Pope Francis invited all Catholics to participate in 24 hours for the Lord this 13 - 14 March as a mid-Lenten exercise where we avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as well as pray and spend time in Eucharistic Adoration.
There was a theme: "God Rich in Mercy" (Ephesians 2:4). If ever there is a time for mercy, it is today where people are unforgiving, mistrustful and mostly self-serving.
It does not help us that we live in a world where many worship the gods of self-reliance and material wealth turning even believers into greedy and narcissistic children.
Our prayers reflect an immature, demanding tone, and when we do not get what we want, we turn our backs on God in anger and bitterness. Our relationship with God never transcends the superficial and transactional.
Lord, I believe in you and trust you only if you answer my prayers as I call them. Do try and get it right. Don't go off on a tangent and give me something I clearly did not ask for. Were you even listening to me?
If I am a good person and keep all the commandments, God, you should be answering my prayers - spoken with the self-righteous petulance of the Prodigal Son's brother.
What does it mean for me that God is rich in mercy? It means that I am able to acknowledge and be grateful for His primacy and loving authority over my life every day. Father knows best and He never stops loving me and giving generously. All the time.
It means I treat Him with respect and love, all the time, instead of shunting Him to one side as I make my way through life, speaking to Him only when I hit a roadblock.
It also means that having received His grace, I need to reflect His mercy to others by reaching out to others with joy and doing good deeds enthusiastically, whether appreciated or deserved. That translates into not judging others or giving up on others. If Saint Monica can pray for her husband for 30 years and her son for 17 years before both experienced conversion then I must persevere. The world would have been more arid and dim if Saint Monica had given up on her errant son, Saint Augustine, one of humankind's great treasures.
Just Monday past I attended the funeral mass of my recently deceased neighbour, a diminutive, white-haired, old lady named Alice. She is my inspiration for she would toddle off for evening mass every day without fail. On the occasions when our paths crossed, she would smile and impart words of encouragement.
Always be humble she advised frequently, citing examples of how her pride would trip her up. Love God, which she did wholeheartedly through her lifestyle. Her children recounted how in the four remaining days of her life as she lay on a hospital bed she would clamour to make her way to evening mass whenever 5:30pm rolled around.
When one seeks God out so regularly and faithfully, one cannot but be transformed. She exuded the goodness of God in every pore. Aunty Alice will be missed not only by her family but all of us whose lives she graced with her sweet and cheerful presence, and her stalwart fidelity.
Although the 24 hours for the Lord is over, I will continue to seek opportunities to be with Jesus 24/7 and why not? My life belongs to Him and I should give thanks for every breath I take. As Muriel Donnelly concluded in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel there's no present like the time.
There was a theme: "God Rich in Mercy" (Ephesians 2:4). If ever there is a time for mercy, it is today where people are unforgiving, mistrustful and mostly self-serving.
It does not help us that we live in a world where many worship the gods of self-reliance and material wealth turning even believers into greedy and narcissistic children.
Our prayers reflect an immature, demanding tone, and when we do not get what we want, we turn our backs on God in anger and bitterness. Our relationship with God never transcends the superficial and transactional.
Lord, I believe in you and trust you only if you answer my prayers as I call them. Do try and get it right. Don't go off on a tangent and give me something I clearly did not ask for. Were you even listening to me?
If I am a good person and keep all the commandments, God, you should be answering my prayers - spoken with the self-righteous petulance of the Prodigal Son's brother.
What does it mean for me that God is rich in mercy? It means that I am able to acknowledge and be grateful for His primacy and loving authority over my life every day. Father knows best and He never stops loving me and giving generously. All the time.
It means I treat Him with respect and love, all the time, instead of shunting Him to one side as I make my way through life, speaking to Him only when I hit a roadblock.
It also means that having received His grace, I need to reflect His mercy to others by reaching out to others with joy and doing good deeds enthusiastically, whether appreciated or deserved. That translates into not judging others or giving up on others. If Saint Monica can pray for her husband for 30 years and her son for 17 years before both experienced conversion then I must persevere. The world would have been more arid and dim if Saint Monica had given up on her errant son, Saint Augustine, one of humankind's great treasures.
Just Monday past I attended the funeral mass of my recently deceased neighbour, a diminutive, white-haired, old lady named Alice. She is my inspiration for she would toddle off for evening mass every day without fail. On the occasions when our paths crossed, she would smile and impart words of encouragement.
Always be humble she advised frequently, citing examples of how her pride would trip her up. Love God, which she did wholeheartedly through her lifestyle. Her children recounted how in the four remaining days of her life as she lay on a hospital bed she would clamour to make her way to evening mass whenever 5:30pm rolled around.
When one seeks God out so regularly and faithfully, one cannot but be transformed. She exuded the goodness of God in every pore. Aunty Alice will be missed not only by her family but all of us whose lives she graced with her sweet and cheerful presence, and her stalwart fidelity.
Although the 24 hours for the Lord is over, I will continue to seek opportunities to be with Jesus 24/7 and why not? My life belongs to Him and I should give thanks for every breath I take. As Muriel Donnelly concluded in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel there's no present like the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment