Word to the Wise
Monday, September 19, 2016 - Monday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
[Prov 3:27-34 and Luke 8:16-18]MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 MONDAY IN THE TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Proverbs 3:27-34 and Luke 8:16-18] "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light." [Luke] I don't hear it as often anymore, but at one time I often heard the old hymn, "This Little Light of Mine, I'm gonna let it shine." Like so many hymns we sing it along with other folks and forget it. But it is a response to Jesus' command to be "a light of the world." In my pastoral experience, I encounter many people who are either stymied in their efforts to find "a niche" in the world around them or else have just "retired" and don't know "what to do next." I remember giving a retreat for some retired members of an international Catholic religious order. In listening to their stories, I realized that these men had spent long periods in exotic places and knew the languages. I suggested to a number of them that they let various agencies know about this so that they could be called upon to translate. To a teacher at a recent retreat, I suggested tutoring people who were studying for the citizenship exam because he had taught social studies. The point of all this is that the Lord has given all of us certain "lights" to shine, certain talents to use. We may need help finding the light switch, in which case talking to someone about the various things we like to do can help us find that light switch. One thing we can all do is to encourage our friends who find themselves feeling as if their light has been snuffed out to strike another match or help them find the switch. We can all add our lights to make Jesus' command a real force around us. AMEN
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