Deacon Tom Anthony

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 Jesus Christ comes to us foremost as a comforter in our time of need. It is during times of crisis where we can be most receptive to His presence and more apt to listen to Him. From there, we can then further explore our relationship with Him; building on the foundation that was set at the moment of our conception. Trusting in Jesus is difficult at times. From early on, we are taught to focus on our five senses while ignoring what we cannot see. What is ironic is that Jesus Christ can be seen everywhere if only we take the time to contemplate Him. He is constantly calling to us to love Him and we constantly have that feeling that we are being drawn to something bigger than ourselves. That bigger something is Jesus Christ.

Learning about our faith is part of experiencing our faith. We do a lot of this through reading Sacred Scripture. Within these pages are countless testimonies of the Christ Experience. We read about healings, people raised from the dead, and those who lived a conversion experience. Through these narrations we are encouraged to experience the exact same thing through our own salvation story. Our narrations are no less important than the ones who came before us. Jesus tells us this Himself. We are all His children and are equally important and loved. Our personal narration must never be forgotten. We should reflect daily on where we have gone and where we are going. This path should be viewed with excitement, not with frustration. Each day is a new day and with it comes limitless possibilities. The present holds the key to eternal joy.

When we find ourselves walking with Jesus Christ, even our failures can be defined as successes. This is because we can reflect on where we may have fallen short and ask Jesus for the strength to overcome that which hurts us the most. Through Jesus Christ we are not labeled by our failures or successes, only by our relationship with Him. We are all sick and in need of medicine. He is the medicine. We have a definite choice either to be judged by a society that bases the value of a human being on a materialistic scale or to be judged by someone who loves us with abandon. Jesus Christ wants to cure us from all of our infirmities. He does not want to see us suffer.

Jesus Christ is moved to pity by our suffering. He does not want us to be in state where we are separated from Him. Suffering and pain can lead to an encounter with Him where we can find relief. He rose the widow of Nain’s son from the dead not because He felt pity for the son. He felt pity for the widow who was left alone. It could be argued that the son would soon be entering The Kingdom of God. Why would he want to come back? It was the widow who Jesus wanted to comfort. This Gospel Story demonstrates to what length Jesus will go to bring us comfort. We just need to be willing to receive it.

Deacon Tom