Search
-
July 24, 2017I struggle with this question, despite hearing at every Mass, “Let us go forth glorifying the Lord by our life.” In this week’s Gospel, Matthew provides a plethora of ways to ponder how willing we are to give up the things of this world for the ultimate gift of being glorifying disciples of the Lord in the Kingdom of God on earth and for all eternity. Matthew offers treasure, pearls, fish – I could give up buried treasure, pearls, and fish. Somehow, I don’t think that’s the point of the parables.
What am I doing this day to glorify God? When you are working full-time in ministry, it is easy to say that everything we do in our workdays is for the glory of God. There are days when this seems true; others, not so much. On the days when we have the privilege of encountering the poor in spirit or the economically impoverished, days when we minister with a grieving family to plan a funeral, days when we can bring Communion to the sick, and days when we can offer groceries to a family in crisis … this is clearly for the glory of God, thanks to the generous spirit of St. Joseph’s parishioners.
But am I glorifying God when I race out of the house in the morning without taking adequate time for prayer? For stillness? For listening? For writing in my prayer journal? Are these prayerful activities not worth more than all the modern forms of “buried treasure” I can squander my time on – that ever-present smartphone, the lure of yet more political TV news, shopping for stuff we don’t really need …
Last week, more than 130 parishioners and others in the community came together to view The Shack Movie, staying together afterwards to share their reflections with Fr. Jim and each other. People talked openly about their images of God and their understanding of God’s presence in tragedy and when good things happen to bad people. Hopefully, all came away from this time spent in the presence of Papa (God) and each other assured that God is “especially fond” of them, knowing the we glorify God when we live in the awareness that we are never alone.
As we continue in these beautiful summer weeks, a gift of our Creator, may we find refreshing ways to glorify God: in the stillness of nature’s bounty, with a good spiritual book, in the company of family, with a soul friend, writing in a journal. May we spend time in prayer asking for the grace of treasures like those of Solomon: “an understanding heart” and “to distinguish right from wrong.”
