Seek the light of God

The WORD in Other Words by Fr Filmar Fiel SVD (Philippines)

Monday Week 25 Ordinary Time, Ez 1:1-6, Luke 8:16-18

St. Padre Pro of Pictrelcina (1887—1968), our saint of the day, was an Italian  priest known for his gift of stigmata, for levitation and for performing miracles. He   prophetically told Fr. Karol Wojtyla that he would rise to the highest position in the   Church when the Polish priest visited him in 1947. In 1978, Fr. Karol was elected   pope and named Pope John Paul II.   

Today‘s gospel is the Parable of the Lamp. Luke‘s version mentions vessel‘ (Luke   8:16); Mark‘s mentions ‘bushel‘ (Mark 4:21). A vessel contains liquid, something to drink. A bushel is a basket containing grain — food, something to eat.   Bed. Drink. Food. Life‘s basic necessities. If you light a lamp, but put it under your bed, or conceal it in a vessel or bushel basket, the light will be hidden, or worse, extinguished. If you let your concern over life‘s basic necessities drown your need for God, you risk neglecting the light and God‘s kingdom.   

Matthew 6 reminds us: “Do not be anxious about your life, your physical life.   Don‘t worry about what you are going to eat, what you are going to drink, where you  are going to sleep. God gives food and shelter to the birds of the air. He will likewise   take care of the believer who trusts Him. Don‘t be anxious over these things, but seek   first the kingdom of God.”   

In closing, Fr. Pio is known for his sound advice too. If you go to the National Shrine of Padre Pio in San Pedro, Sto. Tomas, Batangas, you will find below his grant   statue, his most famous quote: “Pray, hope and don‘t worry.”