God the Father as his own. He receives them as adoptive children, heirs of God, and coinheritors of Jesus Christ.
“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 3:6)
We need to have divine intelligence to understand these things and not be scandalized by them. O God! In this century the greatest truth passes for errors and blasphemies! Those who speak these truths are hated and contradicted by creatures. Instead, crimes, folly, and garbage pass for gallantries. And your servants, O Lord, become infamous! They are esteemed as rubbish of the world because they support your name (1 Cor 4:13). O, the derangement, perversity, and corruption of this century! We are ashamed to be with God. Those who in the past centuries were saints now pass for infamous. They are regarded with indignation. It seems, my God, that you are blind, or that you do not know all things. You see them and conceal them to test the patience of your servants.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens: 8 I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.” (Rev 3:7–9)
This is the only pastor for whom he has no words of reproach. The pastor has but little power, but God has made the pastor strong. Because he has no strength in himself, he finds all his strength in God. What qualities does Jesus regard well? Holy and true qualities. Because the good pastor was perfectly annihilated, all his holiness was in God. Jesus is holy for him. He praises him primarily because of the two qualities for which Jesus has regard: holiness and truth. Jesus promises him souls, this being the highest reward that a pastor like this can claim in this life. Because he has no propriety, his only interest is God’s interests and only desires to win hearts for Jesus Christ’s kingdom. They will bow to your feet, says God, acknowledge their fault, and discover by experience that they will receive graces through you, and know how much I love you. The greatest sign of the love of God is to want to serve him to win hearts.
The holy and true God says to his servant that he has the key of David. This key is his incarnation, by which he is born of David according to the flesh to open to all the predestined. It is Jesus Christ who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. What is this opening? Jesus Christ through his incarnation has the key of David and opens the heart of God the Father. If he does not open God’s heart, no one can ever enter there. But when he has once opened it, nothing in the world can close it. He opens the door to his servants, so they can enter and hide with him. So then the pastor without being pulled from his union with Jesus Christ acts entirely for his neighbor and make thousands of converts.
Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. (Rev 3:10)
Kept my word of patient endurance is to suffer because of the will of God. When we suffer like this, we still have a way to keep the word of patience. God talks to the soul, filling it with well-being. David says, Do not keep silence toward me (Psalm 28:1). For as God waited a long time for the soul, she waits for God. Persevering in her patience, she keeps the word, doing all God’s will. And God as the author rewards her faithfulness and keeps this soul himself at the time of trial. O, a soul kept in this way is well-guarded! When the whole world succumbs to the temptation, she is well-guarded.
In some centuries, men are so full of corruption that they try to corrupt the saints. The time of the martyrs was one type of temptation and strong persecution. The history of saints has many examples of trials of this sort. In our century a trial happens when the servants of God are persecuted and afflicted continually, despised of people. The world treats them as the manure of the ground. The martyrs were all the more esteemed because they resisted more strongly. Yet in our time, the closer they are to God, the more they are despised.
Some saints though resisted pain but could not resist the temptations of pleasure. God permits this to test us. In temptations of pleasure, physical nature and demons are joined together, which makes this more difficult to conquer. We recognize them as demonic.
But alas! Where do we find this who are faithful to bear this trial? Out of ambition, everyone wants to please others and gain credit. They work to establish himself on the ruins of his brother. We do not bother to please God or to be esteemed by him, as long as we please humans, and they return esteem. We want only the world’s values. We do not look at the virtues of Jesus Christ, because the world condemns him. However, the true servants of God suffer outrages without complaining and calumny without justifying themselves. These are those that God keeps with a particular protection in the hour of trial.
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” (Rev 3:11–12)
My God, what a wonderful mystery! Jesus Christ assures the angel that he is coming soon. We must keep what we have for this time.
Jesus Christ also comes soon to souls of high degree by the mystical incarnation, when he wants them to bear his own state. In calling out to Jesus Christ, these souls are already consummated and removed from the world that is unworthy of these people. We can understand this in two ways. First, God raises us by his goodness into this state, so we do not fail by our own fault. The second sense is that the soul is being reduced by annihilation. The most harmful temptation is under the pretext of duty or perfection, we leave our state. Instead, we must rest in this state. Otherwise, the crown will be given to another. The crown of crowns is that which is reserved for the state of annihilation. The annihilation of Mary was so great that the Word became her very crown.
Whoever will be victorious will have the advantage of being a column in the church unshakeable by its firmness. These people are the support of the church, although they are not always known for such. O God, you will that one day your servant will be this strong. Make your servant a firm column that will resist the shaking of the building. My God, support your church. Make the Spirit strong. Support your church and revive it in all its members. Join and unite all the lackluster members and give us all vigor and life. Support us, Lord. The demon opposes your kingdom with all his might.
This scripture says again here that God places the soul in divine immobility in himself and confirms that she will never leave. O happy state for this soul that she will never lose her God anymore! The name of God will be written on her, on her heart and arm, as was given to the spouse in the Canticles, when the Lord says, Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal upon your arm (Song of Solomon 8:6). The name that is engraved on this person is an entire consecration both exterior and interior. There is only God both inside and outside of this person. Jesus Christ also writes on her the name of the city of my God. He does this in two ways. First, Jesus Christ associates her with the number of saints and gives her all the characteristics of holiness which writes the name of the holy city of God on her. Secondly, he places in this soul all the traits and characteristics of the purity of the church. This soul is a small church but a church so pure and completed that all interior and exterior traits of Jesus Christ are expressed in this person. Then every facility is rendered for these external practices. Also, at the end of their days, these people after having been annihilated, will be the lights of the church. Because of this favor, all the nations will come to know the Lord.
Jesus Christ adds that he will write the name of the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven. What is this New Jerusalem? It is the church already formed that the Holy Spirit comes to fill.
