We humans can be a cause of joy or sadness, light or darkness, a source of peace or anxiety, a leaven that softens or a dead weight that delays the journey of others. Our time on earth is not indifferent: we help others find Christ or we separate them from Him; we enrich or impoverish. And we encounter so many friends, colleagues, relatives, neighbors... who seem to wander like blind men after material goods, which lead them away from the true Good, Jesus Christ.
They wander like lost people. And for the guide of the blind not to be blind themselves,8 it is not enough to know by hearsay, by references; to help those we meet, a vague and superficial knowledge of the path is not enough. It is necessary to walk it, to know the obstacles... It is necessary to have an interior life, a daily personal contact with Jesus, to know his doctrine ever more deeply, to strive hard to overcome one's own defects. The apostolate is born from a great love for Christ.
The first Christians were true salt of the earth, and they preserved individuals and institutions, and the whole of society, from corruption. What has happened in many nations to give Christians this sad impression of being unable to stem the wave of corruption that is breaking out against the family, the school, institutions...? Because the faith remains the same. And Christ lives among us as before, and his power remains infinite, divine. "Only the lukewarmness of so many thousands, millions of Christians, explains why we can offer the world the spectacle of a Christianity that allows all kinds of heresies and barbarities to spread within itself.
Lukewarmness saps the strength and fortitude of faith and favors, both personally and collectively, compromises and easy ways."9 There are many realities, both personal and public, that are difficult to explain if we do not take into account that faith has fallen asleep in many who should have been wide awake, vigilant, and attentive; and love has been extinguished in so many. In many environments, "normal Christian living" is lukewarm and mediocre. For the early Christians, the "normal" thing was the "everyday heroic" and, when it occurred, martyrdom: the sacrifice of one's life in defense of one's faith.
When love grows cold and faith grows dormant, salt is tainted and no longer serves any purpose; it is a real hindrance. What a pity if a Christian were a hindrance! Lukewarmness is often the cause of apostolic ineffectiveness, for then the little that is accomplished becomes a task without human or supernatural grace, without a spirit of sacrifice. A dull faith lacking in love neither convinces nor finds the right word to draw others to a deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ.
Let us fervently ask the Lord for that strength to react. We will be the salt of the earth if we maintain a daily personal relationship with the Lord, if we approach the Holy Eucharist with ever greater faith and love. Love has been, and is, the driving force behind the lives of the saints. It is the reason for every life dedicated to God. Love gives us wings to overcome any personal or environmental obstacle. Love makes us unshakeable in the face of setbacks. Lukewarmness stops at the slightest difficulty (a letter we must write, a phone call, a visit, a conversation, the lack of some means...): it makes a mountain out of a molehill. The love of God, on the other hand, makes a molehill out of a mountain, transforms the soul, gives it new insight and opens new horizons, makes it capable of higher endeavors and unknown capabilities. Love spares no effort, nor does it lack joy in carrying them out.
At the end of our meditation, let us turn confidently to the Blessed Virgin, the perfect model of loving correspondence to the Christian vocation, so that she may effectively remove from our souls every shadow of lukewarmness. And let us also ask the Guardian Angels to make us diligent in the service of God.
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