21 July 1984
Buenos Aires, Argentina

My dear Sisters,

I remember hearing of an episode in the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola,, in which the Saint, at this time an old man, was passing through a house where he was staying and where some novices were sweeping the corridor. He stopped to greet them and they began to talk. The novices held St. Ignatius in great veneration and, thinking of him as a very old man, (novices always think that their Superiors and Directors are of immense age!) and looking for an easy formula that might bring them to holiness quickly, they said to him: "Father Ignatius, what would you do if you learned now that you were going to die tonight?" Some of the novices thought that he might recommend an intense retreat for the hours that remained, others that he might suggest an immediate general confession, others yet again that he might counsel assistance at as many Masses as possible during the few hours that remained to him. After a little pause, St. Ignatius looked at them and said: "I would go on sweeping the corridor."

The answer which St. Ignatius gave was brilliant. It expressed this great spiritual truth, that if we are doing the work which God wants us to do at this particular moment, we can be doing no better work, and if we can be doing no better work than the work we are presently performing, then that would be the best preparation for meeting Our Lord in judgment. To pray when one ought to be working is as much a sin, as to work when one ought to be praying. Quite clearly St. Ignatius saw that truth and impressed on the novices that, when they are working at the time and in the place where God wants them to be, they are offering a most acceptable prayer to God.

When I was in the seminary, there was a little Latin phrase which was often quoted to us. It was: "Age quod agis." Translating that freely, it could be rendered as: "Do with your whole heart that which you are meant to be doing at this particular moment." It is one of the most valuable lessons we can learn, by the grace of God, during our days in the seminary. By learning that lesson, we are slowly and perhaps painfully acquiring that precious gift of purity of intention or purity of heart.

When Our Lord said that we should not be thinking too much about tomorrow and that the problems of today are sufficient for us, he was revealing the truth that the grace of God, without which we can do nothing, comes to us moment by moment. The grace of God is to be found only in the present moment. Most of our anxieties in life come from trying to fight tomorrow's battles with the grace of today. When we learn to give ourselves fully to the task of the present moment, whether it be assisting at Mass, praying the rosary or sweeping the corridor, we are placing ourselves in the full light of God's grace. It is only when we are standing and allowing rays of God's grace to shine fully upon us that Our Lord can look on us and say in the words of today's Gospel: "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my loved one in whom I delight." (Mt 12:18).

The ability to devote ourselves fully to the task of the present moment, and thus arrive at purity of intention and purity of heart, is a very precious grace. For people who have a lively imagination and who like to think of themselves in situations different from the ones in which they are at present, this grace is won with difficulty. The months we spend in the seminary are an excellent opportunity for schooling ourselves to acquiring the art of giving ourselves fully to the task of the moment, however small and insignificant it may be. In doing so we are loving God with our whole heart and with our whole soul and with our whole mind, and that is the first great commandment of the law.

Sweep the corridor with purity of intention. Enter into recreation with purity of intention. Serve the poor with purity of intention. Meet Christ in the Sacraments with purity of intention, and imperceptibly you will grow in the love of God and of the poor.

Purity of intention, asks St. Vincent, how can one practice it better than by doing the Will of God? Is there anyone who has a more perfect purity of intention than that of wanting to do all that God wants and in the manner in which He wants it done? In comparing all (spiritual exercises), you will find that God is more glorified in the practice of His Will than in all others, and that there is no one who honors Him more than he who gives himself fully to this holy practice. (Coste, XII, Fr. ed., pp. 152-153).

To all of you St. Louise would say, as she wrote to one of her Sisters: "The Sisters must often renew their purity of intention which causes them to perform all their actions for the love of God. This will enable them to preserve the spirit which true Daughters of Charity must possess." (Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, ltr. 400, p. 432).