God will not give up on us
Gospel Reflection
In his March 20, 2019 Angelus message, Pope Francis said:
Our beautiful readings today gives us hope that despite our difficulty to be converted and be formed in the image and likeness of God, through Jesus Christ, God will never give up on us. He will never give up on us, we just have to rely on him, on his grace that we will truly achieve that change in our life which we seek, and so achieve peace, kaginhawahan.
On our own, it will be difficult for us to achieve conversion, for our first reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans would tell us, we are more inclined to focus on the concerns of the flesh which is bound by the law of sin and death. But in Christ, we will be freed from this and our concern would be that which is the concern of the spirit, that is life and peace.
On our own it would be difficult, but with Christ, with God, nothing is impossible.
When I started my life in Carmel, I had a conflict with a brother which lasted for most of my life in formation. There were efforts for reconciliation, but it was so difficult, and the efforts never succeeded.
But in God's time, with God, all things are possible, there is just the need for us to be open to be changed, to undergo the painful and uncomfortable process of change.
Eventually, I reconciled with the brother and such reconciliation brought so much relief. There is no longer that burden that comes with working the brother.
Change will come, and sometimes it would come slow, just be patient. Have faith.
Openness, willingness to change, faith in God's loving mercy and compassion, and patience are what we need for us to truly experience the conversion that we need in order for us to slowly be transformed into God's image and experience the kaginhawahan that he promised to us.
Let us pray for God to grant us these gifts in order for us to experience true conversion in Christ.
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
In his March 20, 2019 Angelus message, Pope Francis said:
"This vinedresser’s likeness manifests the mercy of God who leaves us time for conversion. We all need to convert ourselves, to take a step forward; and God’s patience and mercy accompanies us in this. Despite the barrenness that marks our lives at times, God is patient and offers us the possibility to change and make progress on the path towards good. The possibility of conversion is not unlimited; thus, it is necessary to seize it immediately."
Our beautiful readings today gives us hope that despite our difficulty to be converted and be formed in the image and likeness of God, through Jesus Christ, God will never give up on us. He will never give up on us, we just have to rely on him, on his grace that we will truly achieve that change in our life which we seek, and so achieve peace, kaginhawahan.
On our own, it will be difficult for us to achieve conversion, for our first reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans would tell us, we are more inclined to focus on the concerns of the flesh which is bound by the law of sin and death. But in Christ, we will be freed from this and our concern would be that which is the concern of the spirit, that is life and peace.
On our own it would be difficult, but with Christ, with God, nothing is impossible.
When I started my life in Carmel, I had a conflict with a brother which lasted for most of my life in formation. There were efforts for reconciliation, but it was so difficult, and the efforts never succeeded.
But in God's time, with God, all things are possible, there is just the need for us to be open to be changed, to undergo the painful and uncomfortable process of change.
Eventually, I reconciled with the brother and such reconciliation brought so much relief. There is no longer that burden that comes with working the brother.
Change will come, and sometimes it would come slow, just be patient. Have faith.
Openness, willingness to change, faith in God's loving mercy and compassion, and patience are what we need for us to truly experience the conversion that we need in order for us to slowly be transformed into God's image and experience the kaginhawahan that he promised to us.
Let us pray for God to grant us these gifts in order for us to experience true conversion in Christ.
Image: James Wainscoat | Unsplash
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