623. December 7, Novena of the Immaculate Conception (VIII)

Meditations no. 550 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

God expects us to bear supernatural fruit.

Our Lord often spoke about the need to bear fruit in the interior life and apostolate. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. These past days we have been contemplating the life of holy Mary. Our Lady’s example urges us to strive to win new apostles, using all the means possible to bring the grace of vocation to fruition in many souls.

The Gospel tells us that on a certain occasion when Jesus was returning to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the way side he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. Our Father comments, It was not the season, but he approaches the tree to pick the fruit. Christ our Lord knew that it was not the time for figs, and yet, when he sees that the tree is sterile, even though it had leaves and an appearance of fruitfulness, he says, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ My children, this is because there is no excuse for anyone who does not make good use of his time. Our Lord’s words are very strong. You will never give more fruit. No one will ever receive fruit from you.

Imagine how the disciples felt when they heard God’s wisdom speaking in this way! But … is it possible? And yet the reason is evident. There are no excuses for ceasing to bear fruit: ‘It’s that I haven’t received the necessary formation; or that I was sick; or that I don’t have the right qualities.’ My children, we have to be the tree that bears fruit. There are others who have nothing to offer when people go to them; they only have leaves. We have to bear fruit, fruit that will satisfy the hunger of souls. For we have all of the supernatural means and sufficient doctrine. With God’s grace, in spite of our wretchedness, we are able by our life to bring light to others and draw them along, if only we want to. For we have Christ’s life within us.

We cannot be like the sterile fig tree that could not satisfy the Master’s hunger. We must bear fruit, fruit of supernatural life, of sanctity, of love for God. Woe to the man who adorns himself with the leaves of a false apostolate, displaying the foliage of an apparently fruitful life, but without producing any fruit He seems to make good use of his time but is really a sterile tree. Bearing fruit of supernatural life is the unmistakable sign that we are following the Master and are truly united to him.

Prayer always leads to specific apostolic deeds.

Along with our vocation, God has given us the grace to carry out a deep work of proselytism with those at our side. We have meditated upon this truth frequently during these days, while asking our Lady ardently for the vocation of certain friends of ours. Anyone who tries to win new apostles gets vocations. Anyone who makes little effort to win new apostles obtains few vocations. Anyone who makes a lot of effort to win new apostles gains many vocations. If there are no vocations, there is a lack of love for God. Is that clear?

God has sown the seed of our personal vocation in a fertile vineyard, like the one described by the prophet Isaiah: He dug it and cleared it of stones… What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up. If we ever see that there has been no fruit, or only a very paltry fruit, we should imitate the labourer in the parable and say: Let it alone, sire, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. Our determination must be firm and decisive, expressed in deeds. Have I shown my zeal for winning new apostles by my deeds? Our Lord asks for deeds. He wants the reality of our prayer, of our generous dedication, of our determined efforts to win new apostles. For we realize that the apostolate of action is the savoury fruit of prayer and sacrifice.

We have to pray, humbly begging God to grant what is a special and unmerited grace. And our petition must be sincere, based on an authentic unity of life and an abundant work of proselytism.

Our prayer and action must go hand in hand. If apostolic activity is not imbued with prayer, it degenerates into mere activism. Our Father wrote, I measure the effectiveness of apostolic works by the degree of sanctity attained by those who carry them out. Corporate activities are always a means and never a goal. The goal of the sons and daughters of God in his Opus Dei is personal sanctification, along with the fostering of sanctity in the world. Universities, university residences, home management schools. … Are these the goals? Not at all. Even as the hoe and the shovel are not the goals of the farmer but only the tools for tilling the land. Our Father said the very same thing about personal apostolate. It would make me very sad if a son of mine were only to speak about his professional accomplishments. He can speak about these things, and at times he ought to do so. However, what I want to hear from you is an account of your apostolic fruit, the vocations you have won and the souls you have brought closer to God. Otherwise I would not believe in the sincerity of your apostolic desire.

A spirit of mortification and daily goals in the apostolate.

Apostolate requires real self-sacrifice, a daily self-giving shown in countless small ways. We see this in the life of our Lady, who was completely identified with her Son. We see it in her prayer, in her motherly watchfulness, in her constant work that prepared and accompanied Christ’s apostolic labours.

The first expression of the generosity required to win new apostles is our spirit of sacrifice in the apostolate, with its demands on our time and its call to set aside personal projects, big and small, for the sake of other people. Our founder wrote: Your unity of life should bring with it a spontaneous magnanimity, renewed each day, that is clearly shown and seen in everything you do. Thus, as faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ in the world, you will offer yourselves as a holocaust and truly say, In all sincerity and joy, I have offered myself, Lord, along with all that I have (cf 1 Chron29: 17).

Such must be your preparation for the constant apostolate that Jesus asks of us, as constant as the beating of our hearts.

If our desire to win new apostles is to become a daily reality, we need to foresee and anticipate the many little events of each day, drawing up each morning very specific and well-defined goals for winning new apostles. Though these goals may seem small, they are not really so, since they demand true renunciation, forgetting about ourselves in order to think about others. And they demand a spirit of sacrifice in order to have this concern day in and day out, overcoming laziness and making good use of time.

It is good that we examine ourselves frequently, especially today on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, in order to ensure that our apostolic zeal is shown by specific deeds. For apostolate is made up of little things, even as our entire life is. In the chat we must say, “I have done this. I have planned that. I have prayed this much. I have mortified myself. I have prepared that visit.” And if your brother doesn’t ask you, you should tell him anyway.

Let us go to holy Mary, asking her with renewed strength to keep our heart aflame with the divine desire that impels us to seek vocations, to speak about God to so many persons. May we never be satisfied with what has already been accomplished, but rather truly be eager to reach all souls.