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