As a child I often asked my mother, “Who do you love more, my brother or me?” My very wise mother always answered me with a question: “Which eye would you love more … the right or left? No parent can chose a favorite. Every child is unique and loved equally.”
In today’s Gospel, the disciples acted childishly, competing for attention. They even resorted to complaints about another person that was not among them, acting under Jesus’ name. While Jesus loves every one of us, we often compete with each other for reasons that are not in alignment with His word.
In the state where I live in India, the Catholic community venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary. A common feature of every parish is to send a blessed statue of the blessed Virgin Mary from house to house throughout the community. The statue is accompanied from one house to the next every evening in a candle lit procession, while singing hymns and with prayers by the entire community.
The statue stays overnight at every house, whose members pray – and then bid her farewell the following evening to the next welcoming neighbor. This seemingly beautiful event has been reduced to a competition among neighbors, in terms of the decor and the food served to community after their prayers. It defeats the very purpose of the idea of building a faithful community of Catholics and increased devotion to the blessed mother.
Often as Catholics we lose sight of our goal, to do the will of God and spread it through our words, thoughts and deeds. We tend to get affected by worldly ideas and attachments – causing a lot of animosity, anxiety and resultant lack of faith.
Jesus said in today’s gospel that, “ Anyone who is not against you is for you.”
Let us unite all those who have faith in Christ, and form a church of loving, evangelizing and faithful Catholics!
Let us spread the word of God, by not just being Sunday Catholics – but by forgiving that annoying colleague at work, talking to that nosy neighbor, meeting the friend who never bothers to return your calls, or the relative we avoid for various reasons.
PRAYER:
Help us Oh Lord, to be instruments of Your faith and love. Help us spread your word through our thoughts, words, and deeds, and unite us as a community of faithful Catholics for a better world. Amen.
