Today, on the feast of St. Bonaventure, we began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Rice. We heard in the Gospel reading that God knows everything: when sparrows are falling out of trees and how many hairs are on our heads. God also knows the future, but He doesn’t lay it all out for us in one moment. Fr. Rick expanded upon this idea and helped us see the beauty and reason in why God doesn’t reveal our entire future to us: He is invitational.
It is easy to get caught up in planning for the future, and it seems like it would be especially helpful if God would simply tell us exactly what to do. Fortunately for us, God doesn’t think this way. He “invites but doesn’t force. God never takes away our free choice.” We are invited into relationship with Him and invited to choose holiness.
An Invitation to Love
As Christians, we are invited to love. We can look to the Gospels for the perfect example of what that relationship looks like and how to live it. “Jesus shows us how to love by everything He does in the Gospel.” In different circumstances throughout His life, He constantly showed us how to love people, and He still guides us today with the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Rick also described another integral aspect of the Christian life, which is God’s invitation to forgive. Human relationships can be fulfilling and life-giving, and also difficult and complex. We are made for community, but sometimes that gets messy. When it does, whether the relationships are with friends or family, we are called to forgive like Jesus. “God calls us into a family and invites us to learn from Jesus how to forgive.”
Fr. Rick reiterated that Jesus “is the master of love. He’s the master of forgiveness and mercy.” We need only to look to Him for guidance and the ultimate example of love and mercy.
Reflection Questions
How specifically am I being called to love more like Jesus?
Who in my life needs to know about Jesus’ love and mercy?
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