Man Created in the Image of God, with Don Marco Cannavò

[music] Welcome, everyone, to this important and insightful meeting of ours.

With this particular gathering, we are delighted to commence a significant second series of profound reflections and thoughtful meditations, specifically with the esteemed members of Louisa. [music] Focusing intently on the timeless and deeply spiritual theme of redemption.

In the previous meetings, we held as many as nine. We have tried to investigate and understand, to truly grasp the mystery of creation, precisely by letting ourselves be guided by the way in which, generally, mystics and, in particular, Louisa look at this mystery. If you remember, we said that the perspective is not to look at and contemplate creation and the created world from our point of view. But the mystics help us to look at creation from God's [music] point of view, which is therefore a much more complete perspective, and above all, from the point of view of the one who conceived all of this.

And in these meetings of ours about creation, we have tried to understand how, at the root, at the foundation of our existence, there is an initiative of God's love, who out of the abundance of his love, in [music] order to communicate his love to another from himself, thus gave rise to creation.

And now we move further on to the realm of the second fiat, that of redemption. And this is not disconnected from the theme of creation. We know that creation is the gift that the Lord gave to man, to humanity, and that from humanity, God expected a response of communion with him, to live together with God. But what was the reality? What was the response? The response was sin.

And so this response, using an image we heard in a passage from Louisa, was like playing the first match. And unfortunately, God lost this first match because, instead of responding to God with his love, with communion with him, with living in his will, man preferred instead to follow his own human will. The human will, which had been united and fused with God's will, became detached and separated from God.

Now, with the profound act of redemption, God, always using that truly charming and also very clear, vivid image from Louisa's inspired writings, wants to play the eagerly anticipated rematch. God truly wants to bring out all the powerful aces he has hidden up his sleeve in order to decisively win this crucial rematch, to fully restore the magnificent glory that humanity unfortunately was not able to give or maintain. And he was able to do this by sending his Son Jesus, and this is the act of redemption through precisely the fiat of Mary, which is indeed the second fiat, at the so-called fiat of redemption, a pivotal moment in salvation history.

But to get to all of this, we first need to ask ourselves a few questions. Why does God want to save man? Why is he so determined to insist on humanity in order to, in order to redeem it, since he had this negative experience because of man? And we can deduce this from sacred scripture itself. That is precisely because we were created in the image and likeness of God. This has instilled in God such a great desire not to give up on communion with man. All of creation was made for man. The whole world we live in was conceived by God for man. And so, to begin this discussion on redemption, we must start precisely from the creation of man in order to understand the reasons why God wants to win this second match with man, to win him back to himself, to have him back again after he had turned away from him.

So, in these first meetings of ours, we will try to understand a bit, through sacred scripture, through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and through the writings of Louisa, what God had in mind when he created man. This man who is destined to be redeemed, thanks to the love of the Lord who became incarnate and gave his life for us.

So, this passage I included from December 25th, 1928, is very beautiful, as it tells us precisely this, what this perspective is. Jesus says to Louisa, "Only for man, there was this greatest miracle of creation. Life is the very life of our own love. And that is why it is said that he was created in our image and likeness. And this is why Jesus says, we love him so much because he is life and a work that came from us, and life is worth more than anything." Here, we could already find the answer to this question. But to reach this answer, thank you, we need to go a bit deeper and investigate.

This concept of the image of being the image of God is something fundamental that can also serve our spiritual life. And it helps us understand [music] how much we are worth in God's eyes. Even if we are sinful creatures, [music] even if we are unfaithful, even if at times we feel lost, abandoned, [music] we are still important in God's eyes. We are God's life, and God has [music] staked everything on this.

So, we will carefully follow a comprehensive sort of outline [music] that I have meticulously prepared, and now we will thoroughly examine it with these important points. Thank you. We will start [music] from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about man being created in the image of God? Then we will go on to examine [music] the holy scriptures. And so we will see the account in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, where we are told about God's decision, "Let us make man in our image and likeness," and some passages from the Old Testament, especially from the Book of Sirach and the Book of Wisdom, where this [music] creation of man in the image of God is discussed.

And then, in the next meetings, we will move to the New Testament and try to [music] understand this also in light of it, especially through the profound doctrine of St. Paul and of St. John, [music] this category, the divine image of God, always carefully looking at the sacred writings of [music] Luisa Picareta, and how Louisa, or rather, how Jesus himself profoundly explains to Louisa [music] this. And the beauty of this is that we will discover that all these things we [music] find in sacred scripture are explored in greater depth and are restated in another [music] way precisely by Jesus himself.

And this is the first step that we want to take. Then we will take a second step, in which we will talk about what happened to this image of God that God conceived and brought into being in the creation of man. What happened, in fact, was sin. And so we will look at man, at the creature, as a broken image. That is, something has been broken. And there too, always through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, through sacred scripture, through the word of God, and through the writings of Louisa, we will try to understand the cause of this evil, of this sin, and what it consists of.

Then, a third step we will take is to look at redeemed man. That is, man as created, created in the image and likeness of God, but in Christ, made into a new creature. So, redemption seen as a new creation. Also, at the end of this meeting, we will read the passage from the encyclical of John Paul II precisely about man, and it explicitly states that redemption for humanity is a new creation because man has been recreated in Christ. And so, there is this new creation that comes forth from redemption, and that will find its fulfillment in sanctification, when we will say our third fiat, when the sinful creature will pronounce this fiat, this third fiat, which is the fiat of the Father, "Our own fiat volunt."

So, in a few words, I have told you what we will be doing in the coming months because all of this is truly very broad material and also very interesting. And since we don't want to miss any of the beauty of these teachings, we will go slowly, without rushing, with this very desire to understand: Why did the Lord save me? Why am I so interested in God? Why does God care so much about me? About my life, about this life that I am living, this life that is full of obstacles, a life that is full of flaws, full of misery. Why does God insist on wanting to save me? We find the answer precisely in God's plan, in what God has wanted for us.

So, let's begin our journey, starting right from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Obviously, we can't read every single section. I've only selected a few. Let's start with this section, number 355, which serves as a sort of index for the entire exposition that the catechism gives regarding the creation of man. This section, which is so important, says the following: "God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. Man occupies a unique place in creation." And this is already significant. Not just a place among others, but a unique place that belongs only to man. He is made in the image of God. And this is what we will explore. Then, "in his nature he unites the spiritual world and the material world. He is created male and female. And God has established him in his friendship." And we will consider the first and the last of these aspects. That is, we will see how the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of man as the image of God, and it speaks of man as one who is destined to live in paradise, that is, in this communion with the Lord.

And in fact, regarding this concept of man in the image of God, number 356 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says this: "Of all the countless visible creatures in this vast world, only man, with his unique intellect, is truly capable of profoundly knowing and deeply loving his own divine creator. Indeed, only we as human beings are uniquely capable of recognizing and acknowledging who our benevolent creator truly is. Other creatures actually do it. You know, the other creatures, which is often mentioned in Louisa's writings, but it's more a way for God to make a point. He says that even flowers know how to give glory and thanks to their creator by releasing their fragrance, but they do it unconsciously. Instead, man is capable of knowing and loving his own creator." Why? Because he brings his freedom into play.

And the catechism continues: "He is the only creature that God has willed for its own sake. Only man is called to share, through knowledge and love, in the life of God. That is, we are the recipients of divine life. For this purpose he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity." The dignity of the human person finds its foundation in this capacity to know and to love God, because man realizes that he was created by God, solely through an act of love from his creator.

And then, number 357, which is a consequence: "Since man is the image of God, the human individual has the dignity of a person. He is not just something but someone." This is fundamental. Nowadays, our society is objectifying the human being more and more. Now, everything is seen as an object, and we are losing the consideration of man as a subject. Let's look at it from the point of view of medicine. By now, I don't know, we all know it. The so-called family doctor, who was the doctor who knew the patient's entire whole life, who accompanied him, and then subsequently referred him to certain specific medical professionals, specialist visits. But it was the family doctor who truly had this vision because he always paid attention to the individual patient. Healthcare, and I work in healthcare, carrying out my ministry as a chaplain. What do you notice? That nowadays people no longer take care of the patient, but rather they no longer take care of the illness. This important concept of the person has been lost. Now, the patient is no longer a person to care for, but an object to treat. And so, there are also all the consequences that come with this. Think about the whole discussion around abortion, around euthanasia. These are the profound consequences of a deeply mistaken idea of the human person, who is no longer truly seen as a subject, but rather only as a mere object.

So, what the catechism says is very important. "He is not just something but someone, capable of self-awareness, of freely and wholeheartedly giving oneself to others. He is called by divine grace to a sacred covenant with his creator, a profound response of unwavering faith and enduring love that no one else can truly give in his place or on his behalf." This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us about man in the image of God.

Now, let's move on to this other aspect. Certainly, man is the image of God. But where is he destined to live, and with whom? What is the purpose of man's life? So, here are these passages that concern man in paradise. "God established him in his friendship." We read this earlier. And so, in number 374, we are told that "the first man was not only created good but was also established in such a friendship with his creator." And this is a very important aspect. That is to say, there exists a profound and loving relationship between the creator and the created creature. And so, man, this complex and multifaceted creature, cannot be truly seen and conceived of only as a mere creature, but rather as something far more profound and significant. He did indeed come forth from the hands of God, but his being a creature fundamentally derives from his being in relationship with God. We can say that the creaturely state and the relationship with God are both part of the same mystery of the person of man. One cannot think of man only as something that simply came forth from the hands of God, but rather as a being made of earth, shaped by God's hands, yet destined to live in a relationship of friendship, of love with the Lord, and in such harmony with himself and with creation that it will only be surpassed by the glory of the new creation in Christ. This is what we will witness with the manifestation of the Lord's coming.

Number 375. [music] The Church, says the catechism, authentically interpreting the symbolism of biblical language [music] in the light of the New Testament and tradition, teaches that our first parents, [music] Adam and Eve, were established in a state of original holiness [music] and justice. This is what Jesus so often tells Louisa. Adam, [music] before sin, lived in communion with God. He lived in the divine will. His human will was fused [music] with the will of God. The grace of original holiness was a participation in the divine life. Divine. The creator is [music] divine. The creature is divine because she is made a participant in the divinity [music] of the creator. It is always that image of the tree placed in the middle of the garden whose fruit they could not eat. That [music] tree was not a sign that limited man's freedom. That tree in the middle of the garden was the sign [music] that indicated the profound difference between the creator and the creature. The creator is the one who gave you [music] life. The creature is the one who received it, who partakes in the divine life. Man [music] is divine, not by nature, but by grace, by the gift of God. By eating [music] from that tree, in fact, the serpent, what does he say to Eve? "If you eat from this tree, you will become [music] like God." You will become like God. But in reality, it is God who has made me divine. Here, this is exactly where sin lies. And so, original holiness was meant to make man a participant in divine life, which sin broke. And redemption, so, we're already anticipating something here, is a retying, a reconnecting of the human will to the will of God in order to allow, in the humanity of Jesus, for this to happen, to then allow the sinful creature to be able to reenter into this deep communion with the creator.

And then, number 378, again from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, tells us that "the sign of the family and of man's age with God is the fact that God places him in the garden where he lives to cultivate it and to keep it." Work, therefore, is not a painful toil, but pay attention. This invites us to live our work in a Christian way. The collaboration of man and woman with God in bringing the visible creation to perfection. And this is another great gift that the Lord has given us in creating us. He did not make us only guardians and cultivators of this garden, but he made us collaborators in the work of creation. With our work, when it is seen and lived according to God's will, we can participate in the work of creation. And if we look at what is happening in the world, we, rather than being collaborators with God in the work of creation, are destroyers of this creation. We do not collaborate with it in the least.

So, this is a general overview as presented by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Now, let's look more specifically at this concept of man as the image of God. What is the central truth about man in revelation? First of all, the history of salvation is based on this revelation of God. God is love. So, the content of this first certainty of our faith is summed up in this phrase from John. In the first letter of John, "God is love." And this profound central truth can be fully and completely conceived by man, thanks to the divine revelation of the sacred mystery of God, of the most holy Trinitarian mystery. Indeed, but it is also an important, profound revelation of meaning for man himself. In fact, in the act of faith, in which we open ourselves to the revelation of God, there is included the awareness of our being in communion with God. So, it's not just a matter of a simple communication or information that is given about the divine being. We do not only know something intellectually, but God has left in creation, and above all in the relationship with man, signs to allow man to recognize the presence of God in his life, and thus renders human man a participant in the divine sacred being. Such a statement influences, one could say, our idea of God because it allows us to live our relationship with God not just as a relationship of subjugation. In fact, it is not one of subjugation between creator and creature, but as a relationship of connection. And this profound way of understanding God also profoundly leads to a completely new and expansive vision of man. So, if man is truly capable of deep and meaningful communion with the divine God, then his very being inherently possesses an essential and fundamental dimension of active participation in the eternal and boundless life of God. So, it is not something added on. Our participation in the divine life is not a bonus, an extra that has been given to us, but is part of the very constitution of man. Our being, in its very constitution, includes this relationship with God because God placed it right in the act itself in which he created man. And so, the dimension of being a creature, the creaturely dimension, and the filial condition, that is, the relationship with God, belong together, originating from God. That is, God willed man to the extent that he wanted to call him to personal communion with himself. This is a very important concept. A concept that the magisterium of the Church also teaches us. I have included here this excerpt from Gaudium et Spes, this pastoral constitution of the Second Vatican Council, where the council fathers tell us that "God, God who has a fatherly care for all, wanted men to form a single family and to treat each other with a spirit of brotherhood. All, in fact, created in the image of God, who from one man brought forth [music] mankind, the entire human race, so that it might populate the whole earth, is [music] called to the one and same goal, that is, to God himself." There is that Advent hymn during the season of Advent [music] that we often sing: "God became like us to make us like him." This is the [music] reason why God created us. And we must think of ourselves as [music] creatures with all our limitations, but above all, as creatures willed by God to be this way.

And where does all this find its [music] foundation? I find it precisely in sacred scripture. Now, let's give some hints about [music] these texts, and then we will try to introduce instead the teachings that Jesus gave to Louisa.

First of all, man as the image of God in the Old Testament. This topic about the creation of man [music] in the image and likeness of God. It must be said right away that this is not a subject that is much [music] discussed within the Hebrew Bible. In fact, the texts that [music] speak of this image of God, paradoxically, are more numerous in the New [music] Testament than in the Old Testament. And they are few. And the few that do exist [music] in the Old Testament are also difficult to interpret. Why is this? Because the Old Testament, which is deeply and firmly established in [music] Jewish culture and its traditions, and in [music] Jewish culture, there was a stronger attachment to the word rather than to the image. We remember that the Jews, Moses, from one of the commandments and precepts of the people of Israel, it is that one should not create an image of God, but to listen to his word, because typically in Jewish culture, the focus shifted more to the word than to the image. It is the New Testament, on the other hand, that places its emphasis on the image, even going so far as to say that Jesus is the image of the Father. Jesus, who says to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father, because I am in the Father and the Father is in me."

But when does this begin to influence the thinking of Jewish culture, which is so deeply rooted in the word and not in the image? When the people of Israel come into contact with Greek culture. In fact, the text we now read from the first chapter of the Book of Genesis is a later text, and this text was written when indeed the people of Israel were already in contact with Greek culture. And so we understand why, in the first account of creation, there is this insertion of man being created in the image and likeness of God. Let us read the text.

"And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that crawl on the earth.' God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living creature that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food. And to all the wild animals, to all the birds of the sky, and to every creature that moves on the earth, everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.' And so it was. God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good."

Here is this passage from the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. It tells us that being made in the image and likeness of God is not, as we said before, something extra for this creature, but is part of its very nature as a creature. Therefore, man is called to be this way, to be the image and likeness of God. Creation in the image implies a contact between God and man, which on the one hand makes us understand that the key to being human is found precisely in this relationship with our creator. The cornerstone of everything lies in this relationship we have with God, and not with the rest of creation. On the other hand, the creator-creature relationship, in the case of man, is manifested as a correspondence or community of being. And so, man is given a certain degree of kinship. And therefore, if the image does not possess something of its archetype, of its origin to which it constantly refers, it will not truly be a real image. So, we, as someone once said, who have perhaps it was Cardinal Newman, I don't remember exactly who said, we have a divine spark within us because we come from there. And this is why, as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas teach us, man, as they say, is "capax," that is, capable of having God, of containing God. He is capable of God precisely because he comes from God.

Still in the Old Testament, let's look at some other texts taken from the wisdom books. First of all, this passage from the Book of Sirach: "The Lord created man from the earth and makes him return to it again. He assigned men a set number of days and a fixed time and gave them dominion over all that is on the earth. According to his nature, he clothed them with strength and formed them in his own image. He instilled in every living being a fear of man, so that man would have dominion over the beasts and the birds. He gave them discernment, language, eyes, ears, and heart, so that they might reason. He filled them with knowledge and intelligence and also showed them good and evil."

Here is this passage from the Book of Sirach. We could say that it is somewhat of a commentary on the account in the Book of Genesis, where it is emphasized that the image of God present in man is manifested precisely in his ability to have dominion over creation, in his rule over all creation. And this happens above all in relation to man's rational condition, his capacity for discernment. So, these are the profound signs that clearly show I am indeed created in the divine image [music] and perfect likeness of God.

Then there are these two significant passages from the sacred Book of Wisdom, where two [music] very particular and important emphases are thoughtfully made. First, it is stated in Wisdom 2:23 that "God created man for [music] immortality. He made him in the image of his own nature." And it seems to provide, for the [music] first time, a foundation for being by indicating precisely man's participation in a specifically divine characteristic, which is immortality. [music] If God created man immortal, it is because [music] he shares in divinity.

The second passage is incorrect. It's not Wisdom 2:23, but rather Wisdom 7:26. I wrote it wrong. This passage, "Wisdom is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the activity of God and an image of his goodness," tells [music] us that the creation of man in the image of God also has a theological [music] value. And in this case, the subject is wisdom, which indeed is a reflection of eternal light. So, the wise man, the man who possesses [music] wisdom within himself, carries within himself the image of God.

And then, as a commentary on this, I wanted [music] to include a short passage from the encyclical of John Paul II, *Dominican* number 34, where, in fact, this is precisely what is [music] stated. Pope Vitila says that "at the same time, man [music] himself, in his own humanity, is given as a gift a special image and likeness of God. This means not only rationality and freedom as constitutive properties of human nature, but also, from the very beginning, the capacity for a personal relationship with God as an 'I' and a 'you,' and therefore the capacity for a covenant that will take place through God's saving communication to man."

So, even St. John Paul II reminds us of this, that we, precisely because we are images of God, are capable of relating to God. It's as if to say, "What a gift! Who knows what kind of superpower we have?" But it's because it is part of our constitution as human beings. In the background, John Paul continues, of the image and likeness of God is the gift of the Spirit. It ultimately means a call to friendship, in which the transcendent depths of God are, in some way, opened to participation by man. So, there is no lack of communication between God and man. The very being of man has value by virtue of his capacity to relate to God, to relate to God. Everyone. There isn't one who is more advantaged and another less so, because it is, it is part of the very constitution of the human being.

And so, dearest friends, we come to the writings of Louisa. And for our reading this evening, I have chosen two passages. A first passage is taken from the 25th volume, dated December 25th, 1928, and the other from the 15th volume, April 25th, 1923, where, in fact, we see, as there would be so many others here too, I did some research, and in the 36 volumes, dozens and dozens of passages come up where this is discussed. And since we can't read them all, we have to make a selection. And I was very struck by this passage from December 25th, 1928, which, in fact, December 25th, the day of Jesus' birth, when the Redeemer comes to earth to redeem mankind. And on this occasion, Jesus explains who Adam was, and indirectly, he explains who we are. It really struck me, and I liked it a lot, this profound definition of Adam which Jesus himself gives of Adam, the very first human being, the original son of God, and he explains it. So, let's give the floor to Louisa.

Jesus says to Louisa: "My daughter, in Adam, the first human son, invested by our will, his rays, his acts were more than rays of the sun, which, stretching out and expanding, were meant to invest the whole human family, in which many sons were to be seen in one, as if beating within these rays, all centered in the core of this first human son. All these rays were meant to have the power to form their own son without breaking the bond with the first son. Because since the beginning of life for each creature came from this son, each one could be a son for itself."

This image of the sun is very interesting, and we find it in almost all of Louisa's writings when she speaks of man and of the creature who lives in the divine will. The concept is this: we must not think that we are merely this perspective of the divine will, that we only live from its effects. But we are an integral part of this profound divine will, just like the radiant sun itself. She profoundly states that we are not merely like other earthly creatures who simply benefit from and passively make use of these life-giving rays, but that we ourselves are, in essence, this very sun, embodying its inherent power and light. Because when we truly live in the divine will, this glorious sun with its radiant rays reaches into our lives and makes our entire life part of this magnificent sun. And in turn, it then sends its benevolent rays to all creatures. And this is precisely the idea behind the creation of man. Man was created to be like a son for himself, certainly sharing in the divine son.

And in fact, after explaining this concept, now Jesus speaks about the creation of man, about how beautiful the creation of man was, and how it surpassed the entire universe. "The profound and intricate bond of union of one in many was truly the greatest marvel of our divine omnipotence. For our singular will, inherently one in itself, had to meticulously keep the absolute inseparability of all, the deeply communicative and profoundly unitive life of all beings, ever present and continuously manifest. And it is a symbol and image of our divinity. For we are inseparable. And although we are three divine persons, we are always one because our will is one, our holiness is one, our power is one." [music]

"Therefore, behold, man," says Jesus, "is always looked upon by us as if he were the only one. We are unique in the eyes of God. [music] It is the uniqueness of man in the eyes of God. And even though he was to have his long lineage, it was always centered in the one. It was the uncreated love that [music] was created by us in man. And therefore, it had to give of us and resemble us and our will. [music] The one will acting in us was to act as one in man to form the unity and the inseparable [music] bond of each one. Therefore, we are called to this unity."

And it's truly interesting to consider that when we speak about the ultimate enemy of God, that is to say, the malevolent devil, the embodiment of evil, Satan himself, he is indeed the one who, instead of fostering unity and cohesion, actively creates profound [music] division, generates significant fragmentation, and sows discord amongst all beings. God truly wants to gather all of us into a profound and meaningful unity. Conversely, evil actively seeks to scatter [music] us. And I genuinely believe this serves as a critically important criterion for understanding our spiritual [music] journey, for our discernment in our lives. When we carefully [music] observe, even within those deeply significant and often complex, so-called religious matters, [music] that a divisive and fragmenting spirit is actively at work, a spirit which regrettably leads to profound division and painful fragmentation, then, my dear friends, it becomes unequivocally clear that God is simply not present there. Because God, the divine work of God, inherently seeks and profoundly desires to create and foster genuine, lasting unity amongst all people. This is indeed a very significant source of profound suffering for all the various groups of the divine will, which allow me to explicitly state, seem to be actively competing with great intensity to clearly distinguish themselves from one another and to completely separate from each other, creating considerable discord. We see a continual formation of groups and little groups, each going its own way, and in fact, paying close attention to what the others are saying so that they can then criticize and denigrate them and say, "But we are different. We do something else. We are further ahead, and that one is not of the divine will, and that one talks about this, and that one talks about that." All of this is not the work of God. Because if we truly let ourselves be guided by the spirit of God, certainly this fragmentation among all these groups of the divine will would not exist. We would be more united among ourselves because the divine will is unity. I like to put it this way: the divine will is not exclusive. The divine will is inclusive. I think this is our task. We who call ourselves children of the divine will have this important duty to build communion among ourselves because the testimony we are giving is not one of communion, but rather a testimony of division. And precisely based on what we have read, if we have understood it, if from the very beginning, from the creation of man, there is this desire of God to unite us to himself and union even among creatures, as he said, "even if it had to have its very long generation, it was always centered on the one." If we do not work for union, for unity, we will not be able to live in the will of God. And the undeniable sign that we have truly understood life in the divine will is when we continually and earnestly seek to create profound unity among ourselves and not any form of division whatsoever.

And Jesus continues: "Therefore, man is precisely sin. By withdrawing from our divine fiat, he became deformed and disordered and no longer felt the strength of unity and inseparability, neither with his creator nor with all generations. He felt like a body divided and broken in its limbs, no longer possessing the full strength of the body as a whole."

And now we ask ourselves, truly, but what exactly does [music] God really want? God wants, and this is the concept of redemption, a new creation. [music] Ah, not a new creation, but a renewed creation in Jesus, in the Redeemer. Redemption comes to bring about this renewed [music] creation, where precisely the characteristic is unity. Let us remember the words of Jesus in the Gospel: "Just as I and the Father are one, so you too may be one." You see, this concept of unity is reiterated by the humanity [music] of Jesus. And Jesus always lived his entire life on this earth as the Son of God united with the Father. And he sought to bring this unity among people.

And Jesus continues: "Therefore, my divine will wants to [music] enter once again as an act, first in the creature, to reunite the broken members [music] and give them unity and inseparability, just as they came forth from our creative hands."

We find ourselves in the position of an artisan. He uses [music] the image of the sculptor and the sculpture of an artisan who has made his beautiful statue, one that inspires [music] all heaven and earth. The artisan loves this statue so much that he has placed his [music] own life within it, so that with every act or movement it makes, the artisan feels within himself the life, the act, the movement of his beautiful statue. The artisan loves it with a delirious love. He cannot tear his gaze away from it. But in so much love, the statue suffers a collision, is struck, and ends up broken in its limbs and in the vital part that kept it bound and united to the artisan. What pain must he feel? What would he not do to restore his beautiful statue? All the more so since he still loves it, and to his delirious love has now been added a love full of sorrow. Such is the position of the divinity in relation to man. It is because of our delirium of love and pain that we wish to remake the beautiful statue of man. Thus, redemption is driven by this delirium of love, but also by a delirium of pain for the lack of response that man has given to God. He wants to remake the beautiful statue of man. And since the impact occurred in the vital part of our will that he possessed, because in fact it separated him from the will of God, once it is restored in him, the beautiful statue will be remade for us, and our love will be fulfilled. Therefore, I want nothing else from you except that my divine will may have its life. This is the importance of living in the divine will. It lies in this, in giving back to God what he expected from us when he created us, to be this new statue restored by this Redeemer who came to reconnect the human will with that of God.

Jesus says, Louisa says, adding with a more tender tone: "My daughter, in created things, the divinity did not create love itself, but the blossoms of its light, its power, its beauty, and so on. So, in the works of creation, there were the blossoms of light, of power, of beauty. So it can be said that in creating the sky, the stars, the sun, the wind, the sea, the earth, these were our works that brought forth the blossoms of our beautiful qualities. This is what God did for creation. But what he did for man is something completely new. Only for man was there this greatest miracle to create life and the life of our love itself. And that's why we love it so much because it is life and work coming from us. And life is worth more than anything else." This passage from December 25th, 1928, "Adam, the first human son," is very beautiful.

And then, this second passage we come to, this second passage from April 25th, 1923, where it speaks to us about redemption like a road, an important royal road that allows us to come into contact, into communion with God. Jesus says: "My daughter, I truly wanted to pray together with you, my dear friend, to strengthen you profoundly in my divine will and to graciously give you the essential grace to fully find yourself before the Supreme Majesty."

At that very significant moment of humanity's creation, Louisa was doing her usual rounds and found herself at the moment when God created man. I'll say it again because it's important. When Louisa does her rounds, she does what all mystics experience to some extent. She leaves herself and enters into God and sees things from God's point of view, not her own, because it is a mystical experience. She enters into God, and in God, there is no time. So, at every moment, she finds herself in every era of time of history. And so, in an instant, since she is in God, leaving herself and entering into God, she finds herself at the moment when God created man. And she says: "Since we endowed him with all goods, and his will was ours, and ours was his, everything was in harmony between him and us." She is speaking about Adam's condition before the sin. "Whatever he truly desired, he relentlessly took from us. He seized our sacred holiness, our profound wisdom, our immense power, our boundless happiness, and so much more. He was, please pay close attention, our original prototype, our perfect portrait, our wonderfully happy and cherished son."

So, Adam at the beginning of his existence had a period in which he perfectly fulfilled the purpose for which he was created. He experienced what it means to live in the will of his creator. We were mutually and genuinely happy to see our very own acts, our creations, reproduced perfectly in our own image. So, when God created man, he was in essence mirroring this profound experience. The happiest being because he saw this correspondence of love between himself, between God, between the creator and the creature. But precisely when and exactly how he ultimately broke his own will with ours, he remained completely separated from us. So, the very first acts of man are indeed in our divine will. And therefore, those profound acts, because they are inherently divine acts, remain eternally and perpetually.

And I want absolutely nothing else from you, my beloved, except that you wholeheartedly come into our divine will to continue this sacred journey from precisely where Adam tragically stopped, so that I can truly bind within you all the profound harmonies that he unfortunately broke and shattered. So, life in the divine will means to continue that work which Adam was carrying out and which sin had interrupted. And just as this first creature, being created by us as the head of the whole human family, by withdrawing from our will, brought unhappiness at all costs to everyone, so you, by coming to follow, by coming to follow from where he stopped living, we make you the head of all, therefore, bearer of that happiness and those goods which had been assigned to everyone if they had lived in our will.

So, Jesus, in these few profound lines, explained what the ultimate purpose of divine redemption truly is: that a human soul, the beloved creature, could return to its pristine original state by deeply immersing, completely fusing, and perpetually living in the divine will.

But now comes Louisa's objection. These are very important, these objections of Louisa, because they help us understand something very specific, that Louisa did not, she didn't just take everything the Lord told her at face value. She had this critical awareness, which was not a lack of faith, but a desire to understand. Just like when the Madonna, faced with the angel's words, says, "But how is this possible? I do not know man. Explain to me what will happen." This then is Louisa's attitude. Louisa is not satisfied with generic explanations. She wants, through these questions, to understand more deeply. But above all, she realizes that what the Lord tells her and what she is are two things very far apart from each other. And so she feels inadequate for such an important task.

And indeed, Louisa says: "I, my Jesus, how can this be possible? If by coming yourself to earth to redeem us and to suffer so many pains, not even then was the happiness regained that the first man lost for himself and for everyone. How can it be that now, by binding myself to your eternal will, I can restore this lost happiness? Lost? How can I do it?"

And here, indeed, Jesus answers her. "My daughter," and Jesus' answer is disarming, because it is a simple answer. Louisa has made all these reasonings, but Jesus dismantles the complexity of these thoughts, which reflects the complexity of our own reasoning. He dismantles them right away. He says: "My children, to me all times are in my hands. I give to whomever I want, and I use whomever I want. I could very well have brought the happiness contained in my will to earth. But I found no human will that wanted to live perpetually in mine to retie the bonds of creation and give me back all the acts of the first man, as if he had done them all with the seal of the supreme will, and thus restore the lost happiness."

It's not true that there was no one. There was someone. There was the Madonna. But Jesus says that the Madonna had nothing to do with this. Her task was different. In fact, he says that it's true, "I had my dear Mother, but she had to cooperate with me in the work of redemption. Man then was a slave, imprisoned by his own faults, sick, covered in the most disgusting wounds. And I, as a loving Father, came to shed my blood." This

This is a definition of redemption. Redemption is Jesus shedding his blood to redeem us, to reconnect this human will with that of God. So shedding my blood to redeem him like a doctor to heal him as a teacher to show him the way, the escape, so he wouldn't fall into hell. Poor, sick, how could he have soared in the eternal flights of my will if he didn't even know how to walk? If I had wanted to give the happiness contained in my will, it would have been like giving it to the dead and letting it be trampled underfoot. He was not ready to receive such a gift.

And so I wanted to teach prayer to prepare him. And I was content to wait for other eras to let centuries and centuries pass before making known the life in my will to begin this happiness. So redemption is like a preparation for what will later happen with the earth and Sophia.

But there is still another objection from Louisa who says, "My love, if with your redemption not everyone is saved, how can it be that your will will give this happiness to everyone?" And here Jesus answers again, disarming, "A human being will always be free and unconstrained. I will never take away the rights I gave him at creation. Never. It's just that in redemption I came to open many paths, small roads, shortcuts to make salvation and holiness easier for man. With my will I come to open the royal and straight path which leads to the holiness of the likeness to the creator and contains true happiness."

Here underlying this is all the prophetic preaching of Isaiah. This is where we are, or in the time of Advent. We have heard in these Sundays this word from Isaiah which returns insistently. Isaiah 40, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Or Isaiah 57, remove the obstacles from the way of my people. It is an appeal. We are called because the prophet urges us to make straight the way for this is the quickest path for the Messiah, the redeemer to come and save humanity. But even so, everyone will always be free to remain. Some on the main road, some on the side paths, and some completely outside. But there will be in the world what does not exist now. The happiness of breath desired and established as in heaven.

So on earth man performed the first acts in my will and then withdrew from it, and thus he was ruined. And since he was the head of all, all the members were ruined together with him. My humanity established the comprehensive plan for all human actions and deeds within the divine overarching will. The humanity of Jesus Christ performed all the actions that every human being does. But Jesus consistently did them in the perfect will of God the Father. Now he waits for these acts to be taken up by the creature and redone with Jesus in order to give that glory which God expected from the creature. He followed me faithfully. So everything is prepared. Now all that is needed is another creature who, wishing to live perpetually in this will, comes to take possession of the plan made by me and opens to everyone this royal road that leads to earthly and heavenly happiness.

So redemption is precisely this profound and essential preparation for all this earthly life which still has yet to be fully and completely realized when indeed the creature is totally and utterly united with its divine creator in a state of perfect harmony and eternal bliss.

And I conclude with these words of St. John Paul II, taken from the very first encyclical that John Paul II thoughtfully wrote, Redemptor Hominis, which was the foundational encyclical that truly served as the program for his entire pontificate, where in fact he speaks profoundly about the profound mystery of redemption. So I have carefully chosen this rather short passage that we will thoughtfully read together as a comprehensive commentary on everything we have discussed this entire evening.

Indeed, St. John Paul II profoundly states, "Man cannot truly live without love. Live, he remains for himself an incomprehensible being. His life is without meaning if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate in it deeply. And therefore, precisely, Christ the Redeemer fully reveals man to himself. This is, if it is permissible to put it this way, the human dimension of the mystery of redemption. In this dimension, man, precisely because he looks to the humanity of Jesus, to the redeemer Jesus in the mystery of redemption. In this dimension, man rediscovers the greatness, dignity, and value proper to his humanity, just as God intended it at creation did. In the mystery of redemption, man is once again expressed and, in a certain sense, is newly created. See the new creation in Christ, it is the redeemed creature. He is newly created. There is no longer Jew or Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."

This is the discussion we had earlier about unity and disintegration. Man who wants to understand himself fully, not only according to immediate, partial, often superficial, and even apparent criteria and measures of his own being, must, with his restlessness and uncertainty, and also with his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. We do not have to be immaculate in order to stand before the Lord or immerse ourselves in the Lord. If we are to be holy and immaculate, as St. Paul says, it is because he has made us holy and immaculate, not us ourselves.

Redemption is an act of God's love in favor of man. It is not something that man deserves. Man receives it. Man only has to accept it. And to accept redemption means to let go, to transform everything in Christ. And so all our limitations, all our sin, precisely because we are absorbed into Christ, it is destroyed because the profound and unconditional love that Jesus Christ so freely gave on the cross utterly destroys all sin.

Unfortunately, we often harbor this mistaken idea that we can truly access God's divine grace simply because we believe we are inherently good or because we have diligently done everything entirely by ourselves. But we can't do anything. We just have to open ourselves to welcome this act of love from the Lord. And it will be his love that destroys the sin within us.

He must, continues John Paul II, "so to speak, enter into him with his whole self. He must appropriate and assimilate the entire reality of the incarnation and redemption in order to find himself again. If this process takes place within him, then he bears fruit. Not only fruit of adoration of God, but also of deep wonder at himself. What value must man have in the eyes of the creator? He has deserved to have such a noble and great redeemer. He has given his son so that man may not die but have eternal life."

Therefore, on our part, it is a matter of accepting this great gift that the Lord has made of his love through the death of his son, the passion, death, and resurrection of his son to open up something completely new for us. And so in this Advent season that prepares us for Christmas, in the expectation of the redeemer, and especially in these days of the novena to the immaculate, looking precisely to her, to the Madonna, as the one who from the very beginning is in this communion with God. May she help us to truly open up the world.