276. Twelfth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Meditations no. 262 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Natural virtues of the centurion at Capharnaum.

As he entered Capharnaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.”

This centurion was a man of vigorous character; he says to one soldier “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes. At the same time he had a big heart and loved the people around him, such as the servant who was now ill, and who was dear to him. He knew how to make himself both respected and loved, even by the people whose country his army was occupying: the Evangelist tells us that it was in fact the elders of the Jews of that neighbourhood who commended him to Jesus: He is worthy to have you do this for him. He was both bold and respectful himself; he came to Jesus to ask him for nothing less than a miracle, but did so with such exquisite tact that our Lord was moved. Although he was an officer in a great army he did not see himself as having any right to claim friendship with Christ: Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

This combination of good natural qualities delights Jesus, who is happy to grant the centurion’s plea. By contrast, there are many Christians who follow Christ and are astonished by his divinity, but forget him as Man. And they fail in the practice of supernatural virtues, despite all the external paraphernalia of piety, because they do nothing to acquire human virtues.

This is something the Gospel of today’s Mass teaches us: that we must be very human in order to be capable of being divine, in the likeness of Christ, who is perfect God and perfect Man.

I give you thanks, my Jesus, for your decision to become perfect Man, with a Heart which loved and is most lovable; which loved unto death and suffered; which was filled with joy and sorrow; which delighted in the things of men and showed us the way to Heaven; which subjected itself heroically to duty and acted with mercy; which watched over the poor and the rich and cared for sinners and the just

I give you thanks, my Jesus. Give us hearts to measure up to Yours!

Using human means in a spirit of faith.

The centurion’s impressive array of virtues and good qualities was crowned by his faith, the strongest faith that our Lord had met up till then in his journeys through Palestine. It was his faith, a faith permeated by love for his neighbour - his sick servant - which obtained a dramatic miracle from Christ. Now, too, our Lord wants to heal many souls along the pathways of the world, but he needs friends whose faith is steadfast and total, friends who, in the simplicity of their heart, will ask him to work marvels.

In order to carry out his Work on earth, our Lord normally depends on our efforts and our work. To fold our arms and wait for God to do everything while we contributed nothing at all, would be either laziness or presumption. We are not “charismatics”, nor “miracle-workers”, although we do believe in God’s charisms and in miracles. We are workers in the vineyard, little donkeys at the water-wheel, and we labour every day from sunrise to sunset to bring water out to our field, by dint of our own efforts, working with all our strength.

The danger of works that are not vivified by interior life is something that has often been stressed, our Father reminds us, but people should also talk about the danger of interior life without works, if such a thing could even exist.

“Love means deeds, not sweet words.” I can never recall this loving reproach without being moved once more. It was a “divine complaint” that our Lord engraved clearly, in letters of fire, on the soul of a certain poor priest many years ago, as he was giving Holy Communion to some nuns, and saying to Jesus silently in his heart: “I love you more than these do.”

We have to get moving, my children; we have to get things done. With courage, energy and joy, because love casts out fear, with daring, without hesitation … You have to avoid both the attitude of the foolhardy who think everything is easy because they trust too much in themselves; and the attitude of the timid, who see insuperable difficulties everywhere because they lack self-confidence.

But don’t forget that if we want, everything works out well: Deus non denegat gratiam; God does not deny his help to those who are doing their best.

While we apply the means we have available, we must realize at the same time that we are God’s instruments, nothing more; and that, in the words of Scripture, the works of the Lord alone are wonderful. We have to rely on God’s power and his help, as we obtain and use the means that are most suitable for our purpose. With that sort of faith, we will be able to overcome obstacles that would otherwise be insuperable. Even though we may at some stage find ourselves in total want, with nothing human to fall back on, and devoid of personal ability, our faith will lend us sure hope. It is that same faith that moves mountains and made the Work possible; the same unshakeable faith as the centurion had, which draws down God’s omnipotence and brings about miracles. At such times we should put aside strictly human calculations, and trust fully in God. You feel a gigantic faith… - He who gives you that faith, will give you the means.

Faith has to be shown in resolute, supernatural obedience.

Our path is not that of martyrs - though if martyrdom comes, we will receive it as a treasure - but that of confessors of the faith; confessing our faith, showing forth our faith in our daily life.

Our faith gives us the strength to follow the path we are directed along in the Work. For us, God’s Will is always clear and transparent. We know it down to the smallest details, because the spirit of the Work and the help of our Directors make known what our Lord is asking of us at every moment. It is in the fulfilment of God’s Will, and in joyful and total obedience, that our spirit of supernatural, operative faith has to be shown.

Our faith gives us the vigour to undertake the most difficult projects in the service of God and his Work -provided, of course, that it truly is God’s Will that we should undertake those projects: that is where we need to allow ourselves to be guided by the Directors. And when we are asked to give our opinion, we have to give it conscientiously and loyally, ready and willing to accept a decision that is the opposite of what we think, in the heartfelt conviction that that is what is best, because God wants our obedience, and therefore we need to place all our resources and all our talents at his service.

Grow in faith when you find obstacles in yourself or in other people. See how the centurion acts in St Luke’s narrative: When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.”

Difficulties and obstacles disappear as soon as we get in contact with God in prayer.

We have to have operative faith in fulfilling our apostolic task, which is the portion of the whole apostolate that has been allotted to us. Whether it is a specific job, directing some of our brothers or sisters, or working in a corporate apostolate, our spirit of faith, our sense of responsibility and our careful obedience, will guarantee the supernatural success of our work, which is the only thing that counts.

The centurion’s faith was admirable, and it was rewarded by the cure of his servant. Still more admirable is our Lady’s faith. Her cousin Elizabeth calls her “blessed” for having believed the archangel’s message. Through our Mother’s intercession we ask our Lord, as the Apostles did: Adauge nobis fidem! - Increase our faith!