Links in the same chain

We are not alone. Vae soli;³⁷ unhappy are those who are alone. We will maintain our sense of responsibility, knowing that we are links in a single chain. That is why each of us, children of God in his Work, must sincerely say, “I don’t want the link that I am to break, for if I break, I betray God, the Holy Church, and my brothers and sisters.” We will rejoice in the strength of the other links. I will be delighted that there are links of gold and platinum, mounted with precious stones. No child of God is alone, none is a stray verse. We are verses of the same epic, divine poem, and we cannot break this unity, this harmony, this effectiveness.

You must achieve victory even with your wretchedness and make others be victorious with you. All of you together will help me to persevere. We will persevere despite our errors, which we all commit, for when we face up to them and ask God’s forgiveness, they make us humble and enable us to exclaim with the Church, felix culpa!, happy fault!

Responsibility for the holiness of the others

In this way we will attain serenity and we will help one another to desire and to contribute to our own holiness and that of one another. We will have the strength of playing-cards: although they cannot stand up on their own, if they support one another they form a castle which does remain standing. God takes into account our frailties, our weaknesses, and the weaknesses of the others. But he also relies on the fortitude of us all, when charity unites us. Love our blessed fraternal correction, which keeps our course straight and preserves us all in the same good spirit. Go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (Matt 18:15).

May we have a big heart in order to love everyone in the world with their defects and with their own ways of being. Let us not forget that sometimes souls have to be helped to walk little by little. We have to encourage them patiently to advance slowly, in such a way that they are hardly aware of moving, though they are making progress.

As we sow peace and joy, there are several things we have to spread, foster and defend: each individual’s legitimate personal freedom; the duty to accept one’s responsibilities in earthly affairs; the obligation also to defend other people’s freedom as if it were our own, and to understand everyone; and the charity to accept others as they are (for each of us has faults and makes mistakes), helping them tactfully and with God’s grace to overcome their defects, so that all of us can support one another and end up as worthy bearers of the name of Christian.