by José Luis Kutscherauer
From time to time, it is good and useful to raise our eyes to look at the vastness of space. We do this not because we want to escape from reality, which we sometimes find hard to face, but to help us gain a wider perspective of life and our own destiny. We are part of the universe; we are made of the same matter and we share the same wealth of energy.
The cosmic rays that reach our planet from outer space are highly energized particles. Within every atom of matter, extremely powerful nuclear forces hold together subatomic particles. Every day the sun releases huge quantities of energy produced by the fusion of the hydrogen atoms inside it, and this reaches us in the form of light and heat.
Energy is life. When directed with intelligence, energy has countless beneficial uses for human beings. When wisely reserved, it is the source from which we can consciously nourish ourselves to develop a harmonious and balanced life.
Each one of us is a depositary of a wealth of physical, intellectual and moral energy. Because we are human, we can decide how we use that energy, how we direct it and how we reserve it. Energy in itself is neither good nor bad; it is the use we make of it that determines its destination. No one but ourselves can give destination to that energy and it is our duty to use it constructively and prudently.
Each of us can release our energy or absorb that of others. To fulfill our mission as Sons and Daughters of Cafh,² it is of utmost importance to know how to reserve and direct the energy in our own life. When we learn to carry out, through renouncement,³ the intriguing inner alchemy of influencing our spiritual nucleus through a conscientious work on the expansion of consciousness, we liberate huge amounts of that wonderful power we call love.
Our mission is to give and its objective transcends us. To have vocational clarity, strength of purpose and awareness of the transcendence of our mission leads us to commit ourselves to focus our attention and interest on the fulfillment of a specific task without straying from our goal. It commits us to carry out the fundamental social work that all human beings will have to carry out sooner or later: spiritual unfolding. That means expanding our consciousness and, along with it, our compassion and our sense of individual and social responsibility. This social work goes far beyond acknowledging the need to mitigate the suffering of human beings. It aims at transforming our inner nature in such a way that each of us occupies one place and not two, so that we can all exercise our freedom and the right to a full and productive life. This social work goes far beyond accompanying those who suffer. It aims at transforming our hearts so that we can make room for all souls, without distinctions.
Our mission should transform our life in such a way that we always keep in mind that in any circumstance, there are two paths open to us: the path leading to personal advantage and well-being, and the one in which our personal growth is committed to, and consubstantial with, the development of the context in which we live. The latter is our path. It is the path we have chosen and it is our way of doing social work.
As our consciousness and our feelings expand, we understand more clearly where human pain and suffering lie. That is why we would like to help all those in need, to comfort those who suffer, to feed all the hungry. But reality shows us that it is impossible for us to satisfy everyone's needs materially. However, there is an effective way to reach souls: it is through our committed effort to unfold. If everything we do springs from the consciousness we have achieved, our contribution, whatever it is, will be effective and transcendent. Our participation does not end where our action ends; it goes far beyond, as far as our love can reach. When we focus our spiritual force, we stimulate the creation of new possibilities in the minds and hearts of human beings. We learn to participate in life in an intelligent and positive way, using the power of love to carry out the best of all human works: our inner transformation.
As we expand our consciousness and become more and more sensitive to the world's needs, it is not unusual to feel an urge to engage in social work. There are so many areas of work, so much need and so much pain, that the beautiful feeling of giving our time and energy to help others grows in our hearts. It is good to participate in works that mitigate human suffering. However, let's be careful not to abandon the treasure of living fully committed to our mission. The source of our strength and the compassion that awakens in our heart are the fruits of the ascetic-mystical practices of the path of renouncement. These practices, which may often seem an arid routine, are truly the inner reactor that gives sense and direction to our intention and increases our willpower.
The reserve of energies allows us to generate new fields of possibilities for human beings. To work on our thoughts, feelings and actions in a consistent and effective way is to unveil the potential of our being. To have control over our thoughts allows us to have energy at our disposal; to use that power to direct our thoughts and to build an inner space of peace and quiet is an effective contribution we can make at any time. To discover within ourselves how to harness the force of emotions is another specific field in which we have to carry out a detailed and loving task.
To offer love, friendship and understanding, resulting from the transmutation of our energies, is a way of showing that everyone has the possibility of building their life in a harmonious way, interweaving it with the life of others. When, out of our sense of participation with the world, we carry out social work of this nature, it is long-lasting and it always produces a positive effect which results in the well-being of souls. Let us therefore save our energy, because the power of the spiritual force available to us depends on this reserve. Our help becomes concrete and effective, because rather than asking from others in order to give, we make of our love the moving force of our actions.
Fulfilling our vocation undoubtedly generates faith in the possibilities of the human being, because well-used energy allows us to gradually carry out our ideal. Ideals cease being dreams or illusions and gradually become a reality. We see a path traversed, not only in our own life but also in the Mystical Body of which we are a part. To fulfill our vocation produces results that, in one way or another, become evident.
Let us learn to acknowledge and value the results we produce with our faithful and persevering work.
Let us give strength to values by living them. To give testimony through our conduct, as individuals and as a group, of the fact that values such as honesty, generosity, inclusion and participation are still valid is a force that keeps faith alive in humankind.
We create new environments of trust and friendship when we harmonize our inner forces, when we take into account the result we produce with our decisions and when we work for the common good. Trust results from a stable relationship, which does not vary with sudden impulses or selfish interests. This relationship generates ties of respect and affection, linking souls with true and long-lasting bonds of friendship.
We give true hope because we have a back-up: energy wisely reserved protects us from the disappointment of unfulfilled promises. Even perseverance in our inner work would not be possible without the reserve of energies that enables us to overcome the difficulties we encounter in life.
We make of responsibility a way of life. We are free to choose, but we are not free from the consequences we generate with our choices. The more we live our offering and renouncement to ourselves, the more we feel attracted to following only one course, responding always with the whole in mind. Our energy is at the service of what is needed, without distinctions. One transforms oneself and by doing so one produces a transforming effect at the same time. This is a message Don Santiago4 gave us and it is an essential part of the message we want to transmit: to live the path of Cafh is to live with total commitment to life itself, to everything. Let us ask ourselves: “Does what I do strengthen the Message of Cafh, the Message of Renouncement?” The idea of commitment ceases being a burden when it is the consequence of love, when we choose the effect we want to create in life, the universe, the environment, other people, and all living creatures.
It is possible to bring to life our most cherished dream of union with the Divine Mother,5 with souls. Let us make this yearning for participation come true by using the potential energy in our being. Let us open our hands to give that spiritual force held in reserve, which should not be understood as a personal resource but as a resource of the universe itself. Let us carry out this most important of all social works: a mission assumed out of love. Let us walk in that direction step by step; let us build thoughts of union one by one; let us liberate feelings of love one after the other. It is an invitation to never cease in our wonderful task of transmuting mind into matter and matter into mind. And this we do through the fulfillment of our mission of offering ourselves. 
© 2010 Cafh Order. All rights reserved
Cafh: The word Cafh has ancient roots; for the members of Cafh it symbolizes the effort of the soul to attain union with God. At the same time it represents the presence of the divine in each soul. See the Cafh website at: www.cafh.org. The text “A New Kind of Social Work: Spiritual Unfolding” is the Closing Address of the Director of Cafh at the Cafh Annual Assembly in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in May 2010.
Sons and Daughters: The members of Cafh are called Sons and Daughters.
Renouncement: In the Teaching of Cafh, Renouncement is considered to be the law of life. When we renounce, we accept that our small life is part of Life itself, that we are an integral part of the whole. We gain perspective on the ups and downs of our daily lives and also on periods of great difficulties. The spirit of Renouncement helps us to visualize our strengths and weaknesses objectively and awakens in us a deep sense of participation and love for everyone and everything.
Don Santiago Bovisio: Don Santiago Bovisio founded Cafh in Argentina in 1937. Click here to learn more about Don Santiago: www.santiagobovisio.info.
Divine Mother: The members of Cafh reverence God in the feminine image of the Divine Mother. The Divine Mother is, in Cafh, the main point of attention and veneration as expression of the work, the love and the omnipresence of God. The Teaching of Cafh recognizes in the Divine Mother a potential state and an active state. It refers to the potential state as Hes-that which has not yet come into being. It refers to the active state as Ahehia-that which continues being.