Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, who is greater than our hearts, exposes us to our true selves, not for judgment and condemnation, but for understanding and compassion.
The Holy Spirit helps us not to run away from our weaknesses but to look at them as opportunities of grace.
The Holy Spirit helps us to rejoice for the good that is in us and for the good that we accomplish, seeing in them our participation in God, who is "the Only good" and from whom all good things come.

Sacraments of God's love

Today is the feast of Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Family whose mission is to be signs and bearers of God's love for young people.
May Don Bosco's life and example inspire us to believe in the "goodness" of each young person.
Our priest this morning mentioned that through us, God wants to reach the young. Yes, our humanity, despite its limitations, is a privileged channel through which God wants to express to young people His love and care. So nothing is small, nothing is insignificant. We are sacraments of God's love for the young.

Letting God in

I often experience that I do something good in a difficult or impossible situation, or when I don't feel being good at all. Moments like this really remind me of God's goodness and greatness. I recognize that it is God, not me, who is at work.
I don't see it as a non-respect of my freedom; rather, I see it as a reminder that my essence is goodness, and this essence is a sharing in God's very own identity.

A heart like God's

When Jesus asks us to love our enemies, I don't think that He meant that we begin to treat them as our best friends. That wouldn't be possible.
I believe what He means is that we treat people well, we wish people well, even those who do not treat us well. We don't wish people harm, even those who do us a lot of harm.
Instead, we pray for them. We ask that in God they may find what is best for their life. We pray for their sake, not for ours.
And as what happens when we truly pray, God will transform our hearts unto His own heart, a heart of goodness and mercy.

Another Francis

I don't think I need to apologize if I write about this other Francis, Francis de Sales, for after all I am a Salesian. Today is his feast.
What I find most fascinating about Francis de Sales is his very positive vision of God and of the human person. No grandstanding, no threats of going to hell, no use of violent force for this pastor. As he said, "a spoonful of honey catches more flies than a barrel of vinegar".
I think Francis de Sales ought to be rediscovered by bishops, priests, and by all of us Christians as we try to live our lives in a way that is worthy of our name. Zeal is important, but it is not a zeal that divides the world between the good and the bad. It is not a passion that instils fear; rather it is a passion that draws, that attracts.
Francis de Sales reminds us that the way we can lead others to Jesus Christ is by us becoming more and more like Jesus Christ, the meek and humble of heart, who leaves everything to search out the lost, who doesn't break the bruised reed.

Create life

When we look at it with our own criteria, life is not fair. But the truth is, there is goodness, kindness, love and loyalty around us. When we don't see them, perhaps it is a call for us to create them for ourselves, for the people we love, for whoever crosses our path. For though life is a gift, life is also what we make it happen.

Envy

 

Envy is a poison that kills our joy.
Envy makes us suspicious and judgmental. It prevents us from seeing the good in people and in events.
Envy sows discontent in our hearts. It makes us blind to the good things that we have because it rivets the eyes to look at what others have.
Envy turns us into never-ending complainers. It makes us think that the problem is outside of us and never inside.
Where there is envy, there can never be joy.

Seeking what is true and good

 

God, in this journey of seeking what is true and good, grant that I may have a humble heart that acknowledges that I cannot be self-referential.
Grant that my intelligenec be purified of its desire for confirmation.
Grant that I may have open hands to receive and to let go, knowing that truth and goodness are not mine to keep; rather, they are yours that you so willingly share with me.
God, you are the truth, you are goodness.
And when you share a part of Yourself with me, no matter how small it is, even if they be the crumbs, I know that is enough for me.

Just instruments

I am very much touched with the recent events in the Church. From Pope Benedict's humble resignation that rendered all the more clear his humility and only desire to do God's will, to the Church's (and I mean people of all walks of life and not only the hierarchy) journey of understanding God's plans in all these events, to Pope Francis' installation Mass, we saw and felt that indeed, Jesus is the Pastor of his Church. This was repeatedly said on many occasions by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and these days by Pope Francis as well.
Perhaps here in Rome we are caught up in a more special way. More and more I am grateful for the blessing of being here. I wasn't able to go to any of these important functions for various reasons, but I really journeyed and I feel very much the hand of God in everything. I believe that God asks us to grow in responsibility and love for the Church and at the same time to grow in mercy and goodness, in understanding that the Kingdom of God is greater than the Church. In one homily I heard last Sunday (Gospel of the woman caught in adulterty), the priest said that "Jesus is radical but not rigorous".
In our passion for the truth and to bring the values of the Gospel to our society, Jesus first of all calls us to be inwardly converted, to remember that first of all, the call to conversion is addressed to us personally. He calls us to see the many shades of darkness that are still in our lives, and in doing so we will become more merciful, more open and more willing to see the good that is in others, even in people or parties that do not espouse our belief.
I am always reminded by the words of Henri Nouwen, that often Church people are not listened to when they espouse certain causes because their passion leads them to be very domineering. They become angry in their passion to work for peace, which is actually a contradiction, isn't it? Truth has its own inner attraction. It doesn't have to be forced upon anybody. The problem is, we want the easy way out and we think that by forcing people or by frightening people they will adhere to the truth. But this will never do. In our lives we know that this will never have a long-term effect.
Anyway, Pope Francis' words in his installation are a very good reminder. Our greatest contribution to the world is our tenderness and goodness. I think they are the most radical of all the Gospel values because they are totally incomprehensible in a world that is dominated by the criteria of power and control.
Mother Mary teaches us to be humble and to recognize that at every moment of our life we are saved by the mercy of God. In her Magnificat, she proclaims that everything is God's grace. Hence, there is no reason to boast or to think of ourselves as better than others. When we believe this, it will be easier and indeed more natural that we become more tender and kind towards others. Who knows, perhaps our kindness will in the long run win them over to God and to God's cause; but if not, let us remember that we are just instruments of God in saving the world. He is the savior, not us.

Children of God

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly ... you will then be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." Luke 6:27-28, 35

It is possible to think well of others, speak well of and to them, and do something good for them when I keep in mind that generosity is God's constant attitude. God doesn't treat me well because I treat Him well. His style is not tit-for-tat; rather, His is pure .gratuity.
It will help me well to remember and believe the truth that I am God's daughter. So I have it in me to be like God. I can be kind, forgiving, magnanimous.

Don Riccardo

I consider it a blessing that Don Riccardo is our community chaplain on Sundays. He has a way of communicating that leaves me always fascinated. One time after the Mass I approached him and told him "You know Don Riccardo your homily made me want to love Jesus all the more."
And I believe that he has this effect on many people.
And the beauty of it is that Don Riccardo is a coherent witness to what he communicates. I can call him goodness incarnate.
In his lectures and homilies he always focuses on Jesus, the merciful, the Good shepherd, the one who came to give us life to the full, the friend of the poor and the marginalized. And just looking at him and listening to Don Riccardo, you get to experience what this means.

He was my professor many years ago. One of the things that have struck me most about him was his capacity to see something positive out of any person or situation. And he wasn't doing it in an artificial or forced way. He just has that intuition, that open-mindedness that is able to see something good, despite the fact that it may have been so insignificant or "microscopic" that it has eluded the majority.
Don Riccardo reminded us this morning that we should not get lost in the "what" and the "how" of our mission; rather, we should always ask ourselves the "why" of our mission. And I believe that the why of our mission is always something personal. Of course the Church gives us beautiful and correct statements that express the "why" of our mission. But in the end, what really counts deep in our hearts is our personal experience that answers this "why": Jesus! I experience Him as the meaning of my life in a very deep and existential way. And I want to share it with others so that they, too, may have this wonderful gift: a life full of hope.