Sunday, February 3, 2019
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Saint Blase, Bishop and Martyr, or Saint Ansgar, Bishop – Optional Memorial
Y dijo: «En verdad les digo que ningún profeta es bien recibido en su propia tierra». Lucas 4,24
Sharing the Gospel with your family is not always as easy as sharing it with a stranger. Conversely, listening to the Gospel message from a family member is not always as easy as hearing it from someone else. Why is that?
It may be that familiarity with another, such as the familiarity we have with family members, can tempt us to lack a certain confidence in their convictions and in their Christian witness. Though this is certainly not true of every relationship we have, it can be the case with some. Children, at times, will not put as much confidence in the words of a parent as they may another. Siblings may not be as open to advice from each other as they are from other people.
Quizá una de las razones de esta experiencia sea que a menudo somos mucho más críticos con quienes conocemos bien que con quienes no conocemos. Es fácil dejar que nuestra larga historia de experiencias personales dificulte nuestra apertura hacia los miembros de nuestra familia. Esto sucede especialmente con las experiencias negativas que hemos tenido a lo largo de los años. Muy a menudo, nos aferramos año tras año a las experiencias negativas y a las heridas, y permitimos que esas experiencias se conviertan en un filtro para todo lo que un familiar dice o hace.
This statement from Jesus, that “no prophet is accepted in his own native place,” should challenge us to make sure we do not fall into this tendency. We should do what we can to make sure that we do accept the prophetic witness shared with us from our own family members.
The best way to do this is to make sure that we regularly strive to purge any “baggage” we carry in those relationships. Very often, we carry the baggage of hurt, anger and resentment without even realizing it. We also easily focus in on the weaknesses of family members since we easily witness their weaknesses as a result of being close to them.
Reflexiona hoy sobre tu familia. Reflexiona, especialmente, sobre si te permites mirar más allá de sus debilidades y pecados para ver la bondad de Dios que actúa en sus vidas. Es mucho lo que Dios quiere decirte por medio de ellos. Asegúrate de no haber cerrado esa puerta y de estar dispuesto a acogerlos como mensajeros del Evangelio.
Lord, I thank You for my family. I thank You for the gift that they have been in my life. Help me to daily show mercy and forgiveness to them as needed. Help me to daily be open to Your voice speaking through them. Jesus, I trust in You.
Reflexiones sobre la Divina Misericordia
Saints of the Day – Saint Blase – Saint Ansgar
