May the Lord give you peace in the Holy Spirit.
It is on 23rd September 2023. We reflect on 1 Tim.6:13-16 and the Gospel from Lk.8:4-15.
Perseverance in prayer makes our proximity with God a reality. Prayer is the manure of our life. God’s Word is productive in the milieu of prayer. Are we the doers or hearers of the Word of God?
We celebrate the memorial of St Pius of Pietrelcina, lovingly called St. Padre Pio, Priest and Confessor. My most beloved and admired saint of my life as a Capuchin Friar is St. Padre Pio. St. Pio, a Capuchin Friar was ordained a priest in 1910. He suffered ill health repeatedly. Soon after a Holy mass while thanking the Lord, he received the stigmata, the five holy wounds of our Lord. He was a gifted confessor. He strongly believed in personal prayer and mortifications. He said, “Pray, pray to the Lord with me because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord because even God needs our prayers.” He is known as a flying friar, a friar who reads the soul, has the fragrance of holiness, and is a miracle healer. He is the greatest saints of the twentieth century inspiring us all even today with his humility, honesty, and holiness. He was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II, on June 16, 2002.
In the first reading, St. Paul concludes the letter by reminding him to be faithful to all that Paul has instructed him. When Christ left the world, He gave the deposit of faith to the apostles, the Moral teachings, and the Sacraments.
Jesus offered to the apostles these traditions to pass on from generation to generation until He came again. During the judgement time, Jesus will judge the church according to whether the deposit of Faith is kept pure or defiled.
We the members are the church expected to be the guardians to continue the traditions handed over by Jesus. We need to keep the Sacraments and the Moral teachings of Jesus alive through our living.
The responsorial Psalm prays, “Come before the Lord, singing for joy.” (Ps.99:2).
The Gospel presents the condition of the heart and the cooperation of the soil in receiving the seed to make it grow. We have the Edge, the Rock, the Thorn, and the Rich soil. One of the conditions is the life we live today which is indeed the basis for the outcome.
The seed is the Word of God. Our faith and our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus are the basic conditions for a plentiful harvest.
May the Lord help us to be truly productive as we receive the Word of God daily.
Let us change what needs to be changed and accept our inability to change without God.
May you have a productive day with the Word of God.