Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“A great prophet has arisen in our midst.”

 

Gospel Reading: Luke 7:11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

 

How many times have we faced misfortune or deep sadness in our lives? How many times have you felt that the world has just completely caved in on you to the point where your grief is overwhelming.  Extreme sorrow can overcome us and it may become to difficult to coup with the grief.  The normalcy of our lives are disrupted and worry begins to creep into our life as we try to make sense of the situation.  In this situation, we can always count on Jesus to reach out as he tells us the comforting words, “Do not weep.”  It is through him that he responds to our needs and helps us through our fears.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus reached out to the lady who lost her son.  The Gospel says that Jesus was “moved with pity.”  As we suffer in life, Jesus feels our grief and reaches out to help us. He enjoins himself with our sadness to help relieve the burden, we just need to trust in his love and compassion.    Jesus does not want us to have sorrow in our lives, but we live in a fallen world and sorrow is inevitable.  If we reach out to Christ, he will comfort us and help us through the pain and suffering.  He can relieve the death in our lives and fill us with the hope of new life.  We must be willing to look to him for our security.  He will restore our lives.  Through him we will restore our lives.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord, you are the life of the world.

Through you we find comfort and security.

Give me the strength to offer up my suffering.

Give me the strength to find security in you touch.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon