HAPPY THE EYES THAT SEE WHAT YOU SEE

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 3 December 2013

HAPPY THE EYES THAT SEE WHAT YOU SEE

Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see and never saw it; to hear what you hear and never heard it.” (Luke 10:21-24)

Reflection. On 3 December each year we keep the feast of Francis Xavier. Jesus walked the roads of Galilee and Judea but hardly ventured beyond the borders of Israel. Paul travelled the highways of the empire, reaching “Illyricum” (Croatia) and Rome. Xavier travelled the oceans of the world reaching India and Japan and died on the doorstep of China. Today the frontiers are no longer of road or sea but of the human heart and the shanty towns we have built across the earth. These are as difficult frontiers to cross as those our forebears faced because there is so much resistance to change. But the gospel message today is of rejoicing: change is breaking in for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.     

Prayer. Lord, we rejoice that the gospel message exploded across the earth through the generous hearts of people like Paul and Xavier. Help us in our time to cross the frontiers we face in our world that resists the message of change and conversion. Amen.