VATICAN - AVE MARIA by Mgr Luciano Alimandi -
"The Child is the criteria of the measure that God has given to humanity"
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - We might compare God's plan for humanity to a most original mosaic composed of numerous small pieces which fit together perfectly. Each piece is indispensable, since it is part of the whole which will appear in its full beauty only at the end.
God's love has a marvellous masterpiece to create with each of his creatures, in this work Divine Providence does one part and our freedom does the other, to put in place all the tiny pieces of which the mosaic is composed. A mosaic is pleasing when it is complete when there are no missing pieces; but to complete the work it is necessary to follow the order of divine Providence, or there will be confusion instead of harmony. Who, except God who thought of me from all eternity, knows which little pieces make up my mosaic? He alone sees the whole, no one else! He who " he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love, marking us out for himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ. Such was his purpose and good pleasure, to the praise of the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved " (Eph. 1,4-6).
His infallible work, which we call Providence, unifies our life if we open to the Will of God! If we were truly people of faith we would pay much more attention to the little decisions of every day, and learn to direct them in keeping with the plan Jesus has for us, putting His will before ours.
A person who lives with total trust in God, is attentive and notices the signs He gives, so that our personal story can become part of the history of salvation. We are too distracted by the thought of the world which teaches man to "take hold" of his life, to despise humble things and tend towards 'great' things, considered important. Instead in the logic of God, revealed by the Gospel of Jesus, the important measure is not 'greatness', instead 'humility' is the scale God prefers to judge our history. We are reminded of this by the Holy Father with stupendous words: " at the moment of death, we will be evaluated on the basis of our likeness - or lack of it - to the Child who is about to be born in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, because he is the criterion of the measure that God has given to humanity" (Benedict XVI, Angelus 10 December 2007).
It is precisely behind a fragment that we often find the greatness, the beauty and the love of God. Is not the human body itself, with its wonderful constitution, the product of innumerable microscopic parts? This is how it is in the world of God. His great plan of love for each of us is formed of innumerable 'parts' which He has made and put together to form one unique masterpiece of grace! If man really puts his trust in God, then one day he will marvel at the wonders Grace has worked in him: blessed are the pure of heart for they will see what God has made of their life!
A Christian cannot underestimate little things done with love: a meeting, a reflection, a piece of advice, a helping hand, a letter…one day he will hear Jesus say to him: I was there behind that meeting, that reflection, that advice, that act… Even the smallest event in our life acquires meaning if we learn to pass it under that special microscope called faith!
" If your faith is the size of a mustard seed " (Mt 17,20), could this not mean faith which is able to see little things? Which recognises God's footsteps, his passing among us, in the little things? Things the world does not even consider worth looking at. " 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children" (Mt 11,25). Little things which hide great things, the Father can reveal them only to humble persons, those whose eyes are not concupiscent, thirsting for greatness. Mary's faith was the greatest of all because her humility was also the greatest. Advent is an opportunity for us to walk with Her along the path of the little things, so we may resemble more closely the 'Child' about to be born … the criteria of measure which God has given to humanity" (Benedict XVI).
(Agenzia Fides 12/12/2007; righe 49, parole 717)
"In Cordibus Jesu et Mariae""And I have the right to feel so about you all, because I have you in my heart, all of you . . . For God is my witness how I long for you all in the heart of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1: 7-8)
