As Saint Josemaria used to say, “God doesn’t allow Himself to be outdone in generosity.”
He is much more generous than we are.
If we answer “yes” to what He is asking from us,
He gives us much more, much greater happiness,
with the happiness one can attain in this world.
It is always a relative happiness that is compatible with suffering,
as you too have experienced; we all have experienced in one way or another
that life involves suffering,
and that also in suffering we can find joy,
the joy of uniting ourselves with our Lord,
being more closely united to the Cross, and therefore
being able to help the whole world more effectively.
We always have to foster a great hope
when faced with difficulties in our life…
…the world and also this country are filled with people
who are very good…
…our Lord is relying a lot on us
to bring the joy of our Lord, the joy of the Gospel,
the strength of God to very many people.
Naturally you are happy, and I too am very happy to be with you
because we are truly a family;
we are a small portion of this great family that is the Church.
Our Father sometimes said that he wanted the Work
to always be a small family,
even though spread throughout the whole world,
but small because we should always be very closely united.
The next revolution we need to carry out
is that of each day, each one of us in our own life.
We don’t need to wait for a special occasion;
each moment is special;
we have to live, as our Father taught us, the “hodie et nunc,” today, now.
The first commandment, to love God above all things and others as oneself;
this love for others as for oneself implies
desiring the good, seeking the good of others,
being generous, forgetting about ourselves
because our Lord is looking after us.
The fundamental reality is that Christ is alongside us
despite our weakness,
and that He is relying on us
to help Him make this a reality…
Everything has been created for Him;
we are God’s and should see ourselves in this light.
Our Lord is holding us in his hands; we are His,
and this is our strength, our security and the source of our joy.