“Let those by mercy now be cured, whom loving – kindness long endured” (Lauds hymn of Lent).
If our Father were not as He is, who could stand before Him? But He cannot but be as He is, for in Him there is no change: He is Love and will always remain so. If this were not so, would there be any hope for us? No! But since our Father is as He is, we can put all our hope in Him. This is the realism of faith. In the certainty that our Father loves us and never ceases to do so, we are invited to know, honor, and love Him.
But how do we come to love Him more? Jesus tells us: “He who loves me keeps my commandments”. If we do not keep His commandments, we remain in darkness. How many people have gone astray! How many have not yet found the green pastures that God offers them! And what does our Father do in the face of this reality?
His love and His patience do not cease to seek them. He does not give up in His struggle for humanity. His patience is inexhaustible, and He waits until the last breath, hoping that the person will turn to Him, that they will show the slightest sign of repentance, that they will call Him just once with the name “Father”.
He tries everything to save mankind. He even allows people to feel in their own flesh the consequences of their sins and deviations. But there is always His long-suffering, which does not falter in its expectation and in its efforts for the salvation of those souls whom He created out of love.
If we want to love our Father even more, let us internalize and imitate this wonderful quality of His. Let us not give up in our struggle for souls, however lost they may be. Let us pray unceasingly for them so that they may find the way of salvation or be led back to it. Then we will become more like our Heavenly Father and more able to love Him.