List of points

When they talked to him about committing himself personally, his reaction was to reason in the following manner: “If I did, I could do that…, I would have to do this other… ”

—The answer he got was: “Here, we don’t bargain with the Lord. The law of God, the invitation of the Lord, is something you either take or leave, just as it is. You need to make up your mind: go forward, fully decided and without holding back; otherwise, go away. Qui non est mecum… — whoever is not with Me, is against Me.”

Between lack of generosity and lukewarmness there is only one step.

I am copying this example of cowardice from a letter so that you will not imitate it: “I am certainly very grateful to you for keeping me in mind, because I need many prayers. But I would also be grateful if, when you ask Our Lord to make me an ‘apostle’, you would not insist on asking him to make me surrender my freedom.”

That acquaintance of yours, very intelligent, well off, a good man, used to say: “You have to do what the law says, but within limits, doing what is strictly necessary, without going too far.”

And he would add: “You shouldn’t sin, of course, but there is no need to give up everything.”

How sad it is to see men who are mean, calculating, incapable of making any sacrifice, of giving themselves wholeheartedly to a noble ideal.

If your selfishness leads you away from the ordinary desire for the holy and healthy well-being of mankind, if you count the cost or if you are not moved by the wretched material or moral condition of your neighbour, you force me to reproach you strongly, so that you can do something about it. If you do not feel a holy fraternity with your fellow men, and you live on the margin of the great Christian family, you are just a pitiful waif.

He shows a great deal of enthusiasm and understanding. But when he realises that it refers to him, and that it is he who has to contribute in earnest, he slinks away like a coward.

It reminds me of those who, during moments of grave danger, used to shout with false courage: War! War! But they did not want to give any money or to enrol to defend their country.

You feel lonely… you complain… everything annoys you. —That is because you are isolated from your brothers by your selfishness, and because you do not come closer to God.

You fulfil a demanding plan of life: you rise early, you pray, you frequent the sacraments, you work or study a lot, you are sober and mortified… but you are aware that something is missing!

Consider this in your conversation with God: since holiness, or the struggle to achieve it, is the fullness of charity, you must look again at your love of God and your love of others for his sake. Then you may discover, hidden in your soul, great defects that you have not even been fighting against: your not being a good son, a good brother, a good companion, a good friend, a good colleague. And that, since you love “your holiness” in a disordered manner, you are envious.

You “sacrifice” yourself in many small personal details, and so you are attached to yourself, to your own person. Deep down you do not live for God or for others, but only for yourself.

You don’t have an ounce of supernatural vision and it is only their social standing that you notice. Souls mean nothing to you at all, nor do you serve them. That is why you are not generous… but live far from God with your false piety, even though you may pray a lot.

The Master has said very clearly: “Depart from me . . . into that eternal fire . . . for I was hungry . . . I was thirsty . . . I was in prison . . . and you did not care for me.”

It is impossible to love God with perfection, and at the same time to let yourself be ruled by selfishness —or by apathy— in your dealings with your neighbour.

Your charity must be adapted and tailored to the needs of others… not to yours.