I have often dreamed of living a great life. This is commendable! But do I imagine that a great life consists in doing great things? If such were the case, how few would realize their desire!
The reality is much more simple. I must utilize the opportunities for generosity that I meet with in the life in which God has placed me - in my community, and the duties of my state.
Not that I must be like a spider in his web, ready to pounce on each insect that knocks against the mesh; God does not ask me to jump at each opportunity for victory, at every sacrifice that presents itself. The soul would lose its peace; this perpetual tension would tend only to enervate the soul, and after some time, render it powerless from too sustained an effort.
What God asks is that I keep in my heart the ardent desire never to refuse anything. That done, I must go on without being preoccupied as to what occasion to conquer self or to prove my love may arise sooner or later. If, however, the occasion does offer itself and it seems clear that I can and ought to take advantage of it - that God really asks it - then I must exert myself to the utmost to utilize the opportunity.
I see the difference between the tense, strained state of feverish suspense, and a calm and serene peace. An opportunity for practicing virtue presents itself, evidently an act which is not already a command; God would like me to do it, that is clear. Then I will do it! This constitutes a virile, generous manner of acting which leaves the heart free and the spirit at ease. I must strive in this way to utilize my spiritual opportunities. Generosity brings with it serenity.
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
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