“Having taken pleasure during his life in the hope of saving him when he repented, I now rejoice even more, together with My celestial court, at having realized My desire to be his Father for ever” (Father’s Message to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
This excerpt from the Father’s Message comes at the end of a moving story that God the Father tells to Mother Eugenia. It is worth reading in its entirety because it shows us how our Heavenly Father is constantly striving to conquer a soul that is continuously offending Him with a life of sin. Nevertheless, our Father does not cease to court him with great patience and perseverance. Shortly before his death, this soul came to his senses and asked God for forgiveness.
Finally, our Father’s desire was fulfilled. Just as He fought to save this particular person, our Father fights for all mankind. At the same time, this story gives us a divine lesson on how to fight for a soul that seems to have closed itself off from God’s grace.
Indeed, it may happen that a soul, in spite of the graces and blessings showered upon it by God, in spite of many admonitions, in spite of the prayers and sacrifices offered by others for it, simply does not turn away from its wrong ways. Under such circumstances, we may become discouraged. We may also get angry, become indifferent, fall into excessive sadness, or even become bitter.
In the passage we heard today from the Father’s Message, it is striking that the Lord speaks of the joy of hope that the person in question can still be saved. Is this not a divine attitude that we should imitate?
Instead of allowing ourselves to be swallowed up by the feeling that there is no point in fighting for a particular person or for humanity in general, we should place our hope in God, firmly believing that conversion can still take place and that salvation can still be achieved. This hope, in turn, can become a source of joy for us, as the Father shows us in these words.