23 — PROGRESS IN THE APOSTOLATE

Presence of God. — O Lord, unite me to you and let the power of your charity kindle in my heart the true apostolic flame.

Meditation

1 — St. Thomas teaches: love is like fire, it produces a flame, and the flame of love is zeal; if the fire burns intensely, then the flame it produces is also consuming and intense. True apostolic zeal is the spontaneous result, the normal fruit of intimate contact of the soul with God through love. The more a soul is united to God in love, the more it is involved in the flame of his charity; therefore it shares in his infinite love for men, in his eternal zeal for their salvation, so that it becomes necessarily apostolic.

To say one cannot be an apostle before being so intimately seized by divine love would be an exaggeration; but it is clear that one does not reach the fullness of apostolate, and therefore the fullness of apostolic fruitfulness, without this interior flame that is born precisely from union with God. Until one reaches that degree of union, one must consider oneself a beginner in apostolate, like apprentices who apply themselves to an art, doing now this, now that work, yet not yet sustained and carried by personal inspiration. Being beginners, we must behave as such, that is, act with caution, devote ourselves to apostolate with prudence and measure, precisely because, not yet having reached that spiritual maturity from which the flame of zeal spontaneously bursts forth, we do not yet possess those resources of grace that serve to defend the soul from the dangers of overly intense external activity and that at the same time have the power to make all work fruitful. “Here the soul,” says St. Teresa of Jesus, “is not yet formed: it is like a child beginning to suck, who, if he leaves his mother’s breast, can expect only death. If one withdraws from prayer without urgent necessity and does not return at once, I greatly fear the end will be like that of the child, going from bad to worse” (M. IV, 3, 10). Let us note that the Saint is not speaking here of souls taking first steps in interior life, but of those who, having already reached prayer of quiet, may already be called proficient; and yet it is not exaggerated to affirm that, with respect to apostolate, they are still beginners.

2 — St. Teresa of Jesus shows us the soul at the moment when - as consequence of charity uniting it to God - the interior flame of apostolate is born in it. It is a soul rendered by surrender and love so submissive to God’s will “as to know and will one thing only: that He do with it whatever He wills”; and God, who “keeps it wholly for Himself... marks it with his seal,” infuses into it very lively sorrow for men’s sins and ardent desire to spend itself for their salvation (cf. M. V, 2, 12-14). In this soul charity has grown to such a point as to make it truly capable of renouncing its own will in order to conform in everything to the divine will. Even before difficult and unforeseen cases, requiring much spirit of sacrifice, it knows how to set aside every repugnance and resentment of nature, every personal view and desire, so as to adhere to the divine good pleasure, whether this presents itself under the aspect of daily duties, or through the external voice of obedience, or through the interior voice of the Holy Spirit, and likewise through circumstances of life. It is therefore a soul truly united to God in love, truly given to Him, and God takes it and launches it into service of the Church and of souls, willing to use it to carry out his plan of salvation and sanctification of humanity.

Thus there awaken in the soul immense desires for apostolate, in no way comparable to those it might have had before: it feels it no longer belongs to itself, that its life is necessarily bound to that of the divine Redeemer and that, in imitation of Him, it must dedicate and consume it wholly in service of souls. Even those who live apparently most isolated from the world and from external contact with men - cloistered nuns in enclosure, contemplatives in hermitages or deserts - when they reach this state become eminently apostolic, and all their life of prayer and sacrifice is directed toward one ideal: to repair for humanity’s sins, to save souls. While contemplatives pour out this apostolic zeal by redoubling hidden immolation, active souls dedicated to external works find in the interior flame, blazing from their union with God, the impulse, strength, support, and fruitfulness of their apostolate. Once again we must conclude that the way to reach maximum apostolic effectiveness is the solitary and silent way of union with God.

Colloquy

“My God, what fervor and what strength in the charity of a soul united to You by love! Those so seized by You cannot limit themselves to their own personal profit, nor be content with it; rather, since it seems little to them to go to heaven alone, with wholly heavenly solicitude and affection and with exquisite diligence they strive to lead many others with them. Grant, O Lord, that such may be the effect of my love for You!” (cf. St. John of the Cross).

“O Lord, from a soul already resolved and wholly abandoned into your hands You ask nothing else but that it desire and seek, as much as it can, what may result in your greater glory.

“Oh, the charity of those who truly love You! What rest could they ever have if they saw they could contribute, even a little, to help one soul advance and love You more, or only to give it consolation and free it from danger? How unbearable their personal rest would become!

“Oh, Lord, afflicted by the ruin of so many souls, if I cannot help them by works, I want to importune You with prayer. I want to renounce every personal contentment and esteem it well lost; I want to forget myself totally, to think only of the best way to fulfill your will.

“My God, the more time passes, the more there grows in me the desire to contribute to the good of some soul, often seeming to me like one possessing a great treasure, eager to share it with all, but unable to distribute it because hands are tied. No longer able to contain myself, I raise my voice to You, begging You to provide me some means to cooperate in winning at least some soul for your service” (T.G. Fd. 5, 6 and 5; 1, 6 and 7).