Church of Jesus Christ of the Universe

By Mauro

24 February 2024

Deut 26, 16-19; Ps 118(119); Mt 5,43-48

Translated audio

Through today’s and yesterday’sreadings, we can see God’s action, which always takes us further. This happened with the people of Israel and with the Christians, and it is happening now in this time: it is the path of God, who takes man further. He always takes us beyond and outside of ourselves, outside of the logic of time, outside of the time in which we live, outside all that is the world, the way the world thinks, the spirit of the world. You see that it resembles Jesus’ descent to Hell, so to say, and that brings us back to what we are intended to be: children of God. It is a path of faith, which always follows the Son of God andGod’s action.

Today, in Deuteronomy[1] it says: “The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws.” At that time, a people who had the Law was a people that stood above all others. I will not read all, but it also says: “And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession …. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honour high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God.”

In today’s Gospel[2], it reads: “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” I refer to yesterday’s Gospel[3], which is related to today’s: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

It is necessary to go through a process: overcoming the justice of the Pharisees does not mean that you will be better than them at respecting the laws, as they respected them perfectly. Already two thousand years ago Jesus said: “If you cannot begin from the spirit to have a new spirit; if you cannot follow the life that begins within you, but you remain firm in the justice of the Pharisees, which was based on the Law, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Indeed, the Gospel always speaks of new wine in new wineskins; of the old man that dies and the birth of the new man.[4]

St. Paul often repeats the aspect that it is not about respecting the Law but about going beyond the Law. Only then, can we love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”[5] If we remain stuck in the Law, it is impossible to become perfect as our Father is. If we follow it to go beyond the law of the Spirit, the dynamic of the Son of God begins to work, as the Son of God is perfect as His Father is.

Jesus began this new path, and it will culminate in the New Creation. This path will end with His glorious return and open the New Creation. It began with the Old Testament, with the people of Israel and the preparation for the coming of the Messiah; Jesus Christ opened a path for us: the offering of ourlife. Through our self-offering, we can go beyond the justice of the Pharisees and continue the path up to our times, in which He is here, present in His second coming. Now His Church comes to light, and there are more graces than in the early times because there is all the grace of those who preceded us so that we, too, may also open the New Creation, together with Him.

Let us consider how much openness and freedom it took for the Jews of Jesus’ time to follow Him. He violated the Sabbath, and thereforeit was not obvious that people would follow Him. It is easy for us now to ask, “Why did they not welcome Him?” People needed to have the readinessto listen to what touched their heart when they heard Jesus’ words, what moved them when they met and saw Him. In the Gospel, there are many episodes of this kind: for example, when he calls Matthew[6]; when the woman says: “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”[7] Something deeply touched them, and it had nothing to do with the Law and the justice of the Pharisees.

In the Gospel, it says: “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority![8] There was someone who spoke with authority but who went beyond the Law. Note that this energy has not ended; it also applies to us now in regard to all the words we have heard and all the graces we have seen and touched. What do they arouse when we welcome them within ourselves? We hear the voice of one who speaks with love and authority, who takes us further, who always goes beyond the justice not only of the Pharisees but also of Christians, of humanity.

Remember that in those days, two thousand years ago, there was not yet the Holy Spirit; He was given later. However, many recognised that the Truth was in Jesus and that He was the Life. Some recognised that He was the Truth and the Way. In Capernaum, He says: “’You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”[9]

Each of us must take these steps. When we say that we must put God first and that we only want to know Jesus and the Father, making our life available to Him, we must have an attitude of reflexion: “Who will I go to?” In us, Peter’s question must arise, “Where should I go? You alone have Life. I recognise it, despite hardships and moments of discouragement. You Are the Life.” God’s Life transcends structures, laws, rules and hierarchies; it resides in a personal relationship with God. When we affirm that “Above conscience there is nothing”, as the Church says, it means that, while conscience has the highest importance, it is our relationship with God that ultimately matters most!

Then, the next stage of the path is Pentecost, in which a fire descended upon the people: the courage to face being torn to pieces by lions, to give their lives; everything seemed natural to them. They left everything and followed the Apostles, affirming that they had encountered life and embraced it. That was the fruit of Pentecost. Pentecost seems to have lost importance over the years; it has almost disappeared. We know that the Cosmic Pentecost is now taking place yet in silence. However, it speaks within the spirit; it awakens the souls. We must enter into it with our faith. This is our action: to immerse ourselves in this Pentecost, otherwise, we will not be people who surpass the justice of the Pharisees; we will not have the grace that takes us further. This applies to us, just as to the Jews in the desert and to the first Christians, namely, to get up and leave like Abraham did, towards what we do not know, but which we feel is right. This has not changed.

In the 20th century, there were more Christian martyrs than in the early Church. I believe that now, someone who wants to belong totally to Christ, to encounter Christ and desire Christ, endures a continuous daily martyrdom. It seems to me that the whole dynamic of society, in every sector of the world – I hope I am not wrong – is all against the dimension of Christ and the Christians. Those who cannot go against Him try to water the teachings down through compromises and reasoning. It seems to me that active participation is lacking in them, in contrast to those who feel His presence within themselves. Whoever wants to belong to Christ clashes with the world and experiences daily martyrdom.

The second coming of Jesus is real. Jesus is working with the power of the Holy Spirit. He is doing everything as He did then, but even more so. Now, His power has not increased, as He has always been the Son of God. However, His power is no longer conditioned by the dimension of the flesh – which Jesus Christ on Earth also had to assume to be the Redeemer – and we are co-redeemers with Him. But now, He and Mary Most Holy no longer bear the weight of flesh. Jesus is present and alive, and He can be everywhere. He is not only in Nazareth or Jerusalem but also everywhere. He walks these paths and has asked us to walk with Him; He has asked us to be this fire alongside Him and to follow Him as the first Christians did, as I said before.

We too, who have the Holy Spirit, are asked for the courage to choose Life, with a capital letter. It is the courage not to make compromises – we easily slide into them even with good intentions. We are asked for the courage to trust in His work, that it is He who brings everything to completion. Let us not worry about what we see, because, nowadays, we are in a war, which can be called a “world war”, and in dreadful confusion. One may wonder, “Is Jesus truly here? Where is He?” All the evil that is coming out is truly the result of His presence because everything is provoked, and everything comes out in the open. However, we must not look at that, but rather within ourselves, at what He asks of us to follow Him, to look beyond things, so that our justice surpasses that of – I hope not to offend anyone – lukewarm Christians, Christians who say they are baptised but do not participate in the life of Christ. We must follow Him beyond all this.

We have already taken important steps forward in choosing the three cornerstones as pillars: the offering of our life, integrity, and universal communion. We have chosen God and offered our lives to Him because we want to know the Father and the One whom the Father sent[10]; we want Him to be our light and for Him to come first. We have recognised the extraordinary instruments[11] as a gift, not as a burden but as something that God grants us, just as the Sacraments and Purgatory.These are gifts from God so that everyone may continuously move forward towards the life of God.

In universal communion, we recognise that we are protected, accompanied, and helped in the things we are insufficient. We are sure that where we are not good enough, the communion will step in. For this reason, we not only believe in the living presence of the brothers and sisters faithful to God in the Universe, who help us, but we are happy that they are there, and we want to experience communion with them.

How then, can we move beyond things? How can we follow Christ, overcoming the justice of the Pharisees? I will quote the words of God the Father; they will help us understand:

“I urge you not to have in your head ideas of what this, that or the other thing should be like. Leave aside all ideas, all schemes, as you have seen them up to now because they are the result of many wrong things that have been instilled in your head. Now you must walk freely and let My work advance through My Son, in the Holy Spirit, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. You will also understand things from within with ease; you will understand them without effort, without fear and without doubts. You will see them open up before you as a flower opens, but you must leave behind all your prejudices; you must leave behind rigid beliefs, everything you have self-established about how a person should be, how a priest should be, how a people should be. Erase everything, everything that is old, and now allow My newness to transform things.

Everything I put before you is there because I want to transform it: I am transforming reality. The New Creation is fully unfolding. You will not get there magically; it will not descend from above, but it will be made before your eyes with your help. Now I need you to mentally renew yourselves. Throw away any mental planning you have done in your life. It is not your fault, you were educated to plan everything, to see everything, to set criteria for everything and, if something does not match your patterns, you throw it away. Yet, is not so. You will be amazed at how I will do things, new things, even starting from what seems less likely and, in your eyes, less right, but I decide what is right.

Let My Son work. I have given Him all the power, in Heaven and on Earth, to carry out My work in the Holy Spirit, and Jesus will act with the Holy Spirit. Together they will carry out all projects. You will only have to welcome them and participate in them with your prayers, with your celebrations, with the offering of your life. This will be the key to opening all doors, otherwise, you will end up behaving like the old Church, which codified everything and got nowhere. Do not do this! Let me do My part, and you do your part.

I bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

[1] See Deut 26,16-19

[2] See Mt 5, 43-48

[3] See Mt 5,20-26

[4] See Lk 5, 37-38

[5] See Mt 5,48

[6] See Mt 9, 9

[7] See Mt 9, 20-22

[8] See Mk 1, 27

[9] See Jn 6, 66-69

[10] See Jn 17, 3

[11] See the category The extraordinary instruments of God, on our website, https://towardsthenewcreation.com/