Although we are in the “Passion Time”, I would like to dedicate today’s meditation to the “Message from the Father”, as we do on the 7th of every month.
When we meditate on the Passion, we usually think of Our Lord Jesus Christ and visualise His suffering all the way to the Cross. We probably also have in mind the Mother of the Lord, who stood by the Cross and accompanied her Son until his redemptive death. But perhaps we do not think so much of the suffering of our Heavenly Father.
In the “Message from the Father”, He tells us the following:
But how could I come among them? There was no other way than to come Myself, in the second Person of My divinity. Would men know Me? Would they listen to Me? Nothing in the future was hidden from Me; I Myself answered these two questions: “They will ignore My presence, even though they will be near Me. In My Son they will treat Me cruelly, notwithstanding all the good He will do for them. In My Son they will speak ill of Me, they will crucify Me to bring about My death.”
So we can see that all that our Lord suffered, the Heavenly Father also suffered. It was He who, out of love for us, sent His Son into the world to redeem us (Jn 3:16). This is and will remain an inexhaustible mystery, which we will adore forever together with the angels and saints, when it will be more deeply revealed to us in eternity.
On this occasion, however, I do not want to dwell on this aspect of suffering, for we will meditate on it again and again as we contemplate the Passion of Our Lord; but I would like to take a look at the Heart of our Father.
One might think that since God has fullness and perfection in Himself, there is no room for suffering in Him. This would be correct if we consider suffering only as a lack of perfection. God is perfect in Himself and lacks nothing that any creature could give Him. Of course He is fully happy in Himself!
However, there is a kind of “suffering of love” in God, when we humans do not accept the love that He wants to give us. Elsewhere in the “Message from the Father”, we find the following words:
Your heaven, My creatures, is in paradise, together with My chosen ones, because it is there that you will contemplate Me in an everlasting vision and will enjoy eternal glory. My heaven is on earth with you all, o men! Yes, it is on earth and in your souls that I look for My happiness and My joy. You can provide Me with this joy.
In many parts of this Message we encounter this suffering: He is a Father full of love, who wants to give everything to his children; but they do not recognise and accept his gifts; they despise and reject them. In the words we have just heard, the joy of God’s being able to rest in a soul that lives in a state of grace is clearly expressed.
In the “Message from the Father”, something is repeated in a very personal way that we find as a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures: a loving God in the face of his unfaithful bride.
In the Gospel we see that Jesus suffers when people do not accept and reject the grace of redemption (Lk 19:41-44). Likewise, I think that it is also a kind of suffering of love for the Father when people reject His love and, instead of experiencing His closeness in their earthly life, even have to live separated from Him for eternity, together with the demons. Certainly this never happens without justice?
Do we not know this suffering too, when we see that someone rejects God’s grace and does not accept the love and truth offered to him? This can cause us to suffer spiritually, even though we may not even know the person in question. Then we are motivated to pray for them, to fight for them… And if this happens to us, who – as Jesus says – are evil (Mt 7:11), how much more to our Heavenly Father, who has called men to be His children and wants to fill them with Himself!
As children of God, who love and want to love their Father, we are called to share in his thirst for those who are still in the “valley of the search”, for his confused and lost children. Moved by love for our Heavenly Father, we should do all in our power to help men find God.
The pain that, in spite of everything, some people do not respond to the invitation, will not take away the inner joy of being able to serve God. Perhaps in this way we can understand a little better how it is possible to feel pain without losing joy and being unhappy. Certainly so it is with our Heavenly Father, who does everything so that men may find their way home to Him.
A FINAL NOTICE: During the last few months, since we concluded the Novena to God the Father, we had invited those who felt particularly called to honour the First Person of the Blessed Trinity to report to us, as representatives of their respective nations, so that together we may give to our Heavenly Father that worship and love which He asks for in the Message given to Mother Eugenia Ravasio. If anyone had not heard this invitation and would also like to be part of this “Work of love” of the Heavenly Father, you can still send us an email to the following address, indicating your name and the country you come from: contact@jemael.org