Love: The Motivation for the Apostolate
We must be motivated [in our apostolate] in the first place, by a principle of true love of God … [and] in the second place, by the principle true love of neighbor, which according to the precept of the Lord Jesus Christ means that we must love as much as he loved us. (OOCC, II, pp. 5-6)
For St. Vincent Pallotti, the obligation of all to participate in the apostolate originates from the two precepts of the commandment of love, that is the love of God and the love of our neighbor. A true apostle is one who is guided by the motive of love, and the apostolate done with this motive is the true apostolate. It means that each apostolic activity a person undertakes is a means through which he expresses his love for God and his neighbor. Since love is the motivation of the apostolate, an apostle must avoid all other motives in planning or executing any apostolic proposal. A person can engage in apostolic activities because it gives him personal satisfaction in doing an activity that is meaningful. Similarly, one can begin an apostolic endeavor with the selfish motive of using the apostolic project for his personal advantage. Likewise, a person can be involved in an apostolic undertaking to satisfy his psychological need of being wanted and needed. In like manner, a person may be involved in an apostolate because it can enhance his social status as a person. St. Vincent wished that his followers did not follow any of these motives other than that of the commandment of love. He presented to them God’s love for us that moved him to send his only Son into the world as the example a true apostle must imitate in his apostolic life. If the spirit of love is missing in an apostle, he is not a true apostle and the work of service he undertakes also cannot be called the apostolate.
Is the commandment of love the motive of my apostolate? Are there any personal motives that move me in engaging in my apostolate? Do I allow God’s love for humankind to inspire and direct me to keep my motive of apostolate a genuine one?
Love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one [Jesus] has died for all. (II Cor. 5: 14)