Omnia in bonum!

My children, go forward with joy, with courage. Nothing in the world can stop us so long as we are serving our Lord, for everything works to the good for those who love God: diligentibus Deum, omnia cooperantur in bonum.³⁶ In life, everything can be resolved except death. And for us, death is life. Nothing matters as long as we have sincerity, supernatural outlook and good humour: nothing is ever lost. Barabbas was a murderer and a rebel, and Christ’s death – life for Life – saves him from death. Dismas was a thief, a delinquent, but just one humble word of repentance, a simple and confident prayer, and Jesus – life for Life – saves him from eternal death. Make amends, my child, it is never too late to make amends: but do so at once!

It is always possible to come to be saints

Very different people are coming and will come to Opus Dei: every class of people. Some are also called about the eleventh hour (Matt 20:9), like those workers in the vineyard. It will give me great joy to see people coming to the Work who have been called by God at the end of their lives, perhaps souls who have spent years and years far from Jesus Christ. There is always room for workers of the eleventh hour. And if they are faithful, they will receive the prize of glory, perhaps for just a few minutes of love, willingly fixed to the cross by their hands and their feet, since holiness does not consist in doing much but in loving much.

Hope for the reward

A great Love awaits us in heaven, a Love without deceit or betrayal, containing all love, all beauty, all greatness, all knowledge... And a love that will know no surfeit, that will satisfy us without satiating.

There have always been heretics – even during the Apostles’ lifetime – who have tried to deprive us of this hope. Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor 15:12-19).

As we sail amid the seas of this world, let us bear all the hardships we encounter with our hope set on heaven. We and all souls who want to love aspire to reach God in the glory of heaven. Otherwise absolutely nothing is worthwhile. To get to heaven we must be faithful, and to be faithful we must struggle. We must go forward on our way, even though at times we may fall flat on our face. With his help we will get up again.