It is hard to believe that I have already been at St. Martha for nearly two months. It has been truly a joy to meet many of you and get to know the parish. I’ve been able to dive right in and spend time with the kids the last few weeks of school and hang out at vacation bible school. In the past two weeks alone, I have assisted at 5 Baptisms and 3 Weddings here at St. Martha. And with the feast day celebration of St. Martha, kids heading back-to-school in the fall, and a capital campaign kick off all coming around the corner, it looks like the growth is going to continue, and I won’t be getting bored anytime soon. Thank you all for your warm and generous welcome, and I am looking forward to the surprising ways the Lord will pour out his grace over my time here.
Gospel Reflection
The search for God and seeking to understand how he is active in our life is a consistent and ongoing challenge in the spiritual life. I often find myself crying out in prayer, looking for God’s presence and activity in my life, especially when things do not go my way. But often I am looking for God in all the wrong places. I look for God where I think he ought to be. I expect God to act according to my wisdom and knowledge and not his. When I get stuck in this mindset, searching for God according to my own limited view, I often overlook where he is pouring out his grace. And because I refuse to surrender my own desires and expectations, I am unable to receive the grace that God has for me.
St. Teresa of Kolkata dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor. She often spoke about how she serves Christ by serving the poor. The Missionaries of Charity dedicate themselves in service of Christ in the poor because of their faith in the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 25:31-46) but also because they are open to seeing Christ as he reveals himself. Jesus is not hiding from us, he is simply waiting for us to really see him. Mother Teresa said, “If we recognize [Jesus] under the appearance of bread, we will have no difficulty recognizing him in the disguise of the suffering poor.”
It is very easy to look at the Eucharist and simply see a piece of bread. I am certainly guilty of looking no deeper than the appearance at times. The fact is, that Jesus is really there, waiting for us to recognize his real presence. Surrender your plans, your expectations, and your desires to Jesus present in the Eucharist, so that you recognize his presence and his grace throughout your life. We can know that if we fix our eyes upon Christ in the Eucharist, we will be able to recognize and receive his mercy and his love every day.
Peace,
Dcn. Jack