THE WORD AND THE SAINT
January 31, 2026 - Celebrating St. John Bosco, the friend of youth
2 Samuel 12: 1-7, 10-17; Mark 4: 35-41
"It is you!" - the famous finger of God against David, is the picture we are left with today by the Word. The Lord loved David, but David slipped into godlessness. However, when God pointed it out to David, like an inamorata clinging back to the beloved after a split, David comes back with remorse and love so tenderly balanced. Even when David realised he had sinned, he never panicked or never gave into guilt... he felt sorry and bounced back to the love of God, because he knew and he was convinced that the Lord was with him and the Lord loved him above anything else.
The storms may rage all around us, but we can still remain calm if only we realise the Lord is with us and the Lord loves us above all else. When the Lord is for us who can be against us? What really matters for a child of God, is to cling to the Lord in love... and everything else will fall in place!
Now, let us pause that reflection and turn to the Saint of the day! Just as God who was so much in love with the young David...so we find John Bosco a shepherd who loved the young to the last breath of his life. Don Bosco himself was so loved by God, and he just transmitted that love to the young entrusted to him. A wonderful life of faith, made manifest in actions and choices of love for the young. Let us ask for the grace of clinging to the Lord in love, and sharing the same love with each other.