On praying

And when I pray, God always gives something to me, even if it is not the grace I am asking for. When I pray, God makes my heart wider because I learn to embrace intentions other than my own.

Father

Father ... In this word is expressed and summed up my relationship with God.
Just as my relationship with my earthly father evolves, so does my relationship with God. It has its ups and downs, and it is okay, because it means that it is alive and dynamic. It is a work-in-progress.
But one thing is sure and unchanging. God and I, we have a deep connection. Nay, it is a vital connection. Yes, this one is unchanging. To deny this is to deny a basic truth about myself.
In God I live, I breathe, I move, I have my being. And knowing this makes a lot of difference in the way I live my life.

Stripped

In today's Gospel from St. Mark, Jesus goes to the desert and stays there for forty days, and he is tempted by Satan.
To stay in the desert is to stay before God, free from distractions and bereft of our securities. We remain by ourselves with God. And it is only then that we recognize the lures of the tempter. We see clearly the essentials and how the journey to disillusionment is always sugarcoated, passing off as desirable to our senses. We are called to make a choice.

Touched and healed

When Jesus touched the leper, the leper was healed. This healing was more than physical. In fact, Jesus healed the leper of a deeper ill, that is, of solitude.
Jesus' touch made the leper become in contact, once again, with the world and even with himself, because when a person arrives at the point of extreme aloneness, the person also begins to doubt the goodness or the value of himself/herself and of life itself.
I like what Pope Francis said yesterday at the Angelus. In front of suffering, Jesus doesn't give a lesson about the value of suffering. Rather, Jesus embraces suffering and takes it upon Himself.
Oh Lord, grant that I may not be afraid to immerse myself in life so that I may touch the people whom You love.

Peace is the first good news

In today's Lucan Gospel text Jesus tells His disciples that the first gift they bring wherever they go is the gift of peace. The gift of peace is the gift of harmony, of everything falling into their proper place according to God's plan.
It shows how our way of evangelizing should be: not with blows or by force, because the Gospel has a fascinating power of its own, and we do it a great disservice when we offer it by force.