5th Sunday after Pentecost Thoughts About Being Like Jesus

We continue our little summer Sunday mini-series about being like Jesus. How often we've read or been told how important this is. But when we think about it, we may wonder what it could possible mean. 

With this in mind, here are some thoughts from Fr. Victorino Osende, O.P.

“Let us, out of love for the will of God, embrace and conform ourselves to our own life as it is at this very moment, with all its labors, pains, and sacrifices, even though we ourselves may be the cause of the bitterness of our present situation, offering it all to God in expiation for our faults and for His greater glory and our sanctification. Let us, in this, imitate the good thief who, when he was about to die, did not look at his past life save to turn away from it with deepest contrition; nor did he look to the future, for he had none; but embraced wholeheartedly the present moment, painful as it was, in satisfaction for his sins. Then, responding to the grace of the moment, he humbly asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His kingdom. This was enough to justify him and open the gates of heaven to him the very day he expired. Oh, if we would thus sanctify our present moment! What great graces, what ineffable treasures, what sublime sanctity we would attain!

Here we see the Present Moment once again. We've discussed this many times in the past. It is really all we have. Father Osende not only makes this abundantly clear, but he shows us the striking example of the Good Thief to drive the point home.

Of course, we're not hanging on a cross next to Our Lord. But it wouldn't hurt to think of this man who, knowing the life he led, still sought the grace only Our Lord could provide. And of course Our Lord did provide that Grace. Not only did He provide the Grace to embolden this man to ask Our Lord to remember Him, but He acceded to his wish. The Good Thief did indeed enter Paradise when he died.

Father urges each of us to be so bold, in our own way in our own circumstances.

 “This admirable example of the good thief should serve as an encouragement to us never to hesitate to accept and offer to God all the pains of our present life, even though we may realize that we ourselves are the cause of them. For if we detest our faults and firmly resolve never to fall into them again, their bitter consequences will be for us a powerful means of sanctification, and the infinite glory of the merciful love of Jesus will shine forth in our lives. Indeed, the foremost reason why God permits the faults of men is that His glory may be manifested in their cure; and if God is glorified in us, what does anything else matter? In conclusion, let us sanctify the present moment by embracing it wholeheartedly, for it is the manifestation of God’s will in our regard and in it is the grace whose fruits we must return to God. This is our gift of every day and of every moment.” (Fr. Victorino Osende, O.P.)

So here and now, on this 5th Sunday after Pentecos, t we can offer all to Him, for His greater glory. Even us sinners, who know how unworthy we might be (and who amongst us in not so unworthy?). Even as we struggle to produce our best work this week for His Glory in the face of our past sins, with all our faults. As Father writes, "Indeed, the foremost reason why God permits the fault of men is that His glory may be manifested in their cure." 

All of this calls us to a constant penitential spirit in our daily prayer and our work. As we pray in the great prayer to St. Joseph (a good prayer to say each morning): "Obtain for me the grace to toil in a spirit of penance for my many sins."

We may find it near impossible to be like Jesus. But we can start here and now with this spirit of penance as we go about our business this coming work week. 

Besides, if we are to really be like Jesus, even in the slightest way, we know that this is only possible with God's Grace. And just as Our Lord gave the Good Thief the grace to boldly address Him on the Cross, so too He will give us the Grace we need to be more like Him in our work, our personal life, our recreation, in  all we think, say, and do today and every day.

 

Happy 5th Sunday after Pentecost!