September 4, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

The people around Jesus were amazed at the healing they witnessed, and with good reason. They would have been intimately familiar with Scripture, and the promises of God contained therein. They would have recognized these miracles as signs of God’s coming to save.

We may be drawn to wonder, then: If they recognized these signs, how did the story end with the crucifixion of their Savior? The salvation Jesus brought did not look like what they expected. They read that God would come with vindication and thus they anticipated a glorious military victory. 

Lest we relegate their confusion to the past, let us consider how often we have missed the signs of God acting in our lives. Many Catholics have the practice of meeting with a spiritual director, a person trained to help others listen for the voice of God and recognize God’s action in their lives. Many saints, such as Ignatius of Loyola, share practices that can help us to listen – to be attentive to God acting and speaking in our lives. All of this is precisely because it is easy to miss, or misunderstand, God working in our lives.

We, too, might need our eyes to be opened and our ears cleared. 

The world’s priorities are simply different from God’s. If we wonder why God does not act in our lives in the way we’ve expected or asked, it may be worth considering this truth. 

Truly, there is a mystery to God’s action; we do not know why God acts in certain ways and not in others. But there is still much we can know with certainty. We know that God comes to save us. God is acting for the ultimate and full good of all who are wrapped up in the complex tapestry God is weaving through history. God knows our needs and is present with us. And so, if our hearts are frightened, be not afraid!

God is with us, intimately close, just as Jesus is as well. Through the sacraments, he lays his hand on us, offering his healing, bringing springs of water to the thirsty ground of our souls. May we, be given eyes to see his loving presence and strength to participate courageously in his saving work.

God Love Ya!
Fr. Reilly