591. September 29, St Michael, St Gabriel, & St Raphael, Archangels (III)

Meditations no. 520 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

St Raphael’s work, the seedbed of the Work, necessarily precedes and accompanies all the apostolic works.

St Raphael’s work is the seedbed of Opus Dei. It is the ordinary means on which God’s grace relies to prepare future vocations. To neglect it would be to tempt God, to oblige him to grant extraordinary graces.

The need for St Raphael’s work is deeply engraved in our hearts. Therefore, with the help of the Archangel Raphael, to whom we have recourse today with special confidence, we strive to carry out abundantly this fundamental apostolate of the Work.

Our Father told us: I’ve often pointed out to you that all the apostolic work of Opus Dei, in its many manifestations, has always been preceded, accompanied and followed by St Raphael work. It’s vital for us! Not only because it is, in itself, a wonderful apostolate, but because we are all eager to increase the number of our brothers and sisters in this large family of ours. Therefore we have to reach young people early on, giving them the means for ascetical struggle and making it easier for them to receive God’s call. My children, this is as necessary for us as breathing! Without it, we would suffocate, we wouldn’t be able to live. We are a Christian family and therefore we can’t shut off the sources of life.

Father, you tell me, aren’t there many vocations that come from outside St Raphael’s work? Yes, my children. That will always happen. But the most abundant source should be this apostolate. This is our way, and there is no other. Ask God insistently in your personal prayer to help you understand and love this reality. Teach it to your brothers and sisters. We have to ask the Blessed Virgin and the patrons of this work, St Raphael and St John the Apostle, to help us from heaven to understand our absolutely urgent need, without any exceptions, to begin and continue this apostolic work, without permitting any gaps or breaks. It is fundamental, and should have all the characteristics of a sound foundation.

My children, you should repeat this, and much more, to all those who come afterwards. And you are more obliged to do so when I die. I’ve told you this so many times already. … Ask our Lord to enlighten the minds of your brothers and sisters and to move their wills. Thus the Work will have vocations in even greater abundance, since now we have the means to form them very well. And the more vocations there are, the easier it is to form them.

Nevertheless, although we want our Lord to give us many good vocations, I insist that we seek in the first place the spiritual improvement of all souls, without exception, who with good will draw near to our apostolate.

Therefore we don’t allow anyone to go away because he gives no hope of being in the Work. We never forget that, although only some will receive this special grace from God, we are interested in all souls.

We need to carry out an abundant St Raphael work.

Realizing how much our Lord expects from our apostolic work, we feel urged to pray, humbly asking God to grant us supernatural fruitfulness as we strive to carry out and expand all St Raphael’s work. Ours must be a sincere petition, accompanied by deeds: Our prayer, our cry, Lord, Lord!, is united to our effective desire to fulfill God’s will. And it is accompanied by our self-sacrificing dedication to carry out St Raphael’s work and reach many people.

There is no room for excuses here. No matter what the obstacles, St Raphael’s work always has to be carried out. And how does one begin this apostolate? As best one can! And where does one begin? Wherever one can! My children, we have often had to do St Raphael’s work in the homes of friends, in hotels, in rented rooms: however possible! But it is done! For us it is as indispensable as breathing, as I’ve already said. How do you think I began? I began in my mother’s house with three fellows… .

My children, I never failed to give a St Raphael circle because only one person came, when I was expecting seven, eight or nine. Never more than nine; when we reached that number, more or less, we split the circle into two, so that those attending would be eager to find new people.

My children, be convinced that your weaknesses don’t matter if you struggle to overcome them. And if you want to continue serving our Lord, you will strive to form young people and to give them sound doctrine. And there will be vocations. Your apostolic work will give you the strength to return to the fight, to remain calm, to keep struggling. Many acts of cowardice stem from comfort-seeking, from the carelessness and frivolity that sometimes creeps into our life.

Have initiatives, freely and responsibly. Bring St Raphael’s work ahead, taking into account the special characteristics of each country, but always within the guidelines of the spirit of our apostolic work.

The supernatural fruit of St Raphael’s work.

Just as the means for St Raphael’s work are supernatural, so too is its fruit among young people. And the fruit is abundant when we carry it out well. Young hearts encounter Christ along their way and feel drawn to an authentically Christian life.

The first fruit of this apostolate with young people is that they begin to frequent the sacraments with regularity, generally right from the start. And when good use is made of the means of St Raphael work, they receive a solid doctrinal formation, they learn to be souls of prayer, to live in the presence of God in the midst of their everyday duties, to give a Christian meaning to their work-whether intellectual or manual-and to have a spirit of sacrifice.

In short, they are taught to cultivate a strong and deep piety, to have a very special love for the Blessed Trinity, our Lady, the holy Church, the Pope, the Work. They are asked to show by their conduct that they seek a unity of life, by struggling to make their deeds conform to their faith and taking advantage of their work as a means and opportunity for apostolate.

St Raphael’s work seeks to bring about a deep renewal of many persons, and through them, of the whole society. It teaches young people to have an open and decisive spirit, as Christians who know what their faith is worth and how much our Lord requires of them. Our St Raphael’s work is a haven of generous effort and peace, even in the midst of the greatest national and international conflicts.

God wants this generous apostolate to be the source of many vocations for the Work. He stirs up in the hearts of many persons, formed in the warmth of the spirit of the Work, the aspiration to a life of dedication that takes on different forms, but that is always the same, total dedication.

Besides the supernatural means and our own efforts, God also takes time into account in carrying out his work in souls. We need to be patient, since the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

Our Father insisted: My children, take very much to heart, and help your brothers to do so, that no one can be excused from the duty of carrying out this apostolate. Always put it under the protection of holy Mary, Sedes Sapientiae, Spes nostra, and of St Raphael and St John. … It is absolutely essential for the vitality, growth and effectiveness of our Work.