Meditation:

I meditated over this passage of the Gospel today. I just found it to be so beautiful and nourishing to my soul and mind. Here it is: “Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.’” Reading this passage today really humbled me and placed me into a state of awe. With the knowledge that God did come to earth as a human being to suffer by us and for us is very powerful. Especially, to know that God Himself was present with these people makes me a little envious of the chance they had. Would I have responded any differently than they? God is a God of love, restoration, justice and mercy. These things are evident in His works. He has the power to restore death to life. Something He wants for all of us. This is one thing that makes me think of Mary. Something recorded of what she says in response to the angel Gabriel leaves me humbled by her faith. She says when Gabriel tells her that she will give birth to the Holy One of Israel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” In these days when there are so many distractions, pains and sufferings; things that interfere with our faith, let us pray to God for a faith like Mary’s. Remembering that God wants the best for us and that the way to achieve His will is to be obedient to Him in faith. Suffering itself, suffering for suffering’s sake does not make one holy. Unless that suffering was endured for His glory. It’s about how we react to suffering. And I do not feel I am doing that bad, in the face of everything I am up against. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed earlier today. Knowing the silence is a result of my own disobedience. I need to remember the real values of life like the connections I have had in my time here. I need to remember how I have been treated with love and compassion. We all need to have that compassion and empathy for each other. It’s tough to know another person’s story, what they’re going through. But it’s not difficult to know that there is a lifetime behind the eyes looking at us. We all bleed. We all cry. We all have the ability to create. We need to start looking for solutions with each other. We are all brothers and sisters in that. In that we all suffer. We are united in love. I need even in the darkest times, to fully lean my trust into the nails of the Cross. Because the job is accomplished.