Allowing God to Act
My God, act in me as you wish … and give me the grace to act as you wish. (OOCC, X, p. 727; STA, 531)
St. Vincent Pallotti was always ready to hand himself and his every action over to the hands of God. He believed that such a handing over would make him the most powerful instrument in the hands of God. He always prayed to God to act in him as God wished. He wished to be the most pliable instrument in the hands of God so that God could use him in whichever way he liked. St. Vincent thought that just as the clay got the right shape and proper utility in the hands of the potter, in the same way he would be in his best form and purpose if he offered himself to the Lord in total surrender. When he was in the hands of God, he not only allowed God to act in him as God wished, but also he would be able to act as God wished since it was not he who acted, but rather it was God who acted in him. This readiness to hand himself and all that he ever did over to the Lord made St. Vincent a powerful instrument of God. He was blessed with miraculous powers, successful in his apostolic ministry, communicated powerfully the reconciling love of Jesus for sinners, and on a personal level experienced great depths of mystical encounter with God. Thus, the attitude of allowing God to act in him made St. Vincent a great mystic and an ardent apostle.
Do I hand my life and my actions over to God? Do I believe that allowing God to act in me would make me a powerful instrument of God’s grace in the life of others? Do I believe that surrendering my life to God would make me a great mystic and an ardent apostle?
Can I not do to you … as this potter has done? says the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand. (Jer. 18: 6)