CALLED THOSE WHOM HE WANTED
"Et ascendit in montem
et vocat ad se quos voluit ipse,
et venerunt ad eum."
(Mc 3:4)
CALLED US OUT OF HIS BOUNDLESS MERCY
"We ... are chosen by God for a purpose.
And the reason He chose us
is not because of our own merits or talents,
but because of his goodness and mercy.
He chose us because He loved us--
loved us quite beyond our own merits.
In fact, any good there is in us
is because of His love for us."
(Eugene Boylan, The Spiritual Life of the Priest, p 150)
CALLED US WHO WERE IN NO WAY QUALIFIED OR DESERVING
"For we ourselves also were once
unwise,
unbelieving,
going astray,
slaves to various lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy,
hateful and hating one another.
But when the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared,
then not by reason of good works that we did ourselves,
but according to His mercy,
He saved us through the bath of regeneration and renewal
by the Holy Spirit;
Whom he has abundantly poured out upon us
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
in order that, justified by His grace,
we may be heirs in the hope of life everlasting."
(Tit 3:3-7)
CALLED TO LOSE THE FINITE SELF AND WIN THE INFINITE GOD
"He looked for the soul
that would dare set aside its own existence,
and to put on Him,
and to lose itself in Him...."
(A Goodier, The Public Life of Jesus vol 1, p 214)
"And having loved us,
He has shared with us everything.
He has made us part of Himself
--sharers in His Priesthood.
We share in His merits, in His powers, in His virtues;
everything He has is at our own disposal.
All is ours.
He himself is ours,
for He dwells in our souls to share our lives."
(Eugene Boylan, The Spiritual Life of the Priest, p 150)
CALLED INTO THE LIGHT TO BE A LIGHT
"Each one of us has to be
quasi lucerna lucens in caliginoso loco
("as to a lamp shining in a dark place"--II Pt 1:19)
like a lighted lamp, burning with the light of God,
in that darkness that surrounds us."
(St Josemaria, Letter March 1973, 18)
ANSWERING THE CALL (I)
"No amount of service,
service as such,
can return such love.
If we want to realise how inadequte mere service would be,
let us look around at the married couples we know,
and note how dissatisfied a man or woman is
who loves his or her consort intensely
and receives in return only service
--no matter how efficient that service may be.
Personal love is essential in such cases. ...
We must give Him personal love."
(Eugene Boylan, The Spiritual Life of the Priest, p 150)
ANSWERING THE CALL (II)
"You want to know on what our faithfulness is founded?
I would say, in broad outline,
that it is based on loving God,
which makes us overcome all kinds of obstacles:
selfishness, pride, tiredness, impatience....
A man in love tramples on his own self.
He is aware that even when he is loving with all his soul,
he isn't yet loving enough."
(St Josemaria, The Forge 532)
ANSWERING THE CALL (III)
"The servant can only be obliged to work.
The friend rejoices that he has been chosen
by the One who has entrusted Himself to him,
and to Whom he too entrusts himself,
entrusts himself totally."
(John Paul II, Holy Thursday Letter to Priests, 1990, 2)
GIVING EVERYTHING
"Now, so close to the celebration of Christmas,
is the time to say "thank you" for all of this,
for your work,
which encourages me
- just as you have given everything -
to give on my part,
at this late stage in my life,
everything that I can give."
(Benedict XVI, Impromptu Talk to Renovators of the Papal Apartments, 23 December 2005)
FIAT!
Mary, my Mother,
teach me to say 'Yes' always,
teach me to say 'Fiat'
without any doubts,
without any hesitations,
without any reservations.