325. Eighteenth Monday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 299 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Our vocation is essentially apostolic: we live for the multitude.
We have often contemplated how Jesus and his disciples would withdraw somewhere in order to pray. On one such occasion our Lord sought an isolated place far from the crowds, where he could rest and instruct his disciples in friendly, intimate conversation.
My children, the Lord Jesus has his eyes and his heart set on the great mass of mankind. And we are the same: that is our vocation. From time to time we withdraw to the boat or we climb a mountain, but always for the sake of the multitude: there is not a single soul we do not love, or try to help and understand. We are interested in all people because they all have souls to save. We are like an intravenous injection in the bloodstream of society.
That day, when they reached their destination, they found a great crowd ahead of them. Jesusā heart was moved on seeing all those people, because they were wandering around like sheep without a shepherd. St Matthew tells us that he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.
Our Lord has a solution for the ills of those who strive to follow him. He often cures their diseases, and he always gives them the doctrine they need to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and to be happy.
Like Christ we too exist for the crowd: we donāt live a sheltered existence, we dwell in full view of the multitude, and we have these words of our Lord Jesus engraved on our souls: I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. We want to get to everybody in order to offer them - above all else -faith, hope and love, grace and doctrine, peace and joy, salvation.
At the present time, just as in former centuries and in the not too distant past, we often encounter cases of profound religious ignorance which demand of us a deep and constant doctrinal apostolate, and not just among the pagans of our time, but even among a significant number of people who would be offended if we didnāt describe them as Catholics.
Donāt you see? Our great mission is to teach and spread doctrine. Thatās what the great apostolate of Opus Dei is all about: revealing to the multitude the path that leads straight to God.
To fulfil our mission we need to trust in God and desire to be good instruments.
That evening beside the sea of Tiberias, as long as they were in Jesusā company nobody thought of how tired they were, or how long they had been fasting, or that they were in a lonely place very far from the nearest village. Jesusā presence had captivated them completely. Our Lord, though, was conscious of the bodily needs of those who, for one reason or another, had come to seek him, and he had compassion on them in their tiredness. He said to his disciples: You give them something to eat. The Apostles gathered together all that they could, and said to him: We have only five loaves here and two fish, It didnāt amount to much, but for Jesus it doesnāt matter whether it is little or much; his almighty power can take care of that. All he wanted was for them to put their trust in him.
Apostolate and proselytism are so directly supernatural, so divine, that only God can carry them through successfully. But this is something he is always willing to do; all he asks of us is a cooperation full of faith, conscious that we are only instruments but determined to use every means at our disposal. To us too, Jesus repeats his invitation: You give them something to eat.
We have no alternative but to work, in the service of all souls. Anything else would be selfishness. If we look at ourselves humbly, we will see clearly that, in addition to his gift of faith, our Lord has also granted us a number of talents and qualities. None of us has been mass-produced. God our Father has created each of us one by one, and shared out different goods among his children. It is up to us to use these talents, these qualities, in the service of all. We are called to use the gifts God has given us as instruments to help others discover Christ.
We canāt just wait for people to come along; we canāt be detached and aloof, like a bad teacher who is not really interested in the pupils. We have to go out to people and anticipate their needs. Christ, our Father says, expects a lot from your work. But you will have to look for souls, as the Good Shepherd went after the hundredth sheep: without waiting to be called. Then make use of your friends to do good to others. Tell each one of them that nobody can feel at ease with a spiritual life which, after filling him, does not overflow with apostolic zeal. Apostolic dedication of this sort requires us to sacrifice everything we have: When you really trample on your own self and live for others you will become a good instrument in Godās hands.
He called - and is calling - his disciples, commanding them ut eatis - āGo and seek all menā.
This complete self-giving makes our work truly effective and enables us to bring people to Christ at every moment of our lives.
Apostolate through fulfilling our duties.
The apostolic concern which burns in the heart of ordinary Christians is not something separate from their everyday work. It is part and parcel of oneās work, which becomes a source of opportunities for meeting Christ As we work at our job, side by side with our colleagues, friends and relatives and sharing their interests, we can help them come closer to Christ who awaits us ā¦
What has changed? There is a change inside our soulā¦ Its horizon has opened wider. It feels a greater ambition to serve, and an irrepressible desire to tell all creation about the magnalia Dei, the marvellous doings of our Lord, if only we let him work.
The fulfilment of our ordinary duties is the way we attract others. Besides, our Father asks, who ever said that to speak about Christ and to spread his doctrine, you need to do anything unusual or remarkable? Just live your ordinary life; work at your job, trying to fulfil the duties of your state in life, doing your job, your professional work properly, improving, getting better each day. Be loyal; be understanding with others and demanding on yourself. Be mortified and cheerful. This will be your apostolate. Then, though you wonāt see why, because youāre very aware of your own wretchedness, you will find that people come to you. Then you can talk to them, quite simply and naturally - on your way home from work, for instance, or in a family gathering, on a bus, walking down the street, anywhere. You will chat about the sort of longings that everyone feels deep down in his soul, even though some people may not want to pay attention to them: they will come to understand them better, when they begin to look for God in earnest.
We have it in our power to facilitate Jesusā work, or to obstruct it. This is what moves us to beseech our Lord over and over again, Jesus, souls!ā¦ Apostolic souls! Whenever we perform some act of self-denial, whenever we fulfil the plan of life lovingly and do our ordinary work well, whenever we strive to carry out our professional and social duties conscientiously and supernaturally, then we are smoothing the path of Godās work and being co-redeemers. We are supplying the two fishes and the loaves which our Lord wishes to use.
It is through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, that we assure our effectiveness. Like the Apostles, we shall see with astonishment how our longings for holiness and apostolate multiply and give abundant fruit in our hands, and satisfy mankindās hunger for supernatural life. Ask Mary, Regina Apostolorum, Queen of the Apostles, to help you make up your mind to share the desires of sowing and fishing that fill the Heart of her Son. I assure you that if you begin, you will see the boat filled, just like the fishermen from Galilee did.