Book Reviews and More: The Father Speaks to His Children - Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio

The Father Speaks to His Children (Annotated):

Enriched Edition.

Catholic Mystical Messages of Divine Fatherhood, Mercy, and Spiritual Renewal

Sister Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio

Father Andrea D’Ascanio

e-Artnow

ASIN B0CQPC275H

Note: I have read this at least once a year over the last several years. As part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading I have two different eBook editions including the one listed above. Both were revised and enhanced this year, and are now available with new covers.

Review of this edition 2026:

I have read this book as part of Father Mark Goring’s School of Reading, it is the fourth book that I have read that he has highlighted as his book of the month. Father Mark sent out a PDF but I went looking to an eBook version. I did find them on Kindle and Kobo but upon reading the PDF discovered that there should not be. The description of this edition states:

“The Father Speaks to His Children is a compact yet theologically resonant work of Catholic spirituality, presenting a series of messages attributed to God the Father and addressed to humanity with striking tenderness and urgency. Its style is devotional rather than systematic: simple, direct, repetitive in the manner of prayer, yet rich in biblical echoes of divine paternity, mercy, and reconciliation. Situated within the tradition of modern Catholic private revelation, the book seeks to renew attention to the Father's personal love, not as abstraction, but as the heart of Christian life. Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio, known as Mother Eugenia, was an Italian religious sister and missionary whose life combined contemplative devotion with practical service. Her experience in religious leadership, her concern for the poor and the sick, and her missionary formation help explain the book's universal tone: it addresses believers, doubters, clergy, and nations alike, urging a return to filial trust in God. This book is recommended to readers of Catholic mysticism, devotional theology, and spiritual renewal. It will especially appeal to those seeking a brief but profound meditation on divine fatherhood, mercy, and the intimacy of prayer.

This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.

- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.

- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed.”

You can find a PDF version online, if you search the author and title. This edition does not have the Imprimatur that was present in other editions I have read.

The chapters in this volume are:

Preface

Short Biography of Mother Eugenia Elisabette Ravasio

Testimony of the Right Reverend A. Caillot

The Father´s Message

The Father´s Message 2 (To the Pope)

The Father´s Message 3 (To The Bishop)

The Father´s Message 4

Prayer of Mother Eugenia

This is a fascinating little read. It is only 37 pages in length from title page to a summary by P. Andrea D’Ascanio OFM. It is an easy volume to read and yet it contains a significant amount of important material. I worked my way through this over a few days and over several sittings. Pausing at the end of each message. Taking time to think, reflect and pray. The work concludes with these words:

““God is my Father!” This cry is being heard ever more frequently in today’s world: people are coming to recognize that God is indeed their Father.

Consequently, we feel it our duty to publish a message, given to the world by God the Father through one of His creatures who loved Him so much, Sister Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio, and recognized as valid by the Church.

We consider it appropriate to introduce this work by quoting the testimony of a former Bishop of Grenoble, the Right Reverend Alexandre Caillot. In 1935 he set up a board of experts, drawn from various parts of France, to conduct a diocesan enquiry, which lasted ten years.

Its members included the Bishop of Grenoble’s Vicar General, Mgr Guerry, theologian; the Jesuit brothers, Fathers Albert and Auguste Valencin-Amons, who ranked among the foremost authorities in the field of philosophy and theology and were expert in evaluating such cases; and two doctors of medicine, one of whom was a psychiatrist.

We are sure that this message will help people to understand the deep tenderness the Father has for each one of us, and we hope that it will receive the widest possible circulation.””

This whole final section is missing from the digital version. The conclusion by Alexandre Caillot at the time of the revelation states:

“Following the dictates of my soul and my conscience, and with the keenest sense of my responsibility to the Church, I declare that supernatural and divine intervention seems to me the only logical and satisfactory explanation of the facts.

Isolated from all the surrounding features of the case, this essential fact seems to me to be noble, lofty and supernaturally rich: that a humble nun has called souls to true devotion to the Father, such as Jesus taught and the Church has enshrined in its liturgy. There is nothing alarming in this, only something that is very simple and in accordance with solid doctrine.

The miraculous facts which accompany this message could be separated from the main event and its value would still be preserved in its entirety. For doctrinal reasons, the Church will declare whether the idea of a special feast can be considered separately from this particular case involving the sister.

I believe that the fundamental proof of the authenticity of the nun’s mission is shown by the way in which she puts into practice in her life the beautiful doctrine which she was apparently destined to remind us of.

I deem it proper to let her continue her work. I believe that the hand of God is in all this. After ten years of research, reflection and prayer, I bless the Father for having deigned to choose my diocese as the place for such touching manifestations of His love.”

I highlighted several passages while reading this edition. Some of them are:

“Its members included the Bishop of Grenoble’s Vicar General, Mgr Guerry, theologian; the Jesuit brothers, Fathers Albert and Auguste Valencin-Amons, who ranked among the foremost authorities in the field of philosophy and theology and were expert in evaluating such cases; and two doctors of medicine, one of whom was a psychiatrist.”

“We are sure that this message will help people to understand the deep tenderness the Father has for each one of us, and we hope that it will receive the widest possible circulation.”

“Quite apart from her spiritual qualities, her work in the social field alone would suffice to ensure her a place in history. In twelve years of missionary activity she opened over 70 centres-each with infirmary, school and church-in the remotest spots of Africa, Asia and Europe.”

“Her most important legacy to us is the Message of the Father (“ The Father speaks to His children”), the only private revelation made personally by God the Father and recognized as authentic by the Church after ten years of the most rigorous examination.”

“A number of circumstances also showed the nun to be capable of practising virtue to a heroic degree. According to the theologians, an especially striking feature was her obedience during Father Auguste Valencin’s enquiry in June 1934, and her humility on the sad day of 20 December 1934.”

“If I single out her qualities of intelligence, judgment and will, and her powers of administration, it is because they seem to me to rule out definitively all the hypotheses about hallucinations, illusions, spiritism, hysteria or delirium. These were examined during the enquiry but proved incapable of giving a satisfactory explanation of the facts.”

“The works of an imaginary visionary are poor, barren and inconsistent. However, the message that Mother Eugenia says the Father entrusted to her is fertile. There is a harmonious interaction of two different characters which tends to confirm its authenticity.”

“1) I am coming to banish the excessive fear that My creatures have of Me, and to show them that My joy lies in being known and loved by My children, that is, by all mankind, present and future.

2) I am coming to bring hope to men and nations. How many have long since lost it! This hope will make them live in peace and security, working for their salvation.

3) I am coming to make Myself known just as I am, so that men’s trust may increase together with their love for Me, their Father. I have but one concern: to watch over all men and love them as My children.”

“Of course, I can understand My children’s weaknesses! Because of this, I asked My Son to give them the means to get up again after they have fallen. These means will help them to purify themselves from their sins, so that they may still be the children of My love. They are, chiefly, the seven Sacraments. And the greatest means of securing your salvation, despite your falls, is the Cross, My Son’s Blood poured out upon you every moment, if you so wish, both in the Sacrament of Penance and in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”

“I come among you in two ways: the Cross and the Eucharist! The Cross is My way of coming down among My children, since it is through it that I caused My Son to redeem you. And for you, the Cross is the way to ascend to My Son, and from My Son to Me.”

“If you love Me and call Me by the sweet name of Father, you will begin to live, here and now, in the love and the trust which will make you happy in eternity and which you will sing in heaven in the company of the elect.”

““We have a Father who is infinitely good, infinitely rich and greatly merciful. He thinks about us and is close to us. He looks after us, supports us. He will give us everything we need if we ask Him.”

“My children, do you want to live your life on earth peacefully and joyfully? Come and cast yourselves into this immense ocean and remain in it for ever. As you work and live your normal life, this life will be sanctified through charity.”

“I am your Father; I will help you in your efforts and your work. I will sustain you always and make you enjoy, already here below, peace and joy of soul, making your ministry and your zealous works bear fruit. This is an inestimable gift, since the soul which is peaceful and joyful already has a foretaste of heaven while awaiting its eternal reward.”

“Believe Me, you who are listening to Me as you read these words: if all men who are far from our Catholic Church heard people talking about this Father Who loves them, Who is their Creator and their God, about this Father Who desires to give them eternal life, then many of these men, even the most obstinate ones, would come to this Father of Whom you had spoken to them.”

“Yes, you are My children and you must tell Me that I am your Father. But trust in Me as children do, because without this trust you will never be truly free.”

“I will show Myself as a Father to those who suffer most on earth, the poor lepers. I will show Myself to be the Father of all those who are abandoned, the outcasts of every human society. I will show Myself as a Father to the afflicted, the sick, and above all, to those who are in agony. I will show Myself as a Father to all families, to orphans, widows, prisoners, workers and the young. I will show Myself as the Father of kings, the Father of their nations.”

This booklet is an important message in this day and age. For generations raised without fathers, absentee fathers, or fathers focused on work and their own lives. We need the Father in heaven in our lives. For those in parishes with unfatherly priests. …

There appears to be a few variations of this volume available. By different publishers and offered online from different sources. The edition father Mark made available was the 2005 first pdf edition. I have obtained 2 other versions and plan to read them as well, this is one of them. It is an excellent volume and a book I highly recommend!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan! You can find a PDF version online, which was the version Father Mark Distributed. A different version is available online here, it contains an icon of the Father on the cover and explanation of the icon.

Various editions of this book:

The Father Speaks to His Children - Edizioni Nidi Di Preghiera

The Father Speaks to His Children - Enhanced eBook Edition - Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio

The Father Speaks to His Children - Enriched eBook Edition - Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio

...

In 2025 I read a different eBook edtion:

The Father Speaks to His Children Kindle Edition

Eugenia Elisabetta Ravasio

e-artnow

ASIN B0CQPC275H