Jesus sent his seventy two disciples to preach the Gospel telling them that they would go like “lambs” among “wolves” (Lk 10:3). The verse certainly reflects the experience of hostility suffered by Jesus himself. However, what matters is that Jesus never gave up his meekness: he was always a “lamb” and never a “wolf”.
We observe something similar in the life of Fr. Claret. It is the conviction that led to a practice in daily life that the Gospel cannot be imposed by force but only from a life of consistent witnessing. Of course this is a risk, because there will be always a “wolf” that wants to devour the one who lives and works as a “lamb”. But if all of us are “wolves”, we are heading toward total destruction. To be witnesses to the Gospel in the style of Jesus is to be convinced that the Word of God is our only power; as it belongs to God, it has the fruitfulness of the seed in itself that by dying brings out new life (cf. Mk 4: 26-29).
We are living in a strongly competitive world where sometimes there is no opportunity for the weakest. And that is why it sometimes becomes violent. Violent by action (it is full of armed struggles) and by omission (we are leaving millions of people in hunger or in a situation of under development). If we really want to witnesses to the Gospel, our only way is to show with our life that there is another possible way of existing and relating with others.
It happened to Claret too, as it takes place to us many times; it seems that weariness or dejection seems to overcome us (“And it seems to me that dying would have been better for me than living by overlooking what is happening and will happen”). Our fraternal life, the attentive listening of the Word, the union with Christ through an intensive life of faith, have to be the antidote against dejection or pessimism.
How do I place myself before the negative realities of the world? Do I continue to maintain hope and try to be the sower of peace?