It is easy to check how much taller we've grown or how many more wrinkles and gray hair we have and how much weight we've gained over the years. But it's a little bit more tricky when we want to check how far we've come in terms of our-as one writer calls it-"inner landscape." I've found that rereading journal entries, old letters and old college and high school compositions is a good way to look at emotional and psychological photographs of ourselves.
And the Greatest of These Is…
A poem by Eric Santillan.
Sheep Without a Shepherd
I got struck by the last phrase of the gospel today, “He had compassion over them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” What does this mean, to be sheep without a shepherd? It would probably mean being lost—the shepherd gives direction; he leads the sheep to wherever there is grass or wherever it is most safe. It probably means going around in circles— not knowing where to go, just letting your hunger take you to wherever there is food to eat, grass to graze. It would also mean being in constant danger. Being vulnerable to the elements— rain, fire, wind, wild animals, wolves.
God’s Greatest Counteroffensive
I just love this first reading for this Sunday’s mass. It is the story of Ahaz, King of Judea, whose Kingdom is about to be attacked by Syria and Israel. Isaiah tells the king to ask Yahweh for a sign to show His faithfulness to Israel. What we do not know is that Ahaz was about to make an alliance with Assyria; and so when Isaiah visits him to ask for a sign, he’s really asking Ahaz to trust Yahweh and not human alliances like the one with Assyria.
Love Always Wins
My friends Mikki and Iris got married last Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding full of laughter and a lot of tears (most of it from Mikki). I had the privilege of giving the toast along with Iris' sister. The original plan was for me to give the homily and years ago, in a retreat, I made the homily already. But things happened and that first wedding did not push through (THAT is a story that can be made into a soap opera) and I left the Society.
prayersofapilgrim.com 