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Road of Hope - Chapter 2

Duty
Duty is the passport to heaven

17. Duty points out the will of God for you during the present moment.

18. There are some people who do not carry their own cross or anybody's else , but who imagine their own cross is too heavy. Some are eager to take upon their own shoulders everyone else's cross, but refuse to carry their own or foist it onto others.

19. Make your duties holy. Help others to holiness by your duties.. Grow in holiness by the way you carry out your duty.

20. If all were faithfull to their duty in life, growth in personal holiness would renew their hearts and bring a like renewal to families and the whole world.

21. Despite a superficail apperance of holiness, a person who neglects his duties in life is counterfeit. Should he works "miracles" they would be out of time and out of place and a cause of confusion. Moreover, such a one would be hard for others to live with.

22. Some lay people mistakenly think holiness consists in fervent prayer, preaching or withdrawal from the world: they draw this inspiration from the image of priests and religious in a former time. On the other hand there are priests and religious who conceive holiness in terms of social and political activity; they would competed with lay people. How chaotic!

23. The word is not renewed because people conceive of holiness as being something outside the carrying out of the duties of their state in life.

24. The workman will become a saint in the workplace. The soldier will become a saint in the army the patient will become a saint in the hospital, the student will become a saint through his studies, the farmer will beome a saint on the farm, the priest will become a saint by his ministry as priest, the public servant will become a saint in the government office. Every step of progress along the road to sanctity is a step of sacrifice in the performance of one's duty.

25. It is not becaus of acts of prophecy nor the performance of miracles tha saints becomme saints. They do not anything extraordinary at all, but simply carry out their ordinary duties.

26. However, the duty of the present moment is not a passive thing, but:
it is an unceasing renewal of yourself,
it is a decision to choose or reject our Lord,
it is a search for the kingdom of God,
it is a belief in the infinite love of God,
it is acting with all the ardour of your heart,
it is reflecting that love of God by means of your love for others,
right at this present moment.


27. Duty is your passport to heaven: "the person who does the will of my Father in heaven, he will enter the kingdom of heaven" (CF.Matt.7:21).

28. Accept the will of God, obey the will of God, love the will of God. Which way will you choose?

29. If our Lord wishes you to endure some disgrace because of your duty, he is actually at that time something of the honour of his Holy Cross.

30. Let your response be "O Lord , the place of my duty is Cavary and i am the holocaust."

31. It is only necessary for you to fulfill your duty of the present moment in order to become a saint. The discovery and revelation of this fact will bring peace and encouragement to your soul.

32. Your death will in fact be your last duty and you must accept it willingly and in a manner filled with love.

33. As you advance in your everyday duties you will come to appreciate: "Our Lord's yoke is easy and his burden light." (Cf.Matt.11:30).

34. Your soul is worried and discontented because yo set a few conditions to the performanc of your duties , or because you do not follow the will of God, or because you put limitations on the way you follow the will of God.

35. If you are not attached to the will of God, moment by moment, you will fall by the wayside on this Road of Hope. This is because you think of your duty as being too uneventful, too unnoticed and hidden and having too much daily monotony.

36. The problem is a very simple one. Before doing anything you should think: " Lord, what must i do?" (Acts22:10). carry out the will of God!

37. God desires it to rain, you desire the same.
God desires it to be sunny, you desire the same.
God desires things to be pleasant, you desire the same.
God desires hardships for you, you desire the same
God desires sufferings for you, yo desire the same
To have but one will with God is the secret of happiness

38. In our everyday lives our Lord bestows on us the happiness of participating in the mystery of the redemption. For each person the cross of the road lies in the road of duty.