579. August 29, Martyrdom of St John Baptist

Meditations no. 509 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

St John the Baptist carried out his God-given mission with fortitude.

In commemorating the martyrdom of John the Baptist, the greatest of all the prophets, the Church has him say, I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame; for I find my delight in thy commandments, which I love.

John was a man of God. He was a prophet to whom the Lord had given a divine mission. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. By his words, example and life of penance, John the Baptist bore witness to the Truth. He showed no cowardice before the powerful of the earth. He was unmoved by the crowds’ praises. He refused to yield before the Pharisees’ cunning arguments. John gave up his life defending God’s law against any human compromise. It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife, he unflinchingly warned Herod. Referring to the holy fortitude needed to defend the truth, our Father wrote: Those who do not walk on the path of truth are uneasy when someone tries to enlighten them, even as the martyr and the saint make the lukewarm uneasy, while the fervent are enkindled even more. But the Church needs the love of her children who are ready to say everything that they clearly see must be said, after considering the matter in God’s presence, and who are truly detached from themselves, with their gaze fixed on supernatural goals.

John the Baptist had little power to oppose Herod’s deviant ways. But the word of God became powerful on his lips. The Lord had reproached Jeremias, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

We too have to be strong in order to give a Christian tone to society.

John bore testimony by his deeds to the truth of his words. Also in our case, a conduct consistent with our faith is the greatest proof that we are convinced of the truth of what we teach. It is the indispensable condition for the effectiveness of our apostolate. Our Father writes, Above all, you have to attract others by the integrity of your lives, by living among your fellowmen in a Christian manner, in an ordinary but consistent fashion, with a humble but daring affirmation. We have to show our faith by our deeds. This, along with God’s help, will be the reason for our effectiveness.

We should not fear the world. For we are in the world, and if we are united to God and live our spirit, nothing can harm us. Perhaps at times our Christian conduct might seem strange to people separated from God. But supported by divine omnipotence, you will have the courage to be faithful.

I ask that my children may have this fortitude of spirit, which will enable them to carry their own environment with them.

A Christian is salt, leaven and light to the world. Our mission is to divinize the world, by purifying it and filling it with God’s love, with charity. As Tertullian said in the early days of Christianity, To live among heathens does not mean to share their customs. We live alongside them and rejoice with them because we share the same nature, but not their superstitions. We have the same soul, but not the same way of acting. We possess the world in common, but not error.

We cannot be surprised when we encounter difficulties in our supernatural task. St John the Baptist met with them, as have all souls who have received a divine mission. St John the Apostle warns us, Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you. And in his Gospel, he transmits our Lord’s words, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. Any supernatural work necessarily has to encounter opposition in this world, since the world has not yet been sanctified, and God wants to employ us as instruments for that purpose.

Difficulties are part and parcel of life, one of the many factors that we have to take into account. Without looking for them, which would be to tempt God, we must be calm in confronting them without fear when they arise. Should God permit them, he will certainly draw from them great good and abundant apostolic fruit. Our Father wrote: And I keep on repeating to you that the world can be made holy. We Christians have a special role to play in sanctifying it. We are to cleanse it from the occasions of sin with which we men have soiled it. We are to offer it to our Lord as a spiritual offering, presented to him and made acceptable through his grace and with our efforts.

We have all the means needed to re-Christianize society.

Sustained by the sacraments and our life of piety, we strive to sanctify ourselves and be apostolic in everyday life, which is where we have found Jesus Christ. We have to be light for the world, my children, while living with naturalness on this earth, since it is the normal setting for our life. We share in all of the noble activities and tasks of other men and women, working alongside them in our professional work. We exercise our rights and fulfil our obligations, which are the same rights and obligations that our peers have, who are also citizens in the same society. But we must always strive to be free from any attachment that might hinder our loving fulfilment of God’s will.

By God’s goodness, we have in the Church all the remedies needed to heal the spiritual sickness afflicting so many souls. In the first place, we count on the sacraments, which contain and bestow grace. We have the light of sound doctrine, clearly set out by the Magisterium. We enjoy the protection of the Blessed Virgin, the angels and the saints, our marvellous allies in the battle to sow peace and love among men.

In addition, God has wanted to raise up Opus Dei in the bosom of the Church with the specific objective of contributing in a decisive way to sowing Christianity in the heart of civil society. The illness is extraordinary, and the medicine is also extraordinary. We are an intravenous injection in the blood stream of society. As men and women of God, you have to carry with you the salt and light of the evangelical counsels in order to immunize all mortals against corruption and enlighten all intelligences with the light of Christ.

We will do so with optimism and confidence, well aware that the Work’s message has an enormous divine attraction for men and women in the world. However, an essential condition is that we maintain the specific spirit of our divine vocation in all its integrity. Our dedication will produce abundant fruit only if we faithfully follow God’s will for his Work. If through carelessness or a lack of supernatural outlook we would ever try to set aside our apostolic way of acting, we would reap only sterility or fruit that is short-lived. For we would be doing a human work instead of Opus Dei.

By being totally faithful to God’s will, we will be assured of always being up to date. In the Work there will never be the problem of adapting to the world. Opus Dei will never find it necessary to face the problem of “bringing itself up to date.” God “brought” his Work “up to date” once and for all by giving it its lay, secular characteristics. … We will never need to adapt to the world, for we are part of the world. Nor will we have to follow in the wake of human progress, since you, my children, together with all who live in the world, are the ones who bring about this progress through your ordinary work.

By faithfully guarding the spirit we have received from God, we will be sure of one day enjoying God’s company and that of our heavenly Mother. And the words applied in today’s liturgy to St John the Baptist will also be able to be said of us: The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name… in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.