353. Twenty-first Tuesday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 321 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Being responsible as required by our vocation.
St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
We too feel the responsibility to respond with complete fidelity to all we have received from God. Through his Incarnation, Passion, and glorious Resurrection, our Lord has opened up for us the gates to the life of grace, which is infinitely greater than any natural way of existing. Such divine generosity fills us with confidence, to overcome what is mortal in us and respond to the new graces bestowed.
As part of his salvific will, God, through his mercy, grants his gifts especially to some souls, who are called to be co-redeemers from a new standpoint. You did not choose me, Christ says, but I chose you and have appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide. God shows particular care and favour in looking after those who are faith fill to this calling, and is attentive to everything that happens to them. Christ himself is the Good Shepherd, and says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
We should therefore have great confidence that God will not fail to carry out his part in the divine plan he decided for us before we were born, before the world was created. But we should not forget that his loving care for each of us should be a new incentive for our loyal response. As Jesus also says: Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much, they will demand the more.
To be faithful instruments we need to look after our interior life.
In 1973 our Father said: My children, lately I have been especially concerned that all of you, and I myself, should realize that we are not only âofâ Opus Dei, possessing its spirit and substance, but that we are âinâ Opus Dei, which means that God wants to give us his grace right up to the hour of our final perseverance.
My children, I am âinâ Opus Dei to such an extent that I canât imagine my life outside this family; so firmly, that I reject any temptation or insinuation to lessen my dedication even minimally. Ever since God called me to the Work, I have sought - as I have a duty to do - to be firmly secured in my vocation, like a solid bolt with both nut and lock-nut. That is no mere figure of speech, but a graphic image of my real situation.
But without interior life, my children, we are neither of nor in Opus Dei. Therefore we need to develop a filial relationship with Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, and with St Joseph, who is so close to us, Patron of the interior life and Patron of our family. For with him we go to Mary, the most perfect of created beings. And through Mary and Joseph, we reach Jesus.
How important, how indispensable it is to keep them in mind at every turn, to contemplate Jesusâ passage on earth, the steps of Mary and Joseph. We have to seek them out, so as to tread in their footsteps. Itâs not so difficult, my children, to persevere in our determination to maintain an inner dialogue with the âearthly trinityâ.
Perhaps some of you have found it hard to do so. Itâs true: sometimes, some days, it is hard. If no effort were required, there would be no merit. But although we know we have to struggle, we can also say that it isnât all that difficult. For struggle creates a habit, a virtue, that makes subsequent acts of piety easier. Besides, by doing our Norms and Customs with our characteristic spirit of divine filiation, almost without realizing it we are reliving each of the scenes in Jesusâ life, the few we know about Mary, and the still fewer the Gospels relate about St Joseph. Therefore the biggest threat to interior life is to get discouraged if for a day or two nothing comes to mind, we donât know what to say and we stop trying to live with Mary and Joseph.
We have to be of Opus Dei, we have to be in Opus Dei, we have to âliveâ Opus Dei. To neglect the pious practices which are normal in the life of a member of the Work; to fail to give due importance to the periods of meditation and that continual prayer throughout the day which is presence of God; to let our heartbeat languish, to lose the pulse of mortification, to let our apostolic fervour cool down; to give in foolishly to laziness: all of that would end up making our life aimless, pointless, and meaningless.
Trusting, dedicated prayer fills our interior life with peace.
The spirit of Opus Dei, our Founder continued, leads us to the extraordinary through the ordinary; it spurs us constantly to seek out the âearthly trinityâ, and so be led to the Trinity in heaven. In a word, it leads us to a life of love.
If this were not the case, our âbeingâ in Opus Dei wouldnât make sense. We have to be vigilant so that we donât become bureaucrats, unable to love, to maintain a tender conversation which cannot - which should not - express itself out loud. Either we love God in this way, seeking a constant relationship with him, or weâll truly become useless servants.
So many things depend on us! âBut weâre really putting our minds into itâŚâ Agreed. âAnd we feel capable of committing the worst evilsâŚâ Yes, I know. âBut we detest mortal sinâŚâ Yes, but in addition to our hatred for grave sin there has to be abhorrence for all deliberate venial sin as well.
I canât understand how a child of mine could be indifferent about appearing in Godâs sight stained from head to toe, while knowing that love purifies. Thatâs why we have contrition, Communion, confession, the fraternal chat, and so many ways of making reparation.
When faced with anything - and notice I say âanythingâ, because Love makes everything important - our soul will make a heartfelt cry; a cry that wonât be heard on earth, but which reaches up to heaven. Thus we unite ourselves to the Mother of God and her spouse, St Joseph. And we will see the need to go to God the Father through Jesus, and with the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit. Now the whole family is present!
Then, my children, you will put more care into your everyday activities and into those human ties that we have no reason to shun: affection for our own families - love them a great deal - and for our friends; for those who are not so friendly; for those who are on the opposite side: opposite Christ, for they canât be opposite Opus Dei. We place ourselves at their side when going to the Trinity in heaven and the âearthly trinityâ.
My children, what should we do to be truly effective? We should have true interior life, even when it may seem at times as though we are putting on an act. We are to play the juggler before God, just like the monk in the medieval legend. He saw that his brother-monks were full of talents and virtues, but all that this monk could do were the handstands and somersaults that had previously earned him a living. One night he went to the church, removed his habit, and revealed a colourful jugglerâs outfit. He performed his repertoire of acts saying, âLord, this is for you!â And after many years of amusing God with this remarkable prayer, he was discovered by the abbot at one of his performances. But the abbot didnât say anything. He understood that the monk was praying as best he could.
My children, never give up praying. You are young and probably donât wake up often at night. But should this happen, say right away some heartfelt aspiration like Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love! Or Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation! Say whatever you want to, but put your heart into it.
My daughters and sons, I advise you to renew often a specific resolution to avoid what has been the undoing of so many souls: ceasing to pray, ceasing to be contemplative. Live in Godâs presence as best you can - by dint of sheer stubbornness, if that is all that God grants you! When we do all we can, God will surely hear us.
Our Lady will make our prayer effective, if we constantly seek her help in our daily struggle. She will obtain, I can assure you, the strength for you to turn your task into a loving dialogue with God.