SPIRITUAL LIVING
Prayer and Devotions
A Light to the World
by Father Jason Wallace, LC
Resolution: Choose one of the many gifts God has given you and use it to advance his Kingdom.
January 31, 2008
Saint John Bosco
Mark 4:21-25
Jesus said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe you are present and are inviting me to a deeper relationship with you. I love you for always reaching out to me, calling me to friendship with you. That my Creator comes to his creature is very humbling for me. I hope I will always respond generously to this love.
Petition: Lord, give me the grace to cooperate with your inspirations.
1. Let Your Light Shine Christ speaks rhetorically when he asks where a lamp should stand; but it is a great image. What can happen if a person does not use the gifts God has given him to attract others to the light, or if he uses the gifts for his own self-gain or indulgence? How beautiful it is to be in the presence of a simple soul – a person who knows the gifts God has given and lets them shine! You can see it in that person’s eyes and detect it in their smiles. Take for instance someone like John Paul II or Mother Theresa. Persons like this do everything with such peace that merely their presence draws you to want to imitate them.
2. Generosity Christ tells us that if we are generous with him, he will be generous with us. Even if we just give him a little, he will reward us with more. Imagine the joy we will have if we give ourselves to Christ unconditionally. We constantly see living saints who experience this. They give Christ more and more of their lives, sacrificing their own likes, pastimes, or hobbies, to dedicate more time to what he asks of them. Their apparent hardships are turned into immense joy: first, because they are fulfilling the vocation for which God created them, and secondly, because God is faithful to his promise of giving them more.
3. Putting on Christ’s Light Today the liturgy offers us the memorial of a great saint, Saint John Bosco. He knew the gift God had given him, and he went to great lengths, suffering very much, to see it fulfilled. He ran orphanages for boys, which for him was a labor of love. In a letter to his brother priests, he explained how they were to use their authority with boys, a lesson we can all apply to ourselves: “Let us regard those boys over whom we have some authority as our own sons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better.”
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, it is so easy to take the easy way out and hide your light under a bushel basket. Give me apostolic zeal, so I can overcome my laziness. Give me the grace to want to serve my brothers, bringing them closer to Christ. I know the joy it is to serve you in others.
Resolution: I will pick one of the many gifts God has given me and see how to use it better for his Kingdom.
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