Spiritual Gestation
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
My dear friend, these words that Mary received at the Annunciation from the Angel Gabriel are entirely applicable to you. Are you surprised? For what is life if not a path of transforming gestation to become a true child of God, following the model of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary of Nazareth?
Therefore, at this moment, I invite you to open yourself to the action of the Holy Spirit who is working this miracle in you. It is true that God is the one who chooses and appoints, but divine grace also needs human and natural cooperation. So, become aware of this high destiny granted by God to His children, and with great humility, even if you feel unworthy of such greatness, I encourage you to open yourself to this grace that comes from God, invoking His Holy Spirit:
Eternal Father, source of life and of all creation, send us Your Spirit of Love, so that a new incarnation of the Word may take place in me. May I be for Him a new humanity in which He renews His Mystery.
Now, adopt a prayerful position of welcoming; that is, relaxed, serene… with an open heart and soul, expectant… and with total confidence, prepare to welcome the One who is always coming and acting. Without imagining or manipulating anything. Simply accept and welcome Him as He manifests Himself: whether in a sweet and serene stillness, or in the barrenness and desolation you may feel, or in the silence and poverty of the soul… With only your faith that believes without having evidence or proof… Open your entire being wide to welcome the Word who comes and manifests in various ways, saying:
- O Word, O Word of my God, I would like to spend my life listening to You. I want to be entirely docile, to learn everything from You. And then, through all the emptiness, all the nights, all the powerlessness, I want to always keep my eyes fixed on You, and remain under Your great light. O my beloved star, fascinate me, so that I cannot leave the circle of Your rays.
- Dear Father, lean over this poor creature, cover it with Your presence; behold in it only Your Beloved Son, in whom You put all Your pleasure.
- My God, my All, my Bliss, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself; I surrender myself to You entirely; bury Yourself in me so that I may bury myself in You, in the hope of coming to contemplate in Your light, the abyss of Your greatness.
- O Christ, beloved and crucified for love, how much I would like to imitate You and cover You with glory; how much I would like to love You until death. But I feel my powerlessness; therefore, I beg You: clothe me with Yourself, identify my soul with all the movements of Your heart. Immerse Yourself in me. Penetrate and envelop me. Take my place, so that my life may be an irradiation of Yours. Establish Yourself in me as Adorer, as Repairer, as Savior.
- O Lord, by accepting and overcoming my life, with my cross, together with You, may it be You who lives through me.
- So that those who see me may see You, and, in me, may see a true son of God.
Dear friend, this evolutionary process of little by little passing from a fragile and imperfect human figure to being transfigured into a true child of God lasts a lifetime. It is the true reason for our existence. Now I invite you to conclude with this prayer:
Lord, we are together again
Together You and I and my brothers and sisters,
Your life has penetrated my life.
My history is so trite, so empty, so common.
I do not even have a history
Sometimes I wonder
If my life has any meaning,
So much emptiness, so many complications, so much unfaithfulness, but when I am with You, it is as if enthusiasm
and energy were born again and came back to life.
And today with my brothers, with Peter, James and John,
I saw your face transfigured, illuminated and glowing. You, Lord Jesus, are the God of all light.
You are the God of all brightness and beauty
It is good to be close to You,
it is good to live with You, but Lord, it is even better to know
that You are with me throughout my life.
by your grace, by your love.
It is good to be sure,
that my face will also be a face that is transfigured
illuminated, glowing
in the measure that you
transform me.
Freely cheerfully
Joyfully I beseech You,
that I may be more and more identified with You,
to the point of saying with the apostles,
“Lord, how good it is to be here”
Prayer: E 46. Transfiguration