“Live in intimacy with me, love me, and listen to me, and then everything will be well” (Inner Word).
God whispers this tender invitation to our hearts again and again. It is His way of remaining united with us during our earthly life, helping us fulfill our mission in this world and leading us safely to our goal. Our intimate relationship with the Father becomes something natural to us—far surpassing even the closeness we might experience with the most beloved person on a human level
For us, it means knowing that we are known by our Father. There is nothing we need to hide from Him; we must never fear that He does not understand us or imagine that anything about Him could cast a shadow on our soul, because “God is light and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5b).
Our Father continually strives to reveal His being and love to us so that this intimate relationship may arise, grow, and mature. His love for us was affirmed when He created us and took charge of our lives—both natural and supernatural. For our part, we must say “yes” to Him.
Beyond keeping His commandments, we must devote time to dialoguing with our Father, simply remaining in His presence and absorbing it. Here, we can entrust Him with everything in our hearts. In doing so, we also give Him a sign of our love, which He understands perfectly.
All of these practices lead to attentive listening to God. This is not an anxious concern over whether we’ve done something wrong—that would only distance us from our Father. On the contrary, loving listening can be accompanied by serenity and joy, as we see God—almighty and full of love—tend to our mistakes and clumsiness with a tender gaze, correcting them. We can picture Him as a father smiling at his little daughter, still a bit clumsy, and a single glance from Him is enough for her to understand what He wants to say.
There is no doubt that good fruit will come forth from walking this path. Everything in God’s plan will turn out well.