Daily Reflections- February 13, 2012

SIGNS IN OUR LIVES

 

What signs should we look for in our lives? The answer depends on the context of the question. If the question asks whether or not a person is Christian, then the signs to look for are the fruits of the Spirit and the virtues. However, this is not the context in today’s Gospel passage. The signs we are talking about here are the signs that indicate the path we are to walk in life. Many people wait all their lives for an unequivocally sure sign that the path they are about to embark on is indeed the right one. However this sort of sign rarely, if ever, exists. In other words, they accomplish nothing or, at best, very little in their lives. This is a great shame as we have so much to give our local and Church communities.

The most important signpost we have is our faith in Christ. Not even Jesus was absolutely certain, in His humanity, of the path He was to walk in the work of salvation. Faith in God will not necessarily tell us the right path to take, but it will give us the strength and courage to take risks to test it. There is the answer to our question about signs!

We will never know if we are living God’s will for our lives unless we try it out. The satisfaction from a life well lived will come if and only if we are willing to test our judgment of the will of God as we understand it. Certainly we will make mistakes in doing this. A person’s sanctity has nothing to do with the number of mistakes he commits. Rather, it has everything to do with whether or not they are willing to make decisions that may or may not turn out to be the correct decisions.

What am I saying? Simply that a saint is a person who is willing to take the risk of following what he or she believes to be God’s will, embracing it fully if it proves to be correct, and humbly admitting a mistake if it proves to be otherwise.

There is no shame in making an honest mistake, particularly when it has to do with discerning God’s will. The only shame is never living fully all the potentials that God has blessed us with. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you tend to wait for certainty in a decision before you act? Are you afraid to make mistakes?

 

Holy Spirit, help me to commit myself to discern well my choices in life. Give me the grace to act on the result of my discernment with courage and humility.