24 June 2010

Here we are again together, dearest readers. I hope you are all well and happy in God. This month I want to share with you the words about the consecration that the Holy Spirit addressed to me. When we speak about the consecration you may automatically think of the priests or religious people. In reality, each one of us is called to consecrate himself to God. This consecration does not actually consist in a special way of life, but rather the inner state of a person who gives himself or herself over to the Lord, independently from the reality in which the person lives. In this sense, all those who sincerely desire to belong to God and abandon themselves to His will are consecrated. The consecration of oneself is the ground on which all vocations germinate no matter if it is marriage, priesthood, a religious life or something else. All those who decide to put their life in God’s hands, leaving all egoism behind to follow Jesus’ path, are received by the Lord as His consecrated. God does not make a difference between people; He welcomes with love each one’s offering.

Therefore, let us not be scared, for we are not asked to do great things or to pronounce sublime speeches to please God; we are only asked to be like trustful children without malice, who believe in the goodness of their Father and entrust themselves to Him with the certainty that they will receive only good and happiness from Him. If we do that, we are transformed by God and we participate in His work of salvation. Yes, the Lord needs these consecrated people to help humanity, to show it a different way of living, to open the path of hope for everyone of good will.

Now we will leave you to the words of the Holy Spirit; I hope you will receive light and vigor from them. I greet and embrace you in Christ.

 

Message of the Holy Spirit of 18 May 1999

 “In the Gospel you have read Jesus’ words:  ‘And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth’ (John 17,19 NRSVCE).[1] Jesus spoke about the offering of one’s life that every Christian must do and through which every Christian becomes a truly consecrated person. Unfortunately, not all Christians are consecrated, and not all who claim to be consecrated are truly consecrated. This offends God as their offering is impure. An impure offering is worse than lying. Whoever says to be offered to God and then does not live in the truth but in the darkness is worse than the one who chooses the darkness. This is what Judas did and many others continue to do like him.

Giving your life to God consecrates you to God; this offering must occur in truth; however, not your truth; that of your ego or your mind, but the truth of God. That is to say, the offering must occur according to the will of God and according to what each is foreseen for each one of you. In fact, many would like to obtain what is not meant for them; they would like to possess certain charismas, and they also would like to possess God. This puts you outside of the truth, for God gives each one according to the grace, that is, according to the possibilities and the capacity each one has, and He does everything with love, out of love and with attention towards each soul.

God’s truth consists of what is foreseen for each one of you. In this truth you will be able to truly consecrate yourselves and put your life at God’s disposal so that He may realise His divine plan in you. Yet, if you focus on your ambitions, human desires and personal interpretations of God’s will, your consecration will be outside of the truth; it will be only a means to realise your expectations even though you think to be filled with great faith. Ill ambitions are present in many who say to be consecrated because they consecrate themselves in their own way in order to obtain something from God; this is ambition.

If you live in the truth of God, you will be truly consecrated. Even the evil one will not be able to harm you because he will find nowhere within you to cling on. In fact, Satan seeks to draw you away from the truth, away from the plan of God; he seeks to divert you from the divine will, nourishing your ambitions and pressing on your weaknesses to turn you away from the truth. However, if you wholeheartedly desire only the realisation of God’s truth for you, Satan will not be able to touch you.

I invite you to ponder if everything in you is in the truth; if every step, every desire, every prayer is in the truth of God, that is, in God’s plan for you, which is your truth, the truth of your being.

To be consecrated in truth means to leave everything. Jesus invited you to leave everything (Mk 10,17-27; 28-31). Unfortunately, this call is only considered on a strictly material level, as if Jesus simply ordered you to go and sell your goods, do some kind of negotiation to regulate your business and then follow him. No, it is not so! Leaving everything refers to what is in you: what gives you human security, the comfortable choices; the compromises you often make when God’s truth does not correspond to your truth; when God’s wishes are contrary to yours; when you feel that your reputation could be harmed. All this is more dangerous than material wealth.

Many think to be consecrated to God because they have left some material goods, but they delude themselves, for they have not left their inner world which leads them to trust people and the things of the world rather than God. The spirit of the world sometimes follows even the religious into the convents; it infiltrates among the Christians like a virus and corrupts the people of God. This causes many evils to the faithful: the lack of prayer, faith and the abandonment to God; too much rationalism; empty words and useless sermons.

As Christ’s disciples you are particularly asked to leave everything. He who offers himself to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit cannot own anything because by giving his life, he gives everything to God. He who has a security, which is not based solely on God, owns something, and thus he has not left everything. He who has not left everything cannot give everything.

On the way to true consecration are those who have truly left everything and are prepared not to hope for something that is visible with human eyes, but for something that can only be seen by the eyes of faith. Then you are called to let down your nets (Lk 5,5) and to go towards the unknown; you can only count on God to succeed. Never forget that you are only kept alive by Providence, which is the thread that binds you to God; therefore, never break it, for if you do, you will fall into the void. I want to encourage you to do this, because according to Jesus’ promise, whoever leaves everything will receive a hundredfold and eternity.

I bless you with the blessing of light, strength and peace; in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

[1]  Citation taken from the bible edition “New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition – NRSVCE”, because the wording is the closest to the Italian original. See also John 17,19 NIV (New International Version), “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified”.