600 Sale (Alessandria, Italy); October 1, 1997 Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
a
"Beloved sons, enter into the
spiritual cenacle of my Immaculate Heart, so that
I may have you penetrate into the divine mystery of the merciful love of my Son
Jesus.
b Jesus is Merciful Love, because in Him is reflected the divine mercy of the Father, who has so loved the world
that He has sent it his
only-begotten Son for its salvation. In Jesus, the mercy of the Father becomes
personified and realizes itself in the plan of salvation. By means of Him, the Father causes his pardon to descend upon humanity, which had wandered away
because of sin, and brings it back to
a full communion of love and of life with its Lord and its Creator.
c Jesus is
Merciful Love, because, by making Himself man, He takes upon Himself the fragility, weakness and
the suffering of all humanity. When a
baby, He carries in his Heart the wails and the sighs of all the babies of the world; as a youth, He
lives through all the vicissitudes
and difficulties of youth, so fragile and exposed to the impetuous wind of the passions; when He reaches maturity,
He carries within his divine Person the problems, the anguish, and the
pains of everyone.
d He bows down over the poor to
announce to them the Gospel of salvation; He proclaims
freedom to prisoners; He comforts the
abandoned, pardons sinners, heals the sick, consoles the afflicted, and drives out Satan from those he had
possessed.
e Jesus is Merciful Love, because He is meek and humble of
heart. Let yourselves
be drawn after his meekness. See how He is gentle, tender, and compassionate to all;
docile and meek, He lets Himself
be led by his enemies, like a lamb which is being carried to its bloody sacrifice.
f Let yourselves be possessed by his humility. The first becomes the last; the Master becomes the
disciple; the Lord puts Himself at the service of all. The fullness of his
divinity becomes hidden in Him under
the human veil of his humility. 'Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. (Mt
11:29)
g Jesus is
Merciful Love, because He wants to draw all into the burning furnace of his divine love. Allow yourselves
to be drawn by Him. Do not resist
his calls. Walk with me along the road of his divine love. Beloved sons, you too must make your own the sweet
experience of your love for Jesus.
h Today you are celebrating the liturgical memorial of Saint
Therese of the Child Jesus, which is
occurring on the first centenary of her birth into heaven. Today I give her to
all of you as your little sister. It
was she who consecrated herself as a victim to the merciful love of Jesus. It was she who allowed herself to be completely consumed by the burning furnace of
his divine charity.
i Imitate her in this, her little way. You too must become
little, simple, humble, meek and gentle. You must become, all of you, little
children, traveling along the way of spiritual childhood which she has traced
out for you.
j You too must
offer yourselves as victims to the merciful love of Jesus, so that, through you, He may very soon shed upon the world
the great prodigy of divine mercy.”
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