“I am among you. Happy are those who believe this truth and who take advantage of this time” (Message of the Father to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
Yesterday we meditated on the fact that we should not anticipate the Holy Spirit. Today we are admonished to take advantage of the time we have been given. There is no contradiction between these two statements. On the contrary, they are related.
In order to progress on the path of deeper prayer – which in traditional mystical theology is called “contemplation” – a beautiful comparison is often used. Our vocal prayer, practiced under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, is like the oar that moves the boat with effort. When the Lord gives the grace of contemplation, it is like the wind blowing on the sails that are hoisted, and the boat begins to move forward rapidly.
Let us apply this to the phrase we heard today from the Father’s message.
As long as we continue to have doubts about our Heavenly Father, as long as we are still uncertain about His relationship with us and ours with Him, it is as if we are only moving forward with the oars, which often requires a great deal of effort. If, on the other hand, we accept that our Father is among us (as He assures us in the first sentence) and let this truth become a certainty of faith, then the sails of our spiritual life will be hoisted and the Spirit will be able to move us forward at great speed.
In the certainty of our Father’s love, we will begin to take advantage of the time we have been given. We will no longer see it as the passing of time, simply subject to the natural course of life, but it will become for us a “kairos”, in the “now”, in the “today”.
Then God’s grace will give us wings to take advantage of the time He gives us.