Clinging to the Living Words of Jesus

Divine Appeal Reflection - 66

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 66:  "Do not abandon My living words."

At the threshold where human strength collapses and every illusion of self-sufficiency dissolves, the soul stands before a single, unavoidable question — where can life itself be found? Not comfort that fades with circumstance, (cf. Jn 6:68; Jn 14:6) not meaning constructed by effort, not hope sustained merely by optimism, but life that does not erode, decay, or disappear . In that interior stripping, where all supports fall silent, the heart discovers that true life is not possessed, but received — not produced, but encountered — not sustained by human striving, but given by the One who remains when all else passes away (cf. Ps 73:25–26; 2 Cor 4:16–18). Here, at the edge of human limitation, the soul realizes that what it seeks is not relief from weakness, but communion with the Source of being itself — the Living Presence who alone endures when strength fails, certainty dissolves, and every created consolation slips from our grasp . This is the abyss from which the confession of Peter rises when confronted by the inexhaustible mystery of Jesus Christ (cf. Jn 6:68) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” . His words do not merely instruct — they generate existence at its deepest level. Scripture (cf. Gen 1:3; Heb 1:3) reveals divine speech as creative, sustaining, and life-giving from the beginning . The Church (cf. CCC 27) teaches that humanity is drawn by an interior hunger that only God can satisfy . Peter’s declaration is therefore not heroic devotion but existential realism. The soul cannot survive on fragments of truth or temporary meaning. It requires words that carry eternity within them. Every human pursuit — achievement, knowledge, recognition — ultimately exposes its insufficiency when confronted with mortality, suffering, and interior emptiness. Yet Christ’s words do not merely console these wounds; they penetrate them and transform them from within. To remain with Him is not preference but necessity. The living God speaks, and His speech sustains being itself. Without His word, life continues biologically but withers spiritually. With His word, existence becomes participation in divine vitality that does not fade.

This confession is born not from understanding but from encounter. Peter does not speak as one who has mastered the mystery, but as one who cannot live without the Presence that holds him within it . His confession is not intellectual certainty, but relational surrender — the humble recognition that life flows not from comprehension, but from communion. Divine truth rarely arrives as immediate clarity; more often it descends like a living fire — first overwhelming, then purifying, then quietly reshaping the heart before it illumines the mind . It unsettles what is false, loosens what we cling to, and strips away the illusion that understanding must come before trust . Only when the soul is humbled into openness does light begin to dawn — not as something grasped, but as something received, like sight gradually restored to the blind who learn first to believe before they fully see . This is the pattern of revelation throughout salvation history. Moses trembles before divine nearness (cf. Ex 3:6), (cf. Jer 20:9) and the prophets experience the word as fire within them . 

The Catechism (cf. CCC 150) teaches that faith is a personal entrustment to God before it is intellectual comprehension . The human heart remains because it has tasted life that cannot be replaced. This is the drama of spiritual maturity: to remain where mystery exceeds explanation because presence exceeds understanding. St. Augustine of Hippo recognized that the heart wanders endlessly until anchored in divine reality. Modern life multiplies voices promising fulfillment — success, autonomy, control — yet each ultimately reveals its fragility. Christ’s words alone endure because they do not originate within the unstable conditions of the world. They arise from eternal being. To remain with Him is to accept that ultimate clarity does not arise from mastering truth, but from belonging to the One who speaks it . The soul stays not because everything is explained, but because it has recognized life where life truly is — a living Presence that sustains even when understanding falters (cf. Col 3:3–4). Faith, then, is not the possession of certainty, but the anchoring of the heart in communion; not the conquest of mystery, but abiding within it with trust . The depth of divine life often surpasses comprehension, yet the soul remains, drawn not by clarity alone but by recognition — the quiet knowing that here is the Source from which it came and toward which it is being drawn . In staying, the heart confesses that understanding may grow slowly, but belonging is immediate; and in belonging, light unfolds in its proper time.

The words of eternal life do not merely promise survival beyond death; they transfigure perception within time. They re-order how suffering, work, love, and sacrifice are understood. What appears burdensome becomes participatory; (cf. Rom 8:28; CCC 1996–2000) what appears hidden becomes fruitful; what appears ordinary becomes sacramental . Divine speech reshapes reality from within consciousness itself. Mary Mother of Jesus reveals this interior transformation perfectly. She receives the word not as information but as indwelling presence (cf. Lk 1:38). Because she receives deeply, reality itself becomes permeated with divine meaning. This is the destiny of every believer. When Christ’s words are received interiorly, nothing remains spiritually neutral. The workplace becomes an altar of fidelity. Family life becomes a school of sacrificial love. Hidden suffering becomes redemptive offering. The soul begins to perceive eternity not as distant future but as hidden dimension of present existence. The Church teaches that grace elevates human activity into participation in divine life (cf. CCC 2003). Eternal life is therefore not merely awaited — it unfolds wherever divine speech is welcomed. The believer who remains with Christ learns to see the world not through appearances but through divine intention. Life becomes luminous from within because His word has become interior light.

Yet the words of eternal life penetrate even more deeply — they transform the structure of love itself. They dismantle self-centered desire and awaken the capacity for self-gift. This interior transformation (cf. 2 Cor 5:17) is not psychological refinement but supernatural re-creation . The great mystics testify that divine speech purifies by revealing attachments that obscure true love. As St. Augustine teaches, the soul is purified when it turns from clinging to self and rests wholly in God’s love, discovering that true joy lies in surrender, not possession . St. Maximilian Kolbe shows that love reaches its fullness when it no longer preserves itself, but freely offers itself for another (cf. Jn 15:13). Eternal life manifests wherever the heart ceases to grasp and begins to pour itself out — where love is not possessed, but lived as total gift . In practical life, this appears in unnoticed forgiveness, perseverance without recognition, fidelity without emotional reward. Christ’s words generate a love that does not depend on circumstances because it participates in God’s own love (cf. CCC 1827). The soul that remains with Him discovers that true life is not preserved through self-protection but expanded through self-gift. His words do not merely instruct love — they create the capacity to love beyond human limits. Eternal life grows wherever divine love flows freely through a surrendered heart.

Thus Peter’s question echoes through every generation, confronting each soul with radical simplicity: where will you go for life that does not perish? Everything temporal eventually reveals its limits. Human strength weakens, understanding falters, and even noble pursuits cannot overcome mortality (cf. Ps 90:10). Yet divine speech endures because it flows from the eternal Word who remains present within His Church, (cf. CCC 1088; Jn 14:23) His sacraments, and the interior sanctuary of the soul . To remain with Christ is not merely to preserve belief but to remain within the source of being itself. His words do not describe life — they transmit it. Every act of listening becomes participation in divine vitality. Every act of obedience becomes union with eternal purpose. The soul that stays does not merely follow teaching; it dwells where existence itself is sustained. Peter’s confession becomes the foundation of all authentic discipleship: not that everything is understood, but that nowhere else is life found. The living Word continues speaking. Blessed is the soul that remains where eternity breathes.

Prayer

Our Adorable Jesus, where else could our souls live but in Your voice? Strip away every illusion that draws us from You. Let Your words penetrate our depths, purify our love, and sustain our being. Keep us always where eternal life flows — in Your presence, Your truth, Your living Word. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.