427. Twenty-ninth Thursday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 379 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
The goal of our vocation is to sanctify ourselves sanctifying others
Christâs words in todayâs Gospel have special resonance for all of us. I came to cast fire upon the earth, our Lord exclaims, and would that it were already kindled! Our Founder taught us to make these words flesh of our flesh, as a constant spur to our apostolic zeal.
For years, he wrote in 1959, I found my love for God enkindled by considering Jesusâ zeal to set the world ablaze with his fire. I couldnât contain the irrepressible ardour that welled up within me, making me cry out with the very words of the Master: Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur?⌠Ecce ego quia vocasti me! Iâve come to set fire to the earth and what will I but that it be enkindled?⌠Here I am, for you have called me!
In the Work, we are well aware that no one can sanctify himself or herself without a real concern for sanctifying others. And for us this means winning new apostles. Whoever has the word of wisdom, St Gregory taught, but does not want to use it for the good of his neighbour, is like the person who puts his money into a purse and then keeps it permanently closed. Wherefore it is written: âHidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?â
Our vocation is a promise of unending happiness, which hinges on our fidelity in corresponding with grace. But there is no fidelity that is not proselytistic. Any son or daughter of mine who is not proselytistic, our Father wrote, is doing badly. Something inside is not going well. For everyone who truly loves their way is ambitious to bring others to share in their happiness, because good is diffusive. Poor son or daughter of mine who is not eager to bring other souls to the Work! Our Founder stressed: My children, when anyone has something good, when they are happy, when they know they are fortunate, they strive to share that blessing and joy with others. Thus we have an imperative duty to do proselytism, to pass on our divine gift, and to do what we can so that there may be other souls serving the Lord in Opus Dei.
This zeal should lead us to live with a holy restlessness. And since Godâs grace is never lacking, it is ordinarily shown by winning new vocations. We need to speak frequently about this topic in the chat, examine ourselves nightly regarding it, and consider it often in our prayer. In the course of your life, our Father wrote, how many of your friendsâ hearts you can set ablaze!
Arenât you saddened to see so many restless young people around you searching vainly for an ideal? Shout to them: âFools! Leave those petty things that shrink the heart⌠and very often degrade it. Leave all that and come with us in search of Love!â
Sincere concern for all souls.
Our desire to identify ourselves with Christ leads us to feel responsible for the salvation of all souls. We canât limit ourselves to helping just one person or a few people to seek sanctity, with false excuses that would denote feeble love. When we are truly concerned for everyone to be saved, we find a way to reach many souls. The cry of countless anguished voices reaches us, clamouring from the darkness of their lives for a worthwhile ideal. How many people who cross our path await only an encouraging word, a kind look or our clear example, in order to resolve to love God above all things and serve others for God! As our Father stressed: Not a single soul - not one - can be a matter of indifference to you.
Just as one burning ember can ignite a fire, so every new vocation is a promise of many more to come. The vocation to the Work is a flame that must spread, turning our lives and the lives of those around us into an ever-burning ember. This is the personal apostolate that each member of Opus Dei seeks to carry out continually, as though always hearing those divine words: Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo nisi ut accendatur? I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
The desire to set the earth ablaze with Christâs fire makes my children propagators, missionaries of Christian perfection in the midst of temporal tasks. And their apostolic zeal leads them to draw vocations to the Work, or at least to help others to arise from the death of sin, to awaken from the torpor of lukewarmness, to lift themselves from mediocrity.
This apostolic concern should shape our whole life. The sight of a world straying from God has to be a constant spur for us. Our task is immense and pressing: we are called to restore Christian meaning to the lives of so many people who impatiently await a friendâs conversation, full of supernatural outlook. When, as happens to everyone, the moment comes for them to sense more deeply their need to grasp the divine meaning of their daily lives, we have to be at hand to guide them.
Our life, in sum, is to be mediators between God and others by our identification with Christ. If we live in this way, weâll bring back joy to countless people and guide them on the path to salvation. But everything depends on our falling more and more in love with our Lord, identifying ourselves with him. Bringing Christ to souls and souls to Christ should be the meaning of our lives as children of God in Opus Dei. All the rest is worthless, and we get rid of it so as not to distort the brightness of the divine message.
Faith when doing proselytism.
We have to seek new vocations, because we are âChrist who is passing byâ on the pathways frequented by all men and women. Jesus, the Son of God, is present in our lives by his power and grace. We share his concern to reach so many souls who still donât know him. Therefore we need vocations, many vocations. Our Lord never ceases to call all men and women: Ecce sto ad ostium et pulso: si quis audierit vocem meam et aperuerit mihi ianuam, intrabo ad illum et cenabo cum illo, et ipse mecum: behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Bring these words of St John to the attention of those you are helping come closer to the Work. It is not you who are calling: it is he, Christ!⌠-Jesus, who on the day of judgement will ask us for a strict account of our response to his call⌠On that day, weâll have to answer not only for the evil that weâve done, but also for the good that weâve failed to do.
Vocations will come if we ask for them, since God is always ready to grant his grace. Pray, offer sacrifices for them and help them with your example and word. These are the means our Father stressed for bringing others to the Work of God. The measure of our faithful response is reflected in the intensity of our petition for new vocations, our vigorous sacrifice for them, and our constant cheerfulness.
By often considering the need for vocations all over the world, we will keep our zeal for winning new vocations enkindled. No one is dispensed from this concern by personal circumstances. Itâs always possible, whether in old age, when suffering an illness, or amid the most absorbing activities. Here there can be no âvacationsâ. Our Father wrote: It would be very comfortable to remain isolated in a house of the Work, thinking only about the things of God. But that would be to betray the Work, and what God wants of us, since for us the things of God are the things of the world, which we have to raise to the supernatural order.
Moreover, the spirit God asks of us is an apostolic spirit: he wants men and women full of fortitude who frequent the pathways of the world.
We need to look for vocations everywhere, for we have the whole world as our inheritance. If the prospects are poor in our immediate circle of friends and acquaintances, we should look to a second or third circle, or even further if need be. But we can always discover terrain for seeking new vocations.
We finish our prayer with a petition that crystallizes in specific resolutions: Vocations, Lord, more vocations! It doesnât matter whether I did the sowing or someone else - it was you, Jesus, who sowed the seed with our hands. All I know is that you have promised that the fruit will ripen: et fructus vester maneat - and your fruit will endure.
Let us place our pressing petition in the hands of our Blessed Lady: Sancta Maria, Regina Apostolorum, ora pro nobis, ora pro eis. Our Lady, Queen of Apostles, pray for us, pray for them.