Peace to you from Jerusalem, dear friends of Gethsemane!
The Word of God of these days has illuminated once again the Mystery of Gethsemane, especially on the feast of St Mary Magdalene.The Gospel tells us how this Disciple anxiously sought the Lord in the place of the tomb while the Risen One, with marvellous care, encounters him with the Light of new life (Jn 20,11-18). The verse of the responsorial Psalm of the feast reads: "For your love is more than life" (Psalm 63:4). The experience of the Apostle among the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, has "incarnated" in a sublime way the newness of the Risen Lord. It is amazing how also we seek the Lord in the places where we think He is, with our prerogatives or expectations, categories, ideas and schemes, but the Lord patiently reveals Himself to us in a completely new way, in order to make us grow in the relationship with Him and to witness that his Word and his presence are true and real.Even HERE at Gethsemane the disciples expected a different Jesus. Perhaps they did not imagine him so in need of our closeness, of our support of love, perhaps they still wanted him "powerful in word and deed" (Lk 24:19) thinking that in the end everything would have a good outcome because He is the Son of God. They did not expect a "weak" God, who enters into the experience of love and suffering that we HERE call "Passion of the Lord"! None of us are so prone to pain that we say it’s obvious and natural to accept, However, it is necessary to understand that the Lord does not want to suffer but wants to save and that is why he chooses to love, so He fulfills the will of the Father and implements the work of the Redemption of humanity at the cost of his Blood!Even today, the Lord lets himself be found in "places" and situations in which there is humanity that suffers; only the Lord is able and can truly console, only He becomes the sweet and universal consolation of every man who finds himself in suffering and darkness, He’s the only one who can save us. The situations are manifold and we all recognize that this time that our humanity is experiencing is not among the easiest but is a time of trial and suffering.
On this first Thursday of August, let us join the Lord in the Holy Hour, may his Love be known by all souls in need of redemption and by all humanity.
United in prayer in the Lord!
