YET, O LORD, THOU ART OUR FATHER

“Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father” (Is 64:8).

What deep trust is reflected in these words! We will understand them even better if we read them in their full context, as we will do in tomorrow’s daily meditation.

It is the cry of a soul that recognizes its guilt and its waywardness, but does not give up and conquers the Heart of God.

In fact, it is through our trust that we can truly conquer the heart of God. Whatever happens, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we always have access to this way and to this intimacy that is manifested in these words: “Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”.

Can or will our Father resist this trust? No! With it, we touch the depths of His Heart, where He wants to keep us, to feed us constantly with His inexhaustible love. The more we live in this trust and intimacy, activating it in the concrete situations of our lives, the more the Lord will respond, until we acquire a close and intimate relationship of love, a great light in the midst of an “unbelieving generation” (Mt 17:17) and a dark time.

“Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”.

We can take this phrase as a companion on our journey, not only in those moments when we confess our deviations and transgressions, as in this passage from the prophet Isaiah, but also in all our efforts to fulfill the task entrusted to us in this world.

Indeed, we often find ourselves with unfinished tasks that we do not have control over and do not feel capable of overcoming. Then we should have recourse to these beautiful words: “Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”, and I trust that you will bring all things to completion.

This maxim will help us to deepen the naturalness of our relationship with our Father and will give us wings to cooperate confidently in the Kingdom of God.

God alone is the true hope

Lk 21:34-36

“Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened by debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will come upon you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come down on all those living on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to hold your ground before the Son of man”.  Read More

BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD

 “He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Lk 1:49).

We all know these words of the Magnificat, which Mary exclaimed, burning with love. They are words that will last for eternity!

Our Lady’s whole life bears witness to her election by our Heavenly Father. In eternity we will be able to penetrate even more deeply into the mystery of her choice and her “yes” to God’s will. This will be a source of unceasing joy for us!  Read More

Thinking about the end

Lk 21:29-33

Jesus told them a parable, ‘Look at the fig tree and indeed every tree. As soon as you see them bud, you can see for yourselves that summer is now near. So with you when you see these things happening: know that the kingdom of God is near. In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all will have taken place. Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  Read More

How can they believe in Him if they have never heard of Him?

Rom 10:9-18

“If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. It is by believing with the heart that you are justified, and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved. When scripture says: No one who relies on this will be brought to disgrace, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same Lord is the Lord of all, and his generosity is offered to all who appeal to him, for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

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Numbered, weighed, divided

Dan 5:1-6,13-14,16-17,23-28

„King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank. Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them. When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers were drinking wine from them, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

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SPEAK WITH CLARITY

“Do not be afraid to call a spade a spade” (Inner Word).

Our Father loves it when we are sincere and transparent, because that is how He is. Anything that is crooked or complicated, any attitude that lacks transparency, is and will remain alien to His being. The Lord gives us the example of the simplicity of children: “Unless (…) you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). He also exhorts us to be clear in our words: “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Mt 5:37). Read More

SO IS OUR FATHER

“Fear nothing and no one, for I am your Father” (Inner Word).

Again and again we find this exhortation, both in Scripture and in the Father’s message. It is as if our Father wants these words to penetrate the depths of our soul, where various fears can still hide, which want to limit our life and take away our freedom. And the reason He gives us not to be afraid is as simple as it is profound: “I am your Father”.

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The virtue of fortitude (Part IV)

In yesterday’s meditation, we had heard that, according to St John of the Cross, when one makes the decision to follow Christ more intensely, the Devil tries to prevent the decisive step by instilling fear, distracting us and tempting us in various ways. Not infrequently the obstacles can come from people who are close to us, but who have not made up their minds to follow the Lord fully, nor do they understand this path. They may even be pious people, but who do not have a deep enough relationship with the Lord to understand the mystery between God and the soul called by Him. Thus, it may happen that these people feel they have to discourage or even warn against embarking on this more intense path.

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