“I have given you my heart so that love may never run dry” (Inner Word).
To love like the Lord, we need a new heart, the heart of our Heavenly Father. Otherwise, how can we overcome all the barriers that make our hearts so small and narrow?
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THE VIGILANCE OF GOD
“He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (Ps 91:3).
Although we are undoubtedly safe under the wings of our Father and Jesus watches over His own, as the Gospel of John assures us (17:12), our life is still surrounded by dangers. Not for nothing does Scripture warn us that “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Therefore, we must be vigilant in every way, lest we fall into the snares and traps that the enemy of our souls sets around us. But as we know, it is not only the devil who puts us in danger, but also our flesh and the world. Therefore, we must restrain our desires lest we fall into addictions, and remain vigilant lest we succumb to the seductive pleasures and vanities of this world.
VIGILANCE AT EVERY STEP
“Pay attention to every step. You must always be vigilant” (Inner Word).
Vigilance is a key concept in our spiritual life.
When we have awakened to the love of our Father, the Holy Spirit will constantly teach us to be vigilant. In fact, vigilance is closely related to love. We know what the gifts of the Holy Spirit do in us: the gift of the fear of God, which moves us to avoid anything that might offend Him; the gift of piety, which strives to do whatever pleases Him; the gift of counsel, which instructs us as to what is right in God’s eyes in a given situation, and so on.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER
“Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11).
To acknowledge Jesus as Lord is not only important in the personal religious sphere, but it is the realisation of God’s plan for the whole of humanity. This is our Father’s plan: to gather all humanity in Christ to give them all that He has in store for them. Many passages of Sacred Scripture testify to this.
WAIT FOR DEATH PROPERLY
“Wait a little longer and continue to fulfil your task. I am your reward’ (Inner Word).
The more we love our Father, the more we long to be with Him in eternity. Let us remember how Jesus invited His disciples to rejoice with Him because He would soon return to the Father (Jn 14:28).
GOD’S LOVE SAVES
“My love and all that this love has conceived can save them” (Inner Word).
Unfortunately, not a few people have gone seriously astray. If they do not convert, their lives will become increasingly dark and they may even be eternally condemned.
JESUS IS THE DOOR TO THE FATHER’S HEART
“The door to the Father’s Heart is always open” (Inner Word).
The Son of God has opened it for us forever, and through Him we can always have access to our Father. Jesus has made this clear to us countless times, especially in the Gospel of John.
NOTHING WITHOUT TRUTH
“Truth claims its right” (Inner Word).
Without truth there can be no true love, nor can we properly understand the mercy of our heavenly Father. Indeed, His mercy never overlooks or disregards truth and justice, but needs them as a foundation for God’s light to point us in the right direction.
FIX YOUR GAZE ON THE FATHER
“Look at me on the cross, see how I keep my gaze fixed on the Father” (Inner Word).
Both during His earthly life and at the hour of His death, Our Lord kept His gaze fixed on the Father. Everything was centred on Him: the Father: He carried out His mission to the end to accomplish the Father’s work, and His longing was to return to Him.
THE WISE GUIDANCE OF OUR FATHER
“Do what you can, ask for what you cannot, and God will give you so that you can” (St. Augustine).
Once we have set out on the path of following the Lord, our Father takes us into His service and gives us great responsibility. We should never give up in the face of difficulties that may come our way and which tend to “puff up”, appearing bigger than they really are. This also applies to situations that seem insurmountable. Here we are invited to put into practice St Augustine’s phrase: we go as far as we can and at this point we ask our Father for the grace to face in the right way what lies before and beyond us.