The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr. Louie A. Punzalan, SVD – University of San Carlos, Cebu City
Thursday 12th Week in Ordinary Time
A real disciple is not only a hearer but a doer of the Word of God. A real disciple does not only talk about the will of God but also, and more importantly, does the will of God in everyday life.
Jesus is an outstanding model of doing the will of God. He said, “It is not to do my own will that I have come down from heaven, but to do the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6.38). Consequently, Jesus reminds his followers, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one that does the will of my Father in heaven.”
In his agony at the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’s prayer was “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot pass me by without my drinking it, your will be done” (Mt 26. 42). Of his followers Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me” (Mt 12.50). Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Spiritual masters return to this same theme, such as Saint Ambrose (4th century) who said: “The will of God is the measure of all things.”Saint Basil (4th century): “No one may prefer his own will to the will of God, but in everything we must seek and do the will of God.”Saint Thomas Aquinas (13th century): “Knowledge of God is not enough; we must strive to love him by doing his will.”
Saint Teresa (16th century): “While we are living here on earth, our greatest happiness is in the performance of the will of God.”Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri: “All holiness consists in the love of God, but the love of God consists in conformity to the will of God; therefore, all holiness consists in conformity to the will of God.”
In the final analysis, action always speaks louder than words.
