40. Triduum of the Holy Family (I)

Meditations no. 35 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Filial piety: imitating Jesus.

The triduum for the feast of the Holy Family begins today. During these days we will ask the Family from Nazareth to help our parents grow in their understanding of our vocation and their love for the Work. We want them to be proud that God has chosen us, and so share in the peace and joy which God grants us as a reward for our dedication.

Our Founder taught us to practise filial piety with great refinement. We must love our parents a great deal; otherwise we would not have Opus Dei’s spirit. This is because the commandment to love our parents belongs both to natural and divine law, and we call it a “most sweet precept”.

Our Father also wrote in an early Instruction: The new members of our family might easily start off with overwhelming love and great detachment, but later on find that this starts to crumble if they have not been forewarned. So they should be advised to ask themselves, especially in the examination of conscience at the monthly day of recollection, how they behave towards their parents and relatives. They must treat their families the right way. They shouldn’t forget that, when our parents need anything that does not conflict with our vocation, we are quick to give it to them. For they form a very dear part of Opus Dei.

By teaching us to love our parents, our Founder leads us to imitate Jesus Christ, who loved Mary and Joseph with a son’s love. He was subject to them for many years and shared all their joys and sorrows. Yet even from his childhood, he made it clear that, despite family ties and human affection, he had to fulfil the mission for which he had come into the world. How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?

Within our families we must be instruments of holiness. The greatest grace we can win for our parents is that they should have a son or daughter who is thoroughly faithful to the vocation they have been given; a son or daughter, therefore, who is free of any human attachments or hindrances that might interfere with their total freedom in fulfilling their commitments in the service of God.

Apostolic concern for our parents and our brothers and sisters.

In an Instruction I have called the fourth commandment a most sweet precept of the Decalogue. I pray for your parents every day, for those living and for those who have died. Although some may find it hard, at first, to accept their children’s dedication, later on, once they come to know the Work, they truly love it. They become fanatics - we ourselves are not fanatical about anything, not even about the Work -but they can be. Besides, they help wholeheartedly, and that is how it should be.

Charity has a certain order. We should show greater love to those who are closest to us. Our parents and our brothers and sisters are the same flesh and blood as we are; and our apostolic concern, which is the great work of Love, should start with them. That is how the apostolate of the first disciples began. Andrew first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. And John, who together with Andrew was the first to discover the Lord, must have told his brother James and prepared him for the moment when Jesus saw him at his nets and called him to his service.

Our vocation leads us to a complete, unconditional dedication to God’s service. It also strengthens the human ties linking us to others. Doubtless the most powerful of these is the bond of blood. After we have given ourselves, this bond remains, but it is raised to a higher order; it is made supernatural. If we are to sanctify all human things, we cannot exclude our own family relationships, so noble and so dear to us. The fact that God has come into our lives cannot be a reason for these relationships to lose their warmth; on the contrary, they should become even closer. Our love for our parents and families should grow more and more, and we should show that affection clearly.

When you draw your families closer to the Work, our Father reminds us, you are doing them a great service. You are fulfilling your duty as apostles. You are increasing the effectiveness of our efforts and, above all, you are giving me great joy.

We have a serious duty to keep our families happy. We seek their help in our work. Our parents are entitled to be very close to the Work, which apart from being good for us, is good for their souls, good for Opus Dei, and good for the Church.

Affection shown by deeds.

We owe our parents so much, and in human terms we can never repay them. They gave us life. Often they were the ones who sowed in our hearts the first seeds of faith, piety and vocation. It is only right that they should see us repay all the vigilance, concern and sacrifices they have made on our behalf.

Humanly, we can never repay all that we owe them, but this does not hold true in the supernatural order. We can win for them a spiritual life which is infinitely more valuable than purely human life. By our prayer, mortification and deeds, we can win for them supernatural riches that will last throughout eternity.

Our families usually don’t tell us when everything is going well. They only tell us about their woes, multiplying them ten times over. When everything goes well, there is no news; when a problem arises, they let us know. They have their reasons: they think we can pray for them, and they are right. We say a few words to them with supernatural outlook, we lift up their hearts, and we help them recover their peace of mind. Our Father taught us to show our families great affection. I love your parents very much, and I pray for them at least twice a day. That affection often showed itself in the questions he asked, or the things he remembered. And he would teach us to be very considerate when our families found themselves in extraordinary circumstances, whether joyful or sorrowful. Such affection must be shown in deeds. We want our families to experience the peace and joy that our vocation brings with it.

In accordance with the spirit our Father has given us, we end our meditation by repeating a liturgical prayer: Grant, Lord, through the intercession of our Lady and St Joseph, that our families may be secure in your grace and your peace.