Step 7 of The Way of the Heart invites us to give life in the midst of the world… accompany this month’s prayer intention with your commitment.
Giving life in the midst of the world
The vast majority of us may never have the possibility of giving our lives for someone else, literally, that is, dying so that someone else may live. However, many of us do have the opportunity to cultivate in our daily lives a personal style of being and working in this world that is “life-giving”. It is about giving loving responses to the big and small opportunities of each day. Responses that give life and encourage fraternal coexistence.
And how can we offer up our lives? How can we build community? There is no need to go very far, the field of giving, the place of challenges is everyday life. The ordinary responsibilities in our family, at work, with friends, in the midst of our amusements, doing what we have to do and doing it well. Without allowing ourselves to be overcome by the temptation of selfishness or the differences that are perceived as threatening. We are in the midst of the world giving ourselves with dedication and love to the different tasks, professions, trades, arts, sports, research. This is the altar of our dedication, the place of service, the soil where the life that we help to grow and the common community will blossom. The places where we develop fraternity. And there is no possibility of giving life if we are not willing to “die”, to lose, to forget a bit of our comforts. Fraternal communities always surrender, it implies renunciation. It is not a matter of equivalence or justice, but of love, of going beyond, driven by a Love that moves us.
Cultivate dedication in everything you do, develop a fraternal community…
Be grateful and embrace every moment. Do not hold back, do not be stingy or measure what you give, generously give your best. Serve and be useful to others. Help, even if there is no reward and even if no one sees it. Smile and avoid complaining. Do not consider any task as small or insignificant. All work keeps the process alive and contributes to the final result. Stay connected in times of stress, accompany people and prioritize them over results. Don’t get discouraged when things don’t work out, give it one more try.
Accompany with your own concrete deeds this month’s prayer intention… pray and work for a common community.
Maria Bettina Raed
Vice International Director
Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network