At His Service

In a commentary on the words of Saint Paul, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Cor 6:15), Adrienne von Speyr writes:

“The fact that the Lord reigns over us and has us at his disposal is not something merely theoretical that is never or only rarely carried out. Nor is it something limited; rather, it is something actual and absolute, which expresses itself by the demands of a total obedience. He wants to be able to use us according to his good pleasure with the same ease that a person uses his limbs. We do not need to spend time weighing the pros and cons on every occasion to see if in this case we will let ourselves be used or not, or how long and to what extent, if the Lord really intends to use us, or if someone else could not do him this service. There is only an unconditional readiness, a will to say Yes, an obedience, which, in fact, already exists more in the Lord than in us. We ought to be Christ’s members to the degree that we receive his impulses, just as bodily members understand the impulses of the human will and translate them into action. The Lord’s desire to use us affects everything in us. Not only what we know, but also everything that is unknown to us.”

“Yes, even what is unknown to us. God says to each one of us: ‘You can do more than you realize.’ There is so much that slumbers and waits to be awakened within us. God also wants to use our unconscious powers and possibilities. This explains the feeling of Überforderung (excessive demands), which sooner or later arises when we place ourselves at God’s disposal. We believe that we do not have the strength; that God asks too much; but we have more than we think. We have just enough strength as God wills. When he gives a mission, he is obliged to give the strength necessary to carry it out. If awakening the dormant powers is not enough, he creates new ones or does everything himself. This is what he does in the sacraments...”

~Wilfrid Stinissen