Tuesday, January 30 : Saint José Maria Escriva de Balaguer

Filling the world with light, being the salt and light— that was how our Lord described the mission of his disciples. To bring to the ends of the earth the good news of God’s love. All of us Christians should devote our life to doing this, in one way or another. I’ll go further than that. We have to yearn not to be alone. We have to encourage others to help in this divine task of bringing joy and peace to men’s hearts. As St Gregory the Great says: “Insofar as you progress, attract others to go along with you, desire to have companions on the road to the Lord.” But bear in mind that, as our Lord tells us in a parable, the sower of weeds came “while men slept” (Mt 13,25). We so easily allow ourselves to be carried away by the torpor of selfishness and superficiality, getting wrapped up in thousands of passing experiences, that we avoid coming to grips with the real meaning of the world and life. A bad thing that lethargy, which smothers man’s dignity and makes him a slave of sadness!… So we have to awaken the people who have fallen into the dangerous sleep our Lord mentioned. We must remind them that life is not something to play with — it is a divine treasure which must grow. We must also show the way to those who have good will and good desires, but don’t know how to put them into practice. Christ urges us (cf. 2Cor 5,14). Each one of us has to be not only an apostle, but an apostle of apostles, bringing others along, so that they in turn will encourage others to make Jesus Christ known to everyone.

maronite readings – rosary,team