God wants to give you extraordinary gifts. Are you ready to receive them?
In theory, you probably are. So why is it that in reality, so few of us are able to receive God’s gifts? It is because receiving them means opening ourselves completely to God, being absolutely vulnerable and willing to accept whatever he gives us, not on our terms but on his. The ultimate example is Mary, the Mother of God, who was so receptive to God that she could bear his only begotten Son, Jesus. Receptivity is a virtue.
The virtue of receptivity involves opening our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls completely to God and allowing Him to work unimpeded on our souls and in our lives.
Saint John de Brébeuf lived with an open heart among people who didn’t even speak his language. He opened his heart to them, and to God, no matter what came.
John was a missionary in modern-day Canada and lived among the Huron people. Rather than immediately imposing his way of life on them, John opened his heart and mind to their way of life. He immersed himself in their language, customs, and traditions, and even created a Huron dictionary and catechism, demonstrating his respect for their language as a medium to convey the Christian faith.
John brought the virtue of receptivity even to the intense challenges of missionary life. He saw illness, harsh climates, war and opposition from European settlers and native groups alike as opportunities to experience God’s grace.
And when the Iroquois, enemies of the Huron, captured Saint John Brebeuf and put him to death, his heart was radically open to God. This is what he wrote before his death: “My God and my savior Jesus, what return can I make to you for all the benefits you have conferred on me? I make a vow to you never to fail, on my side, in the grace of martyrdom, if by your infinite mercy you offer it to me some day.”
Will you open your heart to God’s gifts, even if some of them come in the form of challenges?
