Gospel Meditation

July 18, 2021
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There’s an ordinary pine grove located on a tree farm not too far from town where life’s stresses and demands seem to melt away. It is here that all that seemed so important out there no longer is and one can get lost in the rows of trees and majestic beauty. God is here and all is good. We need to connect with the Divine Source of all that is in order to understand what it is we are doing and why we are doing it. Otherwise, things stop making sense and bitterness can overcome one’s spirit. It’s okay to play once in a while and to discover that place of profound life and peace. People always have needs and there is constantly something to do. And while all of that is necessary and we are needed, there is also that inner solitude within that needs to be celebrated and released.

We all need a pine grove. It’s that little place we can go and leave all that consumes us behind. It’s a place where technology can be set aside and wonder, and awe given some time. We don’t have to text, calculate, or orchestrate anything in the pine grove. It is a somewhat deserted place where all of that can be set aside and we can just be. The anger, frustration, exhaustion, discouragement, helplessness, and occasional apathy, all can fall to the ground like all of those pine needles that once held their place on the branch of a Frasier Fir. The needles can let go. We can let go. We are beings connected with Being and we all need to remember what really matters, who really matters and what life is truly all about. We need to find that place where we can rest and let go of all of the barnacles we accumulate. Rest, breathe, seek, and love.

The world will need us again when we leave the pine grove. It will all be waiting for us, beckoning for our attention. But we will have prayed and will have marveled at the silence and the beauty of goodness. We can go back, ready, and eager to listen, to help, to heal, to cry, to embrace, and attend to all that is asked of us. But, having let go of the distractions in that deserted place we will have a renewed sense of purpose. We will know better Who it is we serve and what we are meant to do. It will all be clearer now that we have been Divinely touched and refreshed.

©LPi

MEDITACIÓN EVANGÉLICO (Gospel Meditation)

18 de julio 2021
16º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

La Liturgia de hoy evoca la figura del pastor. Figura muy fuerte en tiempos de Jesús. Un pastor cuida, protege y da la vida por sus ovejas. También existen los malos pastores y se distingue su mal proceder. Este Evangelio, también es recordado el IV domingo de Pascua. Jesús es el Pastor de Pastores, basta el mirar su proceder para ver lo mucho que nos ama y busca nuestro bien en todo momento. La primera lectura nos describe los rasgos de los malos pastores. Así, que, si los invertimos veremos claramente las características de los buenos pastore.

¿Actualmente a quienes se les dice pastores? Bueno, no es solamente los pastores en la iglesia. Pastores son las personas que cuidan y protegen y guían a otros. Se les puede llamar pastores a los padres de familia, a los maestros, a los abuelitos y a toda persona que tiene bajo su cuidado, de alguna forma, el hogar, la escuela o la oficina. El Evangelio nos dice que Jesús dijo a sus discípulos: “Vámonos aparte, a un lugar retirado, y descansarán un poco. Porque eran tantos los que iban y venían que no les quedaba tiempo ni para comer” (Marcos 6:31-32). Lo que paso a los apóstoles, les pasa a los padres de familia responsables del cuidado de sus hijos. Son tantas las idas y venidas que no hay tiempo ni para comer. ¡Señor Jesús, deseo que tú seas mi Pastor y mi Maestro en todo lo que hago! Guíanos a todos y cúranos de nuestras heridas por esta pandemia. El mundo entero te necesita, no nos abandones. Oremos juntos: “El Señor es mi Pastor nada me falta; en verdes pastos él me hace reposar. A las aguas de descanso me conduce, y reconforta mi alma” (Salmo 23: 1-3).

©LPi