Father’s words taken from the Message to Mother Eugenia Ravasio:
“My hour has come! It is necessary that he be known, loved and glorified by men so that, having created them, I can be their Father, then their Savior and finally the source of their eternal happiness. Thus far I have spoken to you of things that you already know. I have wanted to remind you of them so that you may be convinced more and more that I’m a very good father, and not the horrible Father you think I am. You should also know that I am the Father of all men now living and the Father of all those whom I will create until the end of the world.
Know that I want to be known, loved, and above all honored. Everyone must recognize my infinite goodness; a goodness that I offer to all, but especially to the sinners, the sick, the dying, and all who suffer. They must know that I have no other desire than to love them and grant them my graces; to forgive them when they repent; and, above all, not to judge them with harsh justice but with my mercy, so that all may be saved and I may count them among the number of my chosen ones.
I would like to conclude these statements with a promise that will count forever: Call me confidently with the name of Father and love me, and then you will receive everything from this Father, and he will grant you everything with love and mercy.”
We might ask ourselves what more Heavenly Father has to do and say for us to truly trust Him and correspond to His love. On practically every page of this Message, the Father explains to us how important we are to Him. Therefore, that false image of God that makes us fear Him is a profound injustice to His love. We should overcome in us any such image, as well as any excessive fear, in view of the so frequent declarations of love that God makes to us.
This is precisely what the Father wants!
As He told us in the extract we heard today, His love is particularly directed toward sinners, the sick and the dying, because it is they who need it most.
-To sinners, because they are failing in their life’s purpose and carrying guilt over themselves, which distances them more and more from God and exposes them to Satan’s influence. They are spiritually sick, so to speak.
-To the sick, because they are very limited, and often feel as though they are powerless and at the mercy of suffering.
-To the dying, because precisely in the last stage of their earthly existence they need to be anchored in God’s love, so that they can consciously accept death and die in peace.
So how much depends on us giving the right answer, so that the Father can carry out His plans of salvation! Knowing, loving and honouring God, as He asks of us, will allow the plan He has for us to unfold unhindered. In addition, those other people we meet are also included in this plan of salvation.
Let us also look at the last sentence of the passage we read today: “Call me confidently with the name of Father and love me, and then you will receive everything from this Father, and he will grant you everything with love and mercy.” These words must be meditated upon particularly in the present crisis: it would be so important that in the midst of this plague people should experience the comfort of God’s presence, which invites them to conversion!
In the face of this pandemic, which is spreading so quickly, we will see more and more people who are afraid and find it difficult to face the situation. If, in addition, social contacts are reduced and we find fewer and fewer open churches and Eucharistic celebrations, then the serenity that some will have initially shown may soon fade away, especially since there is no definite time frame for the epidemic to end.
In this critical period, what ways can we find to make God’s love known to people? Prayer is a means that we always have at our disposal, and it should precede everything else. This can be done by anyone, as can the offering of small or great sacrifices that come our way. Beyond that, we can ask the Spirit what else we can do to witness to our Father’s love…
Tomorrow I will interrupt this cycle of meditations on the Father, because I have in my heart some things that I would like to say regarding the present crisis.
Harpa Dei accompanies the daily scriptural interpretation or spiritual teaching of Br. Elija, their spiritual father. These meditations can be heard on the following website www.en.elijamission.net
