Do we ever feel like
Jeremiah does in today’s reading? He
tells the Lord that he has been faithful to him, that he has tried to listen to
God’s call and respond accordingly. Yet,
the people have turned against Jeremiah and his prophecy in such a terrible way
that Jeremiah wishes that he had never been born. God tells Jeremiah that he will be with him,
that he will deliver Jeremiah from the hands of the wicked and the
violent.
Alphonsus Liguori is the
saint whose feast day we celebrate today.
Born in the late 17th century, he studied law at the age of
16, and after having a very successful law career, decided to become a priest
at the age of 27. He started his
priesthood working with the poor and marginalized youth of the city of Naples,
Italy. He very soon founded the
congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the
Redemptorists. This congregation
specialized in preaching and teaching in the slums of the cities and other poor
areas. From his experiences in
ministering the poor, he developed a moral theology that had great influence in
the Church. Liguori was named a Doctor
of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.
Serving God as a priest or
a layperson in our Church is not always easy.
We can open ourselves to opposition or great struggle in our personal
lives. I came across a quote of St
Alphonsus Liguori that says: God never rejects a humble and repentant
heart. We need to remember that when
we’ve done wrong, when we need to go to God for help. Faithful servants such as Jeremiah and
Alphonsus Liguori place their trust in the Lord and serve him in the reality of
their lives. Sometimes we want to cry
out to the Lord in the midst of our pain and frustrations. Yet, the Lord is there for us, he is there to
help us to remain his faithful servant.
No comments:
Post a Comment