Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Aris Martin SVD – USA
Friday 24th Week in Ordinary Time
A friend named Kiko lost his father at an early age. Growing up, he witnessed his mother worked doubly hard to send her five kids to school. After they all graduated from college, his mother got sick, which saddened Kiko, “If only somebody helped Mama, she would not be suffering now.”
Kiko was contemplating to become a priest, “If I become a priest, I want to work with others. I will ask the people to preach with me and to visit the sick with me. I am always attracted to pictures of priests and bishops in ‘selfies’ or solo frames but in the midst of the people. After all, I think God is never alone.”
Yes, God is the opposite of being alone. He is a team, especially in preaching the gospel. Good news is “good news” because a group preaches it. No longer do we preach by our lips but by our actions of collaborating with others.
The good news today is the joy of Jesus of journeying from one town to another, accompanied by the Twelve and women collaborators. The priest’s best preaching is not confined in the pulpit but expands in his joyful relationship with the community. Similarly, Catholic families who are happy together is another “good news” preached loud and clear in our world.
Several days ago, we celebrated the Sorrows of Mary and the day before the latter, the Exaltation of the Cross. Why do we celebrate sorrow and the cross? Mary’s sorrow is her way of joining the agony of Christ, and the cross of Christ is God joining abandoned humanity. In sorrow or the cross, no one is alone. Kiko calls it teamwork. For us, the good news is worth proclaiming and celebrating in being together with others.
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