“Who do you say that I am?”
Lord, who do I say that you are? The God of my heart and my eternal inheritance, the Infinite, the Word made Flesh, the Savior of my life, Jesus my beloved, my joy, my hope, and the only treasure of my heart. You are, Lord, the warmth of my existence, the light of my eyes, the breath of my mouth, the fire of my heart, the palpitations of all my being.
You are my realized ideal, the one I love with all the titles of tenderness that can exist such as father, mother, brother, spouse, friend, all mothers to their children, with the same fire a thousand times in each breath and heartbeat, in each moment multiplied ad infinitum.
Help me to express “that you are” the only One worthy of all loves, the sovereign, thrice holy, who humbled himself because he willed to do so. You are the Jesus of the manger, of the desert, of Nazareth, the Jordan, Tabor, the one of the miracles, at the Cenacle, the Garden, the scourging, the insults, the thorns, the cross, the Resurrection, Emmaus, the Ascension, Jesus of the Eucharist.
My God and my Lord, all abnegation and love! You are all modesty, humility, purity, silence, martyrdom, obedience, “love” and in this last word all the rest is condensed.
I would like to say something and I say nothing, because your agonies and triumphs, your example and virtues can be felt but not explained. Jesus, you are … but why babble about “what you are”? You yourself with your human lips have told us in your holy Gospel “what you are.” Therefore, each time that I am asked, ‘Who is he?” I will give the same answer that I shall give to you. With your own voice I will respond, using some of the beautiful titles in the Gospel. ‘Who do you say that I am?” “You” are the Good Shepherd, the Vine, the Bread of Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the one who speaks with me (the Samaritan woman), You are the Son of God, the Resurrection, and the Life, the Beginning of all things, the Light of the World, the Door to Salvation, the King, Jesus whom men persecute, who has chosen us, the Teacher who is in the Father and in whom the Father is.
You are from above and I from below, the Messiah, seated at the right hand of the majesty of God, who will come on the clouds of heaven, the true Vine and your Father is the Vine Grower. You yourself have shown us your pierced hands and feet. You are the One crucified on high whom we have come to know as Savior. “You are who you are.” Who can say more?
Venerable Conception Cabrera de Armida (Conchita)
