of Sr. Laura Piemonte Disciple and Apostle of the Holy Spirit
The history of the life of each of us could be summarized in a metaphor: the history of the chalice. Jesus tells James and John the sons of Zebedee "can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" (Mt 20.22b) It is as if he said: can you fully live your life despite the consequences, and what does it involve? What is the glass? Living life with Jesus, giving life. Jesus through the incarnation assumes the condition of a servant, completely emptying himself. If we do not use the metaphor of the chalice, what can we compare our existence to? To a good professor who knows how to explain his subject well, but is not able to give the student something special; it can do so reflecting on the meaning of life, on its own identity but it cannot replace the person who needs to internalize his life with his pains and joys to flourish. This is not always easy, self-love is opposed, the self that always wants to be in the first place. We must empty ourselves as Jesus did, not anchor our existence to our plans and expectations. If we do not, we risk losing the meaning of life. Prayer and adoration to the Holy Spirit illuminate our senses and our faculties, enrich us with priceless gifts. Is he not the Paraclete who scrutinizes and probes the immense creation? Thus he scrutinizes the depths of man. It educates him to freedom for self-transcendence. We pay attention to the words of Mother Carolina "O Divine Spirit, Love of the Father and the Son. You are that sacred fire that can no longer contain itself within the confines of your eternal dwelling, overflows and flooded the whole created universe. O burning, purifying, vivifying fire, here is my soul: submerge it, sanctify it, consume it. Make it a flame of pure love, so that it may deserve to enter the sacred chest of sweet Jesus, to become one with its most adorable heart "(5-6-1966). How does the Holy Spirit act and educate us? We pay attention to the words of Jesus to the poor soul. Words also addressed to each of us.
"Love is not measured by human calculations, but is a fire, which for an ineffable condescension of the infinite charity of God descends into the heart of his creature, even if it is poor and poor and when it finds ready docility, it does it for you wonderful works. The soul will then always find every support and comfort in the Heart of his most loving Lord Jesus, who is the living charity of the eternal Father "(26-4-1964). The Spirit is the sun that dissolves all our resistances, dispels our false convictions and makes us docile, like Mary, to the call of the Lord, making us respond: "Let your Word be done in me." That Word that carried Mary in her womb is developed and grows in us too. Through the Eucharist, Jesus becomes part of our flesh, our blood, our soul, and then remains spiritually within us. Then we will live that human-divine dimension as Jesus lived it, with our feet on the ground and with our eyes always turned towards the Father, imbued with acts of faith and love. Mary and Joseph are our example. Mary must become the mother of the Word, she must give flesh and blood to the son of God and Joseph must guard the mystery by placing himself beside her. In their experience, even in the painful night of faith, Mary and Joseph represent the perfect models to inspire us for our actions, to correct our routes, to support our weakness.
"Be sober, watch. Your enemy the devil as a roaring lion goes around looking for someone to devour. Stand firm in the faith "(1 Pet 5: 8-9a). This verse makes us understand that the problem is not so much to avoid temptation, but to overcome it. It allows us to grasp the limits, to know ourselves. For example: Why do I refuse to accept that situation? Or: Why does the behavior of that person next to me sometimes bother me and create anger in me? Then I can understand that I am still bound to the things of the earth and that it is still difficult for me to immerse myself in the spiritual dimension. If I seek the Lord intensely, the Spirit arouses in me the desire to quench my thirst at its source. He is our center of gravity, it is he who fills our inner emptiness, so human compensations and defense mechanisms will be replaced by his immense love. The darkest shadows light up, the wounds heal and we will be able to accept situations of frustration and to love our brother for what he is.
Sometimes we fight against our powerlessness, our weakness, we camouflage it and hide it by showing people only a beautiful and apparent safety mask. It is pride that does not want powerlessness. God, however, if we listen to him, little by little he manages to make us understand him and we will feel more united to him with his embrace of a strong love that disarms us. God can do everything, I can do nothing. It is precisely by understanding this that we come to experience an encounter with him as never before and we will feel part of that anxiety of salvation that Jesus has for souls. Let us reflect on the words that Jesus said to Mother Carolina and that also apply to us "It will not be for your faithfulness or for your virtues that I will manifest myself, but because I am good, and I long to associate for the fulfillment of the plan of my love for the salvation of souls other souls, with whom I hold myself more intimately and by which I am pleased to carry out my designs "(28-9-1968).
The history of the life of each of us could be summarized in a metaphor: the history of the chalice. Jesus tells James and John the sons of Zebedee "can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?" (Mt 20.22b) It is as if he said: can you fully live your life despite the consequences, and what does it involve? What is the glass? Living life with Jesus, giving life. Jesus through the incarnation assumes the condition of a servant, completely emptying himself. If we do not use the metaphor of the chalice, what can we compare our existence to? To a good professor who knows how to explain his subject well, but is not able to give the student something special; it can do so reflecting on the meaning of life, on its own identity but it cannot replace the person who needs to internalize his life with his pains and joys to flourish. This is not always easy, self-love is opposed, the self that always wants to be in the first place. We must empty ourselves as Jesus did, not anchor our existence to our plans and expectations. If we do not, we risk losing the meaning of life. Prayer and adoration to the Holy Spirit illuminate our senses and our faculties, enrich us with priceless gifts. Is he not the Paraclete who scrutinizes and probes the immense creation? Thus he scrutinizes the depths of man. It educates him to freedom for self-transcendence. We pay attention to the words of Mother Carolina "O Divine Spirit, Love of the Father and the Son. You are that sacred fire that can no longer contain itself within the confines of your eternal dwelling, overflows and flooded the whole created universe. O burning, purifying, vivifying fire, here is my soul: submerge it, sanctify it, consume it. Make it a flame of pure love, so that it may deserve to enter the sacred chest of sweet Jesus, to become one with its most adorable heart "(5-6-1966). How does the Holy Spirit act and educate us? We pay attention to the words of Jesus to the poor soul. Words also addressed to each of us.
"Love is not measured by human calculations, but is a fire, which for an ineffable condescension of the infinite charity of God descends into the heart of his creature, even if it is poor and poor and when it finds ready docility, it does it for you wonderful works. The soul will then always find every support and comfort in the Heart of his most loving Lord Jesus, who is the living charity of the eternal Father "(26-4-1964). The Spirit is the sun that dissolves all our resistances, dispels our false convictions and makes us docile, like Mary, to the call of the Lord, making us respond: "Let your Word be done in me." That Word that carried Mary in her womb is developed and grows in us too. Through the Eucharist, Jesus becomes part of our flesh, our blood, our soul, and then remains spiritually within us. Then we will live that human-divine dimension as Jesus lived it, with our feet on the ground and with our eyes always turned towards the Father, imbued with acts of faith and love. Mary and Joseph are our example. Mary must become the mother of the Word, she must give flesh and blood to the son of God and Joseph must guard the mystery by placing himself beside her. In their experience, even in the painful night of faith, Mary and Joseph represent the perfect models to inspire us for our actions, to correct our routes, to support our weakness.
"Be sober, watch. Your enemy the devil as a roaring lion goes around looking for someone to devour. Stand firm in the faith "(1 Pet 5: 8-9a). This verse makes us understand that the problem is not so much to avoid temptation, but to overcome it. It allows us to grasp the limits, to know ourselves. For example: Why do I refuse to accept that situation? Or: Why does the behavior of that person next to me sometimes bother me and create anger in me? Then I can understand that I am still bound to the things of the earth and that it is still difficult for me to immerse myself in the spiritual dimension. If I seek the Lord intensely, the Spirit arouses in me the desire to quench my thirst at its source. He is our center of gravity, it is he who fills our inner emptiness, so human compensations and defense mechanisms will be replaced by his immense love. The darkest shadows light up, the wounds heal and we will be able to accept situations of frustration and to love our brother for what he is.
Sometimes we fight against our powerlessness, our weakness, we camouflage it and hide it by showing people only a beautiful and apparent safety mask. It is pride that does not want powerlessness. God, however, if we listen to him, little by little he manages to make us understand him and we will feel more united to him with his embrace of a strong love that disarms us. God can do everything, I can do nothing. It is precisely by understanding this that we come to experience an encounter with him as never before and we will feel part of that anxiety of salvation that Jesus has for souls. Let us reflect on the words that Jesus said to Mother Carolina and that also apply to us "It will not be for your faithfulness or for your virtues that I will manifest myself, but because I am good, and I long to associate for the fulfillment of the plan of my love for the salvation of souls other souls, with whom I hold myself more intimately and by which I am pleased to carry out my designs "(28-9-1968).
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