FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA - THREE WORDS THAT CONTAIN EVERYTHING
Yesterday the new motto for Saint Anne was announced: Fiat Voluntas Tua. These three words from the very lips of Jesus somehow summarize, synthesize, and condense all of Revelation, all of Christian spirituality, everything that we can desire or accomplish in this life.
I remember that in an initial meeting where we were beginning the work of the new pastoral plan, many ideas were shared about what a possible new mission statement should be for our parish. All these ideas were genuinely Catholic, and each one expressed the sensitivities of the person who proposed them. For some, the apostolic purpose and the salvation of souls should be mentioned; for others, mention of the Virgin Mary must not be left in the inkwell; for others, holiness as the goal of the Christian life was required.
The Lord's words, "Thy will be done" express the fullness of everything we could have said with all of the best ideas. All that is good is bound up in the Will of God. Therefore, to ask that his will be fulfilled in the world and in us is to desire that everything that was mentioned in that meeting, and more that did not even occur to us then, be carried out according to God's plan.
It is also the best way to purify intention, which is the compass of our pilgrimage on earth. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” (Mt 6:22-23). Saint Thomas Aquinas describes intention as the movement of the human will towards its ultimate end, insofar as the ultimate goal cannot be achieved immediately, but through intermediate actions.
The last end, it has been said, is first in intention and last in execution. Therefore, intention is very important because it guides us on the right path, or on the contrary, it takes us away from the goal of our existence.
The words "Fiat Voluntas Tua", in addition to containing everything we could wish for, are a constant renewal of our intention. Purity of intention is to want only one thing, to seek not what we like, but what pleases God. We cannot want anything better for ourselves or for others than the realization of the Will of God. Repeating these 3 words many times will cleanse our hearts of deviant purposes. When we are shaken by selfishness that wants to have the last word, it cleanses the air of our souls and fills them with the light of God. It reminds us that, in the words of Saint Irenaeus, "the glory of man consists in persevering in the service of God." It raises us above worldly goals by setting our eyes on the heavenly Father.
Actually, these frequently repeated words supernaturalize all human activity. If before any work that we do, we internally repeat: "Fiat Voluntas Tua", and we work in the conviction that this action corresponds to the Will of God, we will be sanctifying even the simplest and most seemingly insignificant gestures.
These three words remind us that we are creatures called to observe a higher design. They remind us that happiness consists in coming out of our own interests to do what the Lord expects of us, but above all, they remind us that we are children, and that God is our good Father, and that in that joyful obedience lies our freedom, our dignity and our joy.
You can't fly higher than that. Therefore, let us ask for the grace to find our joy more and more in the Will of Him who loves us to the end.
