Tuesday, January 06, 2015

For God Is Love


By Melanie Rigney

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. (Psalms 72:11)

When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)

Piety
Lord, help me to love in Your name.

Study
The crowd was hungry. All they had was five loaves and two fish. You know what happened next.

Love’s funny that way. It’s not like when a dozen people show up for a dinner party where you were expecting eight, and the letters “FHB” (Family Hold Back) are softly whispered as you take just a bit of the mashed potatoes and want to remind your sister to do the same. You’re happy to see everyone, of course; it’s just that there are more of them than you planned for, and there’s not enough to go around. With love, there’s always enough to satisfy everybody, no matter how many children are born or friends are made or people show up.

God’s funny that way too. He never says FHB when people He doesn’t see so often come to Mass for Christmas, Easter, a wedding, a funeral, or a baptism. He doesn’t complain about how crowded the pews and the parking lot get. We needn’t get territorial or feel cheated or fearful that the others will diminish His love for us. You don’t think so? Bring some more people to the table by inviting them to take part in your ministry or accompany you to Mass or an event at church. With God, there’s always enough to satisfy everybody.

Action
This week, introduce Christ to someone who’s not well acquainted with Him. Offer to pray for someone you see every day, perhaps the person from whom you buy coffee or who you see regularly at your mass-transit station or the parking lot. See what happens.

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