“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (GN 12)
When Abram received this call from God, he was 75 years old. And he was asked to “go forth” instead of settle down. God’s answer for Abram’s obedience and trust in God was: “I will make of you a great nation” and “I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” We are also asked by God to “go forth” to “a land that God will show us.” The beauty of our daily reflection on God’s word is that we can always be inspired to leave our routines and look for a new perspective.
“The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor 5, 17)
The good news is that “the old things have passed away” and “new things have come.” This is always possible for couples (and of course not only for them) who decide to reflect on their relationship and start again. It doesn’t matter how long we are together or how often we have had difficult times;we always have a chance for a new beginning. We are His children, and “whoever is in Christ is a new creation.”
“A great prophet has risen in our midst, God has visited his people.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.” (MT 6: 19-20)
Our destination is in heaven, and there should be the storage where all our treasures go. Whatever we keep here, we will lose after our death; whatever we send to heaven, we will find later. For Our Lord, treasure is not based on material values but on our heart.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (MT 6: 7-8)
We are used to thinking, that it is so important to communicate our needs because otherwise we do not get what is important to us. We forget that our Father not only “knows what we need,” but He also He knows “before we ask Him.” Our Lord always protects us in advance, looking for the best for us. He said to St. Faustina: “I understand all your troubles and misery (…) no one will understand a soul entirely—that is beyond human ability. Therefore, I have remained on earth to comfort your aching heart and to fortify your soul, so that you will not falter on the way” (Diary, 1487).
“You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 COR 9: 6-7)
When God gives, He gives without any condition. His gift is always free, creative and joyful. Free, because it is a gift not a transaction, payment or reward. Creative, because He cares and loves us individually. Joyful, because God not only “loves a cheerful giver,” but also is a joyful giver.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” (MT 5: 44-45)
Our Lord loves us unconditionally. The only reason for His love is that we are His children. He knows that the only chance for us to love Him is to believe that he loves us no matter what we do; “for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good.”
“I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“…In everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God;”… (2 COR 6: 4-7).
Being “ministers of God” is a great honor and huge responsibility. Naturally we think of being a minister as doing something. But being “ministers of God” is first of all becoming similar to Him and experiencing various difficulties like those listed above. Firstly, we are to be like Him; secondly, we are to practice the virtues and learn the other ways we should act: “by purity, knowledge, patience and kindness.” Later, with the help of the Holy Spirit, “in the power of God,” and “in unfeigned love” and “in truthful speech,” we can share with others how much we are loved by God “as ministers of Him.”
“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away.” (2 COR 5: 9)
For St. Paul, “being at home” means being with Our Lord. He is our homeland, believed in but not seen. Married couples understand this easily. How often they are away because of work,but even when separated, they “aspire to please” their spouses in many ways. All kind of spiritual “phone calls,” “short messages,” “notes or letters of love” can please Him when we are away. And whenever we are in Church, we should remember that it is like being at home.
“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will live forever.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” (MT 5: 37)
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, knows the importance of words. The One, who “said and it happened,” invites us to take responsibility for our words. A simple rule, “let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’” directs us to Him; when we mix the meanings of words, we come closer to evil.
“Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees, and favor me with your law.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“…Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (EPH 3: 17-19)
Today we celebrate the beautiful solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We are loved by Jesus in His Most Sacred Heart, and because He dwells in our hearts by faith, we can be “rooted and grounded in love.” It is amazing just to think how much we are loved and “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Only God’s love enables us to cope with “all the fullness of God.” How lucky we are!
“Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Gospel Acclamation)
