Reflection
Who among us has not witnessed a person of faith so authentic, so forgiving, so generous, and so at peace with themselves, that the we feel like saying “I want what they have”?
These living saints can be found where we least expect them: in sick beds, political arenas, where we work, play, or worship.
I recall years ago visiting Maryhouse, the New York City Catholic Worker House of hospitality where the city’s poorest are welcome to receive a hot meal, a clean set of used clothes, a warm bed. The community members treated the vulnerable guests with such tenderness and compassion that I was moved to desire what I witnessed.
Today’s readings let us know the Holy Spirit moves our hearts when we witness someone doing outrageous acts of kindness, or shamelessly speaking truth, or calmly forgiving the evil act of another.
St. Paul says to the people of Philippi in today’s epistle, “Join with others in being imitators of me . . ..observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us.”
And in the Gospel, which we might be caught off guard to mistakenly focus on the deviousness of the fired steward, Jesus is emphasizing the need to imitate the steward’s prudence in dealing with our own generation. Prudence guides our discernment on how to address injustices, cruelty, backbiting, gossip, selfishness, greed, and lies.
The Holy Spirit stands ready to give us the grace we need to deal with the world as it is.
In this world we are the “children of light,” so why not imitate the enlightened ones in our midst and be lights in a dark world that is so filled with evil and hopelessness?
Living a life in imitation of Jesus and his saints, living and dead, is not easy. But, yet, it is easy. We all have met people so serene in their goodness that we feel God is alive in them, filling them with the grace needed to walk through life in confident calmness. This is the powerful Holy Spirit alive.
These are people to imitate. Seek their counsel, befriend them, let their faith catch you. This is how the reign of God grows. This is what gives hope on our darkest days.
Then, over time, without your full awareness, you are at peace. Your relationship with Christ deepens. Your prayer time becomes joy-filled. Your time at Mass becomes an emotionally moving experience of total surrender to Christ and unity with Him.
You will sing with today’s psalmist: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!”
