Meditation for March 16, The Master Key

The evening of Palm Sunday, St. Gertrude was meditating on the reception Mary, Martha and Lazarus had given to Our Lord at Bethany; and she was carried away with the desire to offer to Our Savior an ardent welcome to her heart.

Then suddenly Jesus manifested Himself to her, saying, "Here I am! What do wish to give me?"

"Oh!" replied Gertrude, "welcome, Solace of my soul, my only Treasure. Alas! I have prepared nothing suitable for Your great­ness, but I offer You my whole being, asking that You prepare in me what would be most pleasing to Your Heart."

"Since you give Me the liberty, I will do it," answered Our Lord, "but you will have to give me the key that My hand may be able to open your heart and dispose of whatsoever I wish."

"What is this key that I must give you?" asked the Saint. "It is," answered Jesus, "your will."

Submit your will; that is the key which permits Our Lord to give Himself as He wishes to the religious soul; he who gives the key to the apartment gives the whole apartment; the one who gives his will reserves nothing for himself.

"Lord Jesus, You know that like St. Gertrude, I want You to be the sole and sovereign Master of my being. I offer You my poor will with all its possibilities, with all its power of enthusiasm, as well as its fear of making a complete gift and its instinctive tendency to hold back.

You know where to find the key; take it Yourself; may there no longer be anything in me which belongs to me; may I belong entirely to You. O my Good Master, be a real Master to me."

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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)