Reflection:
Jesus often speaks in parables in the Gospel. He uses an image to describe what the kingdom of God is. Funny how the Scribes and Pharisees ask him to speak plainly. He reveals the meaning to His disciples! I will show you what a follower of mine looks like. One who builds their house on a firm foundation, one who has a firm foundation in God, the Rock. This is the house that can weather the storms, the daily afflictions and bombardments.
This day in 1810, Mexico’s war for independence was inaugurated. A Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo, rang the church bells in 1810. In the form of a grito, he “decried” Spanish oppression with an impassioned speech. The brutal war lasted nearly eleven years. To this day, the tradition continues with the Mexican president ringing the same 200+year-old bell at midnight and reciting the cry of pain.
The bell continues to ring out across our world; we hear the cries of the earth. The war in Ukraine persists. Incidents of gun violence are taking the lives of our children. With all these events, what is our firm foundation? We are crying out and searching for our firm foundation. Christ indeed says that in the world that you will have trouble. But also, to take courage because He has conquered the world. Let us hear these “gritos” and stretch out our hands to our needy brothers and sisters. God bless!
