148. Fifth Tuesday of Easter
Meditations no. 194 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
The hope of heaven gives joy to Godās children.
The time for our Lord to leave the world and return to his Father is fast approaching, and the Liturgy begins to prepare us for his departure. Jesus tells us: Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you: I go away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than 1.
Our Lord is going away to prepare a place for us in his Fatherās house, because now we are Godās children. Since we are favoured children of God, he is preparing for us a place in heaven, which will mean unlimited happiness. And so that we attain it, he has already given us in this world the life of grace, which is a certain principle of glory in us: a foretaste of heaven.
Some people, alas, whose aims are worthy but limited and whose ideals are only perishable and fleeting, forget that Christians have to aspire to the highest peaks of all, to the infinite. Our aim is the very Love of God, to enjoy that Love fully, with a joy that never ends. We have seen in so many ways that things here below have to come to an end for all of us, when this world ends; and even sooner, for each individual, when he dies, for we cannot take wealth and prestige with us to the grave. That is why, buoyed up by hope, we raise our hearts to God himself and have learned to pray: In te Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum, I have placed my hope in you, O Lord: may your hand guide me now and at every moment, for ever and ever.
Meanwhile, we pass through this world as strangers and exiles, on our way to the Father. But even on earth we can also have a taste of great happiness, enjoying here and now in this world the hope of a glory which, when we finally achieve it, will satisfy us totally. It is good and even necessary to hope for heaven: it inspires and encourages us in times of special difficulty, when we find it hard to work with no earthly reward.
Our Father said: Letās bear all difficulties as we sail the seas of this world, in the hope of heaven. For ourselves and for all souls who want to love, the goal is reaching heaven, the glory of heaven. Otherwise, nothing whatever is worthwhile. To get to heaven we have to be faithful. And to be faithful, we have to struggle, forging ahead on our way, even if sometimes we fall flat on our face; with God, we will rise again.
Nothing and no one can upset supernatural joy.
If we are united to God, the joy of our life, nothing should make us sad. St John Chrysostom asks: What could perturb a saint? Death? No! For he desires it as a prize. Insults? No! For Christ taught us to bear them: Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you. Illnesses? Not those either. For Scripture reminds us: Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you, be patient. For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. What then could upset a saint? Nothing. In this world, even joy usually ends in sadness. But for those who live their lives according to Christ, even troubles are turned into joy.
Whatever happens, omnia in bonum! Everything works together for the good. God wants it to happen or at least allows it to happen. He sometimes even permits us to make mistakes and experience our own weakness, in order to draw forth good from it, to set us still more on fire with his love, and make us more sincerely humble. It is all too easy to say: āIām useless; nothing turns out right for me - for us.ā Apart from not being true, that pessimism masks a great deal of laziness. There are things you do well, and things you do badly. Fill yourself with joy and with hope on account of the former; and face up to the latter - without losing heart - in order to put things right; and they will work out.
We must never forget that God is very much a Father to us. This is the source of our joy. Joy is not the boisterous laughter of a purely animal response. It has very deep roots. It is a very profound reality. It is compatible with physical tiredness and the sorrow that comes of having a heart. It is compatible with difficulties in our interior life and our apostolic work. Though it may sometimes seem that everything is collapsing, nothing is lost. God doesnāt lose battles. Joy is a consequence of divine filiation. It comes from our awareness that we are loved by our Father God, who always welcomes us, helps us and forgives us.
Cheerful always. Fighting sadness energetically.
Delight your soul and comfort your heart, and remove sorrow far from you, for sorrow has destroyed many, and there is no profit in it. Sadness causes grave harm to the soul, because it is the fruit of pride, just as joy is the consequence of the love of God. Sadness eats away at the foundations of the interior life, and implies a lack of awareness of our divine filiation, a lack of trust in God and abandonment into his hands. Cast aside sadness. Do you not realize that it is worse than any other state of mind? It is that which most discourages and rebuffs the Holy Spirit. A happy person works well, enjoys good things and pleases God. But a sad person always acts badly.
Sadness is a great ally of the enemy. A person who is sad is in a near occasion of sin. If this grave danger should ever attack our soul, we must examine ourselves, ask for light and look for the cause. Happiness is a consequence of self-surrender. It is reaffirmed every time you turn the water-wheel.
At the bottom of sadness we often find the dregs of selfishness and personal concerns. You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the centre: you have a stomach-ache, or you are tired, or they have said this or thatā¦
Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others?
If we are tempted to be sad, the first remedy is our Founderās advice: pray. You ask me to suggest a cure for your sadness. I will give you a prescription from an expert adviser, the Apostle St James: Tristatur aliquis vestrum? Is any of you sad? Are you sad, my son? Oret! Pray! Try it and you will see.
Talking and listening to God will bring life back to our soul. Then with the supernatural outlook of faith, hope, love, and desires for atonement, we will see that we only have reasons for being happy. We will resolve to remove the obstacles which separate us from the Lord, the God of our joy. Once more we will happily serve our brothers and sisters and all people. Our service must be carried out joyfully, our Father says. Wherever there is a child of God in Opus Dei, there must be the cheerfulness that comes from interior peace. When we have the spirit of Opus Dei, we will do everything that we do joyfully.
Let us end our prayer by turning to our Lady, Causa nostrae laetitiae, Cause of our joy, so that she may always keep alive in us this cheerful and optimistic spirit, so characteristic of Godās children.