Google transl.
The life of the first faithful and their testimony in the world make us know their courage and courage. They did not have as a standard of conduct what was easiest or most comfortable or most popular, but rather the complete fulfillment of the will of God. «They paid no attention to the dangers of death (...), nor to their small number, nor to the multitude of their opponents, nor to the power, strength and wisdom of their enemies; because they had forces greater than all that: the power of Him who had died on the Cross and had risen again»1. They had their gaze fixed on Christ, who gave his life for all men. They sought neither his personal glory nor the applause of his fellow citizens. They acted with righteousness of intention, with their eyes fixed on their Lord. This is what allows Saint Stephen to say at the moment of his martyrdom: Lord, do not hold their sin against them2, as we read in today's Mass.
The intention is right when Christ is the end and the motive of our actions. «Purity of intentions is nothing more than the presence of God: God our Lord is present in all our intentions. How free our hearts will be from all earthly impediments, how clean our gaze will be and how supernatural our entire way of acting when Jesus Christ truly reigns in the world of our intimacy and presides over all our intentions!»3.
On the contrary, those who seek the approval of others and the applause of others can go so far as to distort their own conscience: "What they will say" can then be taken as a criterion for action and not the will of God. Concern about the opinions of others could transform into fear of the environment; It would then be easy to neutralize the apostolic activity of Christians, who "have taken upon themselves an urgent task that they must fulfill on earth"4: the evangelization of the world.
Sometimes, in order not to clash with the environment, it is easy to begin to not be completely consistent with the principles. One is tempted to lean towards the side where it is easier to collect smiles and compliments, or, at best, towards the side of mediocrity. This is what happened with the Pharisees. «It (vainglory and cowardice) was the one that separated them from God; She made them look for another theater for their struggles, and this lost them. Because as one tries to please the spectators that each one has, according to the spectators, such are the combats that take place»5. On the contrary, he who truly seeks Christ must know that his behavior – especially if his life takes place in a non-Christian environment – will be unpopular and fought on many occasions.
We must seek, first of all, in our actions, to please Christ. If he still sought to please men, he would not be a servant of Christ6. And Saint Paul himself replied in this way to some faithful of Corinth who criticized his apostolate: As for me, it is very little for me to be judged by you or by any other tribunal, for I do not even judge myself... Whoever judges me judge is the Lord7.
Human judgments are often flawed and unreliable. Only God can judge our actions and also our intentions. «Among the surprises that await us on the day of judgment, not the least will be the silence that the Lord will keep regarding those of our actions that earned us the applause of our fellow men (...). On the other hand, it may happen that he has included in our assets some actions that have attracted criticism, censure (...). Our judge is the Lord. And it is He who we must please»8. Let us ask ourselves many times a day: am I doing what I should at this moment? Am I seeking the glory of God, or my own vanity, to look good? If we are sincere on those occasions, we will have light to rectify the intention, if necessary, and direct it to the Lord.
Hablar con Dios