308. Sixteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Meditations no. 286 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Obedience is an essential virtue, and is based on humility.

As Jesus was speaking to the people, his mother and his brethren stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” And he added: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

This statement seems at first sight somewhat negative, but in fact, by it Jesus is giving us the real reason for our Lady’s peerless dignity. It was a compliment to his Mother on her fiat, her “be it done”. She lived it sincerely, unstintingly, fulfilling its every consequence. It is not the bonds of flesh and blood which, on their own, bring about union with Christ, but rather the prompt readiness to respond to what God asks of us.

If we are to identify our will with God’s Will we need to be humble. It is only when we realize how little we are worth that we are capable of surrendering our will and uniting it to God’s. Humility and obedience are virtues which go hand in hand in the Christian life. The spirit of obedience is not possible in a soul which is dominated by self-love. Proud people are incapable of obeying: indeed, they don’t even know how to. Since they consider themselves superior to others and don’t see their own limitations, they accept no will other than their own. They think their own judgement is perfect, and therefore cannot be improved on.

But proud people don’t always flatly reject what they are asked. Sometimes, under the guise of false humility, they may seem to accept something, but in reality it finds no place in their heart: they subject it to constant criticism, and place restrictions on what they can be asked to do, thereby sealing off areas of their lives to which no one has access.

How badly people in general obey sometimes… ! What a pity! They have to query everything. Even in a life that has been given to God, there are some people for whom everything is a matter for discussion: as to whether a superior may command this, or command that; whether they can command here or command there… In Opus Dei we know that anything - with the greatest respect for the personal freedom we have in political and professional matters - can be asked of us, as long as it is not an offence against God.

Only humility can get us to see that man is not the ultimate end of his own actions. Only humble people feel subject to a higher arbiter, one who is beyond them and to whom they must adjust their lives. Humility is the foundation on which obedience is built; and it is essential if the interior life is to flourish and bear fruit in apostolate. We can learn from Christ’s own example: for thirty years he lived a hidden life which was a model of humility and obedience. In the passage of the Gospel we have just read, he praises his Mother’s fiat, “be it done”. When he speaks of those who love him he does so in terms of obedience, of identification with another’s will - God’s Will - which they make their own. This is the pathway that leads us deep into true interior life and makes us effective. If my children are saintly and humble, they will be effective wherever they go. The more humble they are the more effective they will be. We haven’t come to the Work to give orders but to obey.

Humble obedience is indispensable if we are to be receptive to the formation the Work gives us.

If a man loves me, he will keep my word. Our life in the Work leads us to seek the fullness of Christian life in the world and to do apostolate. To reach that goal we need to receive formation and to acquire the virtues required for Christian living. Nobody is born knowing things, either earthly things or those of the spirit. This is why the Work has to give us a thorough formation, one which lasts all our life. And for that we also need humility and obedience: two conditions which are indispensable in order to receive the doctrine, my spirit, our Father said to us, which God has given me to hand on to you.

Humility and docility spring from self-knowledge; they allow the action of grace to permeate into the soul, and this enables the good seed to germinate. Pride, on the other hand, spawns a critical spirit which is never at rest. It hinders the soul from making use of the means of formation and turns it into a wasteland, incapable of bearing fruit. Our Father warns us about this danger: Those who lose the supernatural perspective of their vocation can only be at peace (a peace that does not come from God) by consenting to a critical attitude that deprives them of their objectivity, their peace and their joy.

Humility prepares the ground and creates the climate in which formation can develop as it should. But only continuous supernatural obedience, which requires generous detachment from one’s own will, makes the work of formation truly possible. Obstacles to the action of grace have to be removed. One has to place oneself, like a child, in the hands of the Directors: Amen dico vobis, nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli… (Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children… ). You should become like little children, our Father suggests to us, putting aside your pride and accepting joyfully whatever your Directors tell you. You should deepen your understanding of our teaching and store up the fullness of our spirit, which comes from God, so that afterwards, from your abundance, you can hand it on to others …

Nisi efficiamini sicut parvuli (unless you turn and become like children). Would you like now to examine your conscience a little? Do you cling to your own opinion in things of little importance, and in bigger matters too? And what about silly worries, those worries which have their origin in pride and which prevent you from taking on board the doctrine you have received? Those worries rob you of the spirit of Christ, and also your peace and your joy, the holy peace that comes from God, and the joy that is a consequence of self-giving. Make specific resolutions to be humble before God and before your Directors, who represent God. Willingly give up your own opinion, and open wide the doors of your heart to welcome the teachings you are given. Only in this way can we incorporate the spirit of the Work fully into our lives; only in this way can we be effective.

The formation we receive in the Work leads us to obey freely.

Obedience rendered to those who are in charge, St Bernard tells us, is rendered to God himself. And that is why when a human person commands on God’s behalf, we must carry out the command with as much submission as if God himself had commanded it. When we are convinced of this we will be keen to bestow the greatest care on everything we have been asked to do, down to the smallest detail, because in matters of obedience there is nothing trivial or unimportant.

Humility prepares the soul to obey, making it sensitive to even the slightest hint from those in charge. A humble person is always ready to obey, and sees the Will of God in the will of those who govern. Such a person also tries to carry out the command received as soon as possible. Humility fills the heart with joy; it does not look for excuses, which are so easy to find! While we submit humbly to the voice of another, St Gregory says, we overcome ourselves in our hearts.

The formation we receive in the Work helps us to grow in spiritual freedom, so that law can become part of life, and action is not the result of coercion but the expression of a guiding spirit Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for “He who through faith is righteous shall live”. That is why I have so often said to you that our obedience is that of living beings: all I can do with corpses is to have them buried.

We have to respond freely - because we really want to - to the things God asks of us through our Directors. Our Father tells us: If you agree to let God take command of your boat, if you let him be the master, how safe you will be!… even when he seems to have gone away, to have fallen asleep, to be unconcerned; even though a storm is rising and it’s pitch dark all around … If we give ourselves to him, he will give himself to us. We must trust the Master completely, place ourselves unreservedly in his hands, and show him by our actions that the boat is his, that we want him to do as he pleases with all we possess.

In the Work we obey freely and take responsibility for the things we are asked to do. We submit our will with docility but intelligently too, with love and a sense of responsibility which has nothing to do with judging those who govern and direct you.

Our Mother Mary offers us an example of obedience which is complete and perfectly humble. She helps us learn to be humbly obedient. And this obedience will bring abundant fruits to our interior life and apostolate.