131 These factors, as well as many others, can breed uncertainty, fear, even pessimism. In response to them, God gives us the gift of our Founder’s beatifi cation. This gift is his personality, the trials that the faced, his struggle and his hope. He also had obstacles to deal with in order to accomplish his work. Our Founder had to face the challenges of his times (wars, epidemics, persecution, imprisonment, etc.). He had to overcome his doubts and uncertainties, even a temptation to abandon his ideal. To persevere through the trials, he drew strength from his intimate union with Christ and His Immaculate Mother, as well as from his pastoral dedication. These intimate bonds guided and fortifi ed him in moments of doubt, of persecution, of failure, and of crisis. They inspired him to persevere and to be more pastorally involved; they also caused his involvement to bear fruit. Living in the times marked by activism and effi ciency, we must be particularly mindful not to interpret our pastoral involvement exclusively as the realization of external works. In the apostolic exhortation Vita consecrata we read: “Indeed, more than in external works, the mission consists in making Christ present to the world through personal witness.”10 The same exhortation tells us that it is not enough to understand the profound meaning of the problems and the challenges from a purely human point of view. Instead, we need a spiritual discernment which will allow us to see reality through “the eyes of Christ.” Thus, it is necessary to open our hearts to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who invites us to ponder in depth the ways of Divine Providence. He prompts the consecrated persons to work out new answers for the modern world. Those are Divine inspirations, which devout souls can easily grasp and courageously transform into actions in conformity with the founding charism and the demands of the modern world.11 10 VC, 72. 11 Cf. VC, 73.
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