“He who opens himself to the outside must no less open himself to the inside, that is, to Christ. If we want to be open to the world, we must do it like Christ, in such a way that our witness springs, like his, from his life and his teaching. – Pedro Arrupe SJ.
We are witnessing a time in which it is difficult for people to realize that our gestures, our responses, and our ways of acting are not insignificant. Perhaps the speed with which things happen or the changes that occur in our environments do not make it easy for us to stop and observe and realize how we impact on others with our behavior. And there is even less awareness that what we manifest with our actions is ultimately the result of our inner realm. We do outwardly what we carry inside, therefore, if we want to grow in our actions, we must also grow in inner life.
We need to open ourselves to our inner self and realize that there coexist forces that help us to grow and others that do not. That we are filled with thoughts that generate negative emotions, but at the same time, we have an enormous potential to grow and develop from life forces that inhabit us, thoughts and feelings that drive us to joy, goodness, service, love (Step 2 The Way of the Heart).
We need to find within ourselves the source from which emanate those actions that give life and love to others. It is the life of the Spirit of Jesus that moves within us, impelling us from its core. The Spirit of Jesus dwells within us and inspires in us feelings and thoughts from which flow attitudes more like those of Christ. It is up to us to make room for them. It is not that we have to invent in ourselves the gestures of Jesus, nor force ourselves to imitate them. If only we were less of an impediment for the Spirit that dwells in us to show Himself with the same gestures that Jesus had, it would be enough (Step 6 The Way of the Heart).
Becoming other Christs is not an achievement of our own efforts, but a product of the action of the Spirit who finds open doors in our hearts to act. For our part, we must open ourselves inwardly, broadening our conscience and allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, so that the exterior of our conduct may be a little more a reflection of the One who dwells within us.
María Bettina Raed
Vice International Director
Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network