“There is a Father Who is above all fathers, Who loves you and will never cease to love you, if you so desire” (Father’s message to Sr. Eugenia Ravasio).
The love of our Heavenly Father is always there for us, but there is a condition for it to enter our hearts. This condition is our willingness and therefore our readiness to receive it and to respond to it. Read More
“There will come a time when God must be honoured and loved by men as He desires” (Father’s message to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
Could it be that this time has already come?
If we follow the statements in the Father’s Message and at the same time look at the state of faith today, we will see that these times can only be said to be partially fulfilled. Many people still do not know our Heavenly Father as He really is and therefore cannot enter into the intimate relationship of love that He offers us. This, in turn, has consequences for all mankind, for then the light of God’s love cannot spread in its fullness and permeate the lives of men. Read More
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:16-17).
All earthly tribulation has come to an end for those who have borne witness to our Father and to the Lamb and have remained faithful to Him until death. They will receive the great consolation of the Holy Spirit, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
“Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads’” (Rev 7:2-3).
If we live in a state of grace, we can confidently await the return of our Lord and, in the midst of great turbulence, escape the “wrath of God”.
Just as our heavenly Father saved Noah from the great flood and led him safely into the ark, so He preserved His chosen people from the deadly plague that struck the Egyptians, so that, seeing their gates sealed with the blood of the Lamb, “the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them” (Heb 11:28); just as He saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh and led them through the wilderness, so the Father will protect His own in the “hour of trial” (Rev 3:10).
The “seal of the living God” is placed on our foreheads if remain faithful to our faith, if we receive and live all that our Father has done for our salvation. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, as St John describes the multitude he saw “clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands”: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14).
Thus our Father has prepared for us a place of safety, and has set a seal upon us, so that no power can snatch us out of His hand. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39).
We can live in this certainty, attentive and vigilant, trying to show all people the Ark of Salvation in the Heart of our Heavenly Father, especially when the plagues fall upon humanity. All men can enter this ark, be washed in the blood of the Lamb and receive on their foreheads the “seal of the living God” to pass through the Great Tribulation dressed in white robes.
“The kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?’” (Rev 6:15-17) Read More
“The Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne” (Rev 5:7).
Prior to this scene, the seer of Revelation had ascertained that no one in heaven or on earth was worthy to open the book in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne, or to break its seals (v. 3).
“Day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”” (Rev 4:8).
This is how St John describes the adoration of our Father at His heavenly throne. In the apocalyptic vision, the Apostle saw twenty-four elders and four living creatures praising the glory of God without ceasing.
“Thou, o Lord, hast loosed my bonds” (Ps 116:16c).
How infinitely profound is our redemption, how immensely it brings us freedom!
On the contrary, how much sin binds us, how much we are attached to this fleeting life, how often we are captives in ourselves, not daring to place our life completely in God’s hands and thus live it to the full! Read More
“What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” (Ps 116:12).
If we were to meditate on these words of the Psalm and try to answer the question posed here, we would realise that it is impossible to repay our Father – not even remotely – for all His immeasurable love and care for us. It is always we who are honoured and blessed by Him! Even if we loved God with all our heart, His love would still be greater.
“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.
