FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
Tuesday November 27, 2018
Thirty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time
WORD of the DAY
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky”. (Luke 21: 5-11)
How shall I live this Word?
Very often timidity, insecurity, and fears – deadly fruits of today’s neo-pagan mentality – are like a specter looming over our collective psychology, fueling a grim outlook of pessimism. Whoever agrees to leave the rudder of their life to the Lord cannot but experience a liberation from all that obscures a benevolently positive vision, where clouds are thinned out and opacity clears. They are the recognized words of a good Father, those capable of eradicating the fatal expectations of an uncertain future. It is the awareness of being created for a plan of peace and light, which hovers over us the moment we welcome divine grace. To the prophet Elijah, the voice of God appeared in the form of a light breeze, and not with the noise of the winds and of the earthquake, so too the Lord knows that our heart is made for love and for joy, and it is our tumultuous moods that cast threatening shadows on the future
I will endeavor to identify the beautiful that is present in my life that tells me all is not as negative as it sometimes appears to be. I will seek the spiritual causes, the sick roots of the choices I make that close me to others, that make situations and people ugly, that nourish pessimism and individualism.
The Voice of St. Leo the Great, Church Father
“To believe without hesitating in that which escapes material sight and to fix desire where it cannot be reached with the gaze, is the strength of truly great hearts and the light of strong souls.”
Leave a Reply