Burn of the Day

The Twelve Apostles

10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;1 4 Simon the Zealot,2 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Nope.
No women.

This is the task I ask you…. please,
Go to the ends of the Earth..to all nations and all people, baptizing them In the Name of the Father and of The Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Please.

Nothing else is as important.

Nothing.

The reason why the Church is falling apart is because it is less masculine.

4
No digas: “Es mi genio así…, son cosas de mi carácter”.
Son cosas de tu falta de carácter: Sé varón —”esto vir”. (Cf. 1 Kings 2:2)

Don’t say: ‘That’s the way I’m made… it’s my character’.
It’s your lack of character: Be a man.

22
Sé recio. —Sé viril. —Sé hombre. —Y después… sé ángel.

Be firm. Be virile. Be a man. And then… be a saint.

50
Eres curioso y preguntón, oliscón y ventanero:
¿no te da vergüenza ser, hasta en los defectos, tan poco masculino?
—Sé varón: y esos deseos de saber de los demás trócalos en deseos y realidades de propio conocimiento.

You are curious and inquisitive, prying and nosey.
Are you not ashamed that even in your defects you are not much of a man?
Be a man: and instead of poking into other people’s lives seek to acquire a true knowledge of your own.

51
Tu espíritu de varón, rectilíneo y sencillo, se abruma al sentirse envuelto en enredos, dimes y diretes, que no acaba de explicarse y en los que nunca se quiso mezclar.
—Pasa por la humillación que supone andar así en boca ajena, y procura que el escarmiento te dé más discreción.

Your manly character — simple and straightforward — is oppressed when you find yourself entangled in gossip and mischievous talk, which you cannot understand and in which you never wished to be involved.
Undergo the humiliation that such talk causes you and let the experience teach you greater discretion.

52
¿Por qué, al juzgar a los demás, pones en tu crítica el amargor de tus propios fracasos?

When judging other people, why do you put into your criticism the bitterness of your own failures?

53
Ese espíritu crítico —te concedo que no es susurración— no debes ejercitarlo con vuestro apostolado, ni con tus hermanos.
—Ese espíritu crítico, para vuestra empresa sobrenatural —¿me perdonas que te lo diga?— es un gran estorbo, porque mientras examinas la labor de los otros, sin que tengas por qué examinar nada —con absoluta elevación de miras: te lo concedo—, tú no haces obra positiva alguna y enmoheces, con tu ejemplo de pasividad, la buena marcha de todos.

That critical spirit — I admit that there are no unworthy motives behind it — should not be exercised upon your apostolate, nor upon your brothers.
I will speak plainly: that critical spirit is a great hindrance to the supernatural undertaking in which you are all engaged, for while you examine the work of the others — with the highest possible motives, I admit — without there being any reason why you should do so, you are not doing anything constructive, and furthermore by being negative you are holding up the progress of all.

• Texto perteneciente al capítulo ‘Carácter’ en el libro ‘Camino’ de San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer.
Link: https://escriva.org/es/camino/caracter/
• Text in chapter ‘Character’ in the book ‘The Way’ of St. Josemaría Escrivá.
Link: https://escriva.org/en/camino/character/