In what way do you use your gifts and talents? What dominates your dreams and hopes for the future? Are “others” included? - Daily Reflections February 7,2015

GIVE YOURSELF AWAY

 

When I was young, there was a popular radio series (which was later turned into a movie) about a young girl who was blind since birth. It was called “Mga Mata ni Angelita.” Angelita was a very good girl and a devotee of the Blessed Mother. One day, while praying before the image of the Blessed Mother, she noticed that the statue had no eyes. She asked the Blessed Mother about this. In a supernatural dialogue, she realized that the Virgin Mary had no eyes because she actually had just given it to her and she should use them only for good works.

       I remember the conversations I had with my friends then. We would say, “If I will only use them for good works, then I’d rather not have them.”

       Don’t we all have those immature and juvenile tendencies? I wonder if Jesus was ever tempted to use His powers for Himself. In today’s Gospel, we find a weary Jesus, tired from all the ministering He has done. He wants to be alone and He invites the Apostles for some private time. Was He tempted  to transform the Lake of Galilee to a white-sand paradise where He and the Apostles can lie down and get a tan while drinking piña colada?

       The Gospel itself provides us with the answers. When the people saw them leaving by boat, they anticipated where He was going and arrived there on foot ahead of them. When Jesus saw them, He did not complain that His time alone was ruined. Instead, “He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them at great length.” What a way to spend a day off, huh?

       Jesus’ life was never about Himself. He was always a man for others. He never used His power for Himself — He always used it for others. Jesus was gift personified.

       A gift is not a gift unless it is given away. We are always told that our life is a gift. Are you giving it away?Fr. Joel Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: In what way do you use your gifts and talents? What dominates your dreams and hopes for the future? Are “others” included?

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of my person, my talents and my capabilities. Inspire me to dispose of them as gifts — meant to bless another. Amen.