“I prefer a humble sinner to a proud Pharisee, because with the former I can walk my ways. That is why I allow humiliations and, at times, withdraw my tangible grace” (Interior Word).
Showing all posts in 3 Minutes for God the Father
MY PLANS ARE FULFILLED
“My plans are fulfilled, opportunely or inopportunely, even through missteps and darkness. No one can stop them; nothing can obscure God’s path” (Inner Word).
Our Father uses all circumstances to carry out His plan of salvation. Due to the resistance of the devil and the foolishness and weakness of man, it is true that God’s will often cannot be fulfilled directly according to His original intention. However, in His providence, our Father knows how to take this into consideration. Without abandoning his goal or changing it in principle, He pursues it through missteps and darkness.
INNER FREEDOM
‘Even if others want to deprive you of your external freedom, no one can ever take away your inner freedom’ (Inner Word).
These words should serve as comfort when our faith is under pressure or even suffers specific persecution. Many Christians have already experienced this situation, and many will still have to live through it. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ says the Gospel according to St John (Jn 1:5). And the darkness not only refused to receive the light, but often fought against it with active hostility.
THE LIFE OF GOD IN US
“Remain in me, so that my life may flow through you” (Inner Word).
This phrase is very similar to the words we know from the Gospel of St John: “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4). The Lord invites us to give Him our whole heart and to watch over it so that it never strays from Him. Read More
THE STRONGER ONE HAS COME
‘Someone stronger must come and break the chains’ (Inner Word).
Sinful humanity is bound by chains with which Satan has bound it. He seeks to separate men from salvation in order to indirectly hurt God, who loves them so much. The chains are of various kinds. Read More
I HOLD ON TO YOU
“Do not look so much at your weaknesses and limitations, but at me who has called you and holds on to you, come what may.” (Inner word)
On the way of discipleship, we can easily be tempted to focus too much on our weaknesses. That would be the other extreme, as opposed to not noticing them at all or only noticing them in other people. Read More
“TRUE JUSTICE”
‘What would justice be without mercy? Allied with the darkness of cruelty, it would be injustice rather than justice’ (Saint Catherine of Siena).
Saint Catherine of Siena makes a plea here in favour of mercy. Indeed, in situations such as war, there is a great temptation to go beyond the limits of justice, to let oneself be carried away by the evil inclinations that dwell in the human heart, so that cruelty allies itself with justice, distorting it and making it terrifying.
CHOOSE LOVE
“We love, because he first loved us.” (1 Jn 4:19).
In a nutshell, Saint John’s Letter leads us to the source and true motivation of love: we want to love because God is love and loved us first. This is the deepest certainty that can accompany us like a constant beacon in all situations of life and become our motivation. We only have to ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of this, and He will surely do so with joy, since He Himself is the love between the Father and the Son. Read More
“PERSEVERE ON THE PATH”
‘It is not the beginning that is rewarded, but perseverance’ (Saint Catherine of Siena).
There is a very powerful proverb that says, ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ It is a serious warning not to falter on the good path that has been taken or that one wishes to take. Sacred Scripture also gives us similar admonitions, with different formulations. It is always a matter of exhorting us to perseverance and constancy on the path of God.
“LOVE DOES NOT TOLERATE SHADOWS”
‘Cultivate an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit so that all shadows in your life may vanish and He may guide you without hindrance’ (Inner Word).
What is our contribution to true peace, given that we have no external means to achieve it? True peace will only come when we live in harmony with God, because the root of discord comes from separation from God, that is, from sin.