‘You only have to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and then everything that my fatherly kindness has planned can come true’ (Inner Word).
The Father and the Son have sent us the best inner Teacher, who guides us safely through this life, shapes us in God’s image and makes our life fruitful, always provided we follow His instructions: it is the Holy Spirit.
“Who shall not return love to Him who thus loves us?
Who of the redeemed shall not love Him,
and choose in that Heart
his eternal abode?”
‘Who, if not us? When, if not now?’ (Saint Joan of Arc).
These words were spoken by Saint Joan of Arc, and were probably addressed to the army entrusted to her by King Charles VII to fulfil God’s command to liberate France from English occupation.
‘I am waiting for you in eternity ’ (Inner Word).
Could we hear a more beautiful expression of our Father’s love for us? How wonderful it is for us on the human level when someone waits for us simply out of love, not because He wants something from us, but because He is pleased to have us near. It is also a delight when He expressly manifests it to us.
‘It is not to be believed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can penetrate a person who does not practise virtue ’ (John Tauler).
Moral virtues are those which order our conduct in such a way that it is pleasing to God. All Christian virtues are of this type. The moral virtues are distinguished from the theological virtues mainly in that the immediate object of the former is not God Himself, but our moral behaviour and the fulfilment of the duties which the Divine Law imposes on us, whether these relate directly to God, to our neighbour or to ourselves. We speak of acquired Christian virtues when this supernatural ability to do good has become a good habit, so that we practise it with a certain ease.
‘It is not to be believed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can penetrate a person who does not practise virtue ’ (John Tauler).
The indwelling of God in our soul has conditions. The first is that we live in a state of grace and remain vigilant not to lose it, and that we go immediately to the Throne of Grace should we fall, in order to be reconciled with our Father.
‘The best and most wonderful thing you can achieve in this life is to be silent and let God act and speak’ (Master Eckhart).
Silence has value and greatness in itself, as long as it is not the silence that can arise from anxiety and fear of man. By knowing how to be silent, by resisting the tendency to communicate and comment on everything, we learn to accept circumstances as they are, to ponder them more deeply and to face them with greater reflection. In this way, we escape the dynamism of a fast-paced world, which brings with it too much restlessness and a logic of ‘action-reaction’ in which we act hastily. As the apostle James advises: “Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas 1:19)
‘Whatever good we do, we must do for the love of God, and whatever evil we avoid, we must avoid for the love of God ’ (St. Francis of Assisi).
St. Francis gives us excellent advice for the spiritual life. Only when this is our motivation in both things will the good we do and the evil we avoid acquire the full splendour of truth. Then we will find it easier to see that it was God’s grace that sustained us and we will not focus so much on ourselves and our ‘performances’. It is not always easy, especially when we receive praise from others for the good we have done or when we indulge in being some kind of ‘benefactors of humanity’, which can be a subtle temptation.
“The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand” (Jn 3:35).
We all live by this love which the Father bestows on us through and in His Son. No one has ever and will ever be able to respond more perfectly to His love than His divine Son.
“You are my child. Ask me with confidence and share that which is in your heart” (Inner Word).
Without a doubt, our Father knows what is in our hearts, even if it is only timidly manifested. He also knows all our worries: ‘Thou discernest my thoughts from afar (…) Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. ’ (Ps 138:2,4).
