Posted by The WORD in Other Words by Fr Jerry Songcog SVD (Madagascar)
Tuesday Week 23 Ordinary Time, Col 2:6-15, Lk 6:12-19
One of the short prayers I used to say is this: “Lord, bless all the people who have become part of my life and those who will become part of my life. Bless all the people that I’ll meet today and bless all my encounters.” This prayer helps me to be positive in meeting people, even those who seem to be unpleasant. It is putting all my encounters in God‘s loving providence, making them means of graces.
Surely Jesus prepared each of his encounters with a prayer to his Father in heaven. Thus, his every encounter with people was never a product of chance, but a concrete manifestation of divine providence, working along with human liberty and choices. Jesus‘ encounters with others, whether pleasant or difficult, became sources of grace for those who opened themselves up to God‘s action. Jesus prayed for those whom he chose as close companions: the choice made was a product of his prayer, of his intimate dialogue with the Father.
People might question some of the persons that were chosen — Judas for example. It could not, however, be denied that all of them became vehicles of God‘s salvific action. None of them was a mistake, even though they made mistakes in some of their choices in life. Since their being chosen was a product of Jesus‘ prayer to the Father, even their mistakes became instruments of God‘s grace. Nothing, even human mistakes and failures, can prevent God from realizing his divine plan.
Let our every encounter be a product of grace. Let us pray for every person that we meet each day.
