✝️ REFLECTION CAPSULE FOR THE DAY – Sep 24, 2021: Friday
“Turning towards the Lord, like the sunflower that follows every movement of the sun, and walking with joy, and radiating his Love!”
(Based on Hag 1:15b-2:9 and Lk 9:18-22 – Friday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time)
Nature teaches and inspires us!
One of the beautiful lessons we learn from nature is from one of the most amazing flowers – The Sunflower!
The Sunflowers literally ‘follows the sun’!
(Technically, it is called “heliotropism” i.e. ‘sun turning’)
They turn to the sun, following it all day…
… from its rising in the east to its setting in the west!
It is even found that on a cloudy day…
… if any glimpse of the sun appears, the sunflower finds and follows it!
The sunflower is a beautiful symbol of our spiritual journey…
… of how, we need to constantly ‘look to the Lord’, the Sun of our Life!
… of how, we need to always ‘follow the Lord’, the Sun of our existence!
This “looking to the Lord” and “following the Lord” finds its practical expression…
… in a life of prayer!
The Gospel of the Day presents before us with St Luke’s version of the familiar passage, of Jesus asking His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?”…
… beginning with “Jesus praying in solitude…”(Lk 9:18)
The Gospel of Luke is also known as the Gospel of Prayer.
He highlights the aspect of Jesus spending time in prayer….
>> At the time of His Baptism, Jesus prays (Lk 3:21)
>> At the time after a ministry of healing, Jesus goes to pray (Lk 5:16)
>> At the choosing of the Twelve, Jesus spends the night in prayer (Lk 6:12)
>> At the time of the Transfiguration on the mountain, Jesus was praying (Lk 9:28)
>> At the request of His disciples, Jesus teaches them the ideal and the model prayer (Lk 11:1)
>> At the garden of Gethsemane, before being led to His passion and sufferings, Jesus prayed (Lk 22:41)
>> At the final breath, in the agony and pain of His imminent death on the Cross, Jesus makes a prayer (Lk 23:46)
The ‘Praying Master’ through the ‘Gospel of Prayer’ exhorts us to some crucial and practical aspects of our life:
>> Do I spend special time in prayer…
… before important and critical times and decisions of our life?
>> Do I enjoy spending time in prayer…
… and seeking to grow in my relationship with God, our Father?
>> Do I cling to God in intense and deep prayer…
… in our time of suffering and pains?
>> Do I make prayer a way of life and rhythmic…
… with every moment of my day?
It is only when we build a strong rock-solid foundation of prayer that we can be bold in witnessing our faith!
The world may have varied responses to the question, “Who do people say that I am?”
>> Many saw only the zeal and fiery exhortations on repentance…
… and identified Him with John the Baptist
>> Many saw only His mighty acts and deeds…
… and considered Him as Elijah
>> Many saw only His authoritative power in preaching…
…and considered Him a Prophet
But they failed to see Jesus truly as the One He really was – The SON OF GOD!
It is only when we are in prayer that we can know the Lord more…and deeper!
>> The understanding of the Real Jesus can be experienced only through our moments of prayer.
How is our life of prayer?
… Personal
… In the Family/Community
Personally, we must make it a point to spend at least sometime, daily, in prayer
>> As a family/community also, we must make a priority, daily, to come together in the presence of the Lord!
Personally, we will have a lot of activities and feelings to keep us away; but we must still be faithful to our time of prayer
>> As a family/community also, there would come many things to give us excuses; but we must still be insistent on having our time of prayer together!
Yes, the Lord encounters each one of us today personally and puts forward the same question,
“Who do YOU say that I am?”
>> May we, “like the sunflower, that follows every movement of the sun,” turn towards the Lord…
… and walk, with joy, looking to Him, and radiating his Love!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
– Fr Jijo Jose Manjackal MSFS
Bengaluru, India
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📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME
>> “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”
>> John was “filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb” by Christ Himself, whom the Virgin Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit.
>> Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to His people.
>> John is “Elijah (who) must come.”
>> The fire of the Spirit dwells in him and makes him the forerunner of the coming Lord.
>> In John, the precursor, the Holy Spirit completes the work of “[making] ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Cf. CCC # 717-718)
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Nelson MCBS 