Oct 22 2020 Reflection

Thursday 22 October 2020

First Reading: EPH 3:14-21
Responsorial Psalm:
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19
Gospel Reading: LK 12:49-53

Today’s Note: Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel Reading:

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father, 
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Reflection:

[He] is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

The imagination of children seems limitless. One day they’re famous baseball players, the next they’re engineers raising a fabulous Lego skyscraper. And of course, they’re getting a pony for their birthday. Anything is possible.

As God’s children, we’re invited to live in that same sense of unlimited possibility. In whatever way God stirs your heart and mind toward serving him, whatever he calls you to, he is prepared to give you the strength and the boldness and the opportunity to do it. 

God has plans and purposes for you, and he invites you to step into them anew every day. He created your imagination to inspire you as you work out the details of that purpose. It won’t always look like what you first envision. St. Francis of Assisi burned passionately to restore God’s Church that had “fallen into disrepair”—and he began by trying to reconstruct a tumbledown church building. Over time, Francis came to understand more exactly what the Lord had in mind. You can’t see the end at the beginning, but you can spend time with the Lord, asking him about the things that move and excite you. What do you imagine yourself doing for him? Write it down and talk to him about it, about your expectations and limitations, about the possibilities that swim before you and the hurdles you need his help to clear.

Then experiment. God’s plans for you begin where you are right now. Expect him to guide you, perhaps with a growing excitement about your vocation, recurring thoughts to intercede for someone, or a new sense of direction to serve. There is so much God can do, even through your ordinary life.

You can’t ask too much of God! He will help you and guide you. Begin the conversation with him and aim high. Remember that St. Paul is on his knees asking the Father to empower you as you work out the details of his purposes (Ephesians 3:14). While you might not end up with the “pony” you’re asking for, God can and will do far more through you than all you ask or imagine. 

“Lord, thank you for your plans for me. Open my eyes to see how you want to use me today.”