The Grass of the Field

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“Now if that is how God clothes the wildflowers growing in the field, which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?” (Luke 12:28).

When the Prophet Habakkuk in the Old Testament complains about the apparent triumph of evil over good, he laments the mistreatment of the chosen people by invaders who flaunt their scandalous behavior.

He says, “How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen? … Why do you set injustice before me? Why do you look on where there is tyranny? Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes” (Hab. 1:2-3).

Our Lord answers the Prophet with a call to patience and hope. The day will come when the evil ones will be punished. Our Lord says, “He whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by faithfulness” whereas he whose soul is not at rights, Our Lord flags that soul (cf. Hab. 2:4).

Even when it seems that evil has triumphed, as if God did not exist, we need to remember that God and His followers will triumph in the end.

Living by faith means realizing that God calls us to live as His children in every moment of the day. We need to be patient and place our hope in Him.

In another place in Scripture, St. Paul exhorts Timothy to remain firm in his vocation, to preach the truth without being inhibited by human respect.

St. Paul says, “I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God's gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim. 1:6-7).

St. Thomas teaches, “The grace of God is like a fire that loses its brilliance when the ashes are covered over” (Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Second Letter to the Corinthians). This is what happens when charity is almost smothered by lukewarmness or human respect.

The fortitude needed to advance the faith springs from the furnace of our interior life, which must never be allowed to go out. This is what we must ask from the Lord.

We’re told in the liturgy: “Father, your love for us surpasses all our hopes and desires. Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace, and lead us in the way of salvation” (Roman Missal, Opening Prayer, 27^th^ Week in Ordinary Time).

In the same liturgy it says: “Lead us to seek beyond our reach and give us the courage to stand before your truth” (Roman Missal, Alternate Opening Prayer, 27^th^ Week in Ordinary Time).

Give us a strong faith so that we may overcome our defects and give proper testimony to others.

St. Josemaría in the Furrow says, “There are men who have no faith, who are sad and hesitant because of the emptiness of their existence, and exposed like weathercocks to ‘changeable’ circumstances. How different that is from our trusting life as Christians, which is cheerful, firm, and solid, because we know and are absolutely convinced of our supernatural destiny!” (Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, Point 73).

We can derive great inspiration from our faith. With this source of energy, we can overcome the obstacles of difficult circumstances or personal weaknesses.

We have to ask Our Lord for a firm faith. There is such a thing as a dead faith which doesn't save. In the Letter of St. James, he talks about it as “a faith without works” (James 2:17). It's to be found wherever life is separated from belief.

One writer says there's also such a thing as “dormant faith. This cowardly lifestyle is also known as ‘lukewarmness.’ Practically speaking, lukewarmness is the worst thing that can infect a Christian. It can contaminate even those who think themselves very good Christians” (Pedro Rodríguez, Faith and the Life of Faith).

We need to develop a firm faith which will enable us to go beyond our own abilities in the apostolate.

We need a lot of faith to “launch out into the deep” (Luke 5:4). We need a lot of faith to be daring, to approach people older or better than ourselves; people in neuralgic positions in society; people who can influence, but yet, who are perhaps waiting for that word of encouragement, or for that truth, or that invitation that we have to give them.

If we truly live by faith, we'll gain a true understanding of our circumstances. We'll see what it is that God is asking of us in each particular moment; where He wants us, weak people that we are, to have the faith of the apostles, and this will help us to judge things with rectitude of intention.

The Second Vatican Council says, “Only the light of faith and meditation on the Word of God can enable us to find everywhere and always the God ‘in whom we live and exist’ (Acts 17:28); only thus can we seek his will in everything and see Christ in all men, acquaintance or stranger. Only then can we make sound judgments on the true meaning and value of temporal realities, both in themselves and in relation to man's end” (Vatican II, Apostolicam actuositatem, Point 4, November 18, 1965).

On a number of occasions, Our Lord called His apostles “men of little faith” (Matt. 8:26).

There was the time when they were sailing in a great storm and Our Lord Himself was aboard. They tended to worry a great deal about the future, about what was going to happen to them.

Our Lord had to say to them, “Why are you so frightened, you who have so little faith?” And then, “He stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matt. 8:26).

The apostles were also very aware of their far-from-perfect faith. St. Luke tells us that they asked Our Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).

We are precisely in the same situation as the apostles. We need to ask Our Lord every day of our life for that increase of faith that we need so much.

After charity, faith was the virtue that Our Lord spoke so much about. When He found faith, He was always enormously happy. He felt compelled to work miracles: “Because of your faith. ... Go in peace” (Mark 5:34).

He marveled at their unbelief. Then he also marveled at the faith of the centurion, “I have not found such great faith even in Israel”(Luke 7:9).

Our Lord increased their faith. And they gave their lives for Christ and for His teachings.

Our Lord's words were fulfilled: “Were your faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). An even greater miracle was the transformation of the souls they came into contact with.

Here in Africa, often you see the miracles that have been worked with the mustard seeds of the early missionaries.

There was a major article in the newspaper a few weeks ago about a Dutch missionary, Wilhelm Preiss, in one area of the country, who seems to have been responsible for all the early education processes in that whole area. His work had enormous fruitfulness. Now people want to study any papers that he left, because they see that he had an enormous role to play in their whole history.

That story is repeated all over the world, through many Christian souls who gave their lives to education, or to health care, or to building up the Church in the far-flung corners of society.

Pope John Paul II has called for a new evangelization—a new launching out into the deep of people with faith, so that we can imbue society with a whole series of Christian ideas. We may have the mustard seed of faith to bring, but God wants to work great miracles with those mustard seeds.

Just like the apostles, we frequently find ourselves lacking in faith in the face of difficulties or lack of means. We need to increase our faith. God will grant us more faith if we keep asking Him for it.

In The Forge, St. Josemaría says, “We lack faith. The day we practice this virtue, trusting in God and in his Mother, we will be daring and loyal. God, who is the same God as ever, will work miracles through our hands. —Grant me, dear Jesus, the faith I truly desire! My Mother, sweet Lady, Mary most holy, make me really believe!” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 235).

Pope Benedict has talked about how we have to be constantly nourishing our faith. It doesn't grow on its own. It doesn't come with the breeze. I need to feed it all the time.

One specific way to feed your faith is with the yearly retreat. It's difficult to quantify the number of graces that people get when doing a three-day retreat, a silent retreat where God and the Holy Spirit can speak to us deep in our souls.

One of the greatest apostolates we can do for our friends is to bring them along with us, two or three people every year, and have a great concern that all the people around us—colleagues, friends, relatives—also make that type of retreat every year for the good of their soul, for the good of the family.

One of the greatest things that parents can do for their children and for their homes is to spend a few days in retreat every year, increase their faith, and then they bring that faith and those virtues back to enrich their home and enrich their spouse.

That phrase, “Increase our faith!”, can be an aspiration that we could have frequently on our lips in all moments of the day, but perhaps, particularly in the moment of the elevation at the Consecration of the Mass, or when we receive Our Lord in Holy Communion.

We need to practice this virtue frequently: when we find ourselves in need or in danger; or when we come up against our weaknesses, when God lets us see ourselves on the inside and it fills us with self-disgust and we realize how poor or weak or miserable we are and how much we need the grace of God; or when we’re in pain; or when we encounter difficulties in the apostolate.

Blessed Álvaro once went to the United Kingdom and heard that they were involved in a lot of building projects, trying to build centers of formation all over the country to spread doctrine, to do a lot of apostolate.

He heard they had a lot of financial problems. He said to them, “I wish you many financial problems, because then you will pray more, you become more holy.” Of course, the purpose of looking for finances is not just looking for money, but to grow in holiness. That's what it's all about.

We could try to make those acts of faith. When souls around us may seem not to respond, but also when we pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we need to make many acts of faith in our prayer and during Mass: “My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here.”

It's said that St. Thomas Aquinas, when he looked upon the host at the moment of Consecration, he would say: “You are the king of glory, you are the eternal Son of the Father” (Roman Missal, Christ the King, Canticle, Te Deum).

In one of the biographies of St. Josemaría, it says that he had the custom of praying at that moment of the Consecration of the Mass: “Increase our faith, our hope, and our love.” Whenever he made a genuflection he would pray, “I adore you with devotion, hidden God.” Adoro te devote, latens dietas (cf. Andrés Vázquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei).

Many people have the custom of praying those words of St. Thomas the Apostle at the moment of the Consecration: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). We shouldn’t let that moment pass without showing Our Lord our faith and our love.

Even though we are filled with a great desire for formation and closer union with Christ, it's possible that our faith may at times weaken. We may give in to human respect in our apostolate.

Faith is a gift of God, and sometimes we might fail to live up to that gift. The occasion might be as unimportant as a grain of mustard seed. We shouldn't be surprised at our weaknesses. Our Lord has already taken them into account.

We could imitate the apostles, who were conscious of their defects but also conscious of the infinite power of the Almighty. We can try to work on that faith.

In the Gospel we're told about Bartimaeus. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Son of David, have pity on me!” (Mark 10:47).

He was a blind beggar—he lived in complete darkness; he had a tremendous desire for light, for clarity, for a cure. He sensed that this was the moment. For so long he'd been waiting for this opportunity.

So, when the Master came within range of his voice, he cried out. “Many people there scolded him and told him to keep quiet. But he only shouted all the louder” (Mark 10:48). He couldn't miss this chance.

This is a great example for us to follow. Christ is always within range of our voice, of our prayer. He's passing close to us, so that we're not afraid to call to Him.

St. Augustine comments: “Bartimaeus feared that Jesus would pass by and never return” (St. Augustine, Sermon 88).

We can't neglect any opportunity for divine grace. We need to call to Our Lord forcefully, even in the depths of our soul: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”

St. Bernard says, “My only merit is the mercy of the Lord. I will never lack any merit, as long as he is merciful. And since the mercy of the Lord is superabundant, then superabundant are my merits” (St. Bernard, Homily on the Song of Songs).

We turn to Him with these merits, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47).

St. Augustine teaches that “we should call out to Jesus with our prayer and good works” (St. Augustine, Sermon 349). Those works also include acts of charity, professional work well done, purity of soul after a contrite confession of our sins.

The blind man overcame the obstacles of his environment, and he obtained his heart's desire. “Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. They said, ‘Courage, get up, he is calling you.’ Throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus” (Mark 10:49-50).

Our Lord had heard the cries of Bartimaeus from the start. But He wanted the blind beggar to give us a graphic example of perseverance in prayer. And then he finds himself before Our Lord.

St. Josemaría comments, “And now begins a dialogue with God, a marvelous dialogue that moves us and sets our hearts on fire, for you and I are now Bartimaeus. Christ, who is God, begins to speak and asks, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man answers, ‘Lord, that I may see.’ How utterly logical! And how about yourself, can you really see? Haven't you too experienced at times what happened to the blind man of Jericho?

“I can never forget how, when meditating on this passage many years back and realizing that Jesus was expecting something of me, though I myself did not know what it was, I made up my own aspirations: ‘Lord, what is it you want? What are you asking of me?’

“I had a feeling that he wanted me to take on something new and the cry, ‘Master, may I see,’ moved me to beseech Christ again and again, ‘Lord, whatever it is that you wish, let it be done.’

“It is now to you that Christ is speaking,” says St. Josemaría. “He asks you, ‘What is it you want of me?’ ‘That I may see, Lord, that I may see.’ Then Jesus answers, ‘Away home with you. Your faith has brought you recovery.’ And all at once he recovered his sight and followed Jesus on His way.

“Following Jesus on his way. You have understood what Our Lord was asking from you and you have decided to accompany him on his way. You are trying to walk in his footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ's clothing, to be Christ himself: well, your faith, your faith in the light Our Lord is giving you, must be both operative and full of sacrifice.

“Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you are going to find new ways. The faith he demands of us is as I have said. We must keep in step with him, working generously and at the same time uprooting and getting rid of everything that stands in the way” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Points 197-198).

Another moment in the Gospel, Our Lord says, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21).

This was Our Lord's advice to the young person who had great possessions. Those words of Our Lord should have served as a cause of joy to that young person, but they made him sad. We're told, “At that saying, his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful” (Mark 10:22).

“The sadness of the young man,” says Pope St. John Paul, “makes us reflect. We could be tempted to think that many possessions, many of the goods of this world, can bring happiness.

“We see instead in the case of the young man in the Gospel that his many possessions have become an obstacle to accepting the call of Jesus to follow him. He was not ready to say ‘yes’ to Jesus and ‘no’ to himself, to say ‘yes’ to love and ‘no’ in order to escape. Real love is demanding” (John Paul II, Homily, October 1, 1979).

If we should notice a trace of sadness in our heart, it could be because the Lord is asking from us something which we don't want to relinquish. Maybe we have not yet freed our heart from some earthly attachment.

It can be the moment to remember the words of Our Lord at the close of this roadside encounter, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now, in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

Our Lord promises great things. We have to rise to that challenge with great faith.

Our Lord said to the apostles, “Come and follow me” (Matt. 4:19). Everyone there must have been eagerly waiting and hoping that the young man would give the right answer.

The words, “come and follow me” were the same words that Our Lord used to call the closest of His disciples.

This young man has the potential to be a great apostle. The invitation he receives is a calling to accompany Our Lord in His ministry, to listen to His doctrine and to digest it, to imitate His way of life.

Our challenge is to be with Christ in faith in the middle of the world—right where He has found us.

In faith, we have to try and make His life and His teaching part of our very being, of the air that we breathe. We need to communicate Christ's message in all the circumstances of our daily life.

In Friends of God, St. Josemaría says, “I have distinguished as it were four stages in our effort to identify ourselves with Christ: seeking him, finding him, getting to know him, loving him. It may seem clear to you that you're only at the first stage.

“Seek him then, hungrily; seek him within yourselves with all your strength. If you act with determination, I am ready to guarantee that you have already found him and have begun to get to know him and to love him, and to hold your conversation in heaven” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 300).

We could ask the help of the apostles, along with Our Lady, to increase our faith, so that we may be faithful to the end of our days and that we might bring many others to Christ in the process.

Our Lady will always be a tremendous source of faith and hope for us, especially when we're most in need.

One writer says, “We who are sinners know that she is our Advocate who never gets tired of lending us a hand again and again, as often as we fall and make an effort to rise again; we who go through life fumbling and faltering, who are weak to the point of not being able to avoid the pains inherent to our human condition, knowing that she is the comforter of the afflicted, the refuge where as a last resort we may find a bit of peace; a bit of serenity (that special consolation that only a mother can give and that makes everything all right again).

“We know also that in those moments when our helplessness reaches almost exasperation or despair, when nobody can do anything anymore and we feel utterly forlorn with our sorrow or with our shame, up against the wall, she is still our hope, our beacon light; she can still be appealed to when there is no longer anyone to appeal to” (Federico Suarez, The Narrow Gate).

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

CPG