Tuesday of
the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Pio
of Pietralcina
September 23,
2014 8:30am
Today we have an interesting statement
from Jesus in the gospel.
Jesus expands the circle of his family
to include anyone who “hears the Word of
God and acts on it.”
So maybe a good question is: what
does it mean or do for us to be part of Jesus’ family?
I got thinking that there are some
very important gifts that come to us from our birth families.
And I think we can draw some
spiritual parallels and see similar blessings or gifts from being part of Jesus’
family.
So first, we receive, very
obviously, life itself from our birth family.
In a similar way, Jesus gives us
life through our re-birth in Baptism – the life of God and opportunity to live
in and with God.
Second, we receive love from our
birth family and this love gives us the self-esteem and feeling of security
that we need.
In a similar way, Jesus gives us
God’s love and this brings us an absolute and lasting grounding of self-worth
and safety.
Third, we receive nurturing from
our birth family.
In a similar way, Jesus nurtures
and strengthens us especially through the Sacrament of the Eucharist for the
tasks and challenges of life.
And fourth, we receive guidance
from our birth family.
And again, in a similar way, Jesus
guides us through the gospels toward what is positive and good and in this way,
he gives us a meaning and direction for our lives.
So, being part of the family of
Jesus gives us gifts or blessings similar to what our blood family gives:
Life, love, nurturing, and guidance.
