NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
DIALOGUE
--&--
FEAST ABUNDANTLY
on CATHOLIC THEOLOGY & SCRIPTURE
The rains fell, the floods came, and the
winds blew… –
JESUS
(Matthew 7:24)
When I tell folks that I live on a
freshwater ocean, I receive some puzzled looks.
When I further explain that you cannot see the ocean, questions about my
mental health can arise. However, the
truth is often stranger than fiction, and most Sandhills
natives know about the massive
Ogallala Aquifer beneath our sandy dunes. While I can try to explain the geology of
ancient oceans, melting glaciers and groundwater deposits, an experience of our
recent rains would allow strangers to the Sandhills
to see and understand.
In much the same way, our Blessed Lord is
always teaching His disciples with visual aids.
His parables and analogies abound with images that allow His followers
to listen and see and understand. Jesus
came to make visible what has been invisible from the foundation of the
world. Jesus reveals the loving work of
God for us. There is an invisible reality, an infinite ocean of
loving grace and peace that is being offered to us through Jesus. Our faith, our prayer, our participation in
the sacraments and life of the Church – these are the wellsprings, the “pipelines”
if you will, that connect us to that ocean of grace and mercy and peace.
When we are praying daily, attending Mass weekly, and living in accord with His commandments, then we can truly flourish. The next time we see our irrigation pivots working in the fields or the water standing in the ditches, we may ask ourselves if we are letting God be God in our lives. Are we aware of the invisible and infinite Ocean that is always near to us? Let us rejoice in His abundant grace.
