The father speaks to his children, Part 14
Father’s words taken from the Message to Mother Eugenia Ravasio:
“No one has yet understood the infinite desires of my heart for God the Father, to be known, loved and honored by all men, righteous and sinful. Therefore, it is these three tributes that I wish to receive from man, so that I may be, even with the greatest sinners, always merciful and good.
What have I not done for my people, from Adam to Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, and from Joseph to this day, to give man the possibility of rendering me the special worship that corresponds to me, as Father, Creator and Savior! However, I have not yet been offered this special worship that I so much desire”.
Today we can see the intention for which our Father entrusted this message to Mother Eugenia Ravasio. It is clear that some things have not been accomplished up to now, neither in humanity in general nor in the Church.
If we reflect on the meaning of our human existence, it becomes clear that it consists in glorifying God and serving him. And to glorify God it is necessary to know him.
It is true that Jesus made the Father known to us as He really is. His greatest desire was to reveal the Father! He expressed it again and again, and witnessed to it by His life and death. Everything that Jesus said and did, the Holy Spirit reminds us (cf. Jn 14,26), both in the life of the Church and in our hearts. But we must understand even more deeply and comprehensively the Revelation entrusted to us. Private revelations, such as the “Message of the Father” which we are meditating on in these weeks, serve this purpose.
The Father’s words make it clear to us that we can know God even better. “For we know only imperfectly” (1 Cor 13,9)
It is something similar to what happens with love… When love hits us, then the process is not finished once and for all, but it is constantly open for growth.
It is the same with the knowledge of our Father… He wants us to understand His innermost self better, as far as it is possible for us in our earthly life. That is why in today’s passage He spoke to us about the desires of His heart. And He entrusts them to His friends, because it is they who are attentive to Him and listen to His desires.
The first desire He expresses is that of “being known”: what moves Him, how He thinks, how He loves, what offends Him, when we despise Him?
We also hear what is the reason why He wants to be known, honored and loved.
These are not selfish motives, but it is for Him to be able to be merciful even to the greatest sinner.
Will this not be the true path to peace, far beyond any human project? To know God is to live, and whoever does so will be guided by the Spirit of God and his life will be transformed. Even if we often fall into our weakness, God will raise us up to continue on our way.
We must always bear in mind that the Lord wants to save all men (cf. 1Tim 2,4).
This is the essential desire of His heart; none of us must be lost!
For this, God wants us to know Him as He truly is. This is the intention of the very tender words that resound in this Message. The goodness of our Father wants to smooth out all roughness and hardness of our heart. God’s desire to be merciful to all should give us the “wings of angels” to announce the message of salvation.
At times it will seem to us that we have heard all this countless times… And it may be so! But has it penetrated so deeply into our hearts that we have been overwhelmed by the love of the Father? Can we speak directly to His heart and He to ours?
Obviously the Father speaks of a worship that is not yet offered to Him sufficiently, so that the grace that He has prepared for us cannot yet be fully communicated to us. Therefore, we should know him even better.
Let us talk more with our Father! As important as service to our neighbour and the poor is, and should not be neglected, it cannot simply replace a direct relationship of love with our Father. Yes, this relationship is great in itself, and requires that it be cultivated in prayer, meditation on the Word of God, participation in worship, reception of the sacraments, work on our own hearts…
Always – and particularly in these times of plague – we must open ourselves to the love of the Father and seek it. Trust in Him, which arises from cultivating this relationship of love with the Heavenly Father, will not only sustain and guide us personally in this pandemic, but it will also help us to be a support for others.
Such a crisis cannot be overcome simply with optimistic attitudes and psychological methods. Rather, it can be overcome – and even brought to fruition – if we go through it at the hand of God.
My great intention is that we pray for the conversion of people, because this is what is essential. As Cardinal Burke said some time ago in an interview: “What we really need is a religious conversion.” Men are to live according to what God has intended for them! That’s what it’s all about!