4 — TO FEEL WITH CHRIST

Presence of God. — O Jesus, grant that I may nourish for souls sentiments similar to those of your divine Heart.

Meditation

1 — Effective collaboration always requires certain affinity of intentions and methods between one promoting work and collaborators. Indeed this affinity must be all deeper the more work to be done is not material but spiritual.

Since he must collaborate with God for good of souls, apostle must live in intimate spiritual affinity with Him, entering as much as possible into his views and plans for salvation of world.

Only by penetrating deeply mystery of God’s love for men can apostle cooperate in present outpouring of love and grace. Through theological virtues he must keep himself in intimate contact with God and seek to grasp deep movement of his love. Faith teaches us God called men into existence, moved by infinite goodness willing to pour itself out beyond itself so as to communicate to others something of his good, happiness, very life.

Here is grace, creation of his love, making men sharers of his nature. And when men by sin detached themselves from Him, rendering themselves unworthy of his gift, He did not renounce his plan of love, and in order to give them back what they had culpably lost, He sacrificed his Only-Begotten “who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven” (Creed).

Apostle must understand deeply that God’s action for men is all action of love: action of Father seeking prodigal son, of shepherd seeking lost sheep; action of God who wants to offer men his friendship to make them happy, receive them into his house, admit them to his intimacy, make them blessed with his eternal beatitude.

Apostle must seek to place his heart in contact with God’s heart, to be filled with his love, to share his charity for men. Apostle must, so to speak, feel with God, feel with Christ, that is, nourish deep sentiments of love for brethren, pale reflection of God’s love for men.

2 — Not only in prayer, but in very exercise of apostolate, apostle must seek to remain in contact with God and mystery of his love for men, to which he must humbly collaborate.

He will seek this contact through intense exercise of faith, which will make him better understand mystery of Redemption, recognize actualization of this mystery in various circumstances and unfolding events, and help him insert his humble action into great divine action.

Thus, even when using human means and occupying himself with material questions, he will remain in supernatural atmosphere. He will never lose sight of final end of his activity, but awareness of collaborating with Christ for salvation of souls will remain ever awake in him.

To faith apostle must unite ardent charity, because contact with God and affinity with his love are realized precisely by way of love. Charity, by force of intuition proper to it, will allow apostle to penetrate mystery of Redemption more deeply, taste sweet reality of Infinite Love manifested in it, and impel him to live in intimate communion with this Love of which he must be collaborator and instrument.

Then his example and words will bear witness to truths not only believed in theory, but lived in practice, tasted and experienced in intimate contact with God. Then apostle can affirm with St. John: “We have known and have believed the charity which God hath to us” (1 Jn. 4:16), and again: “What we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have handled of Word of life ... we bear witness ... we declare unto you” (1 Jn. 1:1-3).

By faith and love apostle will arrive at ever greater spiritual affinity with mystery of Redemption and with Jesus, its great Actor. He will be able to make his own Jesus’ sentiments according to St. Paul’s word: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).

This “to feel with Christ,” meaning to love and will in unison with divine Heart, to share his immense love for God and for souls, is secret of every apostolate.

Colloquy

“O Jesus, Son of God, if I think You died for redemption of souls, how can I not desire to die myself for them? And seeing your Blood trampled underfoot, how can I tolerate such injury done to You, my Lord? How can I say I love You and desire your love if, seeing your image cast into mud, I do not care to draw it out? Why then do I not give myself wholly to prayer, wholly to labor, to make your name known and honored, so that by converting souls I may gather fruits of your Blood?

“My God, even if I were most certain never to enjoy You, nevertheless, to honor You, I would very gladly die once for each sinful soul; so I would now sustain as many deaths as there are sinful souls in world, that they might now obtain grace and in future glory. How much more would I do this if I knew I was then to receive glory with them!” (St. Bonaventure).

“Lord, I have only one thing to do during night of this life, this one night that will come only once: to love You with all strength of my heart and save You souls so You may be loved.

“O Jesus, at sight of your precious Blood falling to ground without anyone taking care to gather it, my heart breaks with sorrow. I therefore resolve to remain continually at foot of Cross, to gather this divine dew of salvation and then scatter it over souls.

“Your cry, ‘I thirst,’ resounds continually in my heart and kindles there most living fire. O my Beloved, I want to quench your thirst, and, feeling myself devoured by your very thirst for souls, I want at all costs to snatch sinners from flames of hell.

“I want to employ in this all means within my reach; but knowing well by myself I can do nothing, I offer You as price of their ransom your own infinite merits and treasures of holy Church” (T.B.G. Lt. 74; St. 5).