TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Reading today's Gospel from St. Luke, this line strikes me: "ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks." (Luke 12:36)
Cris and I have just returned from a two-week visit to Michigan to visit his family. As a complete introvert, being with people continually is challenging for me.
Ready to open immediately? When we are speaking of interior prayer life, I'm all in. An hour in the Adoration chapel, easy peasy! But I'm not a cloistered nun, and the Lord calls me to a life of community. He calls me to be open not only to Him but to my brothers and sisters, especially those that are my new family! Today's first reading from Ephesians says,
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:21-22
Together, we are the sacred temple. Together, we build one another up. Together, we are the Church. Life with Christ is not solely about a personal relationship with Him. Our Christian life calls us to communion with others. The Lord knocked at my heart these last two weeks. Sometimes through days spent getting to know family, I'd never met before. Sometimes, through a late-night visit from younger relatives.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
Luke 12:37
Was I always ready to be open? I wish I could say yes, that it was easy, but it wasn't. When I found myself unprepared, I prayed for His grace to open my heart. That's the beauty of the Lord, He wants us to grow, and He wants us to reach out to Him for help. I'm not a saint yet, but I desire to be.
Let us pray for the grace to open our hearts to Him and to those around us.
#grace #saints #mercy #love #faith #God #Christ #Jesus #lovewins #blessed #blessing #hope #Catholic #Christian #grow #prayer