English
Documentation
Saint Josemaría and the gift of tongues
Ramon Herrando
Saint Josemaría knew that he was an instrument in God’s hands. All the human resources he had at that point were his work as a priest, his youth, and his cheerfulness. But he was already thinking about reaching the ends of the earth. It is not surprising, therefore, that his life was a continual catechesis: sometimes in speech and sometimes in writing.
In November 1932, fully conscious of the mission that God had entrusted him with, St Josemaría drew this conclusion about his personal worth in relation to God and the task he was to undertake: “Nothing, in comparison with the wonder implied by this reality: a terribly poor instrument and sinner, planning, with your inspiration, a conquest of the whole world for his God from the spectacular observation post of an interior room of a poor house where every material discomfort finds its place.” 1
To conquer the world for Christ, to set him on the summit of all human activities, to spread Christ’s kingdom: all this was an undertaking for which God had chosen an inadequate instrument. But his humility did not lead him to give up, because he knew that he was a son of God. Which is why he also wrote, “God doesn’t need me. It is a most loving mercy of his heart.” 2
The vocation he had received required him to be “a father, a teacher and guide of saints”. 3 His message had to reach the whole world, resound throughout the earth, stirring souls to feel the closeness of God and eliciting in return a total response to God’s Love.
The spiritual message he had to bring to mankind was “as old and as new as the Gospel”. 4 “We are children of God, bearers of the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls, of the only brightness which can never be darkened, dimmed or overshadowed. The Lord uses us as torches, to make that light shine out. Much depends on us; if we respond many people will remain in darkness no longer, but will walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life” (The Forge, 1).
Saint Josemaría knew that he was an instrument in God’s hands. All the human resources he had at that point were his work as a priest, his youth, and his cheerfulness. But he was already thinking about reaching the ends of the earth. “In spite of feeling myself devoid of all virtue and knowledge (humility is the truth – this is no sham), I would like to write books of fire, which would run like wild-fire throughout the world, giving light and warmth to men, turning their poor hearts into burning coals, that can be offered to Jesus as rubies for his kingly crown.” 5
It is not surprising, therefore, that his life was a continual catechesis: sometimes in speech and sometimes in writing. But as well as that he had to reach people’s individual consciences, – even people he would never meet, through the printed word. Hence, in the prologue he wrote for the first page of The Way, he tells the reader: “Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear – confiding them – as a friend, as a brother, as a father. And they are being heard by God.”
There is no “method” or technique for this way of speaking, to mobilize millions of souls. His teaching method was the one Jesus Christ used with His apostles. “It is such a waste of time and such a human way of looking at things, when everything is reduced to tactics, as if the secret of being effective lay there. They forget that God’s tactics are charity, the Love without limits: thus it was that He bridged the unbridgeable gap that man, through sin, opens up between Heaven and earth” (Furrow, 147).
It is not possible to reduce Love to formulas or ready-made phrases. Knowing this, St Josemaría tried to imitate the divine Teacher: “I insist: ask God to grant us, His children, the ‘gift of tongues’, the gift of making ourselves understood by all. You can find the reason why I want this ‘gift of tongues’ in the pages of the Gospel, which abound in parables, in examples which materialise the doctrine and illustrate spiritual truths, without debasing or degrading the word of God. Everyone, both the learned and the less learned, finds it easier to reflect on and understand God’s message through these human images” (The Forge, 895).
Since he always taught that holiness is not for the privileged few but can be found in ordinary life, the most normal and ordinary things could serve to illustrate the loftiest truths.
In order to talk about the things of the earth it is necessary to learn tactics, calculate, and apply all sorts of methods. But the language of “tactics” for turning souls to God is of another kind, accessible to all, and it can be understood no matter what the language, race or culture of the hearer, because “we should all speak the same language, taught us by our Father in heaven – the language Jesus spoke with his Father. It is … the language of contemplation, used by men who are spiritual, because they realize they are children of God. This language is expressed in a thousand motions of our will, in the clear insights of our minds, in the affections of our heart, in our commitment to lead a virtuous life, in goodness, happiness and peace” (Christ is Passing By, 13).
He teaches us in confidence the reason for the fruitfulness of his evangelizing work, and his capacity for making his message strike home, in the following passage: “Be grateful to God from the bottom of your heart for those wonderful and terrifying faculties he chose to give you when he made you – your intellect and your will. They are wonderful, because they make you like him; and terrifying because there are human beings who turn their faculties against their Creator. It seems to me we could sum up the thankfulness that we owe as children of God by saying to this Father of ours, now and always, serviam! I will serve you” (The Forge, 891).
Moved by his love for God, he was able to put himself in the place of other people, and to use all the means of communication effectively and naturally, as each occasion demanded. This means he is a model in the sphere of communication. Without present-day electronic means, which did not exist then, his teachings reached people all over the world, stirring the consciences and hearts of those who received them. He knew from his own experience that “the charity of Christ is not merely a benevolent sentiment for our neighbour; it is not limited to a penchant for philanthropy. Poured out in our soul by God, charity transforms from within our mind and will. It provides the supernatural foundation for friendship and the joy of doing what is right” (Christ is Passing By, 71).
His voice and his writings were not an anonymous means of communication like a news or advertising agency. Even without having met him or even seen him, someone who reads what he said knows that the person speaking is a friend, a brother, a father, who never lies and who knows what the reader needs; and so we feel grateful for his advice and moved by it. This personal relationship, the fruit of his love for God, is the secret of his effectiveness.
Notes
1. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 877. Quoted by A. Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei, vol. I, Scepter, 2001, pp. 375-6.
2. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 1696. Quoted by Vazquez de Prada, p. 376.
3. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 1725. Quoted by Vazquez de Prada, p. 428.
4. St Josemaria, Conversations, 24.
5. St Josemaría, quoted by A. del Portillo in his Foreword to The Forge, Scepter, 1988, p. 12.
Preface to the acts of the symposium ‘St Josemaría and Communication’, published by the Fundacion Catalina Mir, Jaen (Spain), 2006.
To conquer the world for Christ, to set him on the summit of all human activities, to spread Christ’s kingdom: all this was an undertaking for which God had chosen an inadequate instrument. But his humility did not lead him to give up, because he knew that he was a son of God. Which is why he also wrote, “God doesn’t need me. It is a most loving mercy of his heart.” 2
The vocation he had received required him to be “a father, a teacher and guide of saints”. 3 His message had to reach the whole world, resound throughout the earth, stirring souls to feel the closeness of God and eliciting in return a total response to God’s Love.
The spiritual message he had to bring to mankind was “as old and as new as the Gospel”. 4 “We are children of God, bearers of the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls, of the only brightness which can never be darkened, dimmed or overshadowed. The Lord uses us as torches, to make that light shine out. Much depends on us; if we respond many people will remain in darkness no longer, but will walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life” (The Forge, 1).
Saint Josemaría knew that he was an instrument in God’s hands. All the human resources he had at that point were his work as a priest, his youth, and his cheerfulness. But he was already thinking about reaching the ends of the earth. “In spite of feeling myself devoid of all virtue and knowledge (humility is the truth – this is no sham), I would like to write books of fire, which would run like wild-fire throughout the world, giving light and warmth to men, turning their poor hearts into burning coals, that can be offered to Jesus as rubies for his kingly crown.” 5
It is not surprising, therefore, that his life was a continual catechesis: sometimes in speech and sometimes in writing. But as well as that he had to reach people’s individual consciences, – even people he would never meet, through the printed word. Hence, in the prologue he wrote for the first page of The Way, he tells the reader: “Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear – confiding them – as a friend, as a brother, as a father. And they are being heard by God.”
There is no “method” or technique for this way of speaking, to mobilize millions of souls. His teaching method was the one Jesus Christ used with His apostles. “It is such a waste of time and such a human way of looking at things, when everything is reduced to tactics, as if the secret of being effective lay there. They forget that God’s tactics are charity, the Love without limits: thus it was that He bridged the unbridgeable gap that man, through sin, opens up between Heaven and earth” (Furrow, 147).
It is not possible to reduce Love to formulas or ready-made phrases. Knowing this, St Josemaría tried to imitate the divine Teacher: “I insist: ask God to grant us, His children, the ‘gift of tongues’, the gift of making ourselves understood by all. You can find the reason why I want this ‘gift of tongues’ in the pages of the Gospel, which abound in parables, in examples which materialise the doctrine and illustrate spiritual truths, without debasing or degrading the word of God. Everyone, both the learned and the less learned, finds it easier to reflect on and understand God’s message through these human images” (The Forge, 895).
Since he always taught that holiness is not for the privileged few but can be found in ordinary life, the most normal and ordinary things could serve to illustrate the loftiest truths.
In order to talk about the things of the earth it is necessary to learn tactics, calculate, and apply all sorts of methods. But the language of “tactics” for turning souls to God is of another kind, accessible to all, and it can be understood no matter what the language, race or culture of the hearer, because “we should all speak the same language, taught us by our Father in heaven – the language Jesus spoke with his Father. It is … the language of contemplation, used by men who are spiritual, because they realize they are children of God. This language is expressed in a thousand motions of our will, in the clear insights of our minds, in the affections of our heart, in our commitment to lead a virtuous life, in goodness, happiness and peace” (Christ is Passing By, 13).
He teaches us in confidence the reason for the fruitfulness of his evangelizing work, and his capacity for making his message strike home, in the following passage: “Be grateful to God from the bottom of your heart for those wonderful and terrifying faculties he chose to give you when he made you – your intellect and your will. They are wonderful, because they make you like him; and terrifying because there are human beings who turn their faculties against their Creator. It seems to me we could sum up the thankfulness that we owe as children of God by saying to this Father of ours, now and always, serviam! I will serve you” (The Forge, 891).
Moved by his love for God, he was able to put himself in the place of other people, and to use all the means of communication effectively and naturally, as each occasion demanded. This means he is a model in the sphere of communication. Without present-day electronic means, which did not exist then, his teachings reached people all over the world, stirring the consciences and hearts of those who received them. He knew from his own experience that “the charity of Christ is not merely a benevolent sentiment for our neighbour; it is not limited to a penchant for philanthropy. Poured out in our soul by God, charity transforms from within our mind and will. It provides the supernatural foundation for friendship and the joy of doing what is right” (Christ is Passing By, 71).
His voice and his writings were not an anonymous means of communication like a news or advertising agency. Even without having met him or even seen him, someone who reads what he said knows that the person speaking is a friend, a brother, a father, who never lies and who knows what the reader needs; and so we feel grateful for his advice and moved by it. This personal relationship, the fruit of his love for God, is the secret of his effectiveness.
Notes
1. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 877. Quoted by A. Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei, vol. I, Scepter, 2001, pp. 375-6.
2. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 1696. Quoted by Vazquez de Prada, p. 376.
3. St Josemaría, “Personal Notes” no. 1725. Quoted by Vazquez de Prada, p. 428.
4. St Josemaria, Conversations, 24.
5. St Josemaría, quoted by A. del Portillo in his Foreword to The Forge, Scepter, 1988, p. 12.
Preface to the acts of the symposium ‘St Josemaría and Communication’, published by the Fundacion Catalina Mir, Jaen (Spain), 2006.
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