“Love means deeds, not sweet words.” (Saint Josemaría).
Saint Josemaría once wrote, “There is a story of a soul who, on saying to our Lord in prayer, ‘Jesus, I love you,’ heard this reply from heaven: ‘Love means deeds, not sweet words.’ Think if you also could deserve this gentle reproach.”
And I have been thinking about those words of that Saint as I have been thinking about word and deed. You see, what Saint Josemaría was really doing was reminding people that God expects us to authentically follow Him. He expects real commitment.
And I know this because Christ Himself spoke about this when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:21.24-27).
And the message is clear – it will not be my word alone that gets me into Heaven, it will have to be more than that. It is not enough to pray with my mouth – I need to pray with my body and my mind as well. I need to pray with myself – for it is me – myself – who is invited to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Me. Not my words…
And that means there must be a full commitment of my entire life to God.
Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig was born in 1911 and later became a priest. In 1939, the Gestapo arrested him for defending the Jews in his sermons. He was sent to Dachau concentration camp (without trial). He used his time in the camp to serve the other prisoners – even studying Russian so that he could better communicate with those from Eastern Europe. In 1944 he volunteered to care for the prisoners with typhoid. He caught the disease himself and wrote to his sister before his death in 1945, “God's almighty grace helps us overcome obstacles... love doubles our strength, makes us inventive, makes us feel content and inwardly free. If people would only realise what God has in store for those who love Him!”
And I have been thinking about that love as I have been thinking about the words that I use and the deeds that they result in. You see, I was placed here on this earth to do the Holy Will of God. And it is my job to do whatever it takes to please my Beloved. After all, I was not placed here just to speak a word… I was placed here – in this time and this space – to action my word and to commit entirely and without hesitation.
Now, I pray for the Grace to be able to put my words into action…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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