Christ, who had come to open heaven for all men, could find means of bringing them all to that eternal home without help from any man. Yet he decided to ask men to co-operate with him in this divine task. He set up his Church, which would be run by mere mortals for their fellow-mortals, but which would be under his protection, and assisted by him until the end of time.
Christ, as God, could deal directly with every human being on earth. There would then be no need for Christians to be apostles for their fellow companions, no need for a Church with her teaching Magisterium, no need for the sacrament of Baptism, or of Penance, nor of the Holy Eucharist itself or of any other such aids. Christ could do all that we do, and all that his Church does for the salvation of mankind, and more successfully, of course. Yet he chose the way which divine wisdom saw was best: He called you and me.
When a soul has heard the voice of Jesus calling him, he cannot remain indifferent. Benedict XVI: "When someone experiences great joy, he feels the impulse to communicate it to the people with whom he is in contact. This is all the more true when it is a matter of the supernatural life that Jesus has brought to earth. This is a joy that cannot be hidden, because the Christian vocation carries with it, by its very nature, the need to do apostolate. The joy of having been saved by God does not fit in a single heart".
The great novelty of Christianity consists in knowing that God loves us with a Father's love.
"Ancient people lived in a world of fear, surrounded by dangerous demons, never knowing how to save themselves.
And now they heard it said: "Rejoice; those demons are nothing; there is a true God, and this true God is good, he loves us, he knows us, he is with us to the point that he has become flesh". This is the great joy that Christianity announces.
"This joy that we have received we cannot keep it only for ourselves. Joy must always be shared. Joy must be communicated. Mary immediately ran to communicate her joy to her cousin Elizabeth. And since she was raised to heaven, she has been distributing joy throughout the world; she has become the Consoler of the afflicted, our Mother, who communicates joy, trust, goodness, and invites us to distribute joy ourselves as well."
St. Josemaría in “Forge”: You wrote: “My King, I hear you proclaiming in a loud voice that still resounds: — I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”
Then you added: “Lord, it is me — all of me — who answers with all my senses and faculties: Ecce ego quia vocasti me! — here I am because you have called me.”
—May this answer of yours be a daily reality.
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