The second reading proposed by this Sunday’s liturgy emphasizes the importance of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church and the individual believer. The Christian mature and complete life comes only through a faithful and continued adherence to the Word of God: it is through Scripture that God communicates his plan of salvation in Jesus.
Saint Paul tells us that Scripture is useful and we find all that we need to “be complete, and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
This is an invitation to take seriously the Word of God, to ensure that it becomes more and more nourishment of our faith and the rock upon which we build the edifice of our daily existence.
We must make the Gospel our Word of life: Word that gives consistency and quality to our actions, Word that arouses in us the authentic attitudes that characterize those who seek God with a sincere heart. It is the Word that nourishes the daily prayer freeing it from any arrogance and bullying and teaching meekness; Word that educates the choices and behaviors of everyday life, making the whole existence a worship of God through the Word and prayer.
What is the easiest way to live the Gospel? Once we fill our minds and hearts with the Words of Jesus we put them into practice in the very moment that we stop and wonder, “What am I supposed to do right now?” We live the Gospel in the present moment, the “now,” without thinking about the past or the present.”
Marzia, a friend from Italy, told me this experience: “For quite some time in our neighborhood are having some problems due to many homeless people coming illegally from parts of East Europe. They first established a “camp” in some abandoned buildings but then the police evicted them and now they are everywhere, taking refuge under the bridges of the city and behind the mall. Of course, their living conditions are very poor and the city can’t take care of them anymore because they are too many and we live in a small town. At the same time we also noticed an increased in theft and break ins; bicycles seem to disappear in an alarming rate, but many of us, knowing where they are going, do not mind.
One day, as I was meditating on this, I asked Archangel Michael to help me fight the “evil” that I felt in me. Shortly after, I was walking towards the store and in the street I saw in the distance the usual “foreigner” homeless man that I meet every morning in front of the supermarket, but I realized that that day he went barefoot. There and then, even though I felt immediately so sorry for him, I tried to walk from him. I asked, “What can I do right now for this person? How can my love be concrete ‘now’?” Suddenly, in that precise moment, the image filled my mind: suddenly I remembered that at the Church, someone donated a pair of sneakers. It was useless to keep them! So I went over and asked if I could take them. The church volunteer gladly gave them to me. I then went back to the homeless person, I asked why was he barefoot and he told me that someone had taken his shoes while he was asleep. Without any other questions, I told him that I had a pair of sneakers. I couldn’t
believe it that they were his size. He looked at me in disbelief and told me that he had a meeting schedule with the immigration officer to make himself legal and find a job to support his family. But he didn’t want to go barefoot. Now he was able to keep the appointment.
I was glad that I asked God what to do and act on the Gospel. Who knows how living the Gospel in that present moment changed someone’s life. I guess, I will know when I will see Jesus in Heaven.”