50. January 5

Meditations no. 44 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The star of the Magi disappears: faith in our vocation, serenity.

We have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him. This, the Magi say, is why we are here in Jerusalem, so far from our native country.

They had set out on the long and tiring journey with determination and generosity. They had already travelled many miles; they had been close to exhaustion; but they only needed to look up at the star to count all their efforts well spent. Their only reason for setting forth was to adore and bring gifts. Without God’s graces along the way, they could not have kept going in the face of so many trials.

Much of God’s help consisted of that star which constantly went before them. What did it matter if others didn’t see it as they did? At the end of each day’s journey they would rest a moment and glance upwards. And there was the radiant star encouraging them to continue onwards, undaunted.

Then as they neared Jerusalem, the star mysteriously disappeared, leaving the Magi in a quandary. Yet we see no trace of discouragement. These were men who were used to overcoming adversity. The long journey would have steeled their resolve, teaching them the value of patience. They may also have realized that the one who had shown them the star could just as easily hide it. Whatever the case, the whole of the Gospel narrative transmits a sense of calm. The Magi’s serenity is a good lesson to us. Calm in the face of difficulties, faith in our vocation, and common sense, are all factors we need each day. We know very well that when God invites a soul to lead a life fully in accordance with the faith, he does not set store by merits of fortune, nobility, blood or learning. God’s call precedes all merits …

Vocation comes first God loves us before we even know how to go toward him, and he places in us the love with which we can correspond to his call God’s fatherly goodness comes out to meet us. Our Lord is not only just He is much more: he is merciful He does not wait for us to go to him. He takes the initiative, with the unmistakable signs of paternal affection.

Docility: putting ourselves into the hands of our Directors.

If vocation comes first, if the star shines ahead to start us along the path of God’s love, it is illogical that we should begin to doubt if it chances to disappear from view. It might happen at certain moments in our interior life - and we are nearly always to blame - that the star disappears, just as it did to the wise kings on their journey.

Our Father warned us clearly of this possibility so that we wouldn’t be surprised if it were to happen to us. How often this happens to souls! It is a trial God sends us. It’s as if the spiritual horizon had suddenly become clouded over. Yet we still see the way clearly. We cannot deny, in any way, that we have received the sovereign light of our vocation. But, perhaps because of the dust we raise on the way - that cloud of little difficulties raised by our own failings - God may withdraw the light of his star and we find ourselves wavering. Then what are we to do? Exactly what those men did. Ask those who know, those in authority.

The Magi did not yield to the temptation of thinking that no one would understand their difficulty. Instead they asked for advice, trustingly and without worrying whether anyone might be surprised at their inquiries. They had got as far as they had because they had great supernatural outlook. But they also displayed a lot of common sense. They did all that was humanly possible to find their way again. It would have been childish at this juncture to abandon their project, and to cause the best hours of their lives, those spent following the star, to be wasted. It would have been unjust, even to themselves, to have returned home simply because they had lost that guiding star. And they were right; for God was at hand.

Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? The learned men of Israel consulted their sacred books and replied: In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet.

You, my children, have your Directors. They have God’s light and the necessary knowledge to direct you. If ever, subjectively speaking, you lose that original light, and a doubt about your vocation tries to worm its way into your soul, in some diabolical fashion, reject it immediately; go to your Directors and… on you go!

You know that there are three non-negotiable points: faith, holy purity, and vocation. Faith, bread, word, I sometimes say. And it is the Director who speaks God’s word. Obey; and whenever God wishes -if you should ever find yourself in this apparent darkness - the star will suddenly shine for you again.

The Magi’s joy on finding the star once again.

The Magi set out again, following what those in authority had told them. Et ecce stellam quam viderant in Oriente antecedebat eos. The star which they had seen in the East went before them. Light returned to their eyes and minds, and joy to their hearts. They set off with new eagerness. They had started off by obeying, and the light which had been lost for a moment now returned. Such was the reward for their docility, for not dialoguing with temptations along the way.

Videntes autem stellam, gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde. When they saw the star again, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. They rejoice with that immense joy, because they did what they were supposed to. And they rejoice because they are certain that they are on their way to the King who has just been born.

The Magi made their way to Bethlehem with all possible speed, with a spring in their step, despite their fatigue. At the first light of dawn, they left behind them the curious crowds, the noisy merchants, the ambition of Herod, the hardships of the journey. Those who never doubted, our Father says, receive proof from the Lord that the star had not disappeared. They had ceased to contemplate it visibly, but they had kept it always in their soul. Such is the Christian’s vocation. If we do not lose faith, if we keep our hope in Jesus Christ who will be with us until the consummation of the world, then the star reappears. And with this fresh proof that our vocation is real, we are conscious of a greater joy which increases our faith, hope and love.

The Magi passed one last bend in the road, and suddenly the city of David lay before them: a collection of small, scattered houses, amid age-old olive trees with silver-grey leaves. And the star went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. The long journey was over. At last they had found Jesus. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. You and I, our Father comments, also fall on our knees before the Infant Jesus, before this God hidden in mortal flesh. We adore him, telling him that we don’t want to lose sight of his star, that we never want to leave him. We will uproot from our lives whatever could hinder our faithfulness. We will be receptive to his every call.

Then after a happy life on earth, we will be happy in heaven. And like the Magi, we will find Jesus with Mary his Mother.