burden which oppresses Me, the burden of My love, of My mercy, which is unknown to the world. It will be thy mission to console the infinite love of God, which seeks solace from its little creature.”
“Consider: I wish to raise up thy Lazaruses, thy sinful brethren of whom there are so many: conduct Me to their sepulchre. And where is the sepulchre? Behold, one is buried in the vice of gluttony; well, this is his sepulchre; by practicing mortification of the taste thou wilt conduct Me to his sepulchre; another is immersed in other vices; he is dead; thou by leading an angelic life wilt lead Me to his sepulchre. But be attentive: I gave the command and made the dead arise; yet he was bound, and I ordered those around to loose his hands; do thou pursue the practices of mortification to complete the work of the resurrection of sinners and obtain for them deliverance from their evil habits.”
“Faith shows you the value of purity of intention; it is as if you should unite all your actions to My infinite merits- as if you should immerse them all in My most Precious Blood.”
WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE
(March 15, 1905): “Knowest thou the shortest way to arrive at Heaven? It is that of confidence in My merits and fidelity to grace.”
“The little ones are my weakness.”
*For more revelations given to Sr. Benigna Consolata Ferrero, search her name in the search bar (above where it says ‘Recent posts’).
Littlest Souls 