SEEING JESUS IN THE POOR
Claret exhorts us to keep alive the two attitudes that should be inseparable: the first is about the interior life, of renewed faith with useful and devotional readings that manifest the inner self and externally the faith that one professes, the hope and charity that springs from it; secondly to renew the conscience about the brother and particularly the poor in whom God is present (cf. Mt 25: 31-46).
In our time more than Claret´s (19th century), the Church emphasizes the discovery of the Word of God, reading of it, ruminating it through the “Lectio Divina”. In his Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God, Benedict XVI, quoting Origen makes his call to the believer, “Do your reading with the intent of believing in and pleasing God. If during the lectio you encounter a closed door, knock and it will be opened to you by that guardian of whom Jesus said, ‘The gatekeeper will open it for him’. By applying yourself in this way to lectio divina, search diligently and with unshakable trust in God for the meaning of the divine Scriptures” (VD 86).
Other devotions about which Claret speaks (the Most Holy Sacrament, Mary…..) will come spontaneous reaction and expression; whether as the ways indicated by him or in other forms, perhaps, more in line with the situation or the each one´s gesture. And secondly, if we make an effort to keep alive the awareness of the presence of Christ in each person we meet, not only in difficult moments to listen him and do for him what we could, but also we shall experience those words of the Lord, “Happiness lies more in giving than receiving” (Acts 20:35).
Do I live my apostolic mission with a deep inner experience of Jesus? Do I make an effort to see the Lord in all the persons with whom He keeps me in contact, particularly in the poorest and neediest? What is the role of the Bible in my spiritual formation?
