Sep 2 Sat
Jesus continues to instruct the multitudes. Now he forewarns his disciples against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who preach the commandments of Moses' Law without fulfilling them themselves: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.”
In the Work we are taught about sincerity and simplicity, and rejection of pretense, since “the spirit of Opus Dei is simple, candid and genuine. It is based on Sacred Scripture, which is inspired by God, who is infinitely simple and who says of himself that he is the true God, that he is truthful, that he is Truth itself.” Saint Josemaría
Our dedication should have the naturalness and simplicity of souls who are unconditionally committed to fulfilling God's will. The good religious try to bring Christ to the “periphery,” and there they go. In Opus Dei, we are the “periphery.”
We live amid the world's activities, practicing a profession not as a tactic, but because it is our chosen place in life. Ours is a call to seek the fullness of Christian life where we are, in our work, most likely in the same job we had before being in Opus Dei. We have no need to go into the world, since we have never left it; there God called us, and there we remain. “A man of faith who practices a profession, whether intellectual, technical or manual, feels himself and is in fact at one with others; he is the same as others, with the same rights and obligations, the same desire to improve, the same interest in facing and solving common problems.”
What joy we feel as we contemplate the total naturalness of the early Christians. The difference between Christians and the rest of mankind is not a matter of nationality, language, or customs, says a writer of the time. Christians do not live apart in separate cities of their own, speak any special dialect, or practice any eccentric way of life. Our life is as simple as that. Its oddness is that it is not odd. We strive to live in accordance with our faith, without affectation of any kind. Our way of life and what we think are manifest to all.
Simplicity in our interior life. “Without any pretense, we raise our hearts to God like little children. The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. For us, our Father God's loving gaze is a call to be simple and sincere in his presence.”
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