Jesus found nothing but leaves… There are no lasting fruits in the Christian when, due to a lack of interior life, of being immersed in God, and of considering the apostolic task in His presence, way is given to activism (doing, moving… without being backed by a deep life of prayer), which in the end proves sterile, ineffective, and is frequently a symptom of a lack of rectitud of intention. There, nothing exists but a purely human work, devoid of supernatural relief, perhaps a consequence of ambition, of the desire to stand out, which can seep into everything man does, even in that of the highest appearance. With good reason, the danger of activism has been highlighted: works that are good in themselves, but without an interior life to support them. Saint Bernard, and many authors after him, called these works "cursed occupations."
But the lack of true fruits in the apostolate can also occur through passivity, through a lack of love expressed in deeds. And if activism is bad and sterile, passivity is disastrous, for the Christian can deceive himself, believing he loves God because he performs acts of piety: it is true that he does them, but not completely, because they do not move him to do good. These pious practices without fruit would be empty and sterile foliage, because true interior life leads to an intense apostolate—in any situation and environment—to acting with courage, with audacity, with initiative, casting aside human respect, "with the joy of living," with the strength instilled by a love that is always young. Today, as we speak with the Lord in this time of prayer, we can examine whether there are fruits in our life, now, in the present. Do I have initiatives as an overabundance of my interior life, of my prayer, or do I think, on the contrary, that in my environment—in the university, in the factory, in the office…—I can do nothing, that it is no longer possible to obtain more fruits for God? Do I commit myself and effectively help in apostolic undertakings…, or do I "only pray"? Do I justify myself by telling myself that between work, family, and dedication to practices of piety, "I don't have time"? If so, it will be normal that work, family life… will not be an occasion for apostolate either.
Deeds are love… True love for God manifests itself in a committed apostolate, carried out with tenacity. And if the Lord were to find us passive, contenting ourselves with a few practices of piety without an apostolic manifestation full of joy and constancy, perhaps He could say to us in the intimacy of our heart: more deeds… and fewer "good reasons." There are many occasions throughout a day to—in a thousand different ways—make Christ known, if our love is true. The interior life without a profound apostolic zeal shrinks and dies; it remains a mere appearance. The next morning, as they passed by—the Evangelist notes—the Apostles saw that the fig tree had withered to its roots, completely. It is the expressive image of those who, out of comfort, laziness, or a lack of a spirit of sacrifice, do not bear those fruits that the Lord expects. An apostolic life, as that of every Christian ought to be, is the opposite of this withered fig tree: it is life, initiative, enthusiasm for the apostolic task, love turned into deeds, joy, activity that is perhaps quiet but constant…
Let us examine our life and see if we can present to the Lord—who approaches us hungry and thirsty for souls—mature fruits, realities achieved with a joyful sacrifice. In spiritual direction, they can help us distinguish what there is in each of us of activism (where we need to pray more) and what there is of a lack of initiative (where we need to "move" more). The Virgin, Our Lady, will teach us how to react so that our interior life, our desire to love God, never turns into empty and worthless foliage.
HCD