Jan 24 Fri
Should I take care of myself?
The Holy Father has insisted on the spiritual care of the priests. This should apply to lay people also:
“For my part, I would like to leave you with a double invitation: Take care of yourself, and take care of others.”
Take care of yourself, because our life is not a “yes” we have pronounced once and for all. We do not live off of the past income with the Lord. On the contrary, the joy of the encounter with Him must be renewed every day. At every moment it is necessary to listen to his voice and decide to follow him, even in times of failure. Get up, look at the Lord, and say with Bp. Alvaro del Portillo, “Thank you. Forgive me. Continue helping me.”
Our life is expressed in the offering of ourselves; but the more a person … gives himself, wears himself out, and works for the Kingdom of God, the more he must take care of himself. If he neglects this aspect, he will also end up neglecting those entrusted to him.
Spaces and moments are needed in which each takes care of himself. And this is not to get a facelift and look more handsome. On the contrary, these spaces and these moments are needed to speak with the Friend, with the Lord, and, above all, with our Mother – please do not stop going to Our Lady – to talk about your own life and how things are going. Also, have a confessor and a friend who knows you, and with whom you can talk and make a good discernment. Do not live on a deserted island.
And this care also includes fraternity. Let us learn to share not only the tiredness and the challenges but also the joy and friendship among us. Let’s not be like two ships passing in the night.
But how about breaking the loneliness and the need to know how to ask for help? In urgent cases, one may have a kind of telephone or person available for extreme cases. Although the idea is good, the problem is that when one is ill, it is so much, that part of the problem is precisely recognizing one’s fragility and asking for help.
When we speak of fragility, we refer to the destructive element that causes the wound.
What elements form part of the “pressure” that attacks the Christian vocation and causes those damages that become wounds?
An important part is neglecting the spiritual life.
As regards the environment and apostolic methods, it is necessary to read them from a place of humility and fragility, to accept personal limitations in a healthier way.
Flee from triumphalism. Be competent, not competitive.
Our work is a long-distance race, more than a sprint. A long-distance race sees the goal in the distance and requires trusting in the march without expecting the immediate result. Running up the mountain carries the risk of slipping or exhausting yourself. And resuming the climb after a fall is more difficult. Let’s walk together.
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