A prophet is one who is unstoppable, who has a restless heart, who is daring, because he sees things that others do not see, he sees God, where no one can see Him, he loves God where no one can love.
Pope Francis draws our attention to the ” lack of understanding and the rejection that Father Kentenich had to suffer”. According to him, “it is the sign of the prophets”. From this perspective, in preparation for Pentecost, let us look at our founder as a prophet for society and the world, as the Pope indicates, because we want to be “fire of his fire, soul of his soul”.
The Father and Founder is this prophet who sends us as builders of a new Marian land. In a moving way, he lived the gift of prophecy, and he wants his children to live this gift today, here and now. The gift and the mission of being a prophet are given to everyone by the Holy Spirit on the day of Baptism. Therefore, all the baptized are called to fulfill their mission as the prophet of our time.
Prophet? Me?
Pope Francis says:
“The Church needs prophets. And I would go further: it needs all of us to be prophets. Not critics, this is something else. A prophet is one who prays, looks to God, looks to his people, feels pain when the people make mistakes, weeps – he is capable of weeping for the people – but he is also capable of risking his own neck to tell the truth” (morning homily, April 17, 2018).
A prophet is not one who predicts the future, who predicts things that no one knows, things that have yet to occur. A prophet is one who knows how to interpret the voice of God through events, through people, through the small things of everyday life. The prophet knows how to get in touch with God, how to listen to His voice and at the same time respond to that voice through an authentic testimony. He responds with concrete actions, always able to make this world a better place, whether in his small family circle, in his work, or his home.
United with Mary
Being a prophet for our times is a mission that depends essentially on the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. As in the Cenacle, it is important to be very close to Mary. She is able to open our hearts to the Spirit, and implores His divine presence in each soul, as we see at Pentecost. Mary gathered the fearful, frightened, and confused apostles in prayer to the Lord. To pray means to open our hearts and this is what the Mother of God did in the small community gathered in the Cenacle. She led them to God, helped them to open their hearts, to trust in God as Father and to send us the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised.
When we seal a Covenant of Love with Our Lady, we entrust our small hearts to her. We tell her that we always want to be in the Cenacle, our modest Shrine. There we want to be with her, we want to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s action. There we ask the Spirit to intercede for us, to give us the grace necessary to live the teachings of Jesus, to be prophets every day.
Go and build the new land
Mary wants to form here a new Marian land, and She does it through us, imploring the Spirit to come into our souls. Just as the first apostles proclaimed Jesus with joy, with excitement; they proclaimed him with words, with actions and with the testimony of their lives, so Our Lady wants us to do the same. Through our self-education and with the strength of the Holy Spirit, we can be apostles, people who know how to trust, who know how to believe.
We are living a situation in our country that requires people who are enthusiastic, who believe in the power of good, who believe in the victory of God, who set out to forge this new Brazil, to shape this new Marian land. Therefore, let us pray to the Holy Spirit, let us ask the Blessed Mother to plead with us and, at the same time, let us place ourselves, like the apostles, together with Mary in prayer.
Father Joseph Kentenich says that
“the Holy Spirit descends from heaven to earth to bring about a new spiritual and moral creation. The spiritual and moral life in each of us must be renewed. We recognize this truth and ask that it be reaffirmed in us every time we join hands and ask: ‘Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur’ (Send forth your Spirit and all will be created anew). All the earth must be new, it must be renewed by the Holy Spirit”.
To look, to listen, to live as a prophet
May this year’s Pentecost help us to become active beings. A prophet is one who does not stop, a prophet has a restless heart, a prophet is daring, because he sees things that others do not see, he sees God, where no one else can see Him, he loves God where no one else can love. May the Blessed Mother, grant us this grace and may each one of us truly become a small prophet who lives his Covenant of Love with enthusiasm, who lives his daily life trusting in the strength of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. May our faith never waver: we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, let us allow Him to act in us.
Through self-education, we dismiss everything that may hinder Divine action in us. Then we will become small prophets, we will be loving, enthusiastic, joyful, Marian individuals, who go about this world bearing witness to Jesus, spreading love, peace, and joy so that a new land may be forged here.
Fuente: www.schoenstatt.org.br