Pastor’s Pen
St. Augustine Catholic Church
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deacon’s Corner
Called to be Servants
In our Gospel today, St. John the Baptist says upon seeing Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. And then he says, “Now I have come and testified that He is the Son of God”. We have some great scriptures for this day. Not only does St. John tell us who Jesus is, but why God sent Him. Then from the book of Isaiah (49.6), our own calling is revealed when the Lord says, “You are my servant through whom I show my glory. It is too little, the Lord says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation shall reach to the ends of the earth.”
In our servanthood we are called to be a light to the nations–not just a skimpy 30-watt bulb for reading but a flood light of great proportions. Through prayer and the sacraments, we are called to be like Christ, as St. Paul says, called to holiness, and thus be transfigured, so that our light, like the light of Christ, will shine in the darkness of this world.
Our world right now is being overwhelmed by the darkness of the devil. Evil is being held up as good and good is being called evil. January 31 is the feast day of St. John Bosco. St. John Bosco had a very prophetic dream about the future of the Church. In that dream, the Church was a great ship of the 1800’s. It was captained by the Pope and was under great attack. The church (ship), sailing to avoid the attacks, sailed between two great columns and was anchored to them. One column had at its very top a Eucharistic Host and the other column a statue of the Virgin Mary. When anchored between these two columns, the vessel of the Church was safe and the attacking ships quickly floundered and sank. Can we do any better in these times than to anchor ourselves to the Eucharist and the Rosary? In that anchorage we will find great Holiness and become transfigured servants of God through whom His light and His Glory will shine and transform the world.
Love,
Deacon Ed
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