Seoul, 2 January 1982
To completely fulfill our humanity, Chiara indicates to us two ways which are at the basis of every growth
“Chiara, I feel that when I pray, when I meditate, when I love others, I don’t manage to do so in a very profound way as I should. What can I do to acquire a truly deep union with God?”
So, you practically would like to know how to acquire a true union with God. Look, there is a double road; I have found two ways to reach this result. The first is embracing the cross and the cross goes downwards.
The more a plant goes downwards with its roots the more it grows taller; the more we embrace suffering the more we go towards God
Those very small plants in Japan really impressed me, they are dwarf plants, they are very charming, but we cannot deny that they are dwarfs. I heard that the roots are cut in order for them to be like that. This also happens with us: if we cut the roots of suffering, if we don’t embrace suffering, our souls remain like dwarfs, small, without the breath of union with God.
If we embrace all the suffering that comes our way day by day, well, out of love for Jesus Forsaken, then our union with God grows. Another way that I have found is that of doing the will of God moment by moment. But let’s understand well what this means. You’ll say: I also do this; the others will also say, I also want to do this. But we need to do it in a certain way.
We need to distinguish the will of God from all the other things of the earth that we do on this earth. You say: now I’m going to play therefore I’m doing the will of God; then I study, therefore I do the will of God; then I eat so I do the will of God. But in your heart you really like to study, or to play, or to… and you live the whole day waiting for that moment. It’s true, it’s true… it happens to me too: for example I like to work, I don’t really like to sleep, I don’t really like to eat. But I have understood that it is wrong. If I love God above all things, I must focus my attention on the will of God, I must like the will of God and that’s enough.
Therefore that game is wonderful if it is the will of God; it’s wonderful to rest because it’s the will of God. Let’s focus there on the will of God; let’s put our hearts there in the will of God. You meet people, but you don’t like looking at them, but it’s the will of God… so you like to do it very much, that’s it.
If you do this, God feels loved because he sees that all your pleasures have gone away and you like him, his will, whatever it may be, you like that one.
So he will manifest himself to you when you pray and you’ll feel union with God. You have to try it out and then you’ll see.
Chiara Lubich
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