Wednesday, January 01, 2003 5:26 PM
The intermediary coming of the Lord
Fr. Tony Sullivan sends the following item:
One thing I learnt on our Egypt Pilgrimage is that in TLIG throughout the world we are one big family. Therefore it is essential that we share all our thoughts and experiences. For example when praying the Divine Office during Advent I was struck by the following.
In the Divine Office of the Catholic Church, which is an official document of the Church, the following sermon by St. Bernard is printed for Wednesday Week One of Advent:
“We have come to know a threefold coming of the Lord. The third coming takes place between the other two. They are clearly manifest but the third is not. In the first coming, the Lord is seen on earth and lived among men in the days when, as he himself bears witness, they saw him and hated him. In his last coming, ‘all flesh shall see the salvation of our God’, and, ‘they shall look on him they have pierced.’ The other coming is hidden. In it, only the chosen see him within themselves and their souls are saved. In brief, his first coming was in the flesh and in weakness, this intermediary coming is in the spirit and power, the last coming will be in glory and majesty.”
“This intermediary coming is like a road leading from the first to the last coming. In the first coming Christ was our redemption, in the last he will appear as our life, in this intermediary coming he is our rest and consolation.”
“Do not imagine that what we are saying about the intermediary coming is simply our own fabrication. Listen to Christ himself, “If a man loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.” I have read elsewhere, “The man who fears the Lord will do good”, but it is my opinion that more was said of the one who loves, namely he will keep the words. Where, then, are they to be kept? Without doubt they are kept in the heart, as the prophet says, “I have kept your words in my heart, lest I sin again deep you”.
“Keep the word of God in that way for, ‘blessed are they who keep it’ Let it pierce deep into your inmost soul and penetrate your feelings and actions. Eat well and your soul will delight and grow. Do not forget to eat your bread or your heart will wither, but let your soul feast richly”.
“If you keep the word of God in this way without a doubt you will be kept by it. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will renew Jerusalem will come and he will make everthing new. The effect of the coming will be that just as we bear the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. Just as the old Adam was poured out throughtout the whole man and filled him completely, so now let Christ take possession of the whole man, he redeemed the whole man and he will glorify the whole man”.
NoteWhen St. Bernard says, “The other coming [the intermediary coming] is hidden. In it, only the chosen see him within themselves and their souls are saved.” It is well to remember that through the Messages of TLIG, God has chosen to reveal what He revealed to St. Gertrude to all peoples if they wish to listen and positively respond, as well as revealing a fuller understanding of the Revelation of Scripture, as the Messages constantly say, “I am giving nothing new”. It is also well to remember the Message on Free Will, August 18 1988, “their will belongs to them [us] only………… Now, if a soul is adamant not to open herself to Me, how will I enter in her heart……….. I will not enter by force.”
St. Bernard is also quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 108, which says; “Still the Christian faith is not a “religion of the book”, Christianity is the religion of the “Word” of God, “not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living”. If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must through the Holy Spirit “0pen [our] minds to understand the Scriptures”
The above quotes from St. Bernard, for me, confirms many of the teachings from the Messages of TLIG. It is also a help to answer some of the points made by the Notification, such as the comings of Christ. The more I continually contemplate the Messages of TLIG, the more I realise what an overwhelming gift of love and hope God is giving all peoples through the Messages of TLIG.
I end by thanking God, especially by quoting the Holy Spirit for another seven gifts given to us June 22 1998;
“Mediator of every one, I AM;
Guarantor of your well-being, I am;
sublime Source of Unity of the Christians, I am;
supreme Unity of the Father and the Son, I AM;
Unction to the poor in spirit, I am; Unceasing Prayer within you, I am; Bridegroom to you all and Perpetual Companion, I AM.
Fr. Tony Sullivan
