The Catholic Calendar for Friday, July 1, 2005
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Bl. Junipero Serra

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Genesis 23:1-4; 24:1-8, 62-67
Psalm 106:1-5
Matthew 9:9-13

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"'Follow me.'"

Simple. Straightforward. Direct. Unavoidable. "Follow me." Jesus said it to Matthew, He says it to us. "Follow me." What does following Jesus mean?

It means that you will meet with tax collectors and sinners, sometimes in your own house, sometimes in the house of God. It means that you will see all too clearly the injustice of the world--the oppression, the indignity, the cruelty, the sheer cussedness of unrestrained human nature. It means that you will see and hear things that would shrivel your soul. But it also means that you are keeping the finest company. You are following The One who will help you endure and indeed remediate all of these horrors. You will be with the Lord Himself and your words will be His words and your light will be His Light. God will protect and defend as you follow Jesus.

Following Jesus is not hard, but it can be laborious. At first we have to drag ourselves to follow, but as we practice, it becomes second nature to us. We need to surround each day in careful prayer. Perhaps we start the morning with three Hail Mary's to honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary and maintain chastity in a difficult world. Perhaps at Noon we pray the Angelus, at three at least a decade of the divine mercy. Before our meals a true prayer of thanks, afterwards a prayer of joy. Before retiring the Rosary. Or perhaps nothing so structured at all. We just need to listen to Him and find out how He would like us to follow. When we hear and heed His voice, we are His followers. When we are His followers, we are His friends and we are His servants and we are servants of the world at large. One person at a time, we change the world for the better.

So hear and heed, "Follow me." It is an adventure that will take you to places beyond your wildest imagination.

- JuandelaCruz
(http://floscarmeli.stblogs.org/)

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