By Tomislav Vlašić

13 February 2013

Dearest Readers,

The words of Saint Luke in the title refer to the glorious coming of the Lord. At the same time, they refer to moments of our life, to the history of humankind, to favourable and unfavourable situations. God makes Himself present to those who seek Him. We may enjoy His extraordinary presence and manifest it in these times.

Awareness in faith stimulates the perception of His presence and action in us and around us. Those who have offered their life to Christ, through Mary Most Holy, are already involved in the process of the new creation; they may already notice a transformation in them that does not stop, and nothing can stop it. Living faith takes them to experience this deeply, which also increases their certainty.

We have explained to you that the Trinitarian action will be realised within us through the extraordinary instruments and the entire Mystical Body. This year the Angels and the Saints will be particularly close to us. Of the many experiences we have made, I would like to share particularly one with you one, which may help you participate better in this work of the Lord.

On 25 January 2013, the Feast of the conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle himself appeared to us in spirit and spoke to us. St. Paul especially underlined two fundamental points: joy and concreteness.

1. He presented himself full of joy and praised the Lord because the evangelisation of the universe has finally begun. All Apostles and Saints praise God for this work. This year, the Saints strongly increase their praise: they accompany God’s action with great praise and gratitude. St. Paul wanted to communicate this joy to us so that we too could participate in it.
2. Instantly, this question arises in our spirit: “What should we do and how? Paul has given us a concrete answer: “Accept the will of God and stay where He has placed you. In my life, I prayed, I preached, and I worked; I was put in prison, I was persecuted, beaten to death and killed. In all these situations I served God. Do the same, too.”

We can thus summarise these two points of our path of transformation like this: in all situations, we are able to live as risen people to praise God and manifest God’s life in us.

How can we participate in the powerful Trinitarian action? Jesus Himself has explained it to us: “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (John 14,21). He further says: “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14,25-26). 

Thus, God is present in us. We can understand His life and His action to the degree we are open to His presence. We can show God our greatest attention by loving Him with all our strength and above everything, just as God loves each one of us. At the same time, we must bear witness to God’s love to others, loving our neighbour as ourselves.

I will give you a few concrete steps:

1. I decide to dedicate some time to God. I descend into my spirit, into my inmost being, with a simple prayer that comes from my heart. I take everything to God that disturbs and distracts me: my sins, my wounds, the provocations coming to me from outside. I empty myself of all that prevents me from perceiving God’s presence and immerse myself into His Love. I entrust and offer my life to God.
2. I surrender to the action of God and participate in it. God has created and redeemed me. God creates everything new in me and in the universe; it is His work.

I will go through a few verses of the psalm 139:

“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down.
you are familiar with all my ways” (Psalm 139,1-3 NIV)

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139,23-24)

 

You are in every word you have revealed. I want each word to search and know me, to enclose me in its profound meaning. Not my initiative shall prevail, nor my interpretation, but your Trinitarian initiative, which creates all new in me and which saves, sanctifies and takes all to perfection.

3. I seek the living God as He is. If I seek Him before anything else – my needs, my health, my own life – I receive a new, blameless, holy life that descends from God: I receive the ALL!
4. I feel inwardly the Spirit of God who produces His fruits in me: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5,22-23). God’s life vibrates in me; renewing my encounter with God, immersing me in His Love, I am reborn, I grow and become a new creature.
5. I decide to live God’s life and manifest the reality of God. This happens in me just as nature does in spring: everything sprouts, blooms and grows; with its beauty and scent, it attracts everything to a splendid universal communion.
6. I raise my praise to God from my deepest heart. No one has taught me this praise; God Himself has generated it in me and raises it to Him. He unites it, in His Spirit, with that of others in the heavenly Liturgy. I know that this is my destiny, like that of all His children of the new universe. All this opens my horizons and unites me with the divine, universal power that advances and will never stop.

God is making Himself present, He lets Himself be contemplated; this is the absolute certainty! He Himself is instructing me because He immerses me into His life. In Him, I can contemplate the entire reality.

If you move on, encountering God every day, taking advantage of every moment to stay with Him, you will discover marvellous things in your life, and life itself will be the greatest sign God can give you. You will experience that your wounds will heal; you will forget the bitterness of the offences you have suffered, and forgiveness will arise in you as overflowing life. Every gift of God will appear in you as something authentic and mature. God’s life will shine through every action or service of yours. This will be your true testimony to the Trinitarian action in you.

Hence, your life will become continuous praise to God, which will grow day by day until you enter the new creation. It will be the praise of the whole universe.

We thank you for walking your path towards God. We are ever more united to all of God’s children and made more powerful in His Spirit. We embrace and bless you in the name of the Trinitarian God.