330. Eighteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 304 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Faith is the foundation of the supernatural life.
When they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, âLord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him. Jesus cures the possessed boy, and when his disciples ask him why they failed to do so-âWhy could we not cast it out?â - he makes use of the miracle to get a very clear point across. He said to them, âBecause of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move hence to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.â
Jesus looks for faith as a pre-condition for his miracles. The same is true today. St Augustine says that the medicine to cure all ills, and the only means given to mankind to make atonement for sin, is faith in Christ ⌠Faith places us in communion with Him who committed no sin and in whom no guile was to be found.
To believe in him is to become a child of God, of whom we are born by the grace of adoption, bound to faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Second Vatican Council teaches us that only the light of faith and meditation on the Word of God can enable us to find always and everywhere the God âin whom we live and move and have our beingâ; only thus can we seek his Will in everything, see Christ in all, whether acquaintances or strangers, and make sound judgements on the true meaning and value of earthly things.
Faith gives us the true measure of the things of this earth, of people and events. Everything makes sense when viewed in the context of the divine plan. Seeing things from the supernatural point of view (which in the last analysis is the only truly objective viewpoint), we can ask ourselves with St Augustine: What is the whole world worth? What is the ocean worth? What is the sky worth? What are the stars worth? What is the sun worth? What is the moon worth? What is the host of Angels worth? It is for the Creator of all those things that I long, that I hunger, that I thirst.
Our Father says: There are only two possible ways of living on this earth: either we live a supernatural life, or else an animal life. And a child of God in the Work can only live the life of God, a supernatural life. Quid prodest? What does it profit someone to have all the riches of the earth, all the extravagances of a satiated heart, all the aspirations of mind and will? What is it worth if it all comes to an end, if it all crumbles away, if everything in this world is mere stage scenery, if afterwards there is eternity for ever, for ever, for ever?
Faith, hope and charity all grow together.
The three theological virtues grow together. Our Founder said to us on one occasion: Let us grow in hope, thereby strengthening our faith which is truly that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see. Let us grow in this virtue, let us beg our Lord to increase his charity in us; after all, one can only really trust that which one loves with all oneâs might. And it is certainly worthwhile to love our Lord. You and I know from experience that people in love surrender themselves unhesitatingly. Their hearts beat in a wonderful unison, with a singly love. What then will the Love of God be like? Do you not realize that Christ has died for each and every one of us? Yes, for this poor little heart of ours, Jesus consummated his redeeming sacrifice.
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Charity unites us with God now, and will unite us with him definitively in heaven, when the vision and possession of God will replace faith and hope.
Will we have faith when we get to heaven? asks St Augustine. Certainly not. We shall see God and contemplate him. âDearly beloved: we are children of God,â predestined, called, justified; âwe are Godâs children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be.â It is faith while it does not appear what we shall be. âWe know that when he appears we shall be like him.â Will that be because we will believe? No. Why is it, then? âFor we shall see him as he is.â
And hope? Will there be hope in heaven? There will be no hope once the reality has arrived. Hope is necessary to the pilgrim: it alleviates the journey, because the wayfarer, wearied by the journey, puts up with his tiredness in the hope of reaching the end. Were he ever to lose hope of arriving, at that very same instant his strength would fail him âŚ
And charity, will that disappear too? If we already love without seeing, how will we not love when we see and contemplate? Charity, therefore, will subsist and will be perfect, as the Apostle says: âfaith, hope and charity; the greatest of these is charity.â Preserving this charity and nourishing it in our hearts, persevering in it, assured by Godâs grace, we can say: âWho can separate us from the love of Christ?â
For our faith to be able to produce fruits of eternal life, we have to follow the advice of our Father, who tells us: My daughter, my son, you canât lag behind. With the faith God gives you (donât forget it is a supernatural virtue), and which you try to nourish with your response, you will keep this outlook - for ever!
Men lie when they say âfor everâ in temporal affairs. It is only completely true when referring to the next life; and that is how you have to live, with a faith which makes you taste the honey of heavenly sweetness, when thinking about heaven, which is indeed for ever.
And your flesh? No, it will rot away. Your ambitions? No, theyâre too small. Your selfishness? No, itâs worthless. You have to serve God and love him, in faith, for ever!
The theological virtues should be exercised in everyday life.
Faith makes us progress in the divine truths and look at things with Godâs eyes; hope makes us strive cheerfully for holiness, knowing that God himself is the reward; charily makes us love God above all things, and souls for the sake of God. All this divine life has to be expressed in our ordinary everyday activity.
Acts of Faith, Hope and Love are valves to expand the fire of those souls who live the life of God. They are like a continual surge, identifying us with Christ. As our Father puts it, when we work according to our spirit, we practise the theological virtues that crown Christian life.
Through this constant dialogue with the Blessed Trinity dwelling in the centre of the soul -contemplative life - we give expression to our faith. By persevering in our work we practise the virtue of hope: semper scientes quod labor vester non est inanis in Domino: knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. When we strive to imbue all our actions with Godâs love, and generously serve all men and women, who are our brothers and sisters, we are practising the virtue of charity.
The spiritual life is not separate from ordinary life. All our activities need to be filled with faith, hope and charity. I donât have any other recipe for effectiveness, our Father told us, than the one the first Christians had. There isnât any other, my children. The world has progressed greatly in many respects⌠Itâs wonderful to see how God helps the human mind in all its scientific research, which necessarily has to lead to God, because if it is true, thatâs where it leads. We now have means which our parents at the turn of the century didnât have, nor our grandparents in the last century eitherâŚ
What changes have taken place between then and now! And nevertheless, in the spiritual life we have the same means as they did: in this at least there is no scope for further progress. The same recipe: personal holiness! There isnât any other. Ascetical struggle! Strive to practise what some people believe to be theory to be written about, and not the life of our life. Live by faith in Christ. Hope! Hope in effectiveness in spite of our failings, and in the love which awaits us. And finally, love moves us too! In the contemplative life of Godâs children in his Opus Dei, the theological virtues are all closely intertwined and effective.
Sancta Maria, Mater Pulchrae Dilectionis, Spes nostra, Virgo fidelis, ora pro nobis! Holy Mary, Mother of fair love, Virgin most faithful, pray for us!