163. Seventh Monday of Easter

Meditations no. 209 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The sense of our divine filiation gives us serenity.

In our prayer today we will continue considering the action of the Holy Spirit in our soul. As we await his arrival, we can ask him to be for us in labore requies, / in aestu temperies, / in fletu solatium: in our labour, rest most sweet; grateful coolness in the heat; solace in the midst of woe. Thus we ask for those things which a relationship with God brings to a soul that has given itself completely: peace, serenity, and calm. We have good reason to seek them, for we know that habitual serenity and mastery over our passions, in work, in suffering, and in temptation, is indispensable for a contemplative soul. As well as good will, which thanks to God we have, we need fortitude in order to subject everything to him, without our supernatural outlook becoming obscured by thoughtlessness or wavering.

My dear children, be serene in your work and in your spiritual life. For the love of God, be faithful. Don’t be childish or crazy. Live in the presence of God, as contemplative souls must, and as our vocation requires us to do. We know very well that the peace which our Lord gives does not consist in the absence of difficulties, but rather in our overcoming them. The calmness, peace and serenity which we ardently desire to receive from the Holy Spirit come from our filial relationship with God, which makes us feel secure and protected. Then we can say: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? As a result, we are peaceful and calm.

God comes with tranquillity, but not with the false serenity of indifference or unconcern. The children of God in his Work, even though they are always serene with the serenity of their divine filiation, cannot remain indifferent at the sight of a world which is not Christian and sometimes not even human. For many people have not yet attained the living conditions in the temporal order which permit spiritual development, and they are unaware of anything which is not carnal. The words of Scripture can be applied to them: They are worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. What St Paul lamented is fulfilled in these poor souls: Animalis autem homo non percipit ea quae sunt spiritus Dei, these poor creatures are unable to see the spiritual light or to perceive that which belongs to the Spirit of God.

The serenity which God gives us does not mean closing our eyes to reality. It means viewing it with optimism, trusting in the help of our Father in heaven.

Joy amid difficulties is a consequence of serenity.

We need serenity and moderation in all our reactions, because we too are threatened by the wrong kind of sadness, which may be produced by suffering, sickness, setbacks, and especially the weight of our own shortcomings. Thus our Father wrote: Among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I would say that there is one which we all need in a special way: the gift of wisdom. It makes us know God and rejoice in his presence, thereby placing us in a perspective from which we can judge accurately the situations and events of this life. In this way our spirit will never be stifled by the sadness which kills, which leads the imagination to wander all over the place, mulling over memories, conjuring up fantasies, seeking after consolations, and perhaps even complaining inwardly about our work, our ascetical struggle or our dedication.

The sadness that leads us to neglect one thing after another, results in listlessness and indolence. It will disappear when the Holy Spirit shows us once and for all that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. Then we will each be a strong soul from whom, as St Clement of Alexandria says, nothing can remove the love of God; nor does such a person need to calm his spirit, for he is persuaded that everything is for the good; nothing angers him, nor is there anything which moves him to ire, for he always loves God and to this alone does he attend.

The faith which the Paraclete constantly nurtures in the soul of a Christian does not diminish his spirit or limit the noble impulses of his soul - rather it makes them grow with the realization of their true and authentic meaning. We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God’s own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also - in that same love of the one God in three divine Persons - the angels and all men.

This is the great boldness of the Christian faith: to proclaim the value and dignity of human nature and to affirm that we have been created to achieve the dignity of children of God, through the grace that raises us up to a supernatural level. An incredible boldness it would be, were it not founded on the promise of salvation given us by God the Father, confirmed by the blood of Christ, and reaffirmed and made possible by the constant action of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will teach us to put interior zeal into the things we do, without losing our peace of mind and without giving in to the temptation to despair, because difficulties and setbacks disappear as soon as we go to God in prayer. Let us go to speak with Jesus humbly and frankly, bearing in mind that he who walks sincerely, walks confidently, and then light will appear, and with it peace, serenity and joy.

Going to God with peace in our souls.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. We will continue working with joy and peace, keeping up our effort in the things which look to the service of God, even when we feel the pinpricks of daily difficulties. That is the first gift which we hope for from the Holy Spirit: that our personal contribution in the task God asks of us should never seem useless. This is the difference between us and those who do not know God, says St Cyprian: the latter complain and grumble in adversity; whereas for us, adversities do not take us away from virtue, but rather confirm us in it.

Let us meditate on some very consoling words from our Father: Everything may collapse and fail. Events may turn out contrary to what was expected and great adversity may come. But nothing is to be gained by being perturbed. Furthermore, remember the confident prayer of the prophet: “The Lord is our judge, the Lord gives us our laws, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.” Say it devoutly every day, so that your behaviour may agree with the designs of Providence, which governs us for our own good.

Omnia in bonum! That certainly will make us redouble our desires not to skimp in our personal effort, above all in the task of our sanctification; and the Holy Spirit will make us understand that pride is to be found at the bottom of every inhibition. Behind an apparently motiveless disinclination to work we discover human disillusionment, the impossibility of asserting our own personality or our own criteria - in other words, vanity. Likewise, when obedience becomes difficult, it is often not the difficulty of what is actually commanded, but the fact of having to yield, and of being nothing more than an instrument. And lastly, behind pessimistic sorrow for our own faults, perhaps there hides the humiliation we have suffered over them.

Once we have discovered all this, we will go straight to God to remedy this situation, for in St John’s words, everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. There is no reason for distress. Holy Mary is the Queen of peace, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: “Regina pacis, ora pro nobis” -Queen of peace, pray for us. Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm? You will be surprised at its immediate effect.