The month of August is chock full of Solemnities, Feasts and Memorials of so many great saints. From the Blessed Mother to John the Baptist, to St. John Vianney and many more in between. It even includes a few of my personal favorites like St. Lawrence (because my dad is a deacon and his anniversary of ordination falls on this feast day), St. Maximilian Kolbe (because he gave up his life for another) and St. Bartholomew (because he’s my parish’s patron saint). But then there’s St. Monica, because her perseverance in prayer is such a great example (and my niece is named after her) and St. Augustine because his conversion equals that of St. Paul!
The more I dig into the lives of the saints, the more I am inspired by each one of them. They all have their own unique stories but there are a couple things that tie them together. They all suffered greatly and they all loved greatly. It doesn’t seem possible on this side of heaven to have one without the other. If we choose to love God above all else and to love others because we love Him, we will suffer. Yet we are still joyful people, Easter people, because we know that suffering is not the end.
So, compared to the celebration of all these great saints, what am I to do with a day like today, when not a single saint’s name darkens the liturgical calendar? What am I to speak of on this “Wednesday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time”? What else but God’s goodness and His abundant blessings!
Even though our trifecta of readings begin with the foreboding instructions “to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way” and end with Jesus’ firm admonishment of the scribes and Pharisees, in the center of them we find calm reassurance, like the eye of a storm.
St. Paul ends his second letter to the Thessalonians with “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way…The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.”
Our Psalm declares: “Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.” And even the Alleluia verse states: “Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him.”
These readings in and of themselves demonstrate the twists and turns of our lives. Both the sacrifices and the celebrations. Both the joys and the sorrows. Both the sufferings and the blessings. Just like the saints that have gone before us, we are reminded that our lives will not be without suffering, but if we walk in His ways, upwards and onwards, our temporary sorrow will be transformed into eternal joy.
El mes de agosto está repleto de solemnidades, fiestas y memorias de muchísimos grandes santos: Nuestra Santísima Madre, Juan el Bautista, San Juan Vianney y muchos otros entre ellos. Hasta incluye a algunos de mis favoritos, como San Lorenzo (porque mi padre es diácono y el aniversario de su ordenación cae en este día), San Maximiliano Kolbe (porque entregó su vida por la de otro) y San Bartolomé (porque es el santo patrono de mi parroquia). Pero luego está Santa Mónica, porque su perseverancia en la oración es un ejemplo magnífico (y mi sobrina lleva su nombre), y San Agustín, ¡porque su conversión es comparable a la de San Pablo!
Mientras más profundizo en las vidas de los santos, más me inspira cada uno de ellos. Todos tienen sus propias historias únicas, pero también tienen unas cosas en común. Todos sufrieron grandemente y todos amaron grandemente. No parece posible, en este lado del cielo, tener uno sin el otro. Si elegimos amar a Dios por encima de todo y amar a los demás porque lo amamos a Él, sufriremos. Sin embargo, seguimos siendo personas alegres, personas de Pascua, porque sabemos que el sufrimiento no es el fin.
Así pues, en comparación con la celebración de todos estos grandes santos, ¿qué debo hacer con un día como hoy, en el que ni un solo nombre de santo figura en el calendario litúrgico? ¿De qué debo hablar en este “Miércoles de la vigésimo primera semana del Tiempo Ordinario”? ¡¿De qué otra cosa, sino de la bondad de Dios y de sus abundantes bendiciones?!
Aunque nuestra tríada de lecturas comienza con las inquietantes instrucciones de “que se aparten de todo hermano que viva ociosamente” y termina con la firme amonestación de Jesús a los escribas y fariseos, en el centro de ellas encontramos una serena certeza, como el ojo de una tormenta.
San Pablo concluye su segunda carta a los Tesalonicenses diciendo: “Que el Señor de la paz les conceda su paz siempre y en todo…Que la gracia de nuestro Señor Jesucristo esté con todos ustedes”. Nuestro Salmo declara: “Dichoso el que teme al Señor y sigue sus caminos: comerá del fruto de su trabajo, será dichoso, le irá bien”. E incluso el versículo del Aleluya afirma: “En aquel que cumple la palabra de Cristo el amor de Dios ha llegado a su plenitud”.
Estas lecturas, en sí mismas, ponen de manifiesto los giros y vueltas de nuestras vidas. Tanto los sacrificios como las celebraciones. Tanto las alegrías como las tristezas. Tanto los sufrimientos como las bendiciones. Al igual que los santos que nos han precedido, se nos recuerda que nuestras vidas no estarán exentas de sufrimiento; pero si caminamos por sus sendas —siempre hacia arriba y hacia adelante—, nuestro dolor pasajero se transformará en gozo eterno.
Tami Urcia is a midwestern gal from a large Catholic family. As a young adult she was a missionary in Mexico, where she studied theology and philosophy. After returning stateside bilingual, she gained a variety of work experience, traveled extensively and finished her Bachelor’s Degree at Brescia University. She loves organizing and simplifying things, watching her children play sports, deep conversations with close family and friends and finding unique ways to brighten others’ day with Christ’s love. She works full time at Diocesan in the Software Department and manages the Inspiration Daily reflections. She is also a contributing writer on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net.
Feature Image Credit: Mark König, unsplash.com/photos/yellow-and-black-arrow-sign-ECGv8s2IPG0
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
Daily Reading
Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 We instruct you, brothers and sisters,in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,to shun any brotherwho walks in a disorderly wayand not according to…
Saint of the Day
Pope Saint Zephyrinus
The pontificate of this first third-century pope was to see a storm of heresy rage around the pontiff, who had to keep a firm hand on the tiller of Peter’s