"Friends of God" 

St. Josemaría Escrivá


Friends of God contains 18 homilies preached by St. Josemaría between 1941 and 1968 — the first posthumous collection of his work, published in 1977.

The title says it all: God doesn't want servants. He wants friends.

"In recommending this unbroken union with God am I not presenting an ideal so sublime that it is unattainable by the majority of Christians? Certainly the goal is high but it is not unattainable."


I. Real Freedom

"When we make up our minds to tell Our Lord, 'I put my freedom in your hands,' we find ourselves loosed from the many chains that were binding us to insignificant things, ridiculous cares or petty ambitions."

The world says freedom means doing whatever you want. St. Josemaría says that's slavery. Real freedom comes when you hand your freedom to God.

"Only when we love do we attain the fullest freedom: the freedom of not wanting ever to abandon, for all eternity, the object of our love."

"It's because we love freedom that we tie ourselves down. Only pride sees such bonds as a heavy chain."

Discussion: What "insignificant things, ridiculous cares or petty ambitions" have you chained to? What would change if you told God: "I put my freedom in your hands"?


II. Humility — Joy, Not Dejection

"To know we are made of clay, riveted together again, is a continual source of joy. Can there be any joy to compare with that of the person who, knowing himself to be poor and weak, knows also that he is a son of God?"

"Why do we men become dejected? It is because life on earth does not go the way we had hoped, or because obstacles arise which prevent us from satisfying our personal ambitions. Nothing like this happens when a person lives the supernatural reality of his divine filiation."

Humility isn't self-hatred. It's truth — and the truth sets you free.

"Put not the slightest trust in those who present the virtue of humility as something degrading. As I never tire of repeating: let them be sad who are determined not to recognize that they are children of God!"

Discussion: Does your sense of worth depend on success, achievement, or what people think? How would it change things to actually rest in being a son of God?


III. Human Virtues Matter

"If we accept the responsibility of being children of God, we will realize that God wants us to be very human. Our heads should indeed be touching heaven, but our feet should be firmly on the ground."

"Human virtues constitute the foundation for the supernatural virtues."

Grace builds on nature. You can't be a good Christian if you're a bad man.

"You may perhaps have noticed people who call themselves Christians because they have been baptized and have received other sacraments, but then prove to be disloyal and deceitful, insincere and proud... lacking those human qualities which are the foundation for the supernatural virtues."

Discussion: What human virtue do you most need — honesty, reliability, patience, self-control? How is its absence affecting your spiritual life?


Closing Challenge

"Your boat — your talents, your hopes, your achievements — is worth nothing whatsoever, unless you leave it in Christ's hands. In your boat by yourself, if you try to do without the Master, you are making straight for shipwreck."

"If you agree to let God take command of your boat, how safe you will be!… even when he seems to have gone away, to have fallen asleep; even though a storm is rising and it's pitch dark all around you."

Friendship with God isn't a feeling. It's a decision to let Him take command.

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