To reach Christ there is a road - sometimes a long one - that must be traveled with patience and constancy. He waits for our friends, our companions in our studies or profession, our children, our brothers and sisters.... We will help them all as Jesus did: one by one, taking into account their particular circumstances, their age..., their illnesses.... We must know how to value each one in the infinite price of the redeeming Blood with which the Lord redeemed them. In accompanying them to Jesus we will encounter resistance, perhaps for a long time; it is a consequence of the difficulty of men to second the will of God, because of the sequels that original sin left in the soul, which were later aggravated by personal sins. At other times this passivity is a consequence of the ignorance they suffer or of error. This will lead us to pray and to offer mortifications, hours of work or study for them, to intensify friendship...; the more so the greater the opposition. Faith will lead us to understand them and to excuse them with a big heart, but knowing well that the goal is to make them know and love Jesus Christ, the greatest good we can do for them, the greatest of all favors and benefits.
In every apostolate, a patient attitude is necessary, which is never abandonment or neglect, but part of the virtue of fortitude; patience supposes a tenacious perseverance in obtaining the desired fruits. Many times it will be necessary to walk little by little, "as on an inclined plane", without ever getting discouraged because it seems to us that we are not advancing or perhaps that we are going backwards. The Lord already counts on these situations and gives the opportune graces. He has already laid his hands on each one of us, from the very moment we decided to bring them to him at the Tabernacle. From the beginning of every apostolate, he blesses the desires to bring to him those souls that for various circumstances are close to our daily life.
If people are slow to respond, it will be necessary to remember the patience God has had with us, and to consider how much He has forgiven us, and the countless times we have made Him wait? How long our God has waited at the door of our soul! If the Lord had abandoned us when we did not respond, when we did not want to hear His call, how far we would be from Him now! Our commitment will never be sterile, because in the apostolate we are moved by love for the Lord. Some will come to him after a few days, others after many years. Some at the first conversation, others after a long delay. Some will be able to run from the beginning, others will barely have the strength to take a short step. We must treat each one in his or her particular human and supernatural situation, without tiring, without abandonment. The doctor does not use the same prescription for all, nor the tailor the same size, nor the same model. You, brethren," advises the Apostle James, "be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer, in the hope of reaping the precious fruit of the earth, endures with patience until he receives the early and late rains. Therefore you also wait with patience and strain your hearts.
With supernatural prudence, and without false human prudence, we will insist on friends, relatives and colleagues. All this united with great charity and understanding, for we seek only their good. If the enemies of God insist so much to keep them away from Him, how can we, who seek their good, not insist? You know, Lord, that we seek only what is best for them! The best is You yourself, who give yourself to those who want to accept you.
Hablar con Dios