256. Tenth Thursday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 246 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Being united in Jesus Christ, sharing his feelings.
Omnes unanimes in oratione estote, compatientes, fraternitatis amatores, misericordes, modesti, humiles; be all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble. The Apostle St Peter addresses these words to the whole family of Christians. We can apply them in a special way to our own lives as Godâs children in his Work.
Unanimes in oratione, be of one mind: united in prayer. Prayer must come first: it should be for the soul what breathing is for the body. United in prayer: Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we pray every day. This is what unites us. We are a family bound by supernatural ties, in which Jesusâ words are fulfilled: ecce mater mea et fratres mei: quicumque fecerit voluntatem Patris mei qui in caelis est, ipse meus frater et soror et mater est. Here are my mother and my brethren. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.
We have received a divine vocation to carry out the Work of God, and it is this shared vocation that unites us. This is why we come together to pray. Every morning we gather around the tabernacle, and raise our hearts to God with the same wishes and desires. It is the first thing we do as a family. Our thoughts are centred on God, as we prepare for another dayâs struggle in the service of the kingdom of heaven. And our brothers and sisters all over the world are with us too, because the whole of Opus Dei is a home: one single home with one single cooking pot.
And we are compatientes, compassionate and sympathetic towards everyone, helping them in their struggles, united in sacrifice. We may not be literally beside them all the time, but nothing that matters to our brothers or sisters leaves us indifferent. We all share joys and sorrows, happiness and setbacks; we share our struggles and our concerns; our zeal for proselytism, and our eagerness to set Christ at the summit of all human activities.
This is how we give practical expression to Jesus Christâs command, which todayâs liturgy puts before us in the Alleluia verse: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
This unity of hearts makes fraternity and mutual understanding much easier.
Fraternitatis amatores, lovers of the brotherhood, lovers of our fraternity. One and the same outlook, our Father says, one same sacrifice, the strength of our life. Fraternity, in which the human and the supernatural meet, because we are united by human affection too. With exquisite charity, which is characteristic of the Work of God, we help one another to live and love our own sanctity and everyone elseâs. And we feel strong with the strength of playing-cards which canât stand up alone, but by leaning on one another can be built up into a castle. That help, the proof of fraternity, must be done very delicately, so that if possible the person concerned doesnât even realize he or she is being helped. But God sees it all from heaven.
As long as we are united by charity, close as a cluster of grapes or the scales of a pine-cone, so that nothing weakens the supernatural ties that hold us together, the Work will continue onward like an army in battle array, firm and effective in the service of souls. Everything we do for one another, fraternal correction, self-giving in family life, should be a manifestation of fraternity and love for the Work.
And this fraternal union will not be upset by the defects we all have. Misericordes, merciful, St Peter adds. We have to be able to understand and forgive. When people live together, character defects are easily noticed. And we have to be warm-hearted and always ready to trust the others in spite of their weaknesses, overlooking their failings with human and supernatural grace, just as they overlook ours. Our Lord makes this point in no uncertain terms, in the Gospel of todayâs Mass: Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the Council, and whoever says âYou fool!â shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
We have to give fraternal corrections with loving care, pointing things out to people without crushing them. We are not impatient critics but their brother or sister, whom they can always turn to for understanding, help, and encouragement. One manifestation of the sensitivity which I am telling you about is the care my children take to show special affection for their older brothers or sisters. They can learn so much from them, and they feel veneration and gratitude towards them, and take care of the elementary details of precedence and respect. That is only proper, and itâs the least we can do to honour them.
Being humble and self-effacing in family life.
Modesti, humiles. Modest and humble. Modesty, in the sense of moderation and measure, a virtue that tempers and gives tone to our behaviour. Humility, which leads us to be concerned about other people and forget about ourselves. These virtues together form the basis for our living as a family, and for the sensitivity and the âgive-and-takeâ that make family life so lovable.
In all your actions and speech may your mind remain moderate and calm, says St Jerome. Moderation means that in family life we avoid attracting attention to ourselves, exaggerating, being demanding, or in any way overdoing things. If we are speaking, we learn how to give an opinion without attaching too much importance to it; and how to keep quiet and pay attention to what other people have to say. Our get-togethers have to have a family tone to them, a tone of calm conversation, avoiding even the appearance of arguing. This then means that the right sort of human and supernatural atmosphere can develop as it should. We need moderation in our speech, and we need to be aware of the consequences of the things we say. Think beforehand about what you are going to say, and make sure that you donât say more than you intended to, St Jerome advises, so that you never have occasion to regret something you said. In this way we will help make the get-togethers into a rest from work and a way of helping everyone to live consciously in Godâs presence.
Humiles, humble. We have plenty of opportunities to practise this virtue in our relations with our brothers or sisters. Humility will move us to treat them with thoughtfulness and attention, and put ourselves last, whenever we can. In Opus Dei there is no room for selfish types. Make the effort to serve others really and truly. This desire to serve will help prune your ego of anything superfluous, and you will end up becoming ipse Christus, Christ himself. Because Christ, who is the fullness of charity, spent himself in continuous service to others. That way the assignments you carry out will be his, and you wonât get swallowed up by selfish little concerns.
Our Lady is a model we can contemplate to see what our family life should be like. She will teach us to bring homely warmth and cordiality into our daily relations with one another, as our Founder wanted for all our homes.