Knowing & Making Known
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Today we hear, in the Gospel, the words of John the Baptist, “I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John the Baptist had been given a mission from God, to prepare the way for Jesus in people’s hearts, especially in the hearts of the Jewish people.
We just completed the Christmas Season, and the Church now, until Lent begins, moves into what we call “Ordinary Time.” It is a time for the graces of the Christmas miracle (the Divine Word becoming flesh in the child Jesus) to bear fruit in our lives. If we prayerfully pondered what God did on that first Christmas and we genuinely desire for that reality to change our hearts, then we too, like John the Baptist, have a mission – to make God known in our world.
But before we can make Him known, we must first know Him. I cannot share what I do not know. Thus, the importance of daily prayer, the sacred scriptures and the devout reception of the Sacraments. If you have an intense prayer life, please continue it. If you merely recite prayers and don’t sense any connection with God, maybe consider some other form of prayer that might help to lift your heart and mind to the Lord. If you rarely pray, start.
If you suffer from chronic pain, a serious incurable disease or experience anything that “you did not choose, do not like and cannot change,” I invite you to unite that suffering with the cross of Jesus. Our suffering, when united with the cross of Jesus and offered for the salvation of souls, takes on immeasurable value through Him who first suffered for us. Uniting yourself with Jesus in His own suffering can also help you to come to know Him.
The more you come to know Jesus, the more you can make him known to your family, friends and neighbors.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
