“Don’t think so much about who is for or against you, rather give all your care, that God be with you in everything you do.” (Thomas à Kempis)
Time and again, spiritual teachers remind us that we shouldn’t concern ourselves so much with other people—especially with thinking about their attitudes toward us. Otherwise, we very easily fall into all kinds of assumptions and are not immune to lending an ear to speculation or even rumors. In this way, they find their way into us.
“Lord, my God, my heart shall belong to you alone. You are my peace and my life; you are my salvation. I will seek only you, be seized by you alone, and irrevocably belong to you.” (St. Peter Claver)
This is the prayer of consecration of the great saint who served the souls of African slaves with unshakable fidelity and endured their unimaginable physical suffering (Bible commentary from September 9).
Filled with deep piety, he carried out his heroic service until the end of his fruitful life.
Through this prayer, we can begin to understand how deeply his heart was focused on our Father. When our hearts belong to God, we desire nothing more than to do His will completely. Our Father drew his heart to Himself and filled St. Peter Claver entirely with Himself, just as the saint had asked. St. Peter Claver, so to speak, gave our Father free and loving disposal over his life because God was his peace and his salvation. He sought Him and allowed himself to be seized by Him.
“Learn to live in such a way that your death will be sweet. Keep your heart free and trained up towards God in heaven—you have no lasting citizenship here.” (Thomas à Kempis)
A sweet hour of death—what a wonderful prospect! This can mean nothing other than looking forward to death, or rather, looking forward to returning home to the heavenly Father.
And indeed: When we realize that we are hastening toward our Father every day, who guides and accompanies us on our journey through this earthly life, our hearts can be set ablaze and our longing to live with our Father in eternity grows stronger.
Of course, we still have our mission to fulfill. We do this best when we keep our eyes fixed on our Father, just as the Son of God always did the Father’s will.
“Neither physical nor geographical circumstances can restrict the freedom of loving souls.” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).
The art of true love lies in the ability to integrate everything into something greater when one learns to see it from the perspective of our Heavenly Father. Even suffering and the most difficult circumstances can be overcome when the soul unites with God. In a sense, the soul becomes invincible because it finds the path to union with God amidst all circumstances. Thus, it does not allow itself to be overcome by negative circumstances and retains its freedom.
“Always hold fast to Me and go deep within.” (Inner Word).
No matter what trials we face, inner or outer, and even if we are unable to perceive God’s presence in them, the Word urges us to hold fast to our Father. It is not our feelings that provide security on our journey with God through this time, but rather the Word of God and His will to guide us. We can absolutely rely on this. If we sincerely strive to live in a state of grace—that is, in harmony with God’s will—we can entrust ourselves to it without question or doubt. If we have strayed from the right path, we must immediately return to God so that we may receive His grace once again and live in it. God’s love always surrounds us, urging us either to hold fast to Him or to turn back to Him.
“The root of love should be the very depths of your heart: Nothing but good can spring from this root.” (St. Augustine)
At first glance, this is a surprising statement by St. Augustine. It brings to mind Jesus’ words that everything unclean comes from the human heart: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.” (Mark 7:21–23)
“To depart from You is to die; to return to You is to rise; to dwell with You is to live.” (St. Augustine)
Our spiritual life dies when we stray from the path with God and turn once more to the promises of this world. The life of grace that has always sustained us begins to fade from our souls. The immediate, tender, and natural closeness of God—which gives true meaning to life—wanes. This is also true, to a certain extent, when we have been given a calling by our Father that we neglect and then lose. The grace‑filled surge we received through the call of our heavenly Father weakens, and even if we remain faithful to the commandments in the rest of our lives, something unfulfilled still remains in the soul!
“My existence remains hidden from me until You look upon me. Then my darkness becomes as bright as midday.” (St. Augustine)
Only when the Father looks upon us do we grasp our true purpose as human beings. It is just as St. Augustine describes.
As long as we are unaware of this gaze, we search for our identity in all sorts of ways, piecing together an image of ourselves instead of allowing it to unfold organically according to God’s will.
Who are we? What are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?
Our Father’s loving gaze awakens us to true life: we must simply allow this gaze to rest upon us, let our Father’s “YES” to our existence gently penetrate us, surrender our fear of life and our uncertainty to God, and trustingly sink into His loving gaze. In this way, we will be able to understand ever more deeply the words of the Father, which He wishes to bring so close to our hearts through the “Father’s Little Book.”
“But now I am giving you this light. Remain in the light and bring it to everybody, and it will be a powerful means both to obtain conversions and to shut, if possible, the gates of hell.” (From the message of God the Father to Mother Eugenia Ravasio).
The light our Father speaks of is the revelation He gave to Mother Eugenia. Therefore, let us all take it to heart to read this little book again and again, for it will have a profound effect on us when we allow our Father’s words to take root within us.
As we reflected previously, the Lord wishes to communicate with us in this way so that we may understand His love for us more deeply. It is the light in which we are to walk. If we follow God’s invitation and live in an intimate, trusting relationship with Him—that is, if we remain in His light day by day—our Father promises that we can bring about many conversions.
“I am coming to proclaim Myself the Father of all and the most tender of fathers, in order to transform your love, which has become distorted by fear.” (Message from God the Father to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
Our love for our heavenly Father should come from a free and trusting heart. Perhaps in the past, the preaching in our church sometimes placed too much emphasis on the consequences of a sinful life. This can allow fear to take root in our relationship with God, making it difficult to see God’s true image and even distorting it. The Little Book of the Father repeatedly references this, as does today’s text. The sentence above is immediately preceded by the Father’s emphasis that missionaries speak of God as far as they know Him, and adds: “But I assure you, you do not know Me as I am.”
