Dec 31 Tue
How can I walk with Christ?
“I am the way, the truth, and the life." In these clear and unmistakable words, our Lord outlines the true path that leads to everlasting happiness. He is the only road linking heaven and earth.
He speaks to all people, but primarily He addresses those who, like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation seriously, so that God may always be present in our thoughts, on our lips, and in everything we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions.
Woe to the souls where Christ does not dwell!
When the Jews offended God, He delivered Jerusalem to their enemies.
Likewise, when a soul breaks his commands, God hands it over to its enemies, who corrupt and disgrace it.
When a house has no master living in it, it becomes dark, and sordid, choked with filth and trash.
So too is a soul that has lost its Master. It is darkened by sin, its desires are degraded, and it knows nothing but shame.
Woe to the house where no master dwells, to the field where no farmer works, to the ship without a helmsman, it will be storm-tossed and sink.
Woe to the soul without Christ as its true pilot; while drifting in the darkness, buffeted by the waves of passion, battered by evil spirits, its end will be destruction.
Woe to the soul that, like a field, does not have Christ to cultivate it with care to produce the good fruit of the Holy Spirit. Left to itself, the field is choked with thorns and thistles, producing only what is fit for burning.
Woe to the soul that does not have Christ dwelling in it, rotten with the filth of the passions, it will become a hiding place for all vices.
When a farmer prepares to till the soil, he must put on working clothes and use suitable tools. Similarly, Christ, our heavenly King, came to till the soil of mankind devastated by sin. He assumed a Body and, using the Cross as his plowshare, cultivated the barren soul of man. He removed the thorns and thistles, which are the works of the devil, and pulled up the weeds of sin.
He cast the straw of evilness into the fire. And when He had plowed the soul with the wood of the cross, He planted in it a most lovely orchard of the Spirit, that could produce for its Lord and God.
"He that dwells in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven. This is the risky security of the Christian. We must be convinced that God hears us, and that He is concerned about us. If we are, we will feel completely at peace. But living with God is indeed a risky business, for He will not share things: He wants everything. And if we move toward him, we must be ready for a new conversion, to take new bearings, to listen more attentively to his inspirations – those holy desires that He provokes in every soul – and to put them into practice.”
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