211. Fifth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Meditations no. 88 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Our personal apostolate is always part of a universal mission.

As he made his way along the roads of Galilee, preaching and healing the sick, Jesus went a long way north, as far as the borders of the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have anyone know it; yet he could not be hid. But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. As the woman persisted and the disciples interceded on her behalf, Jesus said to her: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This doesn’t mean, St Jerome comments, that he was not sent to the Gentiles, but that he was sent first to Israel.

The Messiah’s mission, the salvation of every person, is a universal one. Although Christ lived in a small corner of the world and at a particular time in history, by his death he won salvation for all people of all races and all times. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. The Jewish nation received the promise of redemption, but Christ has all nations in his sights, and in his power. All souls are mine, says the Lord.

In order to imitate Christ we need a big heart, capable of beating for the salvation of all souls and loving everyone to the point of sacrifice. Our Father writes: You should feel on your shoulders -remembering the image of the Good Shepherd depicted in the catacombs - the weight of the lost sheep, which represents not just a single soul, but the entire Church, the whole of humanity. Right from the start God wanted his Work to have a catholic, universal heart. Even though each person in Opus Dei has a particular apostolic task to attend to, we can never shut ourselves up within the limits of our specific situation and our apostolic assignment. We should always remember that our task forms part of a universal mission.

Opus Dei’s apostolate knows no bounds.

We are enabled to make our universal aspirations a reality through the help of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the authentic love of God’s children. We find we have the strength to love all mankind in a new way, which all will recognize as stemming from the grace of Christ. Our love is not to be confused with sentimentality or mere good fellowship, nor with that somewhat questionable zeal to help others in order to convince ourselves of our superiority. Rather, it means living in peace with our neighbour, venerating the image of God that is found in each and every man, and doing all we can to get them in their turn to contemplate that image, so that they may learn how to turn to Christ.

Charity with everyone means, therefore, apostolate with everyone. It means we, on our part, must translate into deeds and truth the great desire of God who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.

The Church’s mission, the mission of every Christian, extends to all nations and peoples. A Catholic needs a big heart that transcends the limits of nation, race or group. Your charity has to be far-reaching, universal. You have to set your sights on the whole of mankind, with a concern for every soul in the whole world. This attitude will lead you to pray for everyone and, to the extent of your possibilities, to help everyone.

The Gospel from today’s Mass reminds us of our need to foster this all-embracing charity. When he is approached by a woman who does not belong to the people of Israel, Jesus answers her at first with apparently harsh words. But soon we see how his Heart is open to the needs of all humanity: And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”

All who work in Christ’s name must be convinced of this truth: God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. We cannot put barriers in the way of God’s will; he wants all men and women to savour his love. And so we say every day: ut omnes unum sint, that all may be one, whatever their nationality or culture. All can praise God the Father, the Creator of all mankind; all can praise Christ, who died for all and redeemed us from every tribe and tongue and people and nation; all can praise God the Holy Spirit, who comes to fill the whole world with his divine grace.

United in the Catholic faith and in the spirit of the Work.

Where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and the community of grace; so says St Irenaeus. Ours is the task of fostering this unity in the midst of diversity. This is the universality God wants for his Church. We have to strive as far as possible for unity among Catholics throughout the whole world, so that there may be a common denominator, and in this way we can bring about the spreading of Christ’s Kingdom.

This common denominator consists of the faith and morals which the Church teaches in God’s name. We can never set aside this doctrine, under the false pretence that it does not fit in with the circumstances of a particular country or age. But all other matters, such as customs, fashions, or opinions in temporal matters, form the numerator, and in no way lessen unity among Christians. Wherever there is a Christian it should be possible to apply to him or her the title that was used in the beginnings: bearer of God. Act in such a way that this admirable title can truly be applied to you.

Bearers of God, not because you bear his name in vain, but because it shows in the way you act: in your faithfulness to Catholic doctrine and morals, in the serious way you carry out your human tasks, in the charity you show towards everyone. That is the way to be good servants of God and the Church.

The common denominator for us in the Work must include our specific spirit, exactly as God has wanted it. No matter what country or circumstances form the setting for our apostolate, we must always be faithful to the particular ways our Father has taught us to be holy and apostolic - ways that can never change. But in everything else we should adapt to the place and time in which God has wanted us to work.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, we read in the Book of Isaiah, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants … these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

God’s promise is being fulfilled now. People of all races, nations, mentalities and backgrounds, are coming to know our Lord. And in Opus Dei we have to make sure that this continues to happen. From the very beginning the Work has been a universal undertaking of Christ, and we can never make distinctions where he has not wanted them.

Mary, the Mediatrix of all graces, will obtain from God the grace we need to maintain this universal outlook, this love without bounds.