As members of the Spiritan family, we are reminded of our mission as outlined by our co-founders. Francis Libermann reminds us that “You are a child of God” but goes one step further by commanding us to “live as such”; God requires us to live a life influenced by love and improving the circumstances of others less fortunate than ourselves. More than a century earlier, Claude Poullart des Places promised, “I will prepare missionaries for You and then You can put them to work”.
This weekend’s readings are filled with the joy of scripture: we are forgiven, we are loved; consequently, we are required to be missionaries.
Our 1st Reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds us that God has mercy for all. A tender, caring loving God, He is the lover of all souls, the one who rebukes us little by little. We are indeed children of God and loved unconditionally by God. Psalm 145 reinforces this message with “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger”.
Life is a journey, not just a destination. Thessalonians assures us of God’s loving presence as He accompanies us as we walk the road of life. But of course, we are human and, just as Jesus offered to visit Zacchaeus, before Zacchaeus acknowledged his wrong-doing and before he decided to compensate those he had wronged, we are assured as we journey in life that, as Children of God, we are loved far more than we can ever know and we do not walk alone.
We are called by Claude Poullart des Places to be missionaries. Are we ready to take up the additional challenge from Libermann that we are children of God and, because of this we are challenged to “live as such”?
Let us begin again to do so today… because “you are a Child of God”.
| Image: Painting | Artist = Creator:James Tissot | Title = ”Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus (Zachée sur le sycomore attendant le passage de Jésus)” | Year = other_date|between|1886|1894 |
Flor Madden KCHS
