79. Second Tuesday of Lent

Meditations no. 125 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

We must practise what we preach and sanctify our ordinary work.

The Gospel shows Jesus talking to his disciples and to the crowd. The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, he says. So practise and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practise.

Our Lord sets before us, in all its sad reality, one of the most unfortunate dangers that threatens souls dedicated to God’s service, namely, a discrepancy between their actions and their words. These souls may have received the divine mission of being light and leaven among their companions. Yet their light and strength is a false glitter. It neither sets aflame nor transforms others, because it is used up in mere fireworks, in words divorced from deeds. St John Chrysostom asks: Is there anything sadder than a teacher whose only hope for his pupils is to tell them, “Do as I say, don’t do as I do?”

Those who witnessed Christ’s life all commented: bene omnia fecit, he has done everything exceedingly well: not only the great miracles, but also the little everyday things that didn’t dazzle anyone, but which Christ performed with the accomplishment of one who is perfectus Deus, perfectus homo, perfect God and perfect Man.

Our Father has taught us that we must do the same, since we have a vocation to become holy and to help others become holy, through the sanctification of ordinary work, which we must proclaim by the total giving of our lives. Since we should behave at all times as God’s envoys, we must be very much aware that we are not serving him loyally if we leave a job unfinished. For this teaching to be authentic, it must be supported by the example of our own lives; we must work conscientiously, with a sense of responsibility, with love and perseverance, without carelessness or neglect.

We are all then, obliged to work. For work is a command from God, and we must obey God cheerfully. Servite Domino in laetitia! -serve the Lord with joy! In this way, our work becomes supernatural, because it is done for God. We work thinking of him, as an act of obedience. We should not leave the place in life where the Lord’s call found us. We must turn our whole life into service done to God: both our work and our rest, our sorrow as well as our joy. In the fields ripe for harvest, in the workshop, in our study room, or in public life, we ought to remain faithful to our normal way of living, turning everything into an instrument of sanctification and apostolate, without ever making use of the Church or the Work for personal gain. Each of us must exercise our own personal responsibility.

We make this aspect of spirit of the Work a reality when we work intensely, day after day, shoulder to shoulder with our peers in the place where our Lord has put us. Our Father has told us that we’re not doing our Lord a favour when we subject ourselves to fixed times of work or toil, just like other people, for long hours, over a period of years or always. A little examination of conscience would not be out of place, if only to ensure that we lovingly respect the time for work and make others respect it; so that everyone is aware of the need for doing so.

Rectitude of intention in our work: Deo omnis gloria.

In the Gospel passage which we are considering, we find an explanation in our Lord’s words as to why the scribes and the Pharisees did not practise what they preached. They do all their works to be seen by men. Vainglory! This is what separated them from God, says St John Chrysostom. Vainglory made them look for another arena for their struggles, and it was the cause of their defeat. For if people try to please their spectators, the battle fought will depend on the type of spectators it is fought for.

If someone is only trying to be noticed by other people, that person will obviously be quick to abandon an inconspicuous, hidden task, even though he or she had begun it enthusiastically. Perhaps we may find a lack of purity of intention as the hidden cause of our carelessness and our small faults. It could be the reason why we leave some things unfinished, apparently through lack of time, when the real reason is that we did not use our time heroically.

Rectitude of intention! It is especially important to remind my younger daughters and sons of this key feature of our spirit. We have to be vigilant at the beginning of their careers, so that their successes or failures do not make them forget, even for a moment, the true purpose of their work.

In such circumstances, it is easy to overestimate things, and think that one is destined for a high position or, on the contrary, that one is completely useless. All this is the result of the inexperience of youth. However, if not corrected in time, it may also be the beginning of an earthbound view of things and a lack of faith.

Teach everyone that many years of constant work are necessary, with successes and failures, if we are to gain sufficient experience and yield mature fruit. At each and every moment, our hearts must be set on the Lord. Where our treasure is, that’s where our heart must be.

We will avoid the dangers of vainglory if we try to correct our intention many times a day, and if we keep in mind that whatever work we do is an instrument which God uses to establish his kingdom on earth. In order to work with supernatural outlook, the faithful of Opus Dei try to imbue their work with a fully Christian meaning, seeing it in the context of Christ’s own redemptive mission.

We should seek human perfection and good professional standing in our work.

We do everything for God’s glory. We do it to please him and not for any personal satisfaction. This is the attitude which we should engrave in our soul. And for our ordinary work to be pleasing to God, we must do it with human perfection, eagerly and lovingly, dedicating to it the best of our abilities.

Our work is done in the middle of the world. It is professional work. For this reason, when I remind you of the need to work, I also have to remind you of the need to work well. It is not a matter of accumulating hours, but of working with technical and professional competence.

Work can never be made into a game which is not taken seriously; nor into something done by “amateurs” or as a “hobby”. What do I care if I were to be told, for example, that one of my sons is a bad teacher but a good son? If he is not a good teacher, what good is he to me? In reality, he is not a good son of mine if he has not used the means to improve in his profession. We must work like the best of our colleagues. And if it is possible, even better than the best. A man who takes no interest in his profession is of no use to me.

Love for our profession and a desire to get ahead are an integral part of the spirit God wants Opus Dei to have. Consequently, we should enjoy high professional standing among our colleagues. In this way we can bring more souls to God, since good professional standing is the bait of a fisher of men. This will require intense work, using every moment of the day well. I cannot understand how a child of mine could stand around idle, killing time, as the expression goes. What a pity to kill time, which is a treasure from God! If a son or daughter of mine were to tell me that they have time on their hands, it is because they are not doing their duty. I always have things left to be done the next day. We should reach the evening after a day full of work, still with tasks left for tomorrow. By nightfall we should be loaded down like God’s little donkeys.

I like to speak about our life of work, making use of a metaphor, of a parable: that of the donkey at the waterwheel. This patient and industrious animal appeals to me; for the donkey is tough, austere, and humble. But above all, he appeals to me because he works, because he is able to persevere day after day turning the wheel, drawing the water that makes the orchard bear fruit The donkey puts up with everything, even the blows. He works and works, and is content with just a handful of straw or grass. The story of my donkey has a happy ending: he dies working. And then they take him apart. They skin him, and use his hide to make drums: big ones for a war of peace, and little ones for singing to Baby Jesus, who is God.

Such is our life. I often think that an early death would be too comfortable. I don’t desire death. We should desire to live for many years of work. It is part of our vocation to die old, well squeezed out, like a lemon, down to the last drop.

Strengthened by our Lady’s intercession, let us ask God to help us work well, enthusiastically, self-sacrificingly, and with a pure intention. Many people begin, but few finish, our Father points out. And we, who are trying to behave as God’s children, have to be among those few. Remember that only work that is well done and lovingly completed deserves the praise of the Lord which is to be found in Holy Scripture: Better is the end of a task than its beginning.