Scripture for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB
Our
first reading for today from Hebrews, chapter 10, was written probably just before the destruction of the
temple in Jerusalem in 70 a.d. It was a time of great persecutions towards the
Christian community. It was certainly not an easy time to be a Christian. In
our day and age, here in the United States, it is unlikely that any of us will
end up in prison for our faith or lose our property due to our faith in Christ.
But living out our faith currently is just as hard as it was back then. It can
even be considered counter cultural.
We’re
living in a society where violence is common and where respect for the rights
of all people, including the unborn and the elderly, are not part of who we
are. We’re living in what has been described as the Culture of Death. Faith in
God and love of neighbor is not something that is now commonly practiced. Instead,
hatred and animosity seem to be who we are as a nation.
We, as
people of faith, are called to help change this society by how we live out our
faith. We need to bring the love of God into all situations of our lives,
whether it’s in our family life, or even here at church. We need to bring the
love of God into all situations of our lives. It is by our visible living out
of the gospel in our lives that other people will be attracted to come to faith
in Jesus Christ.
In our
gospel today, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, the smallest
of all seeds. But once it’s grown, it becomes the largest of plants. We need to
take our faith and love of God into our society and use it like that mustard
seed to plant the love of God in all the situations of our lives. By bringing our
faith and love of God to all we meet, we can turn hate to love, and help people
know the love God has for all people. It will be then that the hate and
violence will diminish, and the love of God and mutual respect will grow.
Lord,
help us to be true examples of your love and presence in our society. Amen.
Amen.
ReplyDeleteLately I have been feeling very overwhelmed & heartsick about recent events in our country, especially with respect to the abortion issue, that I even feel the effects in my body. I have been trying so hard but I think I tend to forget that God is still in charge & that despite how dark things look now, He has not abandoned us or America or those of us in the Church are so attached to the pro-life cause, even though it sometimes feels or looks that way. I am not God & I can only do what is mine to do as He leads me, I need to do my part & allow Him to do what is His. I can't take on the whole responsibility of trying to change my country & to think I can is prideful. I can't allow the problems in our country to become a barrier to my relationship with God. Also, if I allow myself to get a heart attack or a stroke because of anxiety over this, I would not be able to do what God has called me to do in every area of my life.
ReplyDeleteGod gives each of us assignments & responsibilities & it is our job to bring His love & shine His light in doing what is ours to do. Like St. Therese we can make a difference even in doing little things & we can leave the role of using what we do & making it grow up to God.