“These world crises are crises of saints"

The day of salvation, of eternity, has come for us. Once again the call of the Divine Shepherd can be heard, those affectionate words: Vocavi te nomine tuo - I have called you by your name. Just like our mother, he calls us by our name, by the name we're fondly called at home, by our nickname.

There, in the depths of our soul, he calls us and we just have to answer: Ecce ego quia vocasti me - here I am, for you have called me, and this time I'm determined not to let time flow by like water over the pebbly bed of a stream, leaving no trace behind. (The Forge, 7)

You and I belong to Christ’s family, for ‘he himself has chosen us before the foundation of the world, to be saints, to be blameless in his sight, for love of him, having predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his Will’[1] …

The goal that I am putting before you, or rather that God has marked out for us all, is no illusory or unattainable ideal. I could quote you many specific examples of ordinary men and women, just like you and me, who have met Jesus passing by quasi in occulto [2], at what appeared to be quite ordinary cross-roads in their lives, and have decided to follow him, lovingly embracing their daily cross [3]. In this age of ours, an age of generalized decay, of compromise and discouragement, and also of license and anarchy, I think it is more important than ever to hold on to that simple yet profound conviction which I had when I began my priestly work and have held ever since, and which has given me a burning desire to tell all mankind that ‘these world crises are crises of saints’.

Interior life. We need it, if we are to answer the call that the Master has made to each and every one of us. We have to become saints, as they say in my part of the world, ‘down to the last whisker,’* Christians who are truly and genuinely such, the kind that could be canonized. If not, we shall have failed as disciples of the one and only Master. And don’t forget that when God marks us out and gives us his grace to strive for sanctity in the everyday world, he also puts us under an obligation to do apostolate. (Friends of God, 2-5)

[1] Eph 1:4‑5

[2] Hidden as it were’ (John 7:10)

[3] cf Matt 16:24

* Sin que nos falte un pelo, that is ‘down to our finger tips’ or ‘every inch of us’ (Translator’s note)

Receive messages by e-mail

email