Presence of God

Give me, O God, a strong efficacious desire for justice, that I may draw near You, O infinite Justice.

Meditation

I. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst afterjustice" (Mt. 5, 6), Jesus said, speaking of justice in general, which inclines man to live in perfect harmony with God’s will, to the extent of desiring that sacred will as the one indispensable food of his spiritual life. However, these words may also be applied to the special virtue ofjustice, without which there will never be any harmony with God’s will, and therefore, no sanctity. If we wish to live in union with God, who is infinite Justice, we must hunger and thirst for justice in all our actions and in all our relations with others. Hunger and thirst indicate imperious needs which cannot be suppressed; it is a question of life or death. As food and drink are absolutely essential to the life of the body, so justice is absolutely necessary for a life of virtue, and its duties are so compelling that no motive can exempt us from fulfilling them. If an act of charity for the neighbor should impose on us great inconvenience or cause us serious harm, we would not be obliged to do it, but the same inconvenience or harm could not excuse us from fulfilling a duty ofjustice. Serious motives can sometimes authorize us to postpone the fulfillment ofsuch a duty, but the obligation always remains; although we might be prevented from acquitting it ourselves in a material way, we must supply for it, at least morally. It is thus appropriate to speak of hunger and thirst for justice, not in the sense of vindicating rights, but in the sense of cultivating in ourselves such a lively desire and imperious need for justice in all our relations with others, that we do not feel satisfied until we have completely fulfilled all the duties stemming from this virtue.

II. Justice, like all the other virtues, has bitter enemies in our passions, particularly in egoism. When not thoroughly mortified and subdued, egoism always finds a way to make certain duties required by justice seem too burdensome; it can always invent excuses and subterfuges to exempt itself from them. In addition to being an attachment to our personal interests and rights, egoism sometimes appears under the special aspect ofjealousy, and even here, it is the cause of injustice. The jealous person—or worse still, the envious person—is almost unconsciously inclined to belittle the merits of others, to criticize and find their way of acting defective. Thus they rob others of the esteem which, in all justice, they should have from their superiors, equals, and inferiors. All this is contrary to justice as well as to charity.

Another source of injustice is partiality or preference for one particular person to the great detriment of others who have identical rights. Very often this is done under the mask of charity, but there can be no question of charity when, to favor, defend, or sustain one person or to be more generous to him, one fails in justice toward others and sometimes perhaps toward an entire community. A soul that hungers and thirsts after justice will watch over itself very carefully to prevent even the slightest fault of this kind, from insinuating itself into its conduct. As long as we have passions—and we shall always have them—we have reason to be fearful of ourselves, and we should be diligent in examining the motives of our acts. It is necessary to have a great love for justice, for truth, and for the common good together with a great sincerity if we are to succeed in unmasking all those little passions that might cause us to deviate, however slightly, from the path of justice. Let us look at our justice in the mirror of infinite justice, and we shall always find something to correct or improve. "Blessed are they who keep judgment and do justice at all times," sings the Psalmist, for "the righteous will behold His countenance" (Ps. 105, 3 - Ps. 10, 7). The desire to be united to God, who is infinite Justice, will lead us to practice this virtue ever more perfectly.

Colloquy

"O Lord, increase my hunger and thirst for justice, so that I may lovingly fulfill all the duties of justice, every obligation to You and to others, neglecting none, but doing them all willingly, even if they are unpleasant to nature. This hunger presses me to always make more progress in the virtues, considering as very little what I have already obtained, and as very much, what I still lack. May this hunger and thirst give me a most ardent desire for Your grace and a fervent love for the holy Sacraments especially the Sacrament of the Altar, so that I may nourish myself with You, O Jesus, who are my Justice.

"O Jesus, Your hunger afterjustice was so great that You no longer felt bodily hunger, and one day when You were very tired and in need of refreshment, You said to Your disciples : ‘ My meat is to do the will of Him who sent Me. ’ You had such an ardent thirst for justice that You burned with desire to taste the bitter chalice of Your Passion, even to the point ofsaying : ‘ I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized, and how am I straightened until it be accomplished! *

"O my beloved Redeemer, inflame me with the fire of Your love, the source of this hunger and thirst; may I continually use this hunger and thirst to serve You, as You did to redeem me" (cf. Yen. L. Du Pont).