Do you see?

August 4, 2017

Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

Lectionary: 405

LV 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34B-37

PS 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11AB

MT 13:54-58

My fellow Diaconate brothers and I have just gone through the Scrutiny that will allow us to become Candidates for Ordination.   That’s some pretty serious stuff.  It requires us to trust that not only does the call we have perceived in our hearts align with God’s will for us but that the Church that Christ established agrees with us that we have a genuine calling to be Ordained.  The devil likes to tempt people away from that sort of thing.  Trust.  So much so that we in America have a complete hate for being told what to do.  We want everything we like to be true.

 I saw this quote on Facebook yesterday that sums it up well:

"People have such a love for truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth." - St. Augustine

When will we learn that God wants what is best for us?  To learn that every single thing He has revealed to us through the Incarnation and the Church was for our benefit, not His? As we read all of those rules for Feast days, we often think about them in terms of “God wanting worship.”  Instead, what if we look at it from God wanting to share His life with us?  Joy, laughter, contentment, and a full belly!   Those are things I think of when I think of a good party.  Why then do we sometimes go to Mass sour and irritated?  God knew that we humans need rest.  A day to unwind, Feast days to remind us of important things, and a Church to help us unpack revelation and all it entails to every generation.  Why?  Because we tend to get in a rut.  We forget who we are.  

Jesus visits us in the ordinary moments of every day.  In our offices, homes, parishes, and every other place we might happen to be.  Do we recognize Him?  The people that grew up with Jesus had known Him their entire life, and still, even when faced with miracles, did not recognize God right before them.  We do the same so often.  Especially when it comes to the Eucharist.  It’s so hard for our primitive mind to accept that the bread and wine actually become divine… maybe because if we truly understood it, if we truly realized, we wouldn’t survive that encounter.  Don’t fail to see Him when He offers Himself to you.  Just like those in His home town, how many miracles will we miss and mighty deeds will not be performed by our own lack of faith?