Riccardi

Rome ("Città Nuova"), 10 November 1992 Commentary of the Word of Life: Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Rom 15:7) These words are some of Paul’s final guidance in his letter to the Christians in Rome. This community, like many others spread throughout the Graeco-Roman world, was composed of believers who came partly from pagan and partly from Jewish origins. Therefore their mindsets, their cultural backgrounds and their spiritual sensitivities were very different. Such diversity gave an opening to judgements, prejudices, discrimination and intolerance towards others that were certainly not in accord with the mutual welcome that God wanted them to have. To help them overcome these difficulties, Paul found there was no better way than to make them reflect upon the grace of their conversion. The fact that Jesus had called them to faith, giving the gift of his Spirit, was tangible proof of the love with which he had welcomed each one of them. Despite their past lives and the

Rome, 25 April 1976 How can we love Mary? By imitating her, by being the living Word of God just like her. “Now and again I feel, like a reproach, that I don’t love Mary enough, that I think very little of her. What do you think should we do so as to have true devotion to Mary?” Just the thought of speaking about Mary makes my soul tremble and my heart beat. This very topic surpasses our every intellect and instead of speaking it’s better to remain silent. Mary! The extraordinary one among all creatures, the lofty one to the point of being given the title and reality as Mother of God and therefore Immaculate Mary, the Assumed, the Queen, the Mother of the Church.Mary is closer to God than to human beings, yet she is a creature like us creatures, and this is how she is in front of the Creator. She has the possibility to be an inclined plane for us that touches heaven and earth. Therefore, even

Loppiano, 27 November 1975 In a confidential tone, Chiara shares the graces of light she had while contemplating nature « I have a special love for nature and I have often asked myself how my relationship with nature should be so that it is not a sentimental one but a relationship as God wants it to be. Can you tell us something about your relationship with nature? » Chiara: Right Markus, well then, let's talk as if there were just the two of us so that no one can hear us. In my spiritual life, in various moments, the Lord enabled me to feel this aspect of life more powerfully, this contact with nature. But it was a rather special meeting with nature, and I could relate several episodes. In these episodes, however, what the Lord showed me in nature was not primarily nature, but rather God who was sustaining nature, God who keeps nature alive, God who is beneath nature, God who gives to nature that beauty which is the beauty

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