2024/12/30

176. A Letter

On the feast day of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, I wrote a letter and sent it to one of my friends who reads this blog. I read it myself and found it was adequate for posting on this blog, even though it was longer than usual. The following is the letter, excluding the opening and closing greetings. The image above is her work. 

In writing my blog, I have been greatly helped by St. Francis. I had no interest in St. Francis before and had never even paid attention to the San Damiano Crucifix. So, I never imagined that the images on it had anything to do with the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. I was led here by various encounters brought about by the hand of God. I am grateful for the great blessing I have received. I have decided to make the most of this blessing and share it with others. Please pray for me. 

God is the only one who can say, "I AM" (Jn 8:58). And as John's letter tells us, and as St. Francis also wrote, "God is love". Let us become passionate witnesses proclaiming this truth.

"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love" (1Jn 4:7-8)

"So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1Jn 4:16). 

To remain in "God's love", we believers need to make an effort to become able to concentrate on the "time of working with the Holy Spirit," focusing on the divine informationlessness shown by the Eucharist and becoming poor in all information. To work well with the Holy Spirit sent in the name of "Jesus", it is essential to maintain the worldview of Jesus Christ. The training of reading and listening to the Book of Revelation has the power of infusing it into us. Those who take the words of Revelation literally and put them into practice are the little ones who accept God's washing. 

I think that St. Francis read the words of Revelation, "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3) and put them into practice with the innocence of a child. That is because when you read his writings, you will see that he was heading towards the Eucharist and "human information", the knowledge of good and evil (cf. blog no.169 and 170). He did so to recognize the "I AM" of the great God, whom we can only grasp as informationlessness, and understand himself created by the spontaneity of God and the knowledge of God, that is, a mass of information. This passage in Revelation assures us that we can become those "who keep what is written therein" by continuing the training of reading it aloud, listening to its voice and letting it enter our memory. Even if we can only do one line a day when we are busy or having difficulty, or if we can do more for some reason, the voice will enter our memory like flowing water, and God's washing will continue. 

Those who accept God's washing always find divine informationlessness before the Eucharist. That is because, when they concentrate on the Eucharist, even if only for a moment, they become poor in the "human information" within and without themselves. And when receiving the Eucharist, those little ones who accept God's washing every day will have a moment of becoming truly poor. So, as I always say, when we receive the Eucharist, I think the Eucharist is asking us two things: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15) and "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn 11:25-26). 

We know the answer. Just as Mary and Joseph knew, through the angel, that the child to be born would be named Jesus, we know the answer thanks to the New Testament. The life Mary and Joseph received through the collaboration of the Holy Spirit and Mary was God taking human flesh as a perfect man. His name was Jesus. On the other hand, the life we receive through the collaboration of the Holy Spirit and the priest is God, who became the flesh of Christ in the form of bread and wine. His name is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mat 16:16). Jesus testified that "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mat 16:17). 

The question, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" was one that Jesus asked Martha before raising Lazarus in Bethany. In the question, he asked whether she believed everything he had said in the scene where Jesus had revealed that he was the bread of life (cf. Jn 6:22-59). Martha's following reply testifies to her belief, even if she did not understand all of it: "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (Jn 11:27). 

This letter has become quite long, and eventually, I have returned to the theme I have discussed many times before. But I hope you think about it seriously. During the Mass, when the priest elevates the host, Catholics around the world say, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed," and then they go to receive communion. Are these words something that the faithful can be satisfied with as appropriate? 

Even though Jesus was willing to go to his house, the centurion never received him into his home out of humility. Nevertheless, Jesus praised his faith, saying, "I tell you, I have not seen such faith even in Israel" (Lk 7:9). This was because he was in front of the multitude that had come to follow him. However, before the Last Supper, when Jesus was about to wash Peter's feet, Peter's humility in saying, "You will never wash my feet" (Jn 13:8) was sternly rejected by Jesus, who said, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with me." In the face of God's humility, human humility even cuts off our relationship with God. In fact, the centurion's humility deprived his servants and family of the opportunity to encounter Jesus. 

Isn't it necessary for us today to confess that the Eucharist is "the Christ, the Son of God," and to do so aloud? Deep within, believers have the desire to confess to the Eucharist, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Please consider this. 

Maria K.M.