Reflections from the Heart – January 22, 2023

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“He called them, and immediately they followed him.”  At one desperate moment or another, we have encountered the great moment of question and anxiety: is this it, is this all that life has to offer, did I miss something, am I missing the point? As we work or play, eat or drink, hope or despair we stop and gaze into the endlessness of our thoughts and ponder in our wandering mind how did I get here, where am I going, what am I doing?  We begin to consider life, the fullness of our own life in terms of meaning, value and purpose rather than simply doing, getting and accumulating. We begin to put worth on the bigger picture and wonder how did I come to be and where is my journey leading me.  How did I come to be and where am I supposed to be, and where will I be at the end of this journey? Great questions to consider and ponder.  Great questions to take to heart and to prayer.  By consideration, we mean to make and take some quality time to truly reflect and consider your own call, your own happiness, and the possibility of the greatness God created you in and what he created you for.  By taking to heart, we mean to be seriously open and allow your own heart to speak to you and to have the courage and the patience to listen to what your heart has to say to you about hurt, healing and hope. Your heart will help you consider the past through a spiritual lens to consider what worked or did not work in your relationship with God and with others. How your own hurt and that of others influenced your decisions and got you where you are today?  How the Lord wishes to heal the brokenhearted and call us to a life of hope, healing and happiness? By prayer, we mean to come honestly to the Lord without a list of demands, expectations, negotiations, or fake and empty promises.  Prayer is best considered through the lens of scripture. Jesus himself would go away to be silent, still and in communion with the Father, so we pray by simply being silent and still and then respond by saying, speak Lord your servant is listening.  This helps us to understand the call of the disciples, our own call – their response and to consider our own response as well. They pondered, considered their own life, reflected and prayed.  Is this all there is? When Jesus called, they came to life.