77. Second Sunday of Lent
Meditations no. 123 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
With interior recollection, God shows himself to the soul more and more clearly.
At that time, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. Christ chose the loneliness of Mount Thabor to show his glory. It was like a foretaste of heaven, and Peter did not want it to end. Lord, it is well that we are here. If you wish, I will make three booths hereâŚ
Jesus Christ, God and Man, wants to show himself to all souls, especially to those who, like us, have received a special calling to holiness. Although the fullness of this contemplation, the face-to-face vision of God, cannot be attained while we are still clothed with mortal flesh, we should seek it fervently in this life.
Interior life is a prelude to heaven. It is a life of faith that develops as we travel along our way. If we are faithful, it culminates in true contemplation of Jesus
Christ and of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. St Gregory the Great tells us that while our mind is dissipated in carnal images, it will never be able to contemplate ⌠For the thoughts that bear it to and fro are obstacles that blind it. Therefore, the first step for the soul that wishes to contemplate the invisible nature of God is to recollect itself.
Interior recollection is essential for contemplative life because even though we live in the world and share in all the interests and activities of society, our vocation is necessarily contemplative: we are in a continuous, simple, filial union with God our Father. If we were not truly contemplatives, it would be difficult to persevere in Opus Dei. In interior recollection, God shows himself to the soul more and more clearly. We have to learn how to accompany Christâs intimate presence in our heart with a respectful silence. Thus our Father advises us: Each day try to find a few minutes of that blessed solitude which you so much need to keep your interior life going.
Contemplative souls need interior silence.
Interior recollection is essential for contemplative life. Every day we run the risk of abandoning ourselves to created things and diluting that life which is hidden with Christ in God. In the loneliness of Thabor the disciples were able to contemplate the glory of the transfigured Jesus. The glory of Christ also shines in the things of this earth, but it can only be seen when we live in Godâs presence, that is, in continuous conversation with God our Lord. Then we will be able to dedicate our whole life and everything around us to the service of Christ, for the glory of the Blessed Trinity.
Some people leave the world in order to attain this kind of contemplation. However, it is Godâs will that we should remain in the world. This is yet another reason for each of us to make demands on ourselves in order to attain deep interior recollection. When I call you contemplatives, our Father once said, I mean that amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd - because we are in the middle of the crowd and we are interested in all souls - in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the world, we know how to find the silence of a contemplative soul and to look at God as one looks at a Father, as one looks at a friend whom one loves dearly.
We belong to the crowd, and we must sanctify it by acting as leaven, as the salt of God. Is salt locked away anywhere? Isnât it made to be scattered? Well, we must try to ensure that nothing is left unsalted; therefore, we must find our retreat in all the things of this worldâ. We cannot isolate ourselves. Neither should we lose our divine flavour, the ability to be Christâs salt in the world. You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored?
We must immerse ourselves more and more in God, in order to attract the souls around us. This is what we achieve with our interior life. So long as we fulfil the Norms, we can be in the middle of the world, and in some way separated but at the same time very close to the people. Thus we want to be fully immersed in the bloodstream of society, in all the noble activities of mankind, in order to sanctify and supematuralize them.
We know what our life should be like, and we also know, through personal experience, that if we are not watchful, our soul tends to turn outwards, giving free rein to our senses. This darkens our vision of God, who is present in our soul in grace. You keep your senses awake and your soul asleep. Then is when we need to silence the clamour of external things, to pause and regain the interior silence which is essential for a contemplative soul. Then we can listen promptly to the Lordâs voice and channel our energies in his service. It is also an opportunity to make more responsible use of the means the Work offers us to grow in interior life continually.
Making good use of the night period and the afternoon work period.
Our Father said that if we choose to listen, the Lord speaks to us as a loving father in the depths of our soul, through people and events. Similarly, our Founder has told us that our whole life has to be a prayer, when faced with pleasant things and with what is unpleasant⌠No matter what you face, you must go immediately to speak with your Father God, seeking him in the depths of your soul.
In the Work we have all the means we need to acquire this habit of recollection; the Lord will not deny us the grace to make good use of them. What might be lacking at times is our response to that grace, our faithful use of the means. We may fail to keep silent and recollected in order to prepare well for the following dayâs Holy Communion; or our preparation for the afternoon prayer may be poor, because we have not worked intensely and supernaturally. At such times, could we say with St Paul that our conversation is in heaven?
The night-time silence is a need for a soul of God. I feel a need for complete recollection at night, our Father said. My children, the night period is a blessing from God. Our senses are quietened, our passions are stilled, our memory and imagination can concentrate on God. Our soul is alone with Jesus Christ, and the Father and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity dwelling within it. Then our love increases, and so too does our desire to possess God. We make acts of contrition and aspirations, as well as spiritual Communions that prepare us to receive Jesus sacramentally; and in that way we prepare for the morning prayer. The commentary on the Gospel, concise and practical at the same time, also helps us during those moments to focus our attention on our Lord, with acts of love, petitions, and resolutions to improve.
During the day, we have another period of silence which helps us improve our contemplative life, if we strive to be especially recollected: the afternoon work period. When circumstances permit, it may even be possible to maintain outward silence by avoiding unnecessary conversations. Through the Norms which we describe as being for âalwaysâ - presence of God, acts of atonement, acts of thanksgiving, etc. - we strive above all to acquire and develop the habit of raising our hearts to God in the middle of our activity. Then our work becomes a means to contemplation. For this reason it may be advisable to devote the afternoon work period to one specific job which constitutes, as it were, the nucleus of our work. Thus we avoid scattering our attention over many isolated activities. During this time we may also need to intensify the small mortifications which are so much a part of our spirit, especially those which help us to do our ordinary work intensely, faithfully, carefully and lovingly.
We should hunger to keep our Lord and our Lady very close company during those times. We need to struggle to achieve this. We do so through constant effort and supernatural stubbornness, by trying to make many acts of love for God and by saying many aspirations. This fight should be kept up, and the love that we put into it renewed every day. Each week we ask ourselves: Do I try to give my first and last thought each day to God?
My heart says to you, âYour face, Lord, do I seek.â Hide not your face from me. In that spirit of interior recollection we dedicate ourselves entirely to our professional work, knowing that there, we can contemplate God and sanctify ourselves and our work, as well as those who are working with us. Like that, no human activity can distract us from our union with God, who is present in our souls in grace. Our Father asks us: Donât you feel that you are in the world and at the same time outside it, immersed in Christ? You can achieve this through continuous mortification, which doesnât kill you, through piety and devotion to the Blessed Trinity and the Mother of God. Rejoice in calling her âDaughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, Spouse of God the Holy Spiritâ.