“How little is known the merciful goodness and love of your heart” (St. Teresa of Avila).
St Teresa expresses here what we also know from the Father’s message, as a kind of lament that this relationship of deep trust between God and His children has not yet been realised as He wants it to be.
One obstacle that often stands in the way is a false image of our Father that does not allow us to come to a deeper understanding of His love. In the words of St Teresa, it is the lack of knowledge of His merciful goodness and the love of His Heart.
In the days of the Lord’s Passion that have just passed, before the light of His Resurrection illuminated everything and dispelled the darkness, the Church made us meditate in the liturgy on the sufferings that Jesus underwent for the sake of all people. Faith teaches us that every step He took on His way to Calvary was done out of love for His Father and for us human beings. Thus the Father reveals to us the way He has chosen so that even the greatest sinner can return to Him and receive forgiveness. God’s Heart is wide open and everyone can approach Him without fear.
St Bernard says: “If I have committed a great sin, my conscience will be troubled, but not disoriented, because I will remember the wounds of the Lord. He was indeed wounded by our wickedness. Who is so worthy to die that he cannot be saved by the death of Christ?”
Our Father wants us never to underestimate His goodness and love. We honour Him when we learn to understand His love properly, when we live in it and pass it on to others. God invites all people to trust in Him and to turn to Him so that through true faith they can live a redeemed life. This is how He wants to see His children, and He has prepared everything for them so that they can live this way.