It happens to those who meet Jesus like it happens to all lovers. From that moment on, everything else in life takes a back seat. That experience is full of harmony, but it brings division within you and you see it all from a new perspective.
The person in love with Jesus has new values: “When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it” (Matthew 13:46). Saints of all times are seen as strange people because they have made radical changes that others don’t understand, but that make perfect sense to the lover. It is what he was ardently seeking.
Because of Jesus, thousands of disciples have created, over the centuries, throughout the earth, new forms of charity, forgiveness and harmony: in schools, hospitals and places of encounter with other human beings. They have overcome barriers of race, culture, language or social differences.
That dynamic has led the disciples of Jesus to denounce ways of life that, up until that moment, were not perceived as unjust, but that the Divine Master helped to discover with his wisdom: the rich man and Lazarus at his door (Luke 16:19-20); “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37), “May all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (John 17:21), “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27).
Francis of Assisi and his total dependence on God’s providence, Therese and her small actions full of love, Conchita Cabrera de Armida and Margaret Mary Alacoque contemplating and partaking of the feelings of the heart of Jesus, Daniel Comboni and his missionary zeal through the confines of the earth, Ignatius Loyola and his discernment of the Spirit of God: All these and thousands more were transformed into signs of unity and division, driven by the divine love incarnated in Jesus.
The life and message of Jesus are so elevated and profound that they surpass our intelligence and natural impulses.
God is always present in our world and especially in our hearts, even if we do not respond promptly. Men and women will continue to emerge, at all times and places, to help us scrutinize the heart and mind of the Creator, who loves his own.
When the light shines, everything that is stained comes out and makes clear the urgency of cleaning. Jesus is the light of the world and the water of life that renews all existence. Christians cannot let anyone in the world live in darkness or die of inner thirst. It is our privileged mission to offer Jesus as an answer to the world.
Mary received with sorrow Simeon’s announcement that Jesus would be a sign of contradiction, by discovering the intentions of hearts, like a sword piercing her soul. (See Luke 2:34-35.) But at the same time, he would be the salvation of all those who, like her, proclaim the love and wisdom of the Most High.
This article appeared in the August/September 2024 issue of Northwest Catholic magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.