Reflection for Thursday, 31st week in the ordinary time

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Memoria of St. Charles Boromeo

Today's WORD of GOD

Luke 15: 9 -10

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Today's Reflection

Looking for the Lost Sheep

We are All Reflected in the 99 Sheep that Stayed Put, as well as in the One Lost Sheep that Wandered Off & would Not Stay Under Control. We have Ideas & Talents that We are well Aware of & that Help Us make Our Living. These may Constitute the 99% of Our Righteous Selves that Does Not Need to Repent. But Perhaps GOD has put an Unpredictable & Unruly Talent or Quality into Us. Stretching the Parable a Bit, this Easily Lost Part of Ourselves can be a Special Moment of Time or a Unique Opportunity Crossing Our Path, Chances & Graces so Fleeting that They can Easily Pass Us by. All of Us Possess Some Talents & Inspirations, for Ourselves or the CHURCH, for Our Family, Neighbourhood or Country, that Seem too idealistic even to Talk about. They might be Spoiled or Injured by Ridicule or Simply by Cool Indifference. Or They might Turn Out to Demand so much of Ourselves that We Try to Suppress Them. Such Inspirations could become Crucial Turning Points in Our Lives–Whether to Forgive Another & be Reconciled, to Volunteer Assistance Badly Needed by a Marginalised Group, or to make a Clear Decision for Marriage for Priesthood or for some Other Vocational Choice.

From This We can also Appreciate Paul’s Injunction Against Harshly Judging One’s Neighbour.

When the Lost One is Found, the 99 also Get New Insight, for We must All Be Like the Shepherd who Never Ceases to Cares for Those Outside the Margins, whom HE Came to Find.


Divine Searching

We Occasionally Have to Search Hard for Something We Have Lost.

* Parents Search for Their Children if They Ramble Off.

* Men & Women Seek Out a Special Person to Share Their Lives with.

* We all Search for Friends, People with whom We can Journey & who Want to Journey with Us.

* Underneath All Our Searching is a Fundamental Search, for the GOD who Alone can Satisfy the Deepest Longings in Our Hearts.


Even More Basic than Our Search for GOD is GOD'S Search for Us.

The Whole Life of JESUS made Visible GOD'S Continual Search for Us.

The Shepherd who Searches for His Lost Sheep & the Woman who Searches for Her Lost Coin are Images of This Divine Searching.

GOD Seeks Us Out because We are All Lost in Different Ways.

Our Search for GOD is in Response to GOD'S Search for Us.


Saint of the Day

Let's all seek the intercession and give heed to the words of St Charles Borromeo, the saint of the Day:

"If a tiny spark of God's love already burns within you...

... do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out!"


Good morning. 

Wish you a day full of happiness, joy  and peace. May God shower  His abundant Blessings  on  you and keep you safe

Happy Diwali to you and your family. May Christ the light remove all darkness from our life.