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Her Biblical Commentaries on the Gospel of Luke with Explanations and Reflections on the Interior Life

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (Luke 1:1–4)

This beginning of the Gospel appears but a prelude and an introduction, yet it shows us why this gospel was written. Both Luke and Mark have written their gospels based on the words of the apostles. Why wouldn’t we believe in these reports from the saints? We must be self-deceived if we reject these reports coming from the apostles that are written in the Gospels of Luke and Mark and that the church holds to be true. Luke and Mark have written these gospels for us to see what the apostles saw.

Luke assures us that there are several others who have written what happened from the beginning about the state and life of Jesus Christ. It is evident, therefore, that others also wrote scriptures about this, yet there are only four gospels recognized by the church. The church judged this gospel as accurate and if I reject this tradition that the church approves, than I have doubted the truth of this gospel. In the true church, as we look at scripture and its witness, we see rapport with truth in perpetuity, as it lives from century to century going back to Jesus Christ. But when we find a church following scripture, we know this church to be true. The nobility and truth of a church needs the tradition presented in scripture. We have this truth and justice in the church of God. The church must be the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) and also the perfect rule of our faith. In following the church whose foundation is truth, we cannot be mistaken.

The church interprets church laws with counsel and tolerance. There are people, though, who reverse the order of things and put tolerance in the place of Laws. Some now practice spiritual ceremonies not supported by scripture. The church as the body of Christ, though, is a good mother and has many children of all ages. The church gives the nourishment of bread and milk yet does not have to tolerate all the unwise practices. Instead, the church needs to follow laws and give gifts to everyone to fill her needs.

For example, as scripture tells us, the church wants us to be united and attached to God and this is the indispensable law. This is a positive commandment that all Christians are to be united to God and Jesus Christ, as members of their head. The church tenderly shows them the way to God, so when we arrive, we leave our sins with him. I need to use the ways the scriptures of the church teach to practice of holiness and salvation. But when I arrived in union with God and when I have been habitually united to God with a constant, durable, and permanent love, the intention of the church is that I rest in this union, so that nothing may turn me away from this, and I avoid what can pull me away from God. Therefore, I remain content in what the church wishes for me in this state. I am not attached to scrupulous practices that pull me away from my tender union with God. These practices do not help my union with God, and actually create distance between God and me. For example, I walk up the stairs to arrive at a room. I leave the stairs after I arrive at the room. I do not continue advancing on the stairs but it is necessary that I rest in the room so that I can find the rest I need. He who made the stairs did not intend them as a lodging or a place of rest. Instead, I go into the chamber to rest.

The church recommends good practices to carry her children to union with the Bridegroom. Yet the children need to leave these practices if and when they find union with God. The church also has certain prayers to raise the soul to God. Yet many are not raised to union with God and neither do they serve God. Yet there are souls in a very close union with God; how did they the way to God? There are people doing spiritual practices that see others not using the practices and so they accuse them of being in error. Yet far from being in error, they are in the true spirit of the church, and in the interior states of Jesus’ church.

The Gospel reveals the true spiritual practices. Those who are close to Christ believe with a strong faith. They do what Christ commands. They participate in the sacraments, and take care to repent when needed. They take communion. This life of the soul protects our union with God while increasing it and providing armor against corruption. The church distributes these treasures of the commandments of Christ, repentance, forgiveness, baptism, and communion to all the faithful. Because of these, we do well. They are signs of the mercy and kindness of God.

God’s Word in us triumphs over everything. We all must live in the will of God in our lives but not all do this. Catherine of Genoa was placed in a love so pure, she wanted to use this pure love for the cause of justice. It turns out that today, through some unwise practices, many find torments, rather than win God’s mercy and kindness.1

Faithful people who still follow unnecessary practices are in error. They are far from the kindness of God and are not using God’s strength. They have a respect for the church and would die to support it. But they do not choose the way of living in the will of God, to which they will be at the end united in a perfect way. Vocal prayers are not an absolute obligation. The prayer books given to priests are an example of a way given to them to unite them to God. When the soul is united to God, it is necessary that they remain in union with God and not return to their previous ways that were good and holy in their time. Vocal prayers are no longer good for the soul, because God asks other things from them. It is the same with all other devotional practices. Therefore we do not need to accuse others of errors because they are in the state that the church wishes for its children. They might need to stay there because of their weakness. All things have their season. Even when the counsel is holy and good, it is not for all. We must do everything that is holy. This means doing the will of God and tending to the perfection that God wants for us, each to her own state. The religious orders are good but they may prevent a person from entering into the will of God.

This is said to let those know who live in the Will of God that there are ignorant people who will condemn them. If the believer remains in repose and holds on to their path, they will find the contentment that God chooses for them.

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord. (Luke 1:5–6)

This scripture describes well the grandeur of the holiness of the parents of John the Baptist and his extraordinary birth. John originates from the priesthood and this scripture shows all priests that they should be engaged like John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness. The priest should prepare a way for the Lord so they may learn about Jesus Christ: Behold, the Lamb of God. John the Baptist cried in the wilderness, which is to say in the desert of people’s souls.

John the Baptist is the model that priests must imitate so they may lead souls to Jesus Christ, without losing any of them. The holy parents of this forerunner of Jesus Christ were righteous before God and conformed to God in holiness and justice. God revealed their justice before humans. They had no self-will which is the principle character of justice. They were living blamelessly according to all of the commandments of the Lord. They lived in God’s will as revealed in scripture and were justified like God has for every individual person. Like the parents of John the Baptist, all priests must follow God and have morals beyond reproach.

Jesus Christ does not have priests for his parents and was born into a family of more common origin. He is to be imitated by everyone.

But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. 8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.” (Luke 1:7–13)

The circumstances that happened before the conception of John the Baptist are amazing. First, God shows his favor with light. The birth is known throughout the world and nothing is hidden because the priest must tell what happened outside. For the one who must announce Jesus Christ must have light, not for himself, but for the others. He must not be ashamed of preaching and confessing Jesus Christ. The promises given for John the Baptist were announced to Zechariah because as a child John must remain strong in him. Promises about Jesus were given to Mary and not to Joseph, because she had to ponder what was necessary for the formation of Jesus Christ. John comes from parents who were sterile and advanced in age so that we see the grace and miracles surrounding his birth, and also to see the purity that he had for the ministry of the Word. John’s name is given by heaven before his birth to mark his vocation as an apostle.

“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:14–16)

John’s proclamation of repentance brings joy to the world because that which afflicts the body, fills the spirit with contentment. Discipline gives us a strong and powerful support. John’s coming, though, brings ruin to some and yet the resurrection of many. John’s repentance brings ruin followed by resurrection. He will be great in the sight of the Lord because repentance brings faith and wonderful gifts. He must never drink wine because repentance brings all pleasure to the soul. Repentance also creates life in a community.

After the angel tells Zechariah of John’s gifts as a person of repentance, he says that John will announce the eternal Word. John will be filled with the Holy Spirit of the new birth while in the womb of his mother so he may serve as the bearer of the Word. And to show that John has the quality of a preacher and a voice full of the Holy Spirit, the angel continues to say, He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. This apostle will convert souls away from sin to grace, both in the exterior and in the interior, so they return to the kingdom of the Lord their God. This is why all the preaching of John announced that the kingdom of God is near.

“With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)

John was sent to prepare the way for the Lord in the zeal, power, and virtue of Elijah. He was like a wind purifying the air in the places that Jesus Christ would pass. He must go before Jesus Christ to prepares the repentance before Jesus Christ. If a soul repents entirely, then she follows Jesus Christ who is the way and he leads the soul. Repentance is a reconciliation of the heart that heals our mistakes and lack of belief. This leads us to abandon ourselves to the way of God that is the wisdom of the righteous. If folly causes faithlessness, true faith and trust bring wisdom. Finally, John was to make a people prepared for the Lord. This involves the perfect conversion of both the interior and the exterior. When souls entirely turn to God, a people is prepared. The soul experiences the consummation of perfection.

Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur” (Luke 1:18–20).

The archangel Gabriel announces the mystery of the incarnation. Always standing before God, Gabriel’s ministry is of the Word and he announces this Word in souls. The archangel Michael comes to destroy self-love and all that opposes the reign of God through the movement of the Word into the soul. Yet when Gabriel speaks, Zechariah asks, How will I know the truth of these words? He asks for a testimony contrary to faith. Mary does not ask for this testimony when Gabriel announces to her, because she is not in defiance. Instead, she asks, How will this happen? She does not doubt or defy but wants to be instructed in the will of God so that she may do this, even at an expense to her. Had God wanted something more, she would have consented. But Zechariah does not ask, How will this happen? He wants a testimony to the truth that is announced to him. This is offensive to God.

Gabriel assures him that he is the angel that stands in the presence of God and brings this good news. It as if he says, “The truth of my words cannot be better manifested than by the continual presence of God that I possess. If you had the same advantage of the presence, you would have more faith. I bring you the news that you will be given the divine presence. This is why you will become mute, unable to speak. With the cessation of words, you will be in a state where you will hear. You will be mute until the voice is given to you and this voice brings light.” This voice is John in an apostolic state who brings the Word of his Father. The voice is given to the apostles, who will speak of Jesus Christ coming to the hearts as the Word. God the Father chose John to announce and serve Jesus Christ. I am, he says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

But why does the angel speak to Zechariah as if his silence is a punishment for his lack of faith, since this silence brings an advantage to him? We need to know that there are two silences, one exterior and the other interior: the exterior is a punishment and the interior one a grace. Ministers are placed in their place to announce the reign of God. Their mission is hurt by their faults but the words they announce do not fail to accomplish their mission in the right time. Their words are necessary to teach all persons these extraordinary things. Minister should not be anxious about the interior words. Neither should they try to make them happen, but to trust everything to divine providence, who will bring this about in the right time. These words are accomplished in the time that God destines. Sometimes God promises many things that are not accomplished for a long time. The promises to Abraham are an example of this.

Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” (Luke 1:21–25)

All the people witnessed this miracle that Zechariah had in his ministry. Through grace of God, Gabriel had witnessed to Zechariah, but he was forbidden to speak words about this. God gives grace at times and wants this hidden until certain times. Because Elizabeth heard the Lord’s voice at the time of her conception, she hid herself as much as possible. She learned as a newly interior soul that God creates the interior, and the person must be hidden as much as possible to receive this manifestation of God. This is the work that God does within the soul, and this operation is preserved and heightened by silence. This is why Elizabeth says, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me.” It is known that if the soul turns toward God as if God is the sun, and the soul exposes herself to the Sun with a steady gaze, as an atom or small ray is attracted by the Sun, then God looks steadily also at the soul. A consequence of the soul exposing herself to the divine gaze is that in a very short time the formerly sterile soul becomes very fertile.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26–27)

After Gabriel announces the conception of the child who will prepare the way for the Word, he also announces the incarnation of this same Word. John arrives six months before Jesus Christ. He has this short amount of time to prepare the way, and when this is done, Jesus Christ comes quickly. The angel was sent to a virgin because what the Word was producing in the world. She was a virgin of both soul and body. This virgin was engaged to a man, but she had not known a man. This is to show the union that must happen between the Word and the Virgin to better hide this grand mystery. The conception of John was announced with light but the incarnation of the Word was hidden with care. God hid his grand and marvelous ways under the ordinary and natural. Joseph was of the house of David, because Jesus Christ must be born of David according to the flesh. And this virgin’s name was Mary because she must produce a fruit of both joy and sorrow.

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)

This heavenly ambassador enters into the presence of the holy virgin. She still lived bodily on earth while being transformed into God. As this was the message that would astonish both human beings and angels, God took all the necessary measures, so that this would be hidden from humanity for a time. This message to Mary carried the blessing of reconciliation of God with humanity by receiving within herself the Mediator who reconciles all of humanity. As Eve had been the mediator for sin and division, Mary would serve as the mediator for grace and reconciliation. Therefore, Mary consented to peace on behalf of the entire human race.

In close rapport with God, the angel with his pure spirit and intelligence brings the message of a real marriage between God and the humanity. He chooses words that show this mediation. “Greetings, Favored One!” he says. He shows his respect and at the same time declares the secret of his mission. He salutes her with grace. Because of this, she knew a perfect fullness of grace without any emptiness. God continually increased both the fullness of grace and her capacity to receive grace through all her days. A perfect annihilation brings an absolute emptiness and a capacity for this emptiness: this excessive emptiness through grace becomes an excessive fullness. The measure of emptiness in the self brings the measure of fullness she will know because God never lets the emptiness stay open without filling it. This brings strength and not sin. Being empty inside without faith causes anger and wrath but emptiness with grace brings generous love. Mary was entirely filled with love.

But, Mary, if you were so full, how did you receive the Word? Oh, it is the fullness of God that always causes both the emptiness and then the gift of reception. God made Mary a pure creature. She received the fullness of the Word but she was not herself the incarnation. She received the Word mystically. O wonderful interior of Mary with its perfect grandeur! What can we say about this? Because God is outside of all that we can comprehend, we can say little about God except what God says, “I am who I am.” We may say nothing about Mary except that you are the mother of God and in saying that, we say all that we can say. If we say more than that, we weaken the Word. O the interior heart, mind, and soul of Mary! No one can understand you and what is happening! The Lord is with you. You are united to the Lord in a perfect way, although you do not have the incarnation yet. Blessed are you among women! Your production is worth infinitely more than all others. O infinite and fruitful virgin! O fullness of infinity! O immense emptiness of Mary! Who can comprehend this?

But she was much perplexed at his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29)

Mary was troubled by his greeting. Her hidden interior of heart, mind and soul was ready to accept the meaning of these words, yet her senses caused her perplexity. Mary could well experience this, since Jesus Christ also experienced the same. Jesus says, Now my soul is troubled (John 12:27). He too knew astonishment in his senses.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30–33)

The angel says, Do not be afraid, Mary. What do you fear, Mary? The approach of this angel? Yet the virgin is not afraid. To the contrary, she is very welcoming, because she is not filled with scruples that would make her sin against the will of God. The angel says not to be afraid because she has found favor with God. He says this for two reasons. First, to show her to what a high degree that she has been elevated for all humanity and that this gift is freely given to her. This is done to her by the grace of God and not for any proper merit of her own. God out of his goodness and kindness has chosen her out of many. God raises Mary in a wonderful way. This is the truth that she confirms when she says, The Lord has done great things for me. “This is why the nations will call me blessed. I am blessed only because of what the Lord has done in me and nothing that I have done myself.”

Secondly, the angel told Mary not to be fear because of God’s great grace which is entirely pure of the malice and corruption of Adam.

Finally, she has nothing to fear even in these most dangerous things because of her innocence. And to increase her astonishment, he says something even more surprising that the virgin cannot even comprehend: You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. The angel does not say that the child is the Son of God whom she will conceive and bear. Gabriel preserves her in the will of God because in this moment, Mary is entirely present, without imperfections and self-will. The angel tells her that she will bear the Son who will be great, but he does not say that he is the Christ, but he will be called the Son of the Most High.

The angel tells her also about the Son’s life in time and history: he will reign on the throne of David forever. To take these words and promises literally, Mary must believe that she will be the mother of the king of Israel and of Judah, and that Jesus will truly reign as David did in an external way. The words of God must be interpreted in an interior and spiritual way, otherwise we would see Jesus in his poor and afflicted state and think that the promises of the angel were not true. Though David was the father and ancestor of Jesus Christ, he showed the future image of Jesus Christ as King and Pastor. God gives Jesus Christ the throne of David and the rights of a legitimate pastor who must lead his flock Israel to green pastures. This excellent pastor leads with strength. He has the right to reign over the house of Jacob over abandoned souls, like David did in an external way. Jesus Christ reigns in an interior way. We must let Jesus Christ rule as King over our hearts and to let him lead as a Pastor because it is for this that he came into the world. His reign is forever because he will reign through eternity with strength. He holds us in the present and we begin eternity already. It is so easy to let Jesus reign; we only have to stop ruling ourselves.

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)

The question Mary asks is not one of doubt or refusal because she wants to be ready to do the thing that God asks of her. She wants to know if her way of life must change. She is ready to accomplish the will of God and wants to know if she needs to do something differently.

The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

The angel tells Mary that she has nothing to do on her part to accomplish this great mystery. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, says the angel to Mary. But how is this to be done? It will come in a specific way and will not commune with any other. The Most High will overshadow you. But does the angel talk about light? Oh, it is because this light is so excessive, the light will appear like a shadow. Mary will be covered with this shadow and this shadow will make her fertile. These will be virtues of the Most High and the work of the all-powerful God. This is why Mary speaks of the mystery that God will accomplish with all the power of divine arms. It is necessary that this be done through the operations of the virtues and power of God. This holy one, in whom all holiness and righteousness is found, will be called the Son of God. For this is not the work of human beings, but is the production of the Holy Spirit.

The mystical incarnation comes from God’s strength and not from human beings. The Holy Spirit comes in her soul with the infinite fullness and fertility of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is always fertile. As the Bible says, God rested on the waters and they became very fertile. Genesis 1:2 reads, The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the water. Genesis 1:20 reads, And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” The Father and the Son communicate life through their life-giving warmth and give fertility to all things. God gave fertility to Mary by the Word present in her to do his work. The Holy Spirit produces the Word in souls and makes them fruitful. The Holy Spirit comes into an annihilated soul and by his life-giving fire, he sows the life of the Word in the soul, making a mystical incarnation, which takes place only when the power of the Most High covers the soul with its shadow. This soul loses all her own proper self-virtue, but she is under the shadow of divine virtue, that covers, guards, and defends her. The Holy Spirit acts as a shadow holding her in obscurity as everything happens within her. This is why all of God’s operations born in the soul are done in a particular manner making her good and holy. This is also how Jesus Christ is formed in her by the operation of the Holy Spirit in a mystical manner. Paul also assures us of this, My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19).

“And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36–37)

How poor, blind, and confused we are when we want to set and give limits to the divine power! If something surpasses human understanding, we declare it impossible. We want to regulate the will of God and his power by a science that is truly ignorant. Nothing is impossible to God. This is why a soul with the profound light of God is surprised by nothing; she judges and condemns nothing. Because she believes that in an instant God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). True faith never doubts or hesitates because she knows that God would not be God if he depended only on human understanding.

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)

Here God does a wonderful thing! God is so powerful that nothing may resist his will. However, he does not first ask for anything particular and extraordinary from the creature, but he only asks for their contentment. God considers the freedom of the human being and never violates this standard. God works freely and infallibly. God wants to operate the mystery of the incarnation in Mary for the salvation of all humanity through the contentment of Mary. In this particular person, God works his mystery and reconciles the affairs of the whole human race. She expresses her contentment: Here am I, the servant of the Lord, she says, and I will obey him without resistance. He will be pleased with me and he will care for the salvation of humanity, by accomplishing his Word and the promises given for our favor. Contentment is absolutely necessary for the freedom of the human being because God wants his salvation accomplished as a free and voluntary choice. Although we are not meriting or making this salvation, we must consent that the Word is formed within us. He lives within us; he governs, acts and operates within us. There are some who say, “Why does God not do all these things in all souls, since he is all-powerful?” It is true that God is all-powerful and He could do this, but he never does anything without our consent. All souls do not enter into the disposition that he requires. All souls that advance understand one thing: that God wishes for them to be a new sacrifice. If God wishes to give them extraordinary grace, he gives them contentment before he introduces them into the new state.

The angel’s announcement about these extraordinary things is now finished. The Word will produce this operation. Now Gabriel no longer addresses Mary but Joseph.

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:39–41)

As soon as Mary conceives the Word in her being, then she leaves to do the work of an apostle. The infant God from the womb of Mary will work here the great mystery of sanctification in John the Baptist while still in the womb of Elizabeth. Oh, if we knew the great things going on in the communications between the faithful and God! When a person who has Jesus Christ formed within her approaches another who is well disposed, she communicates a certain life-giving principle that fills the other person’s soul with joy and contentment. There operates in the person a grace that is not understood, but experienced as good. This is the communication of the Word with John. He receives the sanctification of the merit and courage of future repentance. Mary greets and embraces Elizabeth and in this chaste embrace John becomes sanctified. Oh, the wonderful communion that happens among Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus Christ, and John, during the three months that they remain together! It was a communion of quiet but a profound and efficacious quiet. From afar Jesus Christ instructs John during these three months. John learns while in the womb of his mother this intimate and interior communication with Jesus Christ. In his life John the Baptist went to tell others about Jesus Christ and yet in the world he did not look for Jesus Christ. Did he not know that Jesus Christ was there, John who taught this to others? If John knew, why did he not go look for Jesus Christ? Was this a mistake? Who would believe that? Was John the Baptist indifferent to Jesus Christ? No, it was because he did not need human communication with Jesus Christ. They already had a profound and ineffable communication. John had to do only one thing and that was the will of God. John did not need to go find Jesus Christ, because Christ had already given him his movements. John was content with his life, as he worked at the ministry and office that Jesus Christ had given him. John with his state and dispositions was already united with Jesus Christ and even more, he had already been with Jesus Christ. So it was not a new thing to see Jesus Christ. John knew Jesus Christ first, not in the exterior, but in the secret virtue that Christ communicates within. This pure and sublime communication is experienced within. Oh, the experience of this! The Holy Spirit communicates these ineffable communications. Those that experience them have a germ of life given to them that they cannot fully distinguish.

Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Luke 1:42–43)

When the soul receives the impression of the Word, she cries out to the one who communicates this, as does Elizabeth when she receives the Word, Blessed are you among women! Oh, the great blessing we have when Jesus Christ is communicated to us! Oh, wonderful fertility for that which was sterile is now fertile! Mary is blessed among women, because she was destined not only to bear the mystical Word in her as a chosen soul, but also in reality and in the body. This is why Elizabeth said to her, Blessed is the fruit of your womb! This is the blessing of a double benediction. Not only does she contain the treasure of divinity, but because this fruit extends from infinity and communicates infinity, all creation is blessed in him. The other souls in whom Jesus Christ is formed and carried in their hearts will also bless others through the fruit of their heart. Mary’s heart is made fertile so the Word can be produced in other hearts. Mary has a double fertility of both her heart and her womb in bringing Jesus Christ to the earth.

Elizabeth cries again, And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? Mary who produces the Word in hearts has come to see Elizabeth in the flesh. Oh, the great advantage that the souls in whom Jesus Christ is formed communicate to others! If we knew the blessing that they give, we would be charmed. Oh, great and admirable things that they express to us!

For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:44–45)

Elizabeth discovers a great mystery that proves the communications between interior souls. If a person in the apostolic state speaks to another one, grace produces a certain thrill of joy in the heart. This is the communication of the Word that expresses and imprints this in the apostolic soul who speaks. The marvelous effect in the heart and these words are immediate. God touches John in this moment. O wonderful impact of these communications! So different from what we imagine! They are the conversions that surprise the world and we do not know the cause of them, but these grand things come only by faith. The promises of God are infallible when faith is made without hesitation and defiance. Mary was very happy when she first believed. Her happiness came from her faith.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46–47)

Mary loses herself in this immense happiness and does not defend herself from this joy. That would be propriety and contrary to truth and simplicity. Propriety deprives God of his very great glory. We must know God’s goodness and publish this, when God moves us to do this. The truth moves Mary to speak without excuse or embarrassment, without hiding what God out of his mercy has done for her. She says, My soul magnifies the Lord and publicize the effects of his goodness and power. My spirit rejoices, not only in that which is ordinary. My spirit is always ravished by God and passes into him. The joy that I have causes me ecstasy and this joy is in God my Savior. I am his child and he is within me; he is my Savior. And as my Savior, he gives me powerful and abundant redemption. Annihilated souls know not to defend themselves from his glory or to hide from others the mercies of God.

“For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:48)

Following this, Mary says that God has given her justice. She confesses that God has looked with favor on her, not because of her qualities, but because of his mercy. God sees the depths of Mary’s humiliation and pours mercy on her. God’s mercy forms Jesus Christ within the soul and this annihilates Mary. This annihilation is profound because of the great plenitude of the Word within the soul. God is pleased to fill this valley. No one else will ever be as annihilated as Mary. Oh, the profound wonder of the annihilation of Mary, which can never be comprehended except by contemplating the graces that God has given her! Mary does not say that God looks upon her purity, or her saintliness, or her virtues, but her lowliness and humiliation. She has nothing of her own but her lowliness and humiliation. That is why she adds, all generations will call me blessed.

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:49)

With strength Mary explains this. She says that the Mighty One has done great things. And she adds, His name is holy. Mary says that God has raised her to this eminent grace, yet she claims none of this holiness as her own. God is holy within her. It is as if she would add, “For me I am in the most profound annihilation that a creature can be in.” We are astonished when we see certain interior souls who have no difficulty confessing and publishing the mercies of God. Confessing that everything is of God, they give God all the glory and keep nothing for themselves. God is all and in all. The soul is then exempt from propriety. This is why she is in a state to publish the mercies of God without attributing anything to herself and stealing anything from God. If she does not do this and hides what God does, then she becomes proprietary.

“His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.” (Luke 1:50–51)

The moment that the soul enters into the fear of displeasing God, He acts and fills and blesses her with mercy, as one sees a father soothing a child with caresses after a moment of displeasing him. The father fills the child with goodness and caresses, so that she loses the fear but keeps a loving respect. There are some souls who filled with respect and love do not fear. Their generous love banishes all fear, and gives them a strong and vital boldness.

These souls speak of his rigorous mercy. Justice is their portion and God is pleased when they exercise the courage that he has given them. He shows them, the strength of his arm. But, I say O God! You content some souls with the simple touch of your justice. You touch them with your hand like a father and caress them like a tender and timid infant. Yet God places on his strong and courageous children a heavy weight. Does this mean that he loves them less? No, to the contrary God will give them a whole other part of an inheritance. The mercy and caresses are for the weak and timid infant. God pours his mercy on those who fear but he is pleased to extend his power on those who love him with a strong love, vigorous and pure. God leads these devoted and strong souls. God also scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts who would limit divine power and prevent his arm from being heard.

Mary speaks here of our Savior who pours out his favor on all people, extending his mercy from generation to generation. God’s salvation passes in succession through all centuries, as Adam passed his sin down through all the ages. The Savior came to bring salvation to all those who have the sin of Adam. Mary sees that God sent Jesus Christ with all the strength of his arm who is the Word, Jesus Christ, the Son with all the strength of the Father. The Father’s power is incarnated and deployed in Jesus Christ the man. God is all in his Word, as his Word is all in him. God in this incarnation has sent Jesus Christ with all the strength of his arms.

God extends justice through Jesus Christ with all his strength and power to suffer for the sins of the whole world. What courage God has given one human and what strength he has placed in him. Divine justice touches simply. The souls with the purest love also have divine justice. Jesus Christ was entirely devoted to divine justice, because he was entirely devoted to the glory of God the Father and only to God’s interests. This is why God deploys Jesus with all the strength of his arm and his character, to support all the weight of a just God. The excessive suffering of Jesus Christ was so extreme because he presented this justice. Therefore God’s arms were outstretched, enough to consume and carry millions of worlds for God.

When bearing divine justice, all torments are sweet with the prize of divine justice. The justice of God contains all his attributes and character. Therefore it is jealous because all the attributes look at God alone. The greatest glory that God can have is when the person with contentment enters into this justice. Humanity alone can never enter into divine justice because humans are small and weak creatures, and they may not carry the weight of divine justice. This is the weight of God. This weight is given more or less according to the gradations of strength of the human being. This justice is given to a few souls by a simple touch of God. It was necessary therefore that Jesus Christ contain all justice as he glorifies his Father. This is how souls in whom Jesus Christ lives and operates are the souls devoted to divine justice in a particular manner. They do not serve any particular self-interest, not even for their own salvation and perfection. Instead, they remain in God to exercise for him his justice in a way that pleases him. He does not spare them: to have mercy on them would be painful for them. Though human nature trembles and agonizes at the sight of divine justice, they continue to pray that they will not be spared. O God! They say, change me and reduce me to dust and do not spare me.

God extends justice only to accomplish the designs for the soul. The door to the justice of the Father is Jesus Christ. Mercy is for sinners and for mercenary souls. But justice is for the souls devoted only to the interests of their Father. O divine justice, you have been fully sent in Jesus Christ. You have put all glory into Jesus Christ. A heart freed from all propriety loves only divine justice and cannot fail to suffer. This person will be in him and with him throughout all eternity. Those overwhelmed with divine justice do not have the ire and wrath of God but unrepentant sinners do. But divine justice is for chosen souls in whom Jesus Christ lives and reigns. God takes pleasure in removing their pride and propriety, and then he executes the power of his will by leading these simple and abandoned souls, who have no other design but to remain in perfect abandonment in God.

“He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.” (Luke 1:52)

Mary describes here in a few words the way of Jesus Christ. He has brought down the powerful. He removes those who appear extraordinary from their thrones where they believe they are established forever. He lifted up those who are the lowly who are low and annihilated. God is pleased to lower those who are raised and to raise those who are lowly.

“He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:53)

When the soul is empty, God fills it with himself. God alone, the sovereign good, has goodness. God brings a perfect refinement of goodness to those have suffered hunger and strange deprivations. God sends the rich away empty. His strength in doing this explains the economy of the spiritual life. God gives hunger to those who are full and fills those who are hungry. These two words contain all that we need to say about the interior life. We remain in God to fill the emptiness and to empty the fullness. When we remain in God, he fills our emptiness easily, but if we do not remain in God, he empties our fullness.

When God fills those who are empty, what is he doing? He fills them with himself. But when he empties those who are filled with their own richness, he seems to send them away from him and this distance from God causes little by little their emptiness. When we understand this secret, that in remaining we are filled and in leaving we are empty, there is no more difficulty in the interior life.

“He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:54–55)

Israel is an abandoned soul, who God helps with his protection in a totally special way. When we abandon ourselves to God, he cares for the soul in a way not done for those in the world. God does this in remembrance of his mercy. He exercises his justice. The soul is never in a moment without feeling the effects of his particular and special protection. God grants his protection in favor of the person’s faith and abandon, according to the promise he made never to abandon those who trust in him.

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. (Luke 1:56)

Oh, the advantages of Mary’s stay with Elizabeth! It is inconceivable. Oh, the wonderful exchange they had! The sweet communication! It was at this time that this holy family was united in wonderful holiness.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. (Luke 1:57–63)

God gives the name to John, to the voice who will announce his Son to all humanity. God will also give the name to Jesus Christ. When the soul is consummated and arrives in God, before entering into the apostolic state, she is given a new name, which confirms and establishes her in this state. John receives a new name as soon as he is born to mark that he is sanctified, he was drawn out of propriety, not like other infants, but by losing all of Adam’s sins and propriety. This grace was given him because of the approach of Jesus Christ, as this is only given to the soul whom Jesus Christ approaches. The soul, though, that lives in propriety lives in Adam and has no newness, and has not entered into new life. Before this, John was in the life of Adam. At the beginning of this new life, John entered into the new life that was purely divine. This is why the new name and the confirmation of this state was given after his birth. To mark at this moment he was established as an apostle. At this moment he became the voice of one crying in the desert.

Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. (Luke 1:64)

This verse confirms and supports what has been said: that Zechariah speaks. Zechariah, like John, was now in the order of grace and the interior. Zechariah’s language was delayed until John’s new name was given to mark that he is an apostolic person and that at this instant John was made an apostle who carried the Word. This is the secret of Zechariah’s silence. He remained mute all the time that John was in his mother’s womb to show that this was the time before John was admitted to the apostolate, to pass in silence the time in death and the sepulcher. The being of Elizabeth was like a sepulcher, a state of death, through which the soul must pass. John found life in the same place in which he had found the death of Adam. He became alive in the sepulcher, after a long time without knowledge of life and without use of this same life; now he entered into the day of perfect renewal and the day of his birth. His new name confirmed the day of his birth.

The language of Zechariah was delayed until the name was given. The soul lives immobile for a time in a life totally divine before entering into the apostolic state. When the soul is given a voice to carry the Word, Oh, then the language is free to speak. This is why all the mysteries are accomplished in Zechariah. But why does his mouth work and he begins to speak? It is to glorify and bless God.

Fear came over all the neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1:65–66)

When such great things happen with prodigious occurrences among apostolic souls, all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country. It is not only the hill country that benefits from this or listens to this. The voice of the eternal Word echoes in the hills and valleys. It is only in the valleys that these words are conserved. The mountains have the echoes but the valleys hear the word, that is to say, all simple and docile souls who use the light of their reason to listen to the word. All people who listen with docility, preserve this in their heart, guard it, and Christ is produced there. They then say, What then will this child become, the beginning of the seed of Jesus Christ in the soul? Because we experience this, the seed of life rests in us and gives it a particular protection. The hand of providence accompanies this child, that is to say, the highest grace.

Then the father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.” (Luke 1:67–68)

John secretly communicates to his father a portion of the Spirit that animates him. Zechariah has a part of the plenitude of the Holy Spirit and therefore is overwhelmed and in his prophecy about his son, he prophesies about Jesus Christ. He says, Blessed be the Lord whose goodness is infinite, for he has looked favorably and redeemed in his time his people. The visitation precedes John and will be done by John but Jesus Christ accomplishes the redemption for them. As soon as repentance appears we rejoice, because it is the sign of the approaching salvation, and soon Jesus Christ will follow. All depends on repentance and conversion; as soon as the time is perfect, Jesus Christ does not fail to come. To be perfect the change must not only be from sin to grace, but from exterior to interior, as it has been said many times. It is not from our own strength that we truly experience the Savior and our salvation.

“He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.” (Luke 1:69–70)

O God! You have given us a mighty Savior, given to us in your Son, you have communicated to us an abundant and infinite salvation. This is why the scripture reads, he has raised up a horn of salvation. He communicates to us a superabundance of salvation, an extremely high one, full of wonderful grace. This salvation is in the house of his servant David. O God! It seems that scripture says that the simplicity and abandon of David has attracted this salvation to his house and this salvation spreads with strength through souls. He has promised this in the holy prophets from of old and it is accomplished in this century. I will say, O Love! It seems that all the centuries past have done nothing but to predict what will happen in this century. They have spoken of interior states with shadows and valleys but you have lived this openly.

“That we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, That he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant.” (Luke 1:71–72)

God sends us a powerful Savior to deliver us from our powerful and strong enemies. Our Savior is an infinite and superabundant power, who surpasses the strength of our enemies. If our enemies are powerful and we are infinitely weak, as is true, how are we defended from our powerful enemies? It is impossible by ourselves. Therefore we have a powerful Savior who saves and delivers us from their hands. It is God who gives us Jesus Christ. But to enjoy the privilege and advantage of the Savior, we must let him act to fight and destroy our enemies. If we prevent him, he can do nothing and our salvation will not be useful, because we place obstacles before him by our revolt. This is most criminal. We also fight against him by our own will. Therefore let us abandon ourselves to him without reservation. He will defeat all our enemies without being wounded. God remembers the mercy he promised to our ancestors in the ancient law and accomplishes his promises through the merit and operations of Jesus Christ. All the holiness could not open the door into heaven without Jesus Christ. But the true covenant is for Christians and abandoned souls who participate in union with him. All others may participate in the mercy of salvation, but abandoned souls participate in the mercy of the covenant and union with salvation.

“The oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (Luke 1:73–75)

Scripture assures again of the promise sworn to Abraham, man of faith, that God would give grace to all who follow the way of faith and abandon. God promised we being delivered through his sovereign power from the hands of our enemies, that we might serve him and follow his will without fear and without concern for ourselves in holiness, that is the holiness that he has merited and communicates to us. The person does not make the holiness or destroy the enemies, but this is operated by God alone in his righteousness. He gives grace with his continual presence, in which the soul is confirmed before him all our days in holiness and righteousness without fear but in faith. Nothing is more clear than this. Nothing can be better expressed than the truth of the interior state with its firmness and stillness when there is only God.

“To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” (Luke 1:77)

In the spiritual state of being like children, we are given the knowledge of salvation, different from everything we can imagine. Oh, the knowledge and experience of being as a child is like no other and more than all doctors of theology can imagine! And it is in this state of childhood that we receive the forgiveness of our sins. Children seem not familiar with their soul, yet in their powerlessness, they receive the happy state of salvation.

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us.” (Luke 1:78)

My God! How wonderfully this is expressed! The tender mercy of our God, that we alone consult for what God in his goodness and grace wants us to do. Without looking at our merits or demerits, God signals us that he sends his divine Sun to rise and dissipate the darkness of our ignorance and our sins, like the Sun of nature little by little dissipates the darkness of night. It is in this state of being that Jesus Christ rises upon us to communicate his life and light through grace, which can only come through the mercy of a Father full of goodness.

“To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79)

The divine Sun rises in the interior to give light to those who sit with him and repose in a total abandon in the state of death and in the deepest darkness. The soul is not in peace in this sepulcher and wants to be in the will of God. So the divine Sun, Jesus Christ, rises in this soul as light and guides our feet in the way of peace, exempt from all disorder and fear, walking entirely in freedom.

The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. (Luke 1:80)

This verse contains all that he did from the time of his spiritual childhood until he entered the apostolic state. His interior grew and became strong in spirit as he believed. In the spirit he was raised and in his nature he was diminished. It was necessary that this child remain in the wilderness and in solitude, without which his interior state would not have grown and become strong. The soul must remain hidden until the time that it pleases God to draw him out of there to appear publicly to Israel. God calls this chosen soul destined to be interior out of his solitude to help his neighbor.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. (Luke 2:1–6)

It is not without mystery that God wills that this report contain all the circumstances that appear superfluous and that this history not be embellished. However, this simple narration contains two remarkable things. First, Jesus Christ at his birth and even before his birth practiced for himself and his parents what he taught, to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God. There is no state where we are not subject to the ruling authorities. There are some people who appear pious but yet believe that they have the right to shake off the yoke and take others away from their obedience. They believe they have the right to judge their own conduct and see what is just and right. Jesus Christ does not do this but he lives under the rule of the authorities. We must do the same unless it is directly opposed to divine law. The circumstances here are remarkable that the Savior Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem to accomplish the prophecies; all this is done naturally and without anything extraordinary. What is more natural than that Mary comes to this place as it is ordained? This is the way God leads abandoned souls; he leads them in a manner all natural and without anything extraordinary, but it appears appropriate and admirable.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

Mary gives birth in a stable and puts the holy infant Jesus in a manger because there was no place for him in the inn. This is a coup of the divine hand, predicted throughout eternity, and announced by the prophets, but it appears all natural. O God! When you arrive, you arrive by eternal decree! Who then could not want all that you do and see that all things are in you? All things are held in you who are in a manger. The one who frees everyone is swaddled and tied with bands of cloth. O wonderful coup of the righteousness of the Most-High! The bands of cloth that Jesus Christ was enveloped at birth, marks how the soul in the spiritual birth must remain tied in his power and senses in a sweet captivity, to receive sweetness within, and to remain wrapped and captive as the infant Jesus Christ was in the manger. This is necessary that he be swaddled and rested in this strength. There is no state of being that Jesus Christ did not bear.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:8)

Shepherds must be particularly vigilant during the darkness and the night where death might happen. In the same way, the soul watches over things. She must be a vigilant pastor and take care because she is in a pitiable state where she cannot fully watch over herself or even look at God clearly. This is why scripture reads, that the shepherds kept watch over their flock by night. They guard vigilantly, like the soul must watch so that she does not make mistakes and become lost.

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:9–10)

When pastors are vigilant over their sheep with strength, this vigilance calls forth God who communicates with them with the illumination of his light, making them know truth within their souls. God shows them light on an impenetrable route, which only the divine light of the glory of God leads them to discover. All the light that show these states cause doubt and fear to spiritual directors who have not experienced this for themselves, but they are reassured by divine inspiration who speaks in the depths of the heart, Do not be afraid, for this is news of great joy. The state of this soul that appears new, far from afflicting us, fills us with joy.

“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

This brings great joy to pastors. In a state as dark as night, in a state they do not know, in the city of David, in the most profound center of the soul, is born a Savior, to save the soul by his own loss. The more the soul is lost, the more the soul finds its own salvation in the Savior, who is the Christ. Jesus Christ brings life to this soul to the measure that the soul is destroyed.

Before talking of these scriptures, it is good to reflect on the circumstances of the life of Jesus Christ.

First, to whom is announced the birth of Jesus Christ? To the doctors of the law, to the Pharisees, to princes, to kings? No, to poor and simple shepherds, to the simple without degrees, because these persons are the most appropriate to receive Jesus Christ, because they are not opposed to his simple spirit by their own sufficiency. They are already in the simplicity of his state and the character of his own spirit. If the angels had announced an infant king born in a manger to the doctors, they would have understood this as an illusion, as they do not have enlightenment and are far away from simplicity. They do not suffer. They want only grand things and extraordinary understandings. If the Pharisees had said this to Herod, they would have been persecuted. Instead, these simple shepherds, coarse and ignorant, receive the news of the birth of Jesus Christ. Oh, these simple souls by receiving the truth of Jesus Christ born in the depths of their souls are raised above the doctors! The doctors should announce to others the place where he lives, yet they ignore him and are ignorant of the experience of him!

“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

What signs are announced here of the grandeur and majesty of God? What! A Savior who cannot move and is lying, a King, a pastor, lying in a manger, in the place where beasts eat! A child God with all the weakness of infancy! O loving God! We see there the signs of your grandeur and your royalty! You come to reign, yet you are captive. You come to put us in freedom and you are wrapped in bands of cloth. You come to lead us and you are wrapped in bands of cloth without power and vigor. You come to provide for us and you are without power. O mystery! O secret of the interior! It is in weakness that we find your power. It is in captivity that we find your freedom. It is in the exterior of an infant that we find the hidden truth of God. There we may find the truth of the mystery and discover how Jesus Christ begins to be formed in the interior. We find an infant in simplicity, candor, and innocence where we may be formed in the will of God. Such a soul no longer has its own proper freedom and will but loses herself in this generous freedom because she may choose this divine will which holds her together and makes this happen. Finally, she too is lying in a manger. She is in an unvarying repose, in which nothing may trouble her. But as she appears to be in a manger, she finds nothing in herself except a stupid strangeness. This is the state that David experiences, when he said, I was stupid and ignorant toward you; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand (Psalm 73:22–23). The soul resembles a beast, in entire powerlessness, but she is always attached to God in an unchanging repose.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (Luke 2:13–14)

One cannot express the joy in heaven than happens when Jesus Christ is born in a heart. At the time of the temporal birth of Jesus Christ, all the angels joyfully praised God. They do the same when Jesus Christ is born in hearts. O divine infant! You are born within hearts that do not oppose you! Come and be born in all our hearts. You came to be born in a stable in the fullness of time. In our hearts we also have the fullness of time. Therefore come be born in all hearts. If our hearts are like an empty stable and a waiting manger, Jesus Christ will not delay in coming. Jesus Christ was refused in all the houses in Bethlehem, and he was not born in them because they were all full and did not have a place for him. The same happens with our hearts if they are full. Jesus Christ will not be born there. There are only a few empty stables where he will be born and live, some annihilated souls who are like this poor stable, exposed to all contrary winds and persecution. But during this, he will be born in stables while the palaces are full and he will find no place for him. Oh, petite and annihilated souls are happy! You have a well-being that all the other souls refuse. They prefer their own fullness to the emptiness of poverty. This is why Jesus Christ is not born there.

The angels praise and glorify God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” They say this because the glory of God is found in the highest place in the soul. It is the superior part of the souls that may fully glorify God. And according to the measure that it can glorify God, peace is made on earth, that is to say, the passions are calmed, so that nothing may trouble them. These double marvels operate in the souls of those of good will who is a soul who gives to God all her own will, which is the only thing that may make us good. Therefore she finds in herself the glory that God places in his saints in heaven that consists of perfect union with joined wills. And the perfect peace of those souls who belong to Jesus Christ in a special manner are possessed by him on earth.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2:15)

The angels announce the news of the place where Jesus Christ is born. Apostolic people also announce peace to souls of good will who search for Jesus Christ. These angels, though, are only the announcer. After this, they leave to show that it is Jesus Christ who does the rest. It is he who must be sought. If the angels had not left, good yet simple people would be arrested by the pleasures of the sight and sound of the angels, and not look for Jesus Christ. The Word that came from God carries souls so they do not stop at anything created, but they go directly to Jesus Christ to search in the manger, that is, the heart. It would make this experience little if after being told of the birth of Jesus Christ, these apostolic people did not want to taste and participate in this happy experience. This is why the shepherds, faithful to the grace that has been announced to them, say, “Let us now go to Bethlehem” which means enter into our heart and see, taste, experience, this thing that has taken place. O Word that has no beginning! O Word begotten through all eternity in the bosom of our Father! You have made an eternal Word wholly human in the womb of Mary, in the sacrament, and in the hearts of human beings. It is in our heart that we must seek, as in the stable, this Word that has been made. Go, go, my very dear brothers and sisters, taste this Word that is within you. Search for the divine Word, because God wants us to discover this way announced by the angels in the place where he inhabits. Oh, the great advantage to discover God within us! All happiness in life depends on this discovery alone. The great good announced by the angels is to discover God within us for it is the greatest grace to learn to know God within. If we search, God makes this known to us as an extraordinary gift.

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what they had been told them about this child. (Luke 2:16–17)

The shepherds promptly go to look for that which had been told them, which shows the graces they had received. Like them, we must not delay when we seek Jesus Christ. When the shepherds went to find Jesus Christ, they found Mary and Jesus Christ, the mother and the child. We also discover the mystery of this holy family: like these innocent souls, we know them through our interior. It is there that we discover them. Nothing is said of the state of Mary and Joseph because the immense grandeur of their interior state does not permit us to speak. It is necessary to come to Jesus Christ to know and discern Mary and Joseph. It is the Son who gives intelligence about these profound states of these holy parents. The state of Mary and Joseph was an entirely interior state. O admirable uncreated Trinity! Who could ever speak of the sacred communion you had with the uncreated Trinity? These three holy people spent thirty years in a continual silence, in a communication that was entirely of the heart. There was a movement and response continually between them. Jesus Christ communicated continually with Mary, and Mary with Joseph. They gave to each other in the state of holy purity that they had received.

O the advantage of the interior life! There we discover the infant lying in the manger. That is to say, we discover in the interior this divine infant, who reposes in the foundation and center of the soul. He reposes so he can communicate his infant simplicity and his innocence. We can only comprehend this mystery by experience. Also, scripture tells us, that when they saw this, they made known what they had been told them about this child. As soon as the soul wants this experience, and she goes into her foundation to search for this, she proves the truth of what has been said, and tries to express the truth of this. O all of you who have difficulty believing this, experience this. You will discover Jesus Christ in your foundation and you will prove many times over what this scripture says.

And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds had told them. (Luke 2:18)

Nothing arouses so much admiration as seeing this discovery by simple people. We know and believe how the simple are susceptible to impressions of grace, as it is written in that God says, “You who are simple, turn in here!” (Proverbs 9:4). Simple people who are susceptible to the impressions of grace have a singular privilege and a gift to communicate to others that the wise do not have. In this experience, we are filled with admiration.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)

Mary who is the realized model of the truly interior soul pondered these words in her heart. Scripture does not say that she thought these things in her mind, although the mind is the source of thought. We see that in her heart she discerned and distinguished these things, not by the reflections of the mind. She ponders these things in herself in a profound silence and understands much more than she expresses.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:20)

Souls who have experienced this know so clearly that everything they have been told will happen. This charms them and ravishes them with admiration.

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)

After Christ is born, he is circumcised. In a like manner, the soul enters into the first days of the spiritual life, days of tenderness and caresses, and then enters into circumcision. However, the soul experiences this passively and not in action. It is God himself who subtracts a small part of what he himself had given the soul. O God! You are a wonderful father who circumcises all his infants! This is why on the day of circumcision the name is given to Jesus Christ. We see that the adorable name of Jesus is the name of salvation, which happens only in circumcision and the taking away of death and corruption from all creatures. Salvation needs this circumcision taking away death and corruption. This circumcision is something that must be done to enter into interior life. This is taken away from the creature so that our Savior imprints his character of salvation in our soul.

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22–24)

After the circumcision is accomplished, purification is necessary. It is strange that to reach consummation through this purification, it is necessary that the soul offers again the sacrifice of this divine infant, that is to say, after the soul has taken pains to find in his foundation this divine presence and to possess this, she is obliged to lose what is sensible and perceptible, and to make a sacrifice to the Lord our God, like the rest. O God! Everything should be presented, abandoned, and sacrificed to your will because God does not withhold any of himself from us.

As it says in scripture, all shall be designated as holy to the Lord, means that the soul passes through the circumcision and purification, which are the first movements of going to the foundation, the source of grace, and the soul must follow. If she is faithful to follow the grace of the foundation, she will live perfectly within the will of God. All the instincts that come from the foundation of the soul, which are the first movements of the heart, are called holy to the Lord because they all belong to him. The passions no longer rule the soul because the purification cleanses the soul and the soul is no longer in war with itself. Now movements from the foundation of the soul (which are the motions from the Holy Spirit which are in us) make us holy to the Lord. These motions are from God. Anything contrary and opposed to God are only superficial reflections.

God still wants the sacrifice of two turtledoves or two pigeons, to show that these are agreeable to God, if they are done in simplicity. God loves this simplicity and only in simplicity are they agreeable.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:25–26)

When we look forward to the consolation of Israel, we never fail to receive consolation. This consolation is none other than Jesus Christ himself, who the soul desires to find. This is the consolation of interior souls, and they want only him. When a soul faithfully rests in a disposition of waiting, Jesus Christ never fails to manifest himself sooner or later.

The Holy Spirit rested on him. Simeon receives the revelation of Jesus Christ and says, “Now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.” The knowledge of the life of the Word is finally given to him in this place with full power.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Therefore he was filled with the knowledge that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. We may see Jesus Christ without death but one cannot possess this life of Jesus Christ without death. The scripture also promised that he would see the kingdom of Jesus Christ given and that of the demon destroyed and annihilated.

Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law. (Luke 2:27)

This passage proves the interior motion and how the true servants of God are faithful to follow the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It is certain that we must have a constant faithfulness to follow the divine motion and that the Holy Spirit never fails to move faithful souls. This is the spirit of the church that must let the Holy Spirit move it. But how do we know this motion? It is to know this as this holy man knew it. He discovered this because he was always looking forward and waiting. As he waited, he heard the movements that are subtle and delicate, that only people who wait in this disposition are able to discern. Furthermore, it was necessary that he had followed these movements up to this point. Without this, it would have been difficult to discover this moment because faithfulness to follow gives the experience. Waiting for the movement gives the discovery, because without this, we don’t know the delicate impression. God is there, as when Elijah discerned this. Scripture reads: Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, the Lord was not in the wind. Following this there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Next came a fire but the Lord was not in the fire. After that came a still small voice and the Lord was there (1 Kings 19:11–12). Therefore, we see that the Lord is not found in the strong and impetuous movements. These movements can always be discerned and we do not need to wait for them. But we must apply ourselves and wait to perceive a gentle breeze. This is why the motion of the Spirit of God, which is peaceful, sweet, and tranquil, cannot be distinguished easily unless we are accustomed to know it.

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.” (Luke 2:28–31)

In this moment Simeon became a prophet and apostle. He took the child Jesus in his arms, to place him in hearts. We carry Jesus for a longtime in our heart, before we carry him in our arms: this is why the bridegroom says to his spouse, Set me as a seal upon your heart, because it begins there, and as a seal upon your arm (Song of Solomon 8:6). We have Jesus Christ in our hearts for ourselves; but we carry Jesus Christ in our arms for others. That is to say, we also receive him in our hands, that we may carry him to other hearts.

When this good servant of God in his strength receives the divine infant, he has in this moment fulfilled the duties of his apostolate. He speaks, It is now, O Lord, that I possess a peace so unchanging, that nothing in the world is capable of altering it. I die in this peace, because I hope that you accomplish in me this word of peace that you give in truth to this infant. I hope also that my life will be ended, because my eyes have seen in others and proven in myself, the salvation that you have prepared for all, like me, who watch and follow the movement of your Holy Spirit. There is nothing more for me on this earth since I have accomplished your holy will and I am happy at the sight of your salvation that you have given to all who trust in you and watch for you. You have brought me joy and you are destined to be the Savior and give salvation to us in the presence of all people. All the people may follow his example, to be formed by his life, to reflect on him, and to see in him all the states of this life.

“A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32)

The child Jesus Christ was a light for revelation for all the nations. Therefore, it was necessary that his light illuminate: he must shine light on the Gentile’s darkness of ignorance and their sins of the night. He brings light for those who do not yet have light. He also brings glory to your people Israel, that is to say, interior souls, who do not yet have the glory of the divine Savior. He is their salvation with all the glory of salvation. Where he is, there is no darkness and confusion. O Love! There is only true glory in you; you are our only glory. This is why David said that God was his glory. Paul says he is glorified in God, as if he said, “There is nothing in me to glorify. I find in God all my glory.”

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. (Luke 2:33)

Why does the scripture say that Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus? They had already been told many times that Jesus was God. Oh! It is as if they were in the most sublime prayer (that is in silence and a continual suspension, without anything extraordinary outside of them happening). When they heard Simeon speaking of this divine child, their continual state of amazement was awakened in them again with more force. They understood again and they comprehended more than they said.

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother, Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed.” (Luke 2:34)