Reading: John 1: 1-18
from Pope St. John Paul II: World Youth Day 2000 Prayer Vigil, August 19, 2000 (par. 5)
Reflection:
Particularly, Pope St. John Paul II's words stood out to me when he says
It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness, he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.Wow, I guess maybe I've been experiencing some of these promptings of my interior recently, and I haven't been great at recognizing that it is Jesus calling out to me as my soul stirs. There's always that inherent knowledge (thanks to faith) that there's something more to life and something greater to accomplish and something greater to be. And that's all thanks to Jesus.
Through His Incarnation, He "became flesh and dwelt among us". And by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, He showed us that we can be redeemed. Our humanity can be greater than it is through Christ's example as He is fully God and fully man.
I've somewhat reflected on this throughout my faith journey how getting to know Christ better has allowed me to get to know myself better as a human person. It's strange, really, but it begins to make sense after having real encounters with Christ and actively pursuing Him.
Response:
Though I'm intimidated by having to keep up with this for 30+ more days, I must persevere. I already know that preparing for Total Consecration will draw me closer to Mary in my devotions, which inevitably lead me even closer to Christ.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
- JD
