Why There?

Today’s readings are an interesting challenge and opportunity to go to Our Lord and say, “what are you trying to teach me here?” I am a big fan of adoration where I go daily to sit with my best friend and have all kinds of conversations. I bring to Him a variety of topics and questions because I want to get to know Him better or ask His opinion about something in my life; or to simply be and rest in His presence and Love. I am so passionately in love with our Lord that I want to know everything about Him, from Him. He is a Real Person that I have a personal relationship with, not just a far-away Godhead.

Available

He makes Himself available to me in every moment of every day, and He is available to you too, and wants to have this same intimate relationship with you. Why? Simply because He loves you and thinks you are wonderful and worthy of being loved. He wants to shower you with grace to teach you about your many gifts and how you can use them to bring others back into communion with His Father.

How does he do this? This is a complex question yet has a simple answer. He calls us and moves us through grace to respond by saying yes in our will in love and abandonment. He often said to St Margaret Mary that one thing that he wished his saints did more was to ask for his grace. And, He wants to fill us up, every crevice of our heart to be united with His. Pray with me: “Lord, show me, shed light on my heart, where do I still need you to fill my heart, which corner? Go there, do not wait, and let me unite completely with you and your Holy Cross.” Here we are engaging our wills in a simple plea, an act of abandonment, as part of a conversation with God to be open to what He wants to tell us. We go, we listen, we respond, all in unity and love.

A Little Tricky

So today, I laughed as I sat in adoration to hear what He would tell me about the readings of today for this meditation. After reading a couple of times from the first reading, the psalm, and the Gospel, I looked up at the Eucharist and said, “Hmmm. These are a little trickier than the normal Lord. Show me how this all fits together.”

God said, “Anne, I have a little work for you to do, before you can fully grasp what I am saying here, you are going to have to do a little research and then come back to me to finish the conversation.”

Unexpected Places

Loving a good research project, I came home from adoration and said, “Let’s go!” So I began: What is the history of these places in the Gospel and why are they in the gospel today? Who lived there and what meaning did it have for those present? Why would those of Tyre and Sidon have a better chance on judgment day than those living in Chorazin and Bethsaida? Especially when many Old Testament prophecies, it seems, were against the people in Tyre and Sidon.

Digging deeper into how our Lord saw these locations, I discovered that Tyre & Sidon were each a place of pagans — Phoenicians — where the apostles would later evangelize, a place Jesus would often leave the crowds to go to pray, and get away for a bit, yet, recognized by the Jews as unclean and historically against the Jews.

Whereas Chorazin and Bethsaida was the land of the Jews, “the children of God” who had been given the truth, heard Christ’s preaching, went to temple, had a prayer life to the one true God, and been present to so many of His miracles. Furthermore, it was the land Jesus grew up in and where he had even called some of his apostles. It seemed on the face of it, that they would be the ones more open and excited to hear His words, witness Him as the Messiah, and want to open their hearts to His call when compared to the pagans. They would have a better place on Judgement Day. Wouldn’t you think?

Hard or Soft Hearts

Much had been given to them, yet, their hearts were hardened and filled with pride and their ears closed to really hear what our Lord was telling them. He called them to repent but they refused. They “prayed” but did not really talk with God or have a conversation. They lived externally, not internally where the heart is. The pride of these people wanted to catch our Lord in a lie or in blasphemy. They were “the chosen ones,” “the children he came to redeem.” How sad for our Lord that after all He shared of himself with them, they would not listen to him. Did he not spend his days listening to them?

In contrast to this and these people, in the land of the Gentiles (Tyre and Sidon), many ran to him in faith and trust, recognizing without being taught that he would heal them. Remember, one example was the woman who comes to Jesus in “the pagan country” and asks Him to drive out demons from her child. At first, our Lord responded with colloquialisms of the time. “Should I throw the scraps of the children (Jews) to the dogs (pagans)?” and she responded by calling Him master. She heard Him and listened. This was an example of prayer and her conversation with our Lord. He tells her that her faith has healed her, and therefore, the demons left her child.

Always Calling

The simple truth our Lord tells us today that he is calling you, He is calling me in every minute and moment of our day, and he wants us to respond in love and abandonment. “Yes, Lord, your servant is listening.”

This is what was put on my heart to tell you today as I prayed about these readings. I hope there is something here that will bring you a little more into His and the blessed mother’s heart and they into yours. If you are struggling in your prayer, ask your guardian angel and the Holy Spirit to enter into the conversation and help you in your ability to hear. Our Lady of Fatima taught us, “I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love you.” What sweet words of love to say over and over when you adore our God in the Holy Eucharist when nothing else can come to mind.

[Readings: Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5; Lk 10:13-16]