Both easy and difficult

As you can see, my beloved daughters and sons, harmonising the exercise of holy tolerance and holy intransigence is both easy and difficult. It is easy, because the charity of Christ animates us and his grace helps us. It is difficult, because the bad inclinations of our personal weakness work against us, and we have to take many factors into account to avoid resolving problems erroneously and hastily.

Obligation to live in harmony

In the choir of the monastery church of St Turibius of Liébana there are, so I’m told, a set of corbels supporting the ribs of the vault; some of you have seen them. One of the corbels has the shape of a dog’s head, while the one on the opposite side is shaped like the head of a cat. It is said that the cat represents the old man we all carry within us, while the dog signifies the new man who Christ brought into being through the Redemption. But at times it seems to me that these corbels could also be a symbol of human relations: nations, religions, races and people who live like cats and dogs, forever fighting with each other, but obliged to live together to support the weight of that vault which is the peace and tranquillity of the world.

There are things which unite

Don’t forget that if there are things which separate us, there are also always things which unite us and which facilitate respect and friendliness. We children of God in his true Church have to use and emphasise them in order to draw to the light iis qui ignorant et errant (Heb 5:2), those who are ignorant of the truth and are in error.

Not rejecting anyone

I have never really liked the comparison that sometimes is used to describe the conduct of Christians: good apples are spoiled when a bad apple is put into the same basket. My children, we should not be afraid of living in harmony with those who do not possess or practise the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Taking the proper precautions, we ought not to reject anyone, because we have enough spiritual, ascetical and intellectual resources not to let ourselves be spoiled. We, children of God in the Work, should not allow ourselves to be influenced by our surroundings. It is we who should influence those around us by creating our own environment, the environment of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived among sinners and was friends with them.⁶