Monday, March 14 : Blessed Columba Marmion

Christ Jesus will not leave our generosity unrewarded. Was it not he himself, the source of all grace as of all truth, who said: “Give, and it shall be given to you” (Lk 6:38) ? The one who gives to a neighbor receives in his turn from God. There are souls who do not advance in the love of God because God acts sparingly towards them; and God shows himself sparing because they are selfish and will not give themselves to Christ in his members. (…) “With the same measure you measure, it shall be measured to you” (Lk 6:38) Herein lies the secret of the sterility of more than one soul; God leaves on their isolation those who surround themselves with precaution to safeguard their selfish tranquillity. By shutting themselves off from their neighbor these souls close themselves off from God. And as God is the fount of every grace, as without him we can do nothing for eternal beatitude, what can a soul hope forthat thus voluntarily closes the avenues of grace ? God lets himself be touched by our miseries, but on condition that we are ourselves sensible to the needs and miseries of our brothers. (…) Let us, too, give without reservation, let us listen to our Lord who tells us: “I, who am God, have loved this neighbor, I have given myself for him, I call him to the same beatitude as yourself; why do you not love him, if not in the same measure as I have loved him, at least as ardently as you can for my sake and in me ?”
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team