St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoztzin
Mt 11: 16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Meeting Christ in All Aspects of Life
I don’t have any brothers, but I do have a few cousins who are very much like brothers to me. And it’s strange because we don’t necessarily “fit” together. But they’re my best friends. And I can’t imagine what it would be like for one of them to be in prison, knowing they would die, simply for doing what God was calling them to.
When I envision this scene from the Gospels, I see a man living through that who is frustrated, exasperated, angry and sad: “why won’t you guys understand?!” To be fair, the people Jesus is talking to are the classic “wall huggers.” When it’s time to have fun, they mope around. When it’s time to be sorrowful and repent, they refuse. And so, what is Christ’s invitation to me in this? That I should both laugh with the sinners AND cry with the saints (man, someone should write a song about that!) so that I can meet Christ in all of the aspects of my life. And today, that’s the grace I ask God for.
— Conor LoPiccolo is a theology teacher at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, Texas
Prayer
Lord, grant that I may see thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
Follow thee more nearly.
—Spiritual Exercises 104