GROW AS A DISCIPLE
Today’s feast reminds us that we were not made for this world. We are destined to live with God in his heavenly kingdom. Our first reading from the Book of Revelation contains a vision John received which gives us a glimpse of what we’ll see there: “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,” crying out his praise in a loud voice. For us on earth, the question is: How do we live so that one day, we will join that chorus of all the saints? The Gospel of Matthew gives us a road map to kingdom living. Those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven are those who are “poor in spirit,” those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the peacemakers,” those “who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,” and those against whom “every kind of evil is uttered falsely because of [Christ].” With these words, we’re reminded of the many faces of holiness. May we strive to pattern our lives according to the Beatitudes and so take our place among the ranks of all the saints in heaven.
GO EVANGELIZE
Today’s responsorial psalm invites us to pray, “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” There are so many longings in our hearts – longings for belonging, longing for love, longing for justice. But the ultimate longing of our heart is for the Lord, even if we don’t yet realize it. Part of our work in evangelization is to help awaken people’s awareness of the ultimate desire of their hearts. As St. Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Spend some time in prayer this week asking the Lord to increase your own longing for him, as well as that of anyone you want to come to know the Lord better.
PRAY
Being a saint, perhaps, has something to do with longing for the Lord as our greatest and highest good, preferring nothing to him. As St. Thomas was praying before a crucifix toward the end of his life, the Lord said: “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward will you receive from me for your labor?” St. Thomas Aquinas responded, “Domine, Non Nisi Te – Nothing but you, Lord.” May we pray to desire nothing but to be counted among the children of God. For so we are.
By The Faithful Disciple