“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord” (1 Kings 19:1-18)

Dearest Brothers and Sisters,

God’s invitation to anyone who wants to know Him is the same as the one addressed to the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18): to come out of himself and open up to God. This is the most obvious and natural step towards the relationship between the human creature and God; at the same time, it is the most difficult. The whole history of salvation, all the saints, and even the great prophet Elijah testify this: he too had to get out of his reasoning, his visions of salvation and his charismatic power to enter the silence and accept the saving action of God. 

Man is a communicative, ecstatic being. Nature is the same: it opens up to be warmed, watered and fecundated in order to offer its fruit. Unlike nature, man is free; he communicates with God in love giving his life back to Him. In this manner, he grows, is transformed and reaches perfection in communion with God.

1. Why is man afraid of God’s justice? God’s justice is the perfect environment for the development of the life of every individual and the entire human community. There, everything is perfect: love, order, knowledge, life and all noble human desires. In someone who is closed, however, everything is imperfect, which leads to corruption as a result of his sin.

Mysteriously, man hides, runs away from that perfect environment, from the face of God. He finds a thousand reasons to remain closed in his will and his way of thinking and thus limits himself. By withdrawing from the justice of God, he becomes fearful, distorts his religious relationship and becomes a hypocrite. By avoiding God’s justice, which is the reality in God, the mirror of perfection, he prefers to speak superficially of mercy and grace, of having extraordinary experiences, charismas, special services, success; or, he loses the ability to know good and evil. By doing so, he enters into the vortex of confusion: after all, he is afraid of giving himself to God to be completely regenerated by Him; he condemns himself to survive in the place where he is and then to die.

2. We know the perfect openness to God of the Most Blessed Virgin, who is the only new creature. Her attitude before God is summed up in her words to the Archangel Gabriel:  “I am the Lord’s servant,”…” May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38). Her whole life unfolded in this attitude, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception to the assumption into heaven in body and soul. She explained it herself in a message to Stefania Caterina: “Dear children, I did not die! When I was taken up into heaven, I was not in a state of death, but of profound ecstasy. In this ecstasy, I was taken into heaven in the blaze of glory of the Almighty. I was deeply in ecstasy and my whole being made ​​of spirit, soul and body rose accompanied by angels, who opened the way for me, as they will open it to all of you, when you enter the new creation. Surrounded by the seven great Archangels and by myriads and myriads of angels, I was taken up into heaven”. [1]

This seems unbelievable to man. He pushes away from him the truth of becoming a new creature, as if it were unreal. But this is the reality that we are asked to make our own. Our Lady explains: “Your whole spiritual journey must tend to the progressive purification from sin and corruption until you reach the state of immaculateness, which makes you partakers of the divine grace and worthy of belonging to the new humanity. The entire human race in the whole universe will have to reach this state of purity in order to enter the new creation: the new human creature will be immaculate and so will be the new humanity”.[2]

What a great exodus of humanity! It will be the full and final realization of our aspirations.

Seek, seek God, that is, pray to God, and pick up the life that He communicates to you; however, not only to survive. Do not ask for things to put in your pockets full of holes, in a corrupt life! Seek the kingdom of God; ask to become new persons so that your life may be fully realized. All the rest will be given to you as a result of your submission to the laws of God (Mt 6:24-34).

All of you can see the deep crisis of humanity. Moral and cultural degradation is spreading, jobs are lacking and poverty is increasing. People gripped by the crisis are tense, fearful and understand each other less and less; the same happens in politics and in many other sectors. Even nature is disrupted and bewildered: floods, hurricanes, pollution…. Have you noticed it? Are you trying to find the real way out of this situation? Have you figured out the cause? Humanity has closed in on itself within the material dimension, which is destined to be transformed and no longer stay as it is. Humanity sees no way out, chokes and threatens to implode. Humanity has lost touch with its origin and its end: “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev 22:12-13). Let us seek Him, let us love Him and let us convert to Him. Then we will walk in the light, we will understand the events that unfold in front of us, instead of being overwhelmed by worry and despair. Seek Him and you will understand the events; you will see the way out of the crisis.

My heart, O God, is steadfast;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

Save us and help us with your right hand,

that those you love may be delivered.

(Ps 108:1-7)

May the Lord give you the fruit of your search and your prayer and bless you.

                                                                                                          Tomislav Vlašić

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