PARADISE OPENS

We lost so much when the gates of Paradise were closed to us! Even if we have become accustomed to it and no longer perceive it with great pain, it is a deep misery into which man plunged when he fell into sin. But in the depths of our souls there is still a longing for Paradise, which can become an incentive for us to seek God. Our Father lets us feel the shortcomings of this incomplete life, and at the same time shows us the way to that fullness which He wants to give us. This is what He tells us in the Message to Mother Eugenia:

“If you love Me and call Me by the sweet name of Father, you will begin to live, here and now, in the love and the trust which will make you happy in eternity and which you will sing in heaven in the company of the elect. Is this not a foretaste of the happiness of heaven, which will last for ever?”

One of the most painful consequences of the fall into sin is that we have largely lost our natural and familiar dealings with God, as well as our original trust in His love. However, God does not let us succumb to our outward and inward misery, but shows us a simple way to regain in our existence that glory which we could enjoy in paradise.

When we turn our hearts to God and address Him with the name “Father”, the depths of our soul are opened. Light falls upon the darkness, illuminating and warming the soul, freeing it from its prison and making it receptive to all the graces the Father grants us through His Son. The way is very simple, as is the cry of the Spirit in our hearts: “Abba, Father” (Gal 4:6). Then doors that were closed will be opened!