March 28, 1925, marked the day Saint Josemaría became a priest. Fifty years later, on June 26, 1975, he completed his earthly journey. To celebrate this period, we invite you to take part in the Saint Josemaría Challenge.
What does the challenge consist of? There are 3 parts to it every week:
- A short reading from Saint Josemaría.
- A concrete challenge to apply in daily life.
- Three reflection questions to ask yourself every morning, during your personal prayer, and in your evening examination of conscience.
Week 2: Finding God in daily life
If you consider the many compliments paid to Jesus by those who witnessed his life, you will find one which in a way embraces all of them. I am thinking of the spontaneous exclamation of wonder and enthusiasm which arose from the crowd at the astonishing sight of his miracles: bene omnia fecit, he has done everything exceedingly well: not only the great miracles, but also the little everyday things that didn't dazzle anyone, but which Christ performed with the accomplishment of one who is perfectus Deus, perfectus homo, perfect God and perfect man.
Our Lord's whole life fills me with love for him, but I have a special weakness for his thirty hidden years spent in Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth. That period, so long in comparison with his public life and which the Gospels hardly mention, might seem empty of any special meaning to a person who views it superficially. And yet, I have always maintained that this silence about Our Lord's early life speaks eloquently for itself, and contains a wonderful lesson for us Christians. They were years of intense work and prayer, years during which Jesus led an ordinary life, a life like ours, we might say, which was both divine and human at the same time. In his simple workshop, unnoticed, he did everything to perfection, just as he was later to do before the multitudes.
Challenge
Identify at least three moments in your day to intentionally remember that you are in God’s presence.
Questions
The three questions you can ask yourself this week to reflect on in your personal prayer and evening examination of conscience are:
- When do I find it hardest to think of God?
- Which moments of my routine can I turn into encounters with Him?
- What changes in my day when I put God in the middle of it?
