a) GOD IN US: RECAPITULATING ALL THINGS IN CHRIST

"He is the Word of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Messiah."

Who is Jesus Christ?  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8).  He is before all things, the firstborn and prince of all created things (Col 1:15).  He is the heir, the center of the visible and invisible world (Heb 1-2), the compendium of the ages (Heb 13:8).  Without the light that blazes forth from him, there is only darkness.  Without his action, the order of nature and grace, mankind and the world, the past and the future are a book sealed with seven seals (Rev 5: 1).¹

"The center of creation"

Jesus is creation's point of convergence, the precious link that unites the work of the Almighty to the divine Creator.  He is the goal of all the works and plans of Divine Providence, the supreme and ultimate end of all God's designs for redeemed humanity, of which he (Jesus) is the head.  He is the model for all our progress since he is the only true light that enlightens every human being, in a word, all humanity.²

"The Word of God became flesh and pitched his tent among us"

A great mystery, an awesome mystery, a most sweet mystery!  In a word, the Word of God became flesh and made his home among us (Jn 1:14).  Divinity united itself to humanity; the Invisible One became visible; the Almighty One made himself weak; the Eternal One began to be; the Immense One became limited, becoming what he was not without ceasing to be what he was (Phil 2:6).  If nations once feared the very name of the divinity, we have a God who does not want to be feared but loved (Rom 8:15).  Hence, he puts aside his glory, conceals his majesty, and gives up every display of greatness so that he might not look like anything other than a man (Phil 2:7).

He is the one who abides in the highest heavens, who walks on the wings of the wind and measures the earth with a glance; he is God (Jn 1:1).  But he is almost afraid to appear so.  He tries, it seems, to let only his humanity come through and thus make his clemency absolutely endearing (Ti 3:4).³

"We are wrapped up in him by the Father in a single act of love"

God loves his Son and loves him essentially.  He  cannot take pleasure in anybody other than him because the love of God is infinite and can have only an infinite object: "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased" (Mt 17:5).  But that beloved Son of his became man.  So, in his Son God loves man.  With a

single act of complacent love God, in Jesus, embraces everything: even the body, even the flesh, even the soul.  We are now that flesh and those bones.  We are that nature.  We are one body with Christ.  In him and through him we have become sons and daughters of God, indeed the very Son of God who prolongs himself in us.  So, in him we too are encompassed and embraced by the Father in a single act of love.  Just as the sonship by which Christ is Son of God spreads and extends to us and over us, in the same way the Father's love spreads and extends to us as well.  Hence, in his Son who, by his very nature, is pleasing to and beloved of the Father, we too have become pleasing to and beloved of the Father: "in his beloved Son he took pleasure in us."⁴

"In Christ we have everything"

Jesus Christ is the light of the world (Jn 8:12).  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6).  He is the bond of union, the kiss of peace between heaven and earth, between God and man (Eph 2:14).  Jesus is our Redeemer, our Teacher, our Advocate, our Exemplar, our Doctor, our Head, our Companion, our Brother, our Friend, our Comfort, our Refuge, our Glory, our Joy, and our Greatness.  He is the High Priest of the new covenant, the eternal Priest, the Mediator between God and man, the victim for our sins, our true and only happiness.  He is the door we must enter to reach his kingdom, the Cornerstone and Foundation on which the spiritual edifice must be built.  He is the Bread of our souls, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, our Reward, our Crown, our Life, and our All. 

To Jesus we owe the grace and friendship of the Father, the confidence and freedom of the sons and daughters of God.  To Jesus we owe all the gifts of nature, grace, and glory that we receive from God.  To Jesus we owe it if God preserves us, sustains us, and defends us; if he does not punish us as we deserve; if he continues to bear with us and wait for us.  From Jesus we get all wisdom and prudence, all inspirations and good thoughts, all pious desires.  From Jesus comes courage in time of danger, strength in time of temptation, long-suffering in time of pain, patience in time of adversity, and perseverance in doing good: "In Christ you have become rich in all things" (I Cor I). Yes, we have

everything in Jesus, we can do everything in Jesus, we can hope everything and obtain everything from Jesus, since it was Jesus who wanted to humiliate himself for us, sacrifice himself for us, and become all things for us (I Cor 1).⁵

"He is ours, really ours, entirely ours"

Behold, by becoming man, he, the Eternal One, the Immense One, the Creator and Lord of the universe, the Immortal King of the ages has become our friend, our brother, the companion of our exile.  From that day, until the end of time, he would never abandon us, first living thirty years of our mortal existence and then continuing to abide with us under the Eucharistic veils: "When he was born, he became our companion."

With truly singular and exquisite love, he makes himself our food.  Nothing is more intimate to us than food, which, by becoming our substance, preserves and renews our energies.  And it is precisely under this form that Jesus wants to belong to us: "by being our food at his banquet."

And if this were not enough, on the Cross he will become our victim.  To redeem us from sin and death, he will pour out his blood to the last drop and will sacrifice his life, making himself the price for our ransom: "dying he gave himself up as a ransom."

Finally, after giving himself for us in all these ways, he will crown his favors by giving himself to the elect as their eternal reward in the splendors and glory of heaven: "Reigning he will be their reward."

Yes, from now on, Jesus is ours, really ours, completely ours.  May he be everything for us.  Blessed is the soul that understands this and therefore seeks, desires and longs only for Jesus in everything!⁶

"Jesus Christ must live in us"

Jesus Christ must live in us.  Jesus Christ must continuously work in us because he alone can reconcile heaven and earth.  He alone can love God as much as God deserves to be loved.  He alone can give God the honor due to him.

But how can Jesus Christ live in us?  We have already said how.  He lives in us through his Spirit: "This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit" (I Jn 5:13).  The

spirit of Jesus Christ is the spirit of humility; it is the spirit of charity; above all, it is the spirit of self-denial, sacrifice and penance.⁷

"He comes to earth to make us live of his life"

Jesus comes to earth to make us share his life, to make us one single thing with him, so to speak.  I have come, he himself says, so that they may have life and have it in abundance.  Now, this life that Jesus comes to give us by uniting himself to our soul is his very own life.

The union of Jesus with the Christian soul is the very foundation of the whole supernatural order.  By this union, human beings raise themselves up to share in the divine nature; and by this union, they in turn raise up all creation.  Everything belongs to you, the Apostle exclaims, be it the world, be it life or death, be it the present or the future.  You, in turn, belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God: "All things belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God."

These are magnificent words indeed.  They reveal to us the sublime harmony of the Gospel.  United to the Word through the Incarnation, the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ became one sole person in him.  United as we are to Jesus Christ by a less perfect union ‑- but one that is intimate beyond imagination ‑- we are like an extension of him.  We belong to him as the members belong to the body.  "We are one body in Christ."⁸

"He himself must be our life"

We must not simply live in Jesus Christ.  Rather he himself must be our life and must live in us.  He must live in us with his spirit, with his grace, with the impression of his mysteries, with the application of his merits, with the efficacy of his Sacraments, above all, with the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, so that we can say with the Apostle: It is not I who live; it is Christ who lives in me: "I live now not I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20).  According to St. Francis De Sales, the golden-tongued Doctor of Geneva, this means that Christ lives in our heart and reigns there like a master and king.  It means that Christ's spirit expands and grows in us and that, like life-giving heat, Christ encompasses us, sets everything right

again, warms everything, sanctifies everything, and divinizes everything.  He loves with our heart, thinks with our mind, speaks with our tongue, and works with our hands.  For him we consume ourselves; for his glory we study; with his grace we perform our duties; for love of him we bear pain; to give him pleasure we enjoy pastimes and partake of nourishment itself.  His throne is established in the heart of every Christian: The Kingdom of God is in your midst (Lk 17:21).

A coin must have the image of the sovereign; otherwise it would not be worth anything and could not circulate in the marketplace.  In the same way, the works of Christians cannot earn heaven because nothing pleases the eternal Father if it does not display the image of his Son and does not, in some way, bear his likeness.  We, we ourselves, venerable Brothers and dearest children, will not be allowed to enter into glory, if we do not conform to this divine model (Rom 8:29).⁹

"Jesus the mirror, Jesus the model, Jesus the seal"

Our manner of speaking must be that of Jesus (...), the look of our eyes that of Jesus, the meekness of our behavior that of Jesus.  Jesus must be the mirror, Jesus must be the model, Jesus must be the seal.  Jesus must pronounce judgment, mark out the paths, and make decisions.  He is to govern, to direct, and to rule our life.  Finally, he is our love, our joy, our crown, the thought of our minds, the beat of our heart, the wings of our aspirations, the sound that is music to our ears, the balm that soothes our hurts, the staff that sustains us on our earthly pilgrimage, the anthem and canticle that echo on our lips and accompany us from time into eternity.¹⁰

"Making ourselves copies of him"

What does a painter do if he wants to faithfully portray a beloved person on canvass?  He keeps his eyes constantly fixed on that person so as not to make one stroke of the brush that does not help in depicting some trait of the original.  In some way, this is what we have to do.  All our thoughts, all our words, all our actions, all our aspirations, all our dispositions, all our suffering must be strokes of the brush that form and depict in us some trait of

the life of Jesus Christ, to the point of making ourselves other copies of him, as it were.

Venerable brothers and beloved children, would you like to know when this will happen?  When we will judge all things the way Jesus Christ himself judged them; when we will love what he loved and in the very way he loved; when we will have in our hearts the very sentiments and dispositions he had in his heart.

Not all of us, of course, are obliged to live in such great exterior poverty as was the poverty Jesus lived in.  Nor are we all obliged to suffer the indescribable torments he suffered.  But all of us, great and small, rich and poor, priests and lay people, are obliged to have the same interior dispositions of poverty, humility, charity, sacrifice and all the other Christian virtues, so as to be ready to sacrifice everything and suffer everything, even death, rather than betray his holy law: "Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5).

But we must not deceive ourselves, beloved.  We will never have this interior conformity with Jesus Christ, if we do not have even some exterior conformity with Jesus Christ.  The life of Jesus Christ, says the Apostle, must manifest itself in our mortal flesh (Cor 4:11).¹¹

"Disciples of a poor, humble, crucified God"

Yes, even in our exterior we must appear to be disciples of a poor, humble, crucified God.  Without this, what is the use of protesting and boasting that we are Christians?  It will always be true that whatever we do will be inspired either by the spirit of the old man or by the spirit of the new man.  If we conform our exterior to the sentiments of the former, we are reprehensible.  If we conform our exterior to the spirit of the latter, everything in us is holy; everything in us shares in the life of Jesus Christ since Jesus Christ lives in us only through his spirit (...).

Therefore, for our life to be considered Christian, it is not enough to work well, to be upright, to live honorably, to struggle and suffer any which way.  It is not enough.  We must absolutely do all these things with our gaze on God, out of love for Jesus Christ, with the submission, love, and spirit of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ must be the Alpha and the Omega of our works, the soul of our soul, the life of

our life.¹²

"It is Christ who enkindles love"

Life consists primarily in love, without which, as St. John says, one remains in death.  And what fills the soul with this balm of life is the grace that comes from the Savior.  It is Christ who enkindles this love, giving us the unfathomable marvel of his death, which prods us, spurs us with sweet violence to love him in return and to sacrifice ourselves for his glory and the salvation of our brothers and sisters: "The love of Christ impels us."  It is Christ who enkindles this love, giving us in his Resurrection the most radiant proof of his divinity and the surest pledge of our future Resurrection.  It is Christ who enkindles this love with the continual miracle of the Eucharist, the mystery of love par excellence, with which he perpetuates himself on our altars.¹³

"Love never says: enough"

He is ablaze with the most burning love for us.  Love never says: enough.  Christ lived a life of continual hardship for us.  He cannot wait to sacrifice this life for us (Lk 12:50).  And his hour did arrive.  The hour of his sacrifice arrived, and the world beheld the tragic scene of a God who dies, who dies crucified for his people (Rom 5:9)!  Can we think of anything more marvelous, more awesome than this extravagant love?

Surely, no one, as Jesus Christ himself assures us, no one can show greater love than to give up one's life for one's friends (Jn 15:3).  But how much he must have loved us to want to die for us his enemies, he who is our God, our Creator whom we have offended and insulted!  With this thought in mind, the Apostle said that only with difficulty does one die for a just person.  But God, he says, proves his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:7).  And why did he die?  Because he himself wanted to (Is 53:7): no one could force him to do this, as he himself said (Jn 10:17).  But why did he want to do this?  For one simple reason: he loved us.  "He loved us and gave himself up for us" (Eph 5:2).¹⁴

"Love Jesus"

0 Jesus, you are the true source of all our good: you always were, you constantly were and you still are.  Jesus!  Pronouncing this name makes the heart glow, the spirit quicken, and the soul soar on the wings of hope.  Jesus!  This name is sweeter to the mouth than honey, more melodious to the ear than the sound of the harp, more satisfying to the heart than the purest joy!  Oh, let us love Jesus, let us love him!  Whom else shall we love if not this most gentle Savior? (...).

Love Jesus.  Keep united with Jesus because a Christian's whole perfection lies precisely in his or her union with Jesus Christ.  Herein dwells the principle of every good, the foundation and origin of all our greatness.  The Lord says: "I am the true vine and you are the branches" (Jn 15:5).  Now, just as a branch detached from the vine withers and dies, so you too will die if separated from Jesus Christ.  Union with Jesus Christ is something vital for us.  Without it, we are dead and dead is everything that is ours.  We become corpses, just as a body without a soul is a corpse (...).

Jesus Christ is a dear brother, to whom we must hold on tight during the journey of life.  On him we must lean.  With him we must walk because, as we said, from him comes every grace, the value of every action, the strength to perform it, in a word, our life, and also the breath of our souls.¹⁵