“Stay with me; I love you! – Stay with me; I guard you! – Stay with me; I guide you; I am your Father” (Inner Word).
What an invitation our heavenly Father addresses to us! And it is not only valid for the short time of our earthly existence; it remains in force forever and will carry us from glory to glory in eternity:
“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (1 Cor 13:12).
It is precisely divine love that we will be able to fully recognize in eternity, being totally permeated by it.
But already here on earth, in the midst of the tribulations of these dark times, this love becomes a refreshment for the soul that thirsts for it and seeks it. In her confusion, she often does not find the Lord, and so she torments herself, trying to fill her emptiness with substitutes that never satisfy her and leave her even emptier. In fact, it is this Love for which the soul longs that created her, redeemed her and will bring her to perfection. What a misfortune if the soul cannot abide with her Lord, though perhaps she herself does not even realize what she lacks!
“Stay with me; I love you!”
We do not need many words to respond to this invitation. The love of our Father calls us with all intimacy and speaks to us in this way:
“I just want you to be with me. Bring me your heart and let me love you. Then you will know how to remain faithful and you will always drink from the fountain of my heart. You will always be able to find me, even in the darkest hours, for my love will never leave you. Stay with me; I love you! I am your Father”.