George Matulaitis Journal

the more adept you will be. The work itself becomes more of a pleasure, and a person is able to make a more significant contribution to the work of the Church. March 7 First of all, we must make every effort to enhance the development of each of our members: to see that each receives the training and education he needs to enhance all his natural and supernatural gifts, keeping in mind, of course, the type of work he is to do, the task which he intends to perform, and so on. Moreover, we need to train each one in some particular field. It is only through holy, fully mature, well-trained, and educated individuals who have developed into valuable persons that we can hope to influence other people. But with personal development we must not lose sight of another goal: that these well-trained and well-educated people also be prepared to live in community, to live and work with others. The effort expended in developing the individual talents of our members and training them for community life will prove a valuable asset to the whole Congregation, not diminish it in any way. We do not propose to seclude or isolate ourselves from people or to surround ourselves with high walls and wear distinctive habits in order to dedicate ourselves entirely to prayer. What we mean to do is to live a pious, interior spiritual life and at the same time an active, intensely productive life. Our model is Jesus Himself not only working quietly in His home in Nazareth, not only the Jesus who mortified Himself spending forty days in the desert, often passing entire nights in prayer, but also the Jesus who worked hard, who wept and suffered; Jesus out among the crowds visiting the towns and villages, reaching out to sinners and the simple folk as well as to the learned, the righteous, and the rich; Jesus teaching and refuting the objections of the Pharisees; Jesus seeking the lost sheep; Jesus suffering persecution and being forced to go into hiding to avoid the hatred of His enemies. We also intend to follow the example of St. Paul—his active life, his boldness, and fearlessness. Wherever we happen to be, even in prison or in exile, we intend to preach Christ and not to abandon our way of life. Who knows what we shall encounter in this life for the sake of 84