The child grew and became strong in spirit

24 JUNE (Lk 1,57-66.80)

Sometimes questions himself and wonders: why do we, after years and years of Christian life, fall miserably, abandon, retreat, we even leave our ministry, hanging, as we used to say, our tunic in the nettles? Why does a minister of Christ Jesus fail in his ministry and in his vocation? Why are marriages among Christians today going to ruins, to the dogs? Why is Christian morality almost non-existent? Why is there a desertification of faith and truth? Why this return back, instead of always proceeding fast forward?

The answer comes to us from a medieval adage: “Non progredi est regredi.” Not progressing is regressing. Not growing is decreasing. Not becoming adults in the faith is remaining children in it. It means losing it altogether. Faith disappears in the hearts because there is no growth, no progress, leaps forward are not made. This is the only dynamic for faith, truth, justice, loyalty to become very essence of our lives and be made our nature. When faith becomes our nature, our essence, then there will never be any return back, because never might what becomes nature be uprooted any more from our soul, our spirit and our body.

The Gospel of Luke both when it talks about John and when it presents Christ the Lord in the early years of their lives, affirms this growth. Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace before God and men. Every day he transformed his body, his soul, his spirit into wisdom, truth, faithfulness, love, charity and obedience. Even of John it is also said that he grew up. “The child grew and became strong in spirit. He lived in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.” Thinking of a life as disciples of the Lord, without this constant growth in the Holy Spirit, under his powerful light and constant motion and inspiration, is chasing chimeras. It is finding yourself tomorrow abandoning everything, even the ministry, the consecration, the covenant and the commitments that we made before God and men.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

In order to grow, we need every day to fabricate a spiritual desert around our life. It is urgent to do violence to the self. Giving up the hectic life we are all exposed. John physically withdrew into the desert. Jesus Christ every day built a desert around him, retreating into the wilderness to enter into communion with God, in the Holy Spirit, so that he was always in the most perfect knowledge of the will of the Father. You cannot obey God without knowing the will of God. Obeying the personal conscience is not obeying God.

Today one obeys his conscience, his own science, to he human vision he has of himself. But this is not true obedience. True obedience is to the perfect knowledge of God’s will and in this knowledge every day you have to grow. For this you it is necessary to create yourself an the desert, spiritual artificial, daily in order to enter into communion with God under the powerful light of the Holy Spirit. If we do not grow, we do not obey. If we do not obey, we die to our ministry.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us grow in grace.