«If one of My creatures had been enough to atone for the sins of other men through a life and death similar to those of My Son, I would have hesitated. Why? Because I would have betrayed My love by making a beloved creature suffer, rather than suffering Myself, in My Son. I would never have wished My children to suffer.» (Message of God the Father to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
We can find a reflection of this love in a good mother who is willing to lay down her life in order to protect that of her children. Sacred Scripture offers us the wonderful image of a shepherd laying down his life for his sheep, a parable that was realised in a unique way in our Lord Jesus Christ and in many of His followers. Even in the animal world we can find species in which mothers willingly and sacrificially serve their young.
The source of such heroic love flows from the Heart of the Father, who chose to suffer Himself in the Passion and Death of His Son to redeem us. He Himself offered the sacrifice necessary for our redemption. And in His Creation He sowed this same love, capable of surpassing self-love to such an extent. In discovering such acts of supreme love in creatures, we are reminded of the Father’s love. Even in the prophets, who often suffered persecution, humiliation and death for the sake of the mission God had entrusted to them, the love of the Father shines forth, making them capable of enduring it.
Our Father never betrays His love for us, come what may. He always stands by it. Only we can reject Him, which means great suffering for Him.
His love, however, was and still is so ready to suffer that it follows man in all his abysses, even though he forgets and offends it countless times. Such is our Father!