AN INVITATION
FROM OUR LORD
“Et
ait illis: Venite vos ipsi seorsum in desertum locum
et requiéscite pusillum.’
Erat enim, qui
veniebant et redibant multi,
et nec manducandi spatium habebant.” (Mk
6:31-32)
LET THE LORD
BUILD
“Nisi Dominus aedificáverit domum,
in vanum laborant qui aedíficant eam.
Nisi Dominus
custodíerit civitatem,
frustra vígila qui custodit eam.” (Ps 126:1-2)
LISTENING
“Read these
counsels slowly.
Pause to
meditate on these thoughts.
…
I won’t tell
you anything new.
I will only
stir your memory,
so that some thought will arise
and strike you;
and so you will better your life
and set out along ways of prayer
and of Love.
And in the end
you will be
a more worthy soul.” (St Josemaría, The Way, Prologue)
“Omnis ergo qui audit verba mea haec
et facit ea
assimilabitur viro sapienti,
qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram.” (Mt 7:24)
“’A sower went out to sow.
And as he
sowed,
some seeds fell
along the path,
and the birds
came and devoured them.
Other seeds
fell on rocky ground…
Other seeds
fell upon thorns…
Other seeds
fell on good soil
and brought forth
grain,
some a
hundredfold,
some sixty,
some thirty.
He who has ears, let him hear.’” (Mt 13:
3,4,5,7,8,9)
The good
ground has to be tilled, turned over, “disturbed”.
PATIENCE
“Patiente estóte, fratres,
usque ad adventum Domini.
Ecce agricola
exspectat pretiosum fructum terrae,
patienter ferens donec accípiat
temporáneum et serótinum.
Patientes
igitur estóte et vos,
et confirmáte corda vestra,
quóniam adventus Domini appropinquavit.”
“Wait, then,
brethren, in patience
for the Lord’s
coming.
See how the
farmer looks forward to the coveted returns of his land,
yet waits patiently
for the early and the late rains to fall
before they can
be brought in.
You too must
wait patiently,
and take courage;
the Lord’s coming
is close at hand.”
(Jas 5:7-8)
LIKE CHILDREN
“We should let
Jesus know that we are children.
And when
children are tiny and innocent,
what a lot of
effort it takes for them to go up one step.
They look as
though they are wasting their time,
but eventually they
manage to climb up. …
We are just
like that, Jesus, when we are on our own.
Please take us
up in your loving arms….
Do not leave
us until we have reached the top.”
(St Josemaría,
The Forge, 346)
BEGINNING
AGAIN AND AGAIN
“…it is as
though I had never really done anything to get closer to God.
Lord, here I
am
beginning,
beginning, always just beginning!
I will try,
however, to push forward each day will all my heart.”
(St Josemaría,
The Forge, 378)
“Every time
you make an act of contrition—
and you should make
many every day—
you begin again,
because you offer a new love to God.” (St
Josemaría, The Forge, 384)
DONKEY
“A whole
morning of work
and still more in
the early afternoon.
The donkey
begins to fret:
is there never any
rest?
The flies are
a bother
and moreover, other
donkeys are napping in the valley.
Unfastening
himself,
the donkey trots
off toward the farmhouse to confront his master.
Such braying! Angry, restless.
It is a
strident bray that can be translated as, ‘I’ve had enough!’
The master
comes out on the porch.
Seeing the
donkey so out of sorts,
its ears tensed and
mouth agape,
he gives a hearty
understanding laugh.
With that the
donkey begins to quieten down.
He begins to
realize how silly it was to get upset.
His expression
softens,
and his features—disfigured
by the taut muscles—
become humble and
serene once more.
There’s even a
trace of a smile.
Then back to
the well: once again it seems like a palace.
Everything has
worked out for the best,
the master
reflected,
seeing that his donkey,
after that
ingenuous rebelliousness,
didn’t trust
itself.
Putting aside
those foolish thoughts,
it now works harder
than ever.” (St Josemaría, Ut
iumentum, VI)
“From 1830 on,
the existence of the Curé d’Ars
was one of a
sublime and crucifying monotony.” (Trochu, The Curé of Ars)
STAYING WITH
CHRIST
“The two
disciples heard him say this,
and they followed
Jesus.
Jesus turned,
and saw them following, and said to them,
‘What do you seek?’ / ‘What is it you seek?’
And they said
to him,
‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’
He said to
them,
‘Come and see.’
They came and
saw where he was staying;
and they stayed
with him that day….” (Jn 1:37-39)
“Mane nobiscum. Stay with us.
So he went in
to stay with them.” (Lk 24:29)
“Quid adhuc mihi deest?”
“What is yet wanting to me?”
“What do I
still lack?”
“[我]還缺少什麼？” (Mt 19:20)
“Senes vestra somnia somniabunt,
et iuvenes vestri visiones videbunt.”
“Your old men shall dream dreams
and your young men shall see visions.”
(Joel 2:28, quoted, but in reverse order, by St Peter, in Acts 2:17)
Revised 25 March 2005.