Page 161 - Reflections on St. Joseph

 I am for the exclusive use of God, I have placed my live totally at His serivce. I am his
property, his right. He is to be the only thing necessary for me. I belong to him
completely, I must give myself to Him continuously, at every moment.
 Called to serve the Gospel to its extreme consequences. It is to bind oneself more
intimately and exclusively to Christ.
 Our life has an eschatological dimension: to realize here on earth that which will be
later in heaven.
 We are consecrated: ours is a special "love" also with a "special mission" in mind.
 To be with Him: I let go of my family relationships: “whoever loves father and mother…”
(Mt 10:37); I let go of material goods: “go, sell what you have and give to the poor...Then
come, follow me.” (Mt 19:21).
 The Consecrated Life is a gift which God gave to me and it is the way of life which Jesus
led and proposed to his disciples.
 Joy is the characteristic virtue of Jesus' followers, even in the midst of trials:" My joy is
complete”:( Jn. 3:29 ).
 Love for Jesus Christ, then, is both the starting point and the goal of our religious life.
 Even in a world which is upset, distracted and caught up in so many things, He is my
all. I am called to sense and to show that God is able to fill my heart and to make me
happy, without seeking my happiness somewhere else.
 Pope Francis: “Consecrated persons must not have sad faces; they must not be unhappy and
unsatisfied people, since "a sad following is to follow sadness”.
 I need to find the right and fruitful balance between activity and contemplation,
between prayer and charity toward others, between the concrete commitment in the
history of each day and eschatological aspirations.
 Consider:
 Do I live the Gospel radically and sincerely?
 Is Jesus still today my first and only love, as I promised when I made my first
profession of Vows?
 Is Christ still my ideal and to I have a passionate love for him?
 Do I live joyfully (as Pope Francis says) my Consecrated Life and show forth
the beauty of living the Gospel?

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Reflections on st. joseph