Sometimes things just don’t go down the way we planned. In fact, oftentimes things don’t go the way we planned. I received no engagement ring when my husband proposed, I’m pretty sure he didn’t even pronounce the vows at our wedding (he was so nervous!), and my children were all born by C-section. Yet, despite these details, I think I am one of the luckiest women alive! I have a man who loves me more than I ever could have imagined and five healthy kiddos.
Things don’t have to go as planned for them to be good. That is a lesson I continue to learn over and over again. Friends and coworkers come and go. Family members separate or divorce. We move from one home to the other. We have moments of scarcity and moments of plenty… I am not in control. Someone much greater than I is, and He’s got it handled much better than I ever could.
But I can’t help feeling sometimes that things are swirling out of control all around me. It’s as if I were in the midst of a whirlwind or a terrible storm. I can barely tell which way is up and which way is down, let alone which direction is the right way to go. Sometimes doing the right thing causes confusion and pain. Sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do.
Jesus seems to attest to this kind of opposite way of living when He says in today’s Gospel: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” He talks about people who succumbed to a horrible fate whether by flood, fire and brimstone, or by simply being “taken” while in the midst of their daily routines. We can only assume that these people were seeking to preserve their lives in worldly ways.
Yet Jesus calls us to a higher way of living. He invites us to the supernatural realm. He invites us to lose our lives for His sake, for the sake of the Gospel. It involves total surrender. Our lives are no longer our own. We move and breathe for Him. With every action we make, we are seeking His will. With every step we take, we are going where He asks us to go. It is a life full of mystery and adventure and complete trust.
As we continue on this journey of living for Him, let us pray together with the Psalmist: “With all my heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commands. Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you. Be good to your servant, that I may live and keep your words. Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law.” For indeed, “Blessed are those who follow the law of the Lord!”
Daily Reading
Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 2 JN 4-9 [Chosen Lady:] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father. But now,…
Saint of the Day
Saint Albert the Great
Saint Albert, patron saint of scientists, integrated Aristotle’s philosophy with Christian theology, and mentored Aquinas.
The post Saint Albert the Great appeared first on uCatholic.