George Matulaitis Journal

73 efforts are successful, we should be in no hurry to remove him, no mat- ter how insistently someone may ask for him, unless the greater glory of God requires us to heed their wishes. While reading the life of St. Ignatius, I found some good advice in the counsel he gave to two of his brothers when he sent them out among the people: “With all kinds of people, but especially with your equals and inferiors, I advise you to speak little and then only after having consid- ered what to say; to listen carefully to the very end, until the person has said what is on his mind. Then give him a clear and concise reply, but in such a way as to avoid future confusion or contradiction. Your parting words should be brief, but courteous.” When speaking with people we should try to be all things to all men. 1 As much as we can, we must try to adapt ourselves to their ways and habits: with those who are more spontaneous, we ought to be lively; with those who are quiet and serious, we should be more subdued. In our conversation we should take care to plant some good idea or suggestion, to direct people toward something good, toward some good work or to turn their heart toward spiritual things—toward the Church, toward God. Let us not forget that everything we say, every word can be made public. We ought to keep this in mind especially when we are trying to make peace between people who have quarreled. We should not avoid contact with people. On the contrary, we must reach out to them, try to get closer to them so that later we may be able to draw them to God and involve them in work for the Church. But we must also be careful how and with whom we become acquainted and intimate. We cannot proceed blindly in this matter, but we should reflect on it beforehand and discuss it with our fellow religious, if possible. In a word, we need to be prepared. We cannot turn away from people, but we must be careful not to lose ourselves among them. Here too our views must be governed by consideration for the needs of the Church and the glory of God. Let us seek God and His greater glory, the welfare and good of the Church in everything that we do. When we are among people, we should be concerned with their spiritual needs; when we are at home among ourselves, we should care for our own spiritual life and try to make greater progress in it. When we stop being concerned about our 1 Cf., 1 Cor 9:9-22.