The WORD in Other Words for Thursday After Epiphany by Fr Reynaldo Jeminez SVD (Philippines)
I was still a seminarian when Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited our seminary. She looked frail and small. But when she took the stage and started to speak, it seemed to me she stood taller with a voice that mesmerized the audience.
She spoke for a total of five minutes, ending it with these words, “Remember God loves you as you are!” She did not use complicated words. She spoke with words that even a child could understand.
But what made her stand out? She spoke from the heart. She spoke with authority. Her eyes shone with the conviction of faith that she had a vital message to bring; she was the ambassador of Jesus himself. She was not ashamed to bear witness to her total helplessness without Jesus. She relied on Jesus‘s words. The listeners knew she not only did what she preached but would do it again for Christ.
Today, we live a world where we brand people as hopeless and “inhuman” by virtue of their weakness or addiction. We even approve such illogical and unkind conclusion when authorities declare them worthless, and therefore worth killing. Mother Teresa proves that all people, including those living in extreme poverty and even criminals are still God‘s children and thus worthy of our love.
We may need to earn man‘s generosity but we do not need to earn God‘s bountiful grace. God loves us unconditionally, no matter who we are or what we have done. All we can to do is respond to God love.
Éditions Verbum Bible 