“God wills, humans dream, the work is born”: July 31, 2025

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“God wills, humans dream, the work is born”

“God wills, humans dream, the work is born”
“God wills, humans dream, the work is born.” This is the first line of the poem “O Infante” (The Infant) by the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935). This famous poem, in which Pessoa exalts the exploits accomplished by the Kingdom of Portugal during the Age of Discoveries, helps us today, on this feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, spiritual master and founder of the Society of Jesus, to reflect on the meaning of the provocative expression that our brother Bruno Cadoré used in his opening homily of the 36th General Congregation of the Society in 2016: “the audacity of the improbable.”

In the passage from the Gospel of Matthew we have just heard, Jesus, after speaking of the Kingdom through well-known parables, concludes His discourse by praising the scribe who became a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 13:52). When we look at the apostolic group, we remember that the Lord made simple fishermen “fishers of people.” In other words, he did not change the identity, personality, or talents of those who became his disciples. But, once they became his companions, they placed all that they were and all that they had at the service of the Kingdom.

A former Archbishop of São Paulo, Cardinal Arns, a Franciscan, once wrote that every human being has at least ten different vocations. The challenge is to choose one and put the other nine at the service of the primary one. The scribe turned disciple put all his intelligence, all his knowledge, all his art at the service of the Kingdom, just as the fishermen who became apostles put all they were at the service of preaching. The same is true for each of us, who, at some point in our lives, have agreed to put all our talents at the service of our vocation as preachers.

We know the story of Ignatius. This valiant Basque gentleman, wounded in battle, found himself forced to remain alone with himself during his convalescence. Upon discovering the stories of great figures of Christianity, such as Saint Dominic, he felt compelled to become a knight of the supreme Lord. He placed himself, with all his being, with the tireless strength of a warrior, at the service of God, doing everything ad maiorem Dei gloriam. The grace of God, which does not crush but elevates human nature (cf. I, 1, 8, ad 2), did not make him a peaceful cleric. Ignatius poured the fire of his personality—the fire he carried in his name and in his passion for the Gospel—into the service of a single Lord, whom he had finally encountered. He found companions with whom he could dream of God’s will. Thanks to his boldness, the Word of God was able to reach the most remote corners of the earth. In other words, Ignatius lived the “audacity of the improbable.”

In a complex context for the Church, in a changing society, in an era marked by the discovery of a completely new world, God needed bold people like Ignatius. Even today, in a time marked by war, inequality, and fears linked to new technologies, the Lord needs us to dare this “audacity of the improbable.” This audacity is not reasonable if we look only at our human strength; but grace makes the impossible possible when we allow ourselves to be strengthened and guided by the Gospel, which gives us the courage to dream of God’s will.

“God wills, humans dream, work is born.” The missionary’s dream is born from God’s will. It is not a question of human will. Quite the contrary. The work can only be born when individuals’ dreams come not from themselves, but from what God wills. Indeed, when it comes to “the audacity of the improbable,” to evangelical audacity, God’s will almost always demands human sacrifice. As Ignatius prayed: “May my only reward be to know that I am doing your will.”

Another verse from Pessoa can be cited to conclude this brief meditation. A verse that invites us not to fear the magnitude of the challenges. It finds a particular echo in this year of hope. For hope, as a passion of the soul, is always turned toward what is difficult, as Thomas Aquinas wrote (I-II, 40). Pessoa wrote:
“God gave the sea danger and the abyss / But in it he reflected the sky.” (Portuguese Sea).

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