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August 1, 2014

On hindsight, we may have wondered at the indifference or faithlessness of the town mates of our Lord after reading about the miracles he performed. They could not accept that the neighbor with whom they grew up is now a great prophet and teacher. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah was called by God to be his prophet to the people of Judah. However, the Judeans could not accept him and took offense at him to the extent of wanting to kill him. There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” With this, we can better understand the reaction of the Nazarene villagers in today’s gospel reading.

How many of us can still recognize our close childhood friends, playmates, schoolmates, and for those of us who are teachers, our former students, and are happy that they have become prominent personalities in society? Some of us might be filled with envy. On the other hand, how do we see our children, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc who are now doing great in their respective careers or chosen vocations? Are we not proud of them? They may have become Fr. A, Dr. B, Mayor C, Principal D or Bishop E, but in our family and close circle, they will always be our dear son, daughter, nephew or niece, sister, brother, etc with tender memories about them. As parents, many of us have to struggle with accepting the reality that our sons and daughters who were once dependent on us are now mature and capable of independent living and they don’t need us anymore. Possibly they may have taken for granted the persons, things and memories they used to be familiar with.

Many of us have favorite prayers or devotions, like novenas, rosary. Do we do them almost mechanically in the same manner we breathe, swim or drive a car? When we attend mass or Eucharistic celebration, are we so used to the ritual gestures and responses that we just passively do our part barely aware that the greatest of miracles is taking place in our midst at every mass? Can we say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,…” with that same internal disposition of that centurion in his encounter with our Lord each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist?

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 5

<< Friday, August 1, 2014 >>

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Jeremiah 26:1-9
View Readings

Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14

Matthew 13:54-58
Similar Reflections

GIVE ME THE WORKS

"He did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith." —Matthew 13:58

If we are seeing only occasional miracles in our lives, we should repent of our lack of faith. If we are seeing only a few people converted every few weeks (see Acts 17:34), we must repent because the Lord wants to give us a great harvest of conversions as He adds to our number daily (Acts 2:47). If we never go beyond moving mountains with our little faith (Mt 17:20), we should repent of not letting the seed of faith grow. In our watered-down, lukewarm Christianity, those things seen in the Bible as failures can appear to us to be successes. However, we must not settle for anything less than the total fulfillment of God's promises and the abundant life (Jn 10:10).

The Lord has promised us immeasurably more than we can ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20). Therefore, we must not expect anything less. The Lord has promised us: "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9). If we love Him, we must expect and receive the unseeable, unhearable, and the unthinkable. "Is it possible that He Who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?" (Rm 8:32)

Prayer: Father, may I let You do everything You want.

Promise: "I pray to You, O Lord, for the time of Your favor, O God! In Your great kindness answer me with Your constant help." —Ps 69:14

Praise: As a youngster, St. Alphonsus and his father went on retreats together. This seed bore great fruit as Alphonsus later became a bishop and a Doctor of the Church.