At the start of the Last Supper, Jesus, after washing his disciples’ feet, added the following blessing to the list of the Beatitudes: “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17), and he concludes by repeating the same message he was proclaiming in the Temple days before, “I, the light, came into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). He spoke what the Father told him (John 12:50), and those who received him received the Father who sent him (John 13:20).
Receiving God and His Word is a way to define faith. Receiving isn’t just about understanding it intellectually; it’s about opening our entire being to let this Word take root, grow, and bear abundant fruit.
Knowing that God exists does not mean you have attained Him. You also do not reach God simply by worshiping Him. Cain worshiped God through offerings; however, God did not accept that worship (Genesis 4.3-5). It is important, therefore, to understand correctly that the validity of our worship and offerings depends on God accepting them. What must we do for God to accept our gifts? How should we approach God to offer our worship?
When we approach God with humility and ask Him to make us worthy of acceptance, we “take possession” of His heart. In response, He fills us through the sacraments not only with His graces but also by sharing His own nature and self with us. He gives ceaselessly—His Only Begotten Son and His Holy Spirit.
At that moment, we become temples where God dwells, and overflowing with the power of divine life, our lives expand to become merciful in the measure of God, fountains of holiness to everyone who approaches us. That’s the moment we truly become blessed because we carry God within us, and we attain our Creator and Savior. We become perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5.48).
At that moment, our righteousness will go beyond the limits set by the commandments of the Law and will enter into the freedom brought by God’s mercy. That’s when we become the salt of the earth, giving it the flavor of God. That’s when we become the light of the world, like the Lord Jesus, so everyone who has faith in us does not remain in darkness. That’s when our words become the Father’s Word, and we speak only what our Sender has commanded us to say.
At that moment, as people with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.10-16) carrying the Spirit of God, we will build on Christ, the foundation stone, the city of God, with gold, silver, and precious stones, not with wood, hay, straw, or barren trees full of only fluffy leaves (1 Corinthians 3.12, and Mark 11.12-14).
