198. Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)
Meditations no. 77 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
The primacy of charity.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The value of our life depends on the value of the love we put into everything we do. Without charity, our dedication would lose all meaning. Our Father reminds us: Charity makes everything divine. Deus caritas est. (God is love. ) What moves us to act is always Love. Our love for God makes it easy for us to love others. God is always âin thereâ, in our life.
It was love that moved God to become incarnate, taking the form of a slave, and to serve even to the point of sacrificing his life. The Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. By divine calling, we have been summoned to exercise that same charity of Christ, which leads us to devote ourselves entirely to the service of souls.
Always practise charity, for it is the bond of perfection, but above all towards your brothers or sisters. They should be the first to benefit from your service. Otherwise your charity would be disordered: it wouldnât be Christâs charity. You wouldnât have the good spirit St Paul teaches us: dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos fidei. While there is still time, let us do good to everyone, but especially to our brothers in the faith. On another occasion our Father told us: Love one another very much: without foolishness, which is something there has never been in the Work; and without attachments, which impoverish love. Never be afraid of loving one another with your human hearts. Never be afraid that your love might be excessive when you love people in the right order, supernaturally. For love covers a multitude of sins.
Outward signs of fraternal charity.
True Love always looks for ways to serve. The lover seeks the good of the person loved, and spares no effort in trying to achieve it. A love which is not shown in deeds of service would not be authentic love. For love is patient and kind; it is ready to make any sacrifice in order to do good. Love is not jealous; rather, it rejoices in the happiness of others. Love is not boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong. Does the service we render others bear those characteristics? Do we offer it humbly and generously, without self-seeking? Does charity make us gentle, long-suffering, and humble of heart? Does it lead us to see the virtues of the others, more readily than their defects? Does it teach us to understand their likes and dislikes, and to love them with their peculiarities and defects? For charity consists not so much in giving as in understanding.
Donât try to mould others into your image and likeness, but into the image and likeness of God, in keeping with each oneâs personal circumstances. Just like that collection of little donkeys sent to me by my daughters and sons from all over the world. Some are made of straw, others are of gold, and others of silver. Some have diamonds, others emeralds. Some are made out of iron. They are of all kinds. To me it seems good that they should be so different: they are all very dear to me.
Each of us, in Godâs presence, will discover what sort of response there is in our heart. What is the quality of my love? How do I care for the others? Love rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. If it is love that moves us, we will be able to put up with everything, to endure everything. We will place our hearts on the ground so that the others may have something soft to walk on. We will serve without making a fuss; we will sacrifice ourselves willingly. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Giving oneself in the service of others is so effective that God rewards it with a humility that is full of joy.
Charity should lead to practical results.
Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.
Lukewarmness, a careless approach to the Norms, slackness in the work entrusted to us, giving in to laziness - all these dampen our love for God. They make us slow to put ourselves out for others. Where there is solid interior life, it will be shown in practical details of fraternal love.
If we love God we cannot neglect the others in our family by shutting ourselves up inside our shell. Everything that affects them should be of real concern to us. Often we will be able to help them in their work, once we have finished our own. Spiritually we can always give them the affectionate and effective help of fraternal correction, prayer, and mortification. We need to devote our lives to looking after them, giving ourselves to them generously.
It is not our way to lack charity. Nor does anyone have the job of mortifying the others. On the contrary, our way is to be pleasant and gracious towards one another, getting on well and being prepared to make sacrifices for one another. We combine concern for our neighbour, with personal austerity of heart. We constantly strive to deny ourselves in little things -which are really big, heroic things, and which are always at hand.
And as I have often told you, the atmosphere in our homes should have one special characteristic -namely that we totally avoid all arguments or heated discussions. Each one freely holds his or her own point of view, and has his or her reasons for doing so, and the rest of us should learn to respect them. We can, and we sometimes should, calmly hear out, weigh up and study the pros and cons of the opinions of the others. This doesnât mean we should get involved in arguments, but rather that it may be good, and sometimes it may even be our duty, to get to know what is of real interest, so as to study or clarify a particular point in a conversation, or solve a problem that has been raised.
When the conversation is about matters of little importance, we say what we think - at times we may even say nothing - and we let contrary opinions pass unchallenged, without giving our point of view again. Out of prudence we say nothing, as long as no harm is being done, even though what is being said may not be accurate. What difference does it make, for example, if someone says weâre twenty-eight when in fact weâre thirty? And the same applies to so many other things.
Our Lady gave herself unsparingly in order to serve Jesus Christ. She accompanied him with deep and tender love. Mary will teach us to render constant service to others, combined with supernatural and human affection.