Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Aug 16 - We must sanctify the whole world


Aug 16 Wed
From a letter of St Maximilian Kolbe:
We must sanctify the whole world. I rejoice greatly, dear brother, at the outstanding zeal that drives you to promote the glory of God. It is sad to see how in our times, that the diseases called “indifferentism” and “relativism” are spreading even among members of religious orders.

Yet the salvation and holiness of all souls should be the chief concern of our life. Let me outline the best way to achieve this: God, who is infinite knowledge and infinite wisdom, knows perfectly what is to be done to give him glory, and he makes his will known to us in the clearest way possible.

By obedience, and obedience alone, God shows us his will with certainty. Of course, our directors may err, but we, by obeying, will never fall into error. There is only one exception: if the director commands something that would obviously involve breaking God’s law, however slightly. In that case the director would not be acting as a faithful interpreter of God’s will.

God makes his holy will known to us through his administrators on Earth and draws us to himself. Then through us – for so he has willed – he draws other souls closer to his Love.

See, brother, the tremendous honor of the position that God in his kindness has placed us in. Through obedience we transcend our own limitations and align ourselves with God’s will. He guides us to do what is best, with infinite wisdom and prudence.

This is the path of wisdom and prudence. If there were a better way, Christ would certainly have shown it to us, by his word and by example. But in fact, sacred Scripture summarizes his entire life in Nazareth with the words “and he was obedient to them,” and it shows how he came down to Earth to do his Father’s will.

Brethren, let us love him above all, even if we have to sacrifice our own wills in the process. All this we will achieve more easily through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin, to whom God has given the task of dispensing his mercies. There is no doubt that the will of Mary is the will of God for us. When we dedicate ourselves to him, we become instruments in her hands, just as she became an instrument in his.

Let us allow her to direct us and lead us by the hand. Let us be calm and serene under her guidance: she will plan all things for us, provide all things, and keep away from us difficulties and suffering.

 

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