Saints needed...!

 

Here's a little reflection for you...It has appeared on a lot of Facebook pages and is often attributed to Pope Francis. It almost certainly wasn't written by the Pope but appears, at least, to be inspired by him...
These are the kind of people we need in the Presentation Brothers too! If you would like more information, send me an e-mail vocation@PresentationBrothers.org

 Saints

We need saints without veil or cassock.

We need saints who wear jeans and runners.
We need saints who go to the movies,
listen to music and hang out with friends.
We need saints who put God in first place,
but who let go of their power.

We need saints who have time every day to pray.
We need modern saints, Saints of the 21 Centenary,
with a spirituality that is part of our time.
We need saints committed to the poor
and the necessary social changes.

We need saints who live in the world and
who are sanctified in the world,
who are not afraid to live in the world.
We need saints who drink cola and eat hot dogs,
who wear jeans; who are internet savvy
and who listen to CDs.

We need saints who passionately love the Eucharist
And who are not ashamed to eat a pizza
at weekends with friends.
We need saints who like the cinema,
theatre, music dance and sports.
We need saints who are social, open, normal,
friendly, happy and who are good companions.

We need saints who are in the world

and know how to taste the pure
and nice things of the world
but who aren’t of the world.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

It takes only a few moments of reflection to realise that I have to love something really deeply to bring it back from the dead. It is self-hatred and disregard for others that keeps our world the way it is. It is a lack of care on the part of some that imprisons communities and even nations into endless cycles of poverty, neglect, starvation, unemployment and hopelessness.

If I love sufficiently, our seas and waterways would be clean again, stars would reappear, trees would be healthy and green. Moreover, the strained relationships in families, work-places, offices and schools, the strange distances between colleagues and family members need only a smile or a word of love and acceptance to be healed. Who can love enough to resurrect our world and all who dwell in it?

The only great love that can deal with all this is to focus on the Easter celebration. It is God’s immense love for Jesus, the Christ.  God demonstrated boundless love and affection for Jesus in a resurrection. Jesus is swept up by God’s immense love and stands alive with a new kind of life, proclaiming peace and acceptance to all his friends, even to those who had denied and deserted him in his greatest need. Jesus associates us with himself and elicits from God the same kind of creative love that God has for him.

Best wishes to you all for a blessed and peace-filled Easter!