🌿 Último Retiro, Santa Isabel de la Trinidad – Quinto Día 🇬🇧🇪🇸

Quinto dia
“Vi una gran multitud que nadie podía contar… Estos son los que han pasado por la gran tribulación y han lavado sus vestiduras en la Sangre del Cordero. Están delante del trono de Dios y le sirven día y noche en su templo… el Cordero será su pastor, y los conducirá a las fuentes de las aguas de la vida, y Dios enjugará toda lágrima de sus ojos.”

Todos aquellos elegidos que sostienen palmas en sus manos, bañados en la gran luz de Dios, primero pasaron por la “gran tribulación” para conocer esa pena “inmensa como el mar”. Antes de contemplar “a rostro descubierto la gloria del Señor”, compartieron la aniquilación de Su Cristo; antes de ser “transformados de claridad en claridad”, fueron conformados a la imagen del Verbo encarnado.

El alma que desea servir a Dios día y noche en Su templo—este santuario interior del que san Pablo dice: “el templo de Dios es santo, y vosotros sois ese templo”—debe decidir compartir plenamente la Pasión de su Maestro. Es un alma redimida que, a su vez, redime a otras. Por eso canta: “Me glorío en la Cruz de Jesucristo.” “Con Cristo estoy clavada en la Cruz.” Y aún más: “Sufro en mi cuerpo lo que falta a la Pasión de Cristo por el bien de Su cuerpo, que es la Iglesia.”

“La Reina estaba a tu derecha”; tal es la postura de esta alma: camina por el Calvario junto a su Rey crucificado, humillado pero majestuoso, fuerte y firme. Él asocia a Su Esposa en la obra de redención. Este camino doloroso se convierte para ella en vía de Bienaventuranza, no solo porque conduce allí, sino porque el Maestro le enseña a ir más allá de la amargura y a descansar en ella.

Entonces puede servir a Dios “día y noche en Su templo”. Ninguna prueba, interna o externa, la arranca del santuario en el que Su Maestro la ha colocado. Ya no siente “hambre ni sed”, pues aunque anhela la Bienaventuranza, se alimenta del alimento de Su Maestro: la voluntad del Padre. Ya no siente “el calor del sol”, es decir, no sufre por el sufrimiento. El Cordero la conduce a las fuentes de la vida. No mira los caminos sino al Pastor que la guía.

Dios se inclina con amor hacia esta alma, tan conformada a la imagen de Su Hijo—“el primogénito entre todas las criaturas”—y la reconoce entre los que ha predestinado, llamado y justificado. Su Corazón de Padre se estremece al consumar Su obra: glorificarla en Su Reino, donde cantará sin cesar “la alabanza de Su gloria.”

Señor Jesús,
Tú que fuiste crucificado por amor,
enséñale a mi alma a caminar contigo por el camino del Calvario,
sin resistir el peso de la Cruz,
hallando en ella la paz que prometiste.

Haz que te sirva día y noche en el templo silencioso de mi corazón.
Que el dolor se transforme en alabanza,
y que, cuando me cubra la oscuridad,
la fe sea mi única luz.

Condúceme, Cordero de Dios, a las fuentes del agua viva.
Que tu voluntad sea mi alimento,
tu amor mi descanso,
y tu gloria mi canto eterno.

Fifth Day –
“I saw a great multitude which no man could number… These are they who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple… the Lamb will be their shepherd, and He will lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

All these elect who hold palms in their hands, bathed in the great light of God, first passed through the “great tribulation” to know that sorrow “immense as the sea.” Before contemplating “with unveiled face the glory of the Lord,” they shared in the annihilation of His Christ; before being “transformed from brightness to brightness,” they were conformed to the image of the Incarnate Word.

The soul that wishes to serve God day and night in His temple—this inner sanctuary of which St. Paul says, “the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple”—must resolve to share fully in the Passion of its Master. It is a redeemed soul that, in turn, must redeem others. So it sings: “I glory in the Cross of Jesus Christ.” “With Christ I am nailed to the Cross.” And again: “I suffer in my body what is lacking in the Passion of Christ for the sake of His body, which is the Church.”

“The Queen stood at your right hand,” such is the posture of this soul: she walks Calvary beside her crucified King, humiliated yet majestic, strong but steadfast. He associates His Bride in His work of redemption. This sorrowful path becomes for her a way of Beatitude, not only because it leads there, but because her Master teaches her to go beyond bitterness and rest in it.

Then she can serve God “day and night in His temple.” No trial, internal or external, can force her from the sanctuary her Master has placed her in. She no longer feels “hunger or thirst,” because though she longs for Beatitude, she is fed on her Master’s food: the Father’s will. She no longer feels “heat of the sun,” that is, she no longer suffers from suffering. The Lamb leads her to the fountains of life. She looks not at paths but at the Shepherd who leads her.

God bends lovingly over this soul, so conformed to His Son’s image—“the firstborn among all creatures”—and names her among those He has predestined, called, and justified. His Fatherly Heart thrills at completing His work: glorifying her in His Kingdom, where she will sing endlessly “the praise of His glory.”

Lord Jesus,
You who were crucified out of love,
teach my soul to walk beside You on the road to Calvary —
not resisting the weight of the Cross,
but finding in it the peace You promised.

Let me serve You day and night in the silent temple of my heart.
When pain comes, may it be transformed into praise.
When darkness covers me, may faith become my only light.

Lead me, O Lamb of God, to the fountains of living water.
Let Your will be my food,
Your love my rest,
and Your glory my song forever.

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