221. Sixth Friday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 96 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Growth in the interior life requires mortification.
We want to follow Christ along all the paths of the earth, paths that he has made joyful and divine. The more we follow in the footsteps of the divine Sower, the more we share in the joy of the sowing. We discover magnificent new apostolic horizons, fields that are ripe with the harvest that God wants us to gather in.
But following Christ means treading an earthly path. It is not some sort of fairy-tale journey. It is not all roses; it is only natural that there should be thorns as well. Such was the path that Christ trod; and he told us clearly that if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Jesus is asking us to follow him closely, as the Apostles did. He invites us to take up our daily cross, and to share in his sacrifice. St Augustine asks: What is that cross which Christ invites us to carry in order to follow him more rapidly? What is that cross, if not mortification?
If we wish to rise with Christ and live a supernatural life, we have to die with him first. St Ignatius of Antioch writes that unless it is our choice to die, through him, unto his Passion, his life is not in us. The more we die to ourselves, the more Christ will live in us; the more mortified we are, the more interior life we will have. Therefore, in the words of the Catechism of the Work, the faithful of Opus Dei cultivate a spirit of mortification and penance, with a smiling asceticism, as a means of uniting themselves to the redemptive Cross. In this way, mortification and penance are means of purification and of true and solid spiritual progress; they are a practical demonstration of love for Jesus Christ, âqui dilexit me et tradidit semetipsum pro meâ, who loved us and gave himself up on the Cross for each one of us; and finally, they are a preparation for all apostolate, and a means for the perfect carrying out of any apostolate.
Continuous mortification, like the beating of our hearts.
We are not insensitive to pain. We instinctively shy away from it, which means that there is the danger of letting ourselves be ruled by our inclination to comfort. This is what he have to fight against if we are to be faithful to our divine path.
We all have bad tendencies, which are the result of original sin. St Leo the Great writes: Even though the inner man is regenerated by Christ and freed from the bonds of slavery, he experiences frequent conflicts in his flesh and continuous struggle against concupiscence, which works to separate him from God. We must mortify these inclinations so that the life of grace becomes manifest in us. Our body and senses shouldnât be in control of us; rather, we must control them, with Godâs help, and train them to be at Godâs service. This is something that calls for continuous effort, because people who perform great acts of penance on some days and forget to mortify themselves on others donât have a spirit of mortification. A spirit of penance means overcoming ourselves every day, and offering things for love, in an unassuming way. It means self-sacrifice, and clean love, which seeks no applause.
Physical death occurs when the heart stops beating. Similarly, if there isnât the habit of mortification, supernatural life disappears. Mortification has to be continual, our Father says, like our heartbeat. Only then will we master ourselves and manage to treat those around us with the charity of Christ. The love that led our Lord to the Cross in order to save us will be the love we share in, if we are generous in our mortification.
Our desires for sacrifice will be expressed in a series of small mortifications.
We are so convinced of the need for mortification, and of how essential it is if we are to be effective, that there are a whole series of things laid down and established in this area. On our day on guard - that day when we are particularly vigilant and attentive to the sanctity of the others - we should offer God some special mortification, apart from all the other things we do. Then there is a daily mortification for the Father, and the one offered to our Lady. And those who are ill are encouraged to offer up their sufferings with love. Great stress is also laid on the importance of mortification for safeguarding holy purity and for the apostolate.
Let us consider whether we are being faithful and generous in putting into practice the various small mortifications we have fixed for ourselves. Is my life really one of self-surrender and sacrifice? Is it that of a mortified soul, a life like that of Christ, who gave us example by suffering so that we might follow in his footsteps? If not, then we can make the resolution to do something about it straight away. Let us feel the responsibility for the others in our family of the Work, and for the whole Church. My children, the Work has gone ahead through prayer and mortification. It began without any human resources. There was only youth, joy, determination, and the certainty of doing Godâs will, plus a great deal of prayer and penance.
That is how Opus Dei has grown, thanks to Godâs help and the sacrifices made by our Father and our first brothers. And that is how it will continue to grow, with Godâs help, if we try to overcome ourselves; if we deny ourselves; if we show the same generosity as St Paul, who wrote to the Christians at Corinth: I die every day, so determined was he to secure their salvation.
Closely united to our Blessed Lady, let us ask God to help us put our resolutions into practice. We beg you, Lord, that this offering may purify and renew us, and bring an eternal reward to those who do your will.