61 perseverance grow and become ever stronger. May our motto be this: “There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13)”.4 Blessed George’s prayers concerned his personal matters, but also those of the whole Church, and the Marian community in it, to which he tirelessly implored, above all, for priests. This is the proof that Christ’s Passover enables people’s communal thinking and acting: “What did Jesus want most of all?–To bring the Kingdom of God into this world, i.e., our holy Church. What way did He follow to achieve this? The way of complete self-sacrifice–of hard work, humiliation, hardship, persecution, and suffering. He followed this path up to the point of laying down His life, of being nailed to a cross. What follows, then? – That each of us must freely and with complete self-denial devote and consecrate himself entirely to the Church.”5 Gazing at the cross of Christ prevents personal difficulties from becoming disheartening: “It is like the feeling I had when I pressed the holy cross to my heart. Thank You, Lord, for everything! O my God, my God, how I love You and long to love You! Only let me work and suffer for You and for Your holy Church and for its visible head, the Holy Father.”6 What characterizes the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Upper Room is that, facing a mortal danger to His life, He first thanks the Father for the circumstances in which He found himself. It seems that this very Spirit of Christ was working in Blessed George when he did not think about big plans and works, but focused on small things in a great way: “All glory and thanks to You, O God! And may the Lord Jesus be thanked and praised, for it is He who shows us how to carry every cross. I also thank the most Blessed Virgin, who defends and intercedes for all who are in distress. When so many difficulties beset me, how often did my arms fall down helplessly by my side and my feet become so numb that I could not take another step. But You gave me strength, Lord. When I was beset by darkness, You lighted my way by the example of Your Son Jesus Christ, the most brilliant of all brightly shining stars. You comforted and refreshed me with your greatest graces. What can I, wretched creature 4 Ibid, p. 80. 5 Ibid, p. 32. 6 Ibid, p. 60.
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