A new book authored by Cardinal Fernando Filoni delves into God's personal relationships with biblical figures and saints over the past 4,000 years, beginning with Abraham, the father of the faith, and continuing to contemporary saints such as Mother Teresa and Edith Stein.
During a visit to the United States, Filoni, the grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, discussed the book, "My Days Are in Your Hands: Men and Women in the Footsteps of Jesus," with Erik Rosales on "EWTN News Nightly."
"They are not extraordinary," Filoni said of the holy figures in the book; rather, "they became extraordinary."
"They were normal people, as all the others in the world, as we are normal people," he said. "What is important in their life to become extraordinary? They were touched by the grace of God, and they answered to this grace of God."
Filoni also discussed the book on "EWTN Live" with Father Mitch Pacwa. The book is "not a biography" of the people, Filoni explained to Pacwa, but rather a more specific analysis of their unique relationships with God, how God worked in their lives, and how those experiences relate to God's relationships with people today.
It evaluates people "who are touched by the finger of God, in their sufferings, in their problems, in their difficult lives, [and how] they were touched by the grace of God," Filoni said.
Filoni told Pacwa the book gets into the "trauma men like Abraham had in their life," such as his anxiety that "I have no children" and "my wife cannot bear anyone," before God called him to be a father to biological children and to be the father of many nations.
Another section examines the struggles of Moses while wandering the desert after escaping Egypt, when some of the people were unfaithful, unhappy, and critical. The book lays out how God strengthened Moses by appearing as a burning bush and instructing him "to go home and not to lose faith in his Word."
People today, Filoni said, may be struggling "because they are neglected, because they are addicted to drugs, they are abandoned." He asked whether they can have the courage of God amid fear and doubt, saying of all people: "We need the courage of God in our lives."
Filoni also referenced the archangel Gabriel's visit to Mary, when he asked her to bear Christ, the Son of God: "If you say yes," Filoni said, "you have to trust and at the moment, you have to put your life in the hand of God."
Filoni said Joseph's role "was not so easy," because he needed to trust that "this is coming from the Holy Spirit."
He said the spiritual journeys of both Mary and Joseph are important for men and women looking toward marriage. People today, he said, also have the "mission to give life to this world."
Some of the other personalities featured in the book include Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, Helena, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. The book focuses on not portraying them simply as heroes but rather focuses on their humanity and their struggles and how surrendering to God transformed them.
