THE WORD AND THE DAY

All for the love of HIM

Friday after the Ascension Sunday

Acts 25: 13-21; Jn 21:15-19

Today we have a list of things to remember, but let us do it in the light of the Word. In Jerusalem, Paul underwent troubles to the extent of being killed. Now he is getting ready to go to Rome... all because he wants to go all the way in bearing witness to the love that he has for the Lord. 

If you love me show it in your life says the Lord to Peter, in your life lived for others, in your life lived for the Word, in your life lived totally for the love of HIM. It is easy to brush this aside as a spiritualistic statement; but if we take it seriously, everyday is an opportunity to bear witness to the love I have for the Lord, everyday can become an experience of growth in my relationship with the Lord!

Today is the Feast of St. Mary Mazzarello, a saintly young girl who turned into a mature and seasoned leader by her mere dedication to grow in this love of the Lord. Everything you do, do it for the love of God, she would say! Her yearning for sanctity, the right persons she met in her life (Fr. Pestarino and Don Bosco), and the extraordinary love that she had for the Lord took her all the way to her sanctity.

Another capsule of memory reminds us of Our Lady of Fatima...a great revelation of the Mother of God inspired again by the love that she has for her Son and for the children she has begotten because of her Son! The Fatima phenomenon has been a great mysterious show of God's love in the past century and it continues to be so! May our blessed mother continue to guide and encourage us.

Yet another event we cannot miss from our mind today is the 35th year of the Assasination Attempt on Pope Saint John Paul II. Ali Agca, who shot at the Saintly Pontiff was chosen specially to accomplish that task and naturally he was a sharp shooter. But when he missed that aim, he was intrigued and when Pope John Paul II went to meet him in the prison after his surgery and recuperation, the first question Agca asked was: "how come I missed that aim!" And the smiling Pope retorted: "You chose the right gun and the right spot but you chose the wrong day!"