173. First Tuesday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 58 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Apostolic work should be done with effort and a spirit of understanding.
The Lord says: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. God has a marvellous reward in store for everyone, for every soul who is prepared to love him. It is the reward of eternal happiness in heaven, without any trace of sorrow, bitterness or sadness. He has entrusted us with the divine mission of spreading this good news throughout the world, from pole to pole. It is a mission that requires effort, sacrifice, determination and strength. It is a true spiritual battle - a battle of peace - that we have to fight, because at times people can be blinded by the devil and refuse to accept the truth and the love that saves them. Our war is a beautiful war of peace in which we sow love, forgiveness, understanding and fellowship. If we donât get close to other people, how can we bring them to God?
All our apostolate is based on love and affection, on the charity of Christ. We donât reject anyone. We deeply love all those who love Jesus Christ. And we also deeply love all those who donât love him, though we also feel sorry for them. So we try to treat them kindly, to befriend and help them, seeking to drown evil in an abundance of good.
When the good of souls is at stake, we must be forceful - finding our strength in the fortitude of Christ - so that we can defend the freedom and rights of God and of his Church, and never yield in what is essential. We must follow the example of our Lord, who taught the commandments of divine law with authority. As St Mark tells us: They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Commenting on the parable of the ten virgins, our Father said: We must keep our lamps lit, as the prudent virgins did. We canât give away our oil, lest our lamps go out. When our faith is in danger, we canât play around. Our first duty is to keep our lamps lit. A charity that yielded in matters of faith would be false, diabolical, deceitful. Fortes in fide: strong in the faith, firm in the faith, as St Peter says. This isnât fanaticism; itâs simply living by faith. Itâs not that we donât love anyone. We would be ready to give in on matters of secondary importance, but we canât give in on matters of faith. We canât give away the oil in our lamps. For then the Bridegroom would come and find that our lamps had gone out .
If anyone were to feel hurt by our behaviour, even though that is not our intention, we would do our best to heal the wounds, veritatem facientes in caritate, speaking the truth in love. We would apply the oil of charity to soothe the wounds and calm any possible feelings of resentment that might arise through their having misunderstood our reasons for acting as we did.
Personal sacrifice, self-giving: drowning evil in an abundance of good.
The Gospel from todayâs Mass shows us Christ preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath: There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out: What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
Sin is the only true evil; it is the source of all other evils. Its presence in the world is nothing new. We cannot indulge in a naive and pointless nostalgia for a better world that never was, our Father tells us. From the very beginning of the Church, even during the Apostlesâ lifetime, persecutions have always been taking place, heresies have been springing up, lies have been spread and hatred unleashed.
I want you to think about how evil has prospered. All over this field of God, which is the world - Christâs inheritance - there are weeds. Not just a few weeds: vast quantities of them! I want you to be aware of this, so that you may never be deceived by the myth of constant, irreversible progress. Understand what I mean: progress, when it is properly directed, is good, and God wants it. However, there is a kind of progress that blinds all sorts of people, who fail to see that in some areas mankind sometimes goes backwards and loses ground previously gained.
I want my children to have their eyes wide open. I want them to have their minds and their souls alert. Only a person whose conscience had become hardened or rendered insensitive through routine, or who was scatter-brained and frivolous, could look at the world and not see all the evil there, all the offences being committed against God, and all the souls being harmed, sometimes irreparably.
We must drown all that terrible evil in an abundance of good. We cannot uproot the tares from among the wheat, for, as St John Chrysostom says, that would unleash over the whole earth a merciless war. We must flood the field with holiness, with an all-out dedication to God and souls. This is the only way we can set off an unending chain of good works.
Our Lord wants you and me to be saints, so that we may sanctify others. God asks us to play our part in the co-redemption, and this demands an abundance of personal sanctity on our part. The more we see evil increase, the more we need to realize how urgent it is for us to become saints, and to help the divine wheat field become more fruitful. Beloved, St Paul writes to the Romans, never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all ⌠Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Charity makes our apostolic zeal cheerful, positive and optimistic.
As sowers of peace and joy, we have a message of peace for everyone: the Good News. God is the source of salvation and joy for everyone. Nobody is an outsider to this happiness. The same cause for joy is common to all, for as our Lord found nobody free from guilt when he came to bring an end to death and sin, so he came with redemption for all.
This is the great news we want to bring to every soul: that God is love: Deus caritas est. We can convince them of this only if we ourselves are filled with a love that is cheerful, gentle and strong, human and supernatural; an affectionate charity that welcomes everyone with a smile; that shows understanding for their ideas and feelings; that makes them want to cooperate in our work. Without giving way in our behaviour or in doctrine, we will find that, when we really put into practice the charity of Christ, it will gently but firmly give us a spirit of victory, and will ensure that our thirst for souls becomes stronger and stronger.
Our Lordâs charity is clearly shown to us in todayâs Gospel. He takes pity on a poor man who is possessed by an evil spirit, and he is moved to mercy. His zeal is not bitter; he simply says: Be silent, and come out of him. Nor should our zeal be bitter or disagreeable. Our conversations should always be positive and friendly. If we are inspired by love, we will be able to rise above little misunderstandings. We will treat souls patiently, in a spirit of harmony, and be more inclined to praise than to blame. The harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace, St James tells us.
Cor Iesu Sacratissimum et Misericors, dona nobis pacem! Most Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus, grant us peace! Give peace to the world: your peace, the peace that springs from Truth and Love and Hope. Sancta Maria, Regina Apostolorum, ora pro nobis! Holy Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us!