A Humble Love for a Hurting World

sacred heart, jesus, love, suffering, redemption, Sacred Heart of Jesus, hearts

sacred heart, jesus, love, suffering, redemption

It seems not a day goes by without a headline story about the culture wars. Everyday there is controversy about gay marriage, abortion, contraception or even migrants fleeing danger by crossing borders of other countries. There is a human drama playing out in front of our eyes everywhere we turn. I do not think that it is new to our times, but social media sure does put it into a new perspective.

I have been living with this underlying fear that I have had difficulty identifying. I could not figure out what exactly I was afraid of until I spent some time praying about it. My prayer normally is not sitting quietly listening to God’s voice in my heart, it is more like me having a meltdown and then God showing me signs later when I have calmed down. Yesterday I spent the day telling God that I am scared, scared of what is happening to our world, scared of all the pictures of dead children, scared of all the Christians who seem to be acting out in their own fear, and scared mostly that I will not be a good witness of Christ in a world that needs saints and not Pharisees. Then I went to Mass, and when Father read the Gospel reading I just started crying as I heard the words of Jesus, “let down your nets”.

St. Peter (Simon in this Gospel story) told Jesus about how hard they had worked to catch fish and how hopeless it was, but even though he felt that there was no use in dropping the nets he told Jesus that he would drop them anyway if that was His wish. It made no sense to Simon Peter, but he did it anyway. That is an act of faith. After they caught two boatloads of fish Jesus told them “Do not be afraid, I will make you fishers of men.” There it is: my sign.

My fears were coming from pride, from the idea that it was my responsibility to make sure that everyone knew the right way to live. I felt I had to convert them or force them to live that way, or else. Or else what? Am I going to spend my time telling them what horrible sinners they are, because I am a saint? That is far from the truth, for I am also a sinner. That is the reason that I find myself in the confession line as often as I do. And yet, here I am, a Catholic. I bring myself, with all my brokenness and sins to the One who can heal me: Jesus. Nobody has the right to tell me that I cannot come to Him. Likewise, I have no right to tell anyone else that they cannot come to Him, just as they are. My fear came from my sense of having to make sure that people do what I tell them to do, from a desire to control them, but that is not what I am called to do. I am called to love them, just as Christ loves us without approving of our sins.

God does not want us to wait until we are sinless to come to Him, it is by coming to Him that we can become saints not the other way around. He is the source of Grace that helps us to reach sainthood. Without Him, there is no hope of that happening for any of us. As Christians our role in God’s plan of salvation is to be a witness of that fact, not be the bouncers at the door to get to God. Yes, we must proclaim the Truth of our Faith and we must do that in a way that reaches those who need to hear the Good News. If we just preach without caring if people hear us, then we are doing it for ourselves and not for the Glory of God.

The entire point of preaching the Kingdom of God is to bring people into a personal relationship with Jesus, not to make sure that they are just like us. Everything about our Faith serves Him, not the other way around. The doctrines, the liturgy, the devotions…. All of it is centered on the Source and Summit of our Faith, which is Jesus. If people do not come to know Him and have a relationship with Him then we evangelists are doing our job wrong. Our goal cannot be to ensure that people stop accepting gay marriage, getting abortions, or using birth control. Letting go of that lifestyle is part of what comes with making Christ the Lord of your life. But before any of that can happen, one has to KNOW who Jesus is and fall in love with Him. Then the rest comes by Grace and the Power of the Holy Spirit.

I always get myself in trouble when I make the mistake of thinking that I am the one who needs to make sure people follow the “rules”. Mostly because when I do that, I lose sight of Christ as well, and forget to look at my own faults with the same microscope that I am using to look at the faults of others.

Jesus: that is what our lives are about. That is Who our message proclaims. We are the messengers called to bring Christ into the World, and the biggest part of that mission is to make sure that those who have ears, hear it.

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5 thoughts on “A Humble Love for a Hurting World”

  1. Thanks for another honest, heartfelt article, Leticia. Two years ago when I read your “Pope Francis is Killing Me” article, it inspired me to try to write for Catholic Stand. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart.

  2. So very well stated and such a learning experience and a cautionary warning for me. Thank you so much for your insights!

  3. Beautifully said. You have also put into words a coherent explanation for the comment made by Pope Francis, “Who am I to judge?” Simply put, our job, after saving our own soul, is to lead others to Christ. The Holy Spirit takes care of the rest. Above all, we must always trust in the Lord and allow him to work through us.

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