3 September 2010

I have received a few e-mails in which the readers asked me to explain a passage of the last message of the Holy Spirit[1], published in August. The passage is the following:

“I cannot do anything but show you the way; I cannot take the decisions for you. Therefore, people who ask God to convert the souls are wrong. Many blasphemies that are heard in the world arise from this: God does not convert the wicked; He does not change this or that person. God could do it because He is omnipotent, but He lets you free so that you freely choose your path for better or for worse ….”

I would like to thank those who have written to me, asking for explanations. I think that it is very helpful to deepen the themes we are dealing with on the website as they are very delicate and often need appropriate clarifications, despite the inadequacy of human words before the mystery. I also think that a dialogue between you and me will be fruitful regardless of the distance; it will also contribute to create communion among us and make the website more alive.

That said, I will try to clarify the passage mentioned above on the basis of many other explanations I have received about this point. The readers who have written to me felt alarmed, fearing that praying for the conversion of people is wrong. In reality, it is not so.

All of us are asked to pray for the conversion of the others; it is a duty of every Christian and Our Lady has always emphasised this in all Her apparitions. What we must not do is to expect God to change the people without them doing anything for their conversion. That would be an act of force by God, who instead always respects our freedom. We pray for the people to convert to God, not for God to convert them. God never forces His creatures. He gives the graces to enhance a change of life; that is true, and He uses our prayers to pave the way for conversion. However, this may not be enough if the person does not want to change. Therefore, conversion remains a free and conscious action of the person. Neither God nor we with our prayers can force the conversion of the others. If this were the case, we would no longer be free, yet before God we are free. Our freedom is, at the same time, a great responsibility.

However, this does not authorise us to stop praying for the conversion of the sinners in particular. Often our prayer makes up for the lack of prayer of many others and induces God to multiply His graces and favours for humanity. However, as God does, we too must stop before the freedom of those we pray for. Often this causes us pain and disappointment. On the other hand, I have been told repeatedly that God never wastes His graces, as we often do, and that our prayers will still be used by God in favour of many others who are ready to open their hearts to Him.

Stefania Caterina

[1] See Message of the Holy Spirit of 23 May 1999, “The Decision of the Soul”, published on 24 August 2010 on our website, https://towardsthenewcreation.com/