47. January 3

Meditations no. 42 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The star of the Magi: a symbol of our divine vocation.

A star shone out in the night sky with unusual splendour: surely it must herald a great mystery. The people looked on it in amazement. And somewhere on earth, some people understood that God’s hand was at work in a mysterious and indescribable way.

That light shone on everyone on the first Christmas night. We read in Isaiah: Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

From a terrace in their palace, or perhaps from a high oriental tower, some wise men saw the star. For years they had studied the heavens, finding in each star, in each new light in the sky, a reflection of the Creator’s almighty power. That bright star, which they now saw burning like a flame, was, by God’s will, a special sign for them: the sign of the Birth of Christ.

Our Father commented: A star. My child, we too have seen a great star; in our souls a great light has also appeared - the sovereign grace of our vocation. If each one of you were now to relate out loud the whole intimate process of your vocation, the rest of us would judge, without doubt, that the whole thing, your vocation and mine, was divine.

During these days of preparation for the feast of the Epiphany, when God showed himself in human form to all mankind, we would like to consider again in our prayer this sacred event which has so many parallels with the beginning of our own path to God. By applying it to our own lives, we once again feel gratitude for the unbounded love God has shown us in personally calling each of us. I have loved you with an everlasting love, he says to us; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

God reminds us that we belong to him by virtue a new title: that of our vocation to Opus Dei. We need a strong life of faith to appreciate the wonder his providence has entrusted to us. A faith like that of the Magi, a conviction that neither the desert, nor the storms, nor the quiet of the oases will keep us from reaching our destination in the eternal Bethlehem: our definitive life with God. And our Father adds: My child, thank God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank the Blessed Virgin through whom all the graces of heaven reach us, as through a divine channel. Give thanks for the grace of our calling which, next to the faith, is the greatest gift God could have granted a human being.

Prompt response to the call.

This star, the liturgy sings, shines like a flame; it points out God, the King of kings: the Magi saw it and they offered presents to the great King.

Of all those who saw the star, only the Magi discovered its deep meaning. Promptly, with faith, Stella duce, led by the star, they set out on the road. What for others was nothing more than a marvel in the sky, for them held a clear-cut message. Undoubtedly God himself opened their eyes. But we can still admire their great faith and their promptness in setting out on their journey. The wise men did not content themselves with just contemplating the star. They decided to follow it, and that was what really mattered, and called for effort. They left behind their families, their ease and their comfort, and set out on their way, carrying their finest possessions. And let us not overlook that God used their normal occupation, the study of the stars, to make his will known to them. St John Chrysostom comments: God called them through what was most familiar to them and showed them a great and wonderful star, so that they might he impressed by its very size and beauty.

We have also been guided by the star of our vocation in circumstances similar to those of the wise men. God sought us out in the place we occupied in the world, and in the middle of our activity he showed us the star: he called us. My child, do you remember how I have often echoed Isaiah’s words? Ego vocavi te nomine tuo, meus es tu. (I have called you by your name: you are mine. ) You are mine! This God who is all beauty and all wisdom, all greatness and all goodness, tells me that I am his! And to think that I don’t respond!

We can very well apply to ourselves St Paul’s words: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. Let us renew our decision to respond to our calling and to follow it promptly, fighting against negligence or half-heartedness, brushing away any sleep or tiredness, and asking God for the same supernatural enthusiasm we had when we first set out along the way. Our Father reminds us that our vocation does not take us away from our place in the world, but it requires us to cast aside anything that would get in the way of God’s will. The light that has just begun to shine is only the beginning. We have to follow it if we want it to shine as a star, and then like the sun.

Gratitude and joy for our grace of vocation.

It is easy to imagine the joy of the wise men when, amid all the wonderful constellations that shone in the night, a new star appeared, shining with special brightness. Their happiness would have been similar to what we experienced when we realised that a new light had been lit in our ordinary daily work. When someone has that joy, the difficulties of the journey - the steep mountains, the arid deserts, the forests and the vast plains - are no longer a problem, because Jesus’ star is guiding us.

I know very well, my children, the nature of the path you have chosen, after the choice that God had made of you. For non vos me elegistis, sed ego elegi vos (you did not choose me, but I chose you). It was not you who chose the way. You have responded to God’s calling by saying: Ecce ego quia vocasti me. (Here I am, for you called me. ) I know very well that you have embarked on an uphill path, which may seem hard. But it is hard only in appearance, because we feel in our hearts, and in the very depths of our being, that gaudium cum pace. And I also know that you realize the responsibility you have before God, and before your fellow Christians, and before all people.

The Magi set out, following the star they had seen. They used the light to seek the true Light. And lo, the star that they had seen in the East went before them. It guided their steps and strengthened their hope during the hard moments of the journey, and in the end it led them to Bethlehem. Stella duce, the star acted as their guide, just as the star of our own vocation guides us. By following that star we find Jesus.

The Magi’s star did not shine just for a few moments at the outset of their journey. It went before them until it rested over the place where Jesus lay. Our vocation is also something that is ever-present: yesterday, today, every day, and for ever. God’s love guides us throughout our entire life, and each day brings abundant graces to enable us to follow our divine calling with constantly renewed determination. How beautiful is our vocation; it gives us on earth the joy and peace the world cannot give.

A bright star in the East led the wise men to the feet of Jesus. Many saw its light, but only a few set out to follow it. Let us thank God … for the undeserved prize of our vocation. Let us promise him that we are going to appreciate it more and more each day, guarding it as the most precious jewel our Father God could have given us.

Let us finish with these words of our Father: The three kings had their star. We have Mary, Stella Maris, Stella Orientis. We say to her today: Holy Mary, Star of the Sea, Morning Star, help your children.