Pages

Search This Blog

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Fr. Bob Warren's Week Reflection What we all need is love. What we don't have is time.


Clouds
THIS WEEK'S REFLECTION from Fr. Bob Warren, SA
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Someone told me recently that he was a practicing Catholic, but that the more he practiced the worse he got. I am sure that many of us feel that way sometimes. Maybe we are not getting worse, but we do not seem to be improving much either. Why is it so difficult to change to get closer to God and have a relationship with Him?
The answer to this question may lie in the parable Jesus tells in the gospel. The farmer in the parable is Jesus. The seed is God's word and the seedbeds, the path, thorns and good soil refer to people who hear God's word. Some people reject it outright while others receive it and reject it later. Still others receive it, treasure it and put it into practice. You notice that in only one case was the word rejected outright. In the other three cases it was received with joy, at least, at first. You see the problem is not in receiving God's word. The problem is in treasuring it and putting it into practice. That is the part most of us have difficulty with.
I am sure that you wonder what category you come under. Are you the path, the rocks, the thorns or are you the good soil? In other words, in your life where did the seed fall? In order to answer that question, you may have to ask another. What rules your life, what dominates your existence or what manipulates you? Something or someone does or, perhaps, worst thought of all nothing does. Many things can dominate our lives like love of power, money or drugs. Some people are dominated by sheer work. In each case God takes a back seat. Where is Jesus on your top ten list?
You see, this God of ours knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. He knows what makes you tick, what turns you on or off and why. He knows how thrilling and how tough life can be. He knows what it is like to be human. He became one. No matter how far you stray from Him, He never stops loving you. He will ceaselessly search for you and track you down in the hope of your turning to Him. Most astonishing of all, this God who cares for you also died for you as if no one else existed on Calvary save you.
Look into your heart and discover what towers atop your list of goals. See where God stands on the list compared to money, power, fame, or whatever it is that draws you away from God. You see, God's gift of love for you, though priceless, is not costless. Like all love, God's love makes demands on you. Perhaps, His heaviest and most constant demand is the plea every lover makes to the one they love ‑ "Do not forget me". And, if we want to know if the seed fell on good soil in our lives, we only have to ask ourselves how seriously do we take God's word when he says, "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself." It is amazing that these are the only rules that Jesus gave us.
It was in the 1980's that I was a prison chaplain. The prison had a special hospital ward for prisoners with AIDS. The men were not allowed to attend Mass with the other prisoners. So I would celebrate Mass for them in their ward. My altar was an old card table and the men would make signs to cover it up. One sign read ‑"What we need is love. What we don't have is time." These men were the new lepers. What they needed most in the world was to feel God's love and the love of family and friends, many of whom had stopped visiting them.
The other part of the message, "What we don’t have is time", reminded me of something I read in a convent chapel. It read, "Priest of God, say this Mass as if it were your first Mass, as if it were your last Mass, as if it were your only Mass" The same could be said of all of us. Live this day as if it were your first day, as if it were your last day, as if it were your only day. Each day is a fresh chance to be Christlike and more loving.
A well‑known singer and band leader, Cab Callaway, wrote in this autobiography, "Women, horses, cars, clothes, I did it all. And you know what that is called, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is called living." Wouldn't it be more satisfying if someday we could all say that about ourselves? "People, those I liked and those I didn't, all people but, especially, the homeless and the hopeless, the naked and the hungry, the lonely and the unloved, those who are different from me in race or religion, the drug addicted and the AIDS afflicted, I did not do it all, but I did what I could. And you know what that is called, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is called loving." When we can say that then we will know that the seed has fallen on good ground. What we all need is love. What we don't have is time.
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. Signature
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
Spiritual Director
Footer Banner
Footer Banner
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement
www.AtonementFriars.org
GRAYMOOR P.O. Box 301, Garrison, NY 10524
For more information call us at 888‑720‑8247.
© 2017

No comments: