Lest You Remain

The call to the way of the evangelical counsels springs from the interior encounter with the love of Christ, which is a redeeming love. Christ calls precisely through this love of His. In the structure of a vocation, the encounter with this love becomes something specifically personal. When Christ “looked upon you and loved you,” calling each one of you, dear religious, that redeeming love of His was direct- ed towards a particular person, and at the same time it took on a spousal character: it became a love of choice. This love embraces the whole person, soul and body, whether man or woman, in that person’s unique and unrepeatable personal “I.” The One who, given eternally to the Father, “gives” Himself in the mystery of the Redemption, has now called man in order that he in his turn should give himself entirely to the work of the Redemption through membership in a community of broth- ers or sisters, recognized and approved by the Church. Surely it is precisely to this call that St. Paul’s words can be applied: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit...? You are not your own; you were bought with a price.”(11) Yes, Christ’s love has reached each one of you, dear brothers and sisters, with that same “price” of the Redemption. As a consequence of this, you have realized that you are not your own, but belong to Christ. This new awareness was the fruit of Christ’s “loving look” in the secret of your heart. You replied to that look by choosing Him who first chose each one of you, calling you with the measureless- ness of His redeeming love. Since He calls “by name,” His call always appeals to human freedom. Christ says: “If you wish....” And the response to this call is, there- fore, a free choice. You have chosen Jesus of Nazareth, the Redeemer of the world, by choosing the way that He has shown you. From Founder’s Writings ( Inspectio cordis, f. 135r–136r) “Jesus saw a man at his post where taxes were collected” (Mt. 9:9). Ponder that by using the word “man,” Saint Matthew wanted to underscore his insignificance. While others called him a tax collector, he called himself only a man, since he knew that to be a man is also to be a sinner. He did not want to be counted among those who were told: “You are gods, all of you sons of the Most High” (Ps. 81:6). Besides, he was called a tax collector only because he was super- vising a customhouse and collected taxes and duties from the Jews, which they, as the chosen people, did not feel, obliged to pay. Oh, what a sinner you would have to call yourself, if your sins, now known only to God, were revealed to the world. Ask Jesus to look at you in His goodness and purify you from your hidden sins. “He said to him, ‘Follow me’” (Mt 9:9). Consider that a sign of true conversion is to truly follow Christ. Judas was not L EST Y OU R EMAIN W ITHOUT W ORK IN THE V INEYARD OF THE L ORD 30