9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
Wednesday
“Master, we have labored all the night and have taken nothing.” The work has been long and
tiring. But it was nocturnal work, work without Jesus, done without the command of the Lord
and not dependent on His will and intentions. How could it have been successful?
“We have labored all the night and have taken nothing.” These words sound as if they had been
spoken by ourselves. Work is the battle cry of the age. Day and night men are consumed by the
frantic press of business. Work is also the watchword of those who try to live a life of piety. We
make martyrs of ourselves and groan under burdens which we are not able to carry (Mt 23:4).
We begin a thousand good works and scarcely bring one to completion. We assume numerous
spiritual exercises and regulations, yet we do not approach true holiness. We make trial of
every new fashion in the spiritual life, and yet we are not satisfied. We set out in search of new
methods, new meditations, and new saints; we keep accounts and make frequent inventories,
and we know that all is not well.
Work is also the battle cry of all those who work for the salvation of souls, who live a life of
charity and Catholic action. They work feverishly in their offices and pound furiously on their
typewriters. They found new organizations and start new projects; new members are sought
and new guilds started. Innumerable books are written, and countless periodicals are prepared
and distributed. Conventions meet on every hand. All has been splendidly organized, and yet,
where are the fruits of all these industrious works of piety? What have we to show for all our
charitable undertakings? What harvest have we reaped from our apostolate? What results have
we obtained from all our social and religious activity? Must we not often approach the Master
and confess with Peter, “Master, we have labored all the night and have taken nothing?
“But at Thy word.” At the command of Jesus, Peter again cast forth his net. He acted at the
express command of the Master, conformed entirely to His will. His second attempt is crowned
with astonishing success. Only work that is blessed by the Lord Himself will be successful.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, . . . and all these things shall be added unto you” (Lk 12:31).
A multitude of external works and projects and an ever increasing activity are no guarantee of
success. Not the number of our pious undertakings makes us holy, but the power springing
from our interior life, from our attempts at union with Christ, from our search for true holiness,
gives us the guarantee of success. The breath of life must go forth from our interior life into our
external works, just as the sap must flow from the heart of the tree into the branches and the
blossoms. The source of this interior life is, first of all, the interior virtues, such as a vivifying
faith, humble subjection to the will of God, the spirit of self-denial, the spirit of prayer, the love
of God and of Christ. Our efforts must first of all be centered on strengthening this inner life.
We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, with God, who lives and works
in us; we must listen to His voice speaking to us and guiding us.
Only when inordinate passion has been subjected within us, when the spirit of God and
of Christ has conquered in us, when our actions proceed from a spirit of self-detachment, then
shall we be able to work with a selfless love, with a pure intention, and for the sake of God
alone. Only then will our work be blessed and be fruitful. Only such an interior life can make us
generous in adversity, patient in suffering, magnanimous and persistent; only such an interior
life gives us the strength to conquer self, to be faithful to our obligations, to perform our duties
perfectly both interiorly and exteriorly, and to subject ourselves entirely to the will of God.
451