Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Marcelo Cattaneo SVD – Agusan del Sur
Thursday 24th Week in Ordinary Time
It happened to me once while facilitating a Bible seminar in a parish in the interior of Agusan del Sur. Among the participants was an old farmer who wanted by all means to take part in the activity. To be honest, I was expecting younger people to join the apostolate, thinking they would add more energy, creativity, and continuity to it.
As the seminar went on, I got to know that old man better. In fact, he turned out to be a clear example of what it is to bring God’s Word down to our daily life and put it into practice. He had been serving a small community in a remote area as volunteer catechist for more than 30 years. His simple words during the group sharing had more content and life than mine about the Bible.
Like the Pharisee in the Gospel, I was very fast at labeling the appearance of another person without first trying to encounter that person’s heart. Every single day God puts in our way different faces of people. Each one of them is a message, an opportunity to encounter Christ in person.
The Pharisee had invited a ‘teacher’ for a meal, but it was the woman who encountered Jesus. God’s mercy was manifested through Jesus in that woman, with no name but with enough love in her heart to become the focus of Jesus’s attention and care.
