Readings from the Optional Memorial of St John Paul II
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!”
For today, this scripture from Isaiah reminds me of God’s glory and presence that is for us. There are so many busy and revolving parts of my day and our culture that at the end of the day, I’m never quite fully at peace. Although, I feel like I don’t have much say since I am a single lay person working in ministry. Life is busy and messy for me but how much more humility and charity I have when I witness parents supporting their children, children supporting their elderly parents, single parents, health professionals, so on, and priests with crazy schedules.
I continue to ponder God’s glory and presence, when faced with the questions, “what is life worth? What is the goal? Success? Mediocre happiness?” Oh, how much more depth there is to our being than the current trends of society.
The Point
To be created by LOVE, with LOVE, for LOVE – by God, with God, for God. Our life is to unite [with Him] and bring glory to God. The world, the domestic home, and the workplace need God’s love made known. As we unite ourselves with God through prayer and the Sacraments, we get to be glad tidings to others by grace, we get to announce true peace found in God alone and the good news that he redeems us from our self-centered ways. We are presented with the hope of eternal salvation!
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the LORD restoring Zion.
Do We have a Reason?
The sentinels have a reason for their joy, do we? And do we proclaim the wonders of our faith. Although, I am some ministry leader, I’m faced daily with this challenge to proclaim the reason for my hope and joy. Yet, from what we know about the saints and in scripture, our actions, originated from faith, can leave a lasting impression of the divine.
On the memorial of St John Paul II, I leave you with insight on how precious he sees man’s place in the world. As St John Paul II states in Theology of the Body, “only the body is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and this to be a sign of it.” May our voice and actions bring about the glory and presence of God this week in our homes, work, and activities. St John Paul II, pray for us.
