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Even Little Things...


Third Friday in the Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Year 1
 

TODAY'S GOSPEL (Mark 4:26-34), the Lord tells the gathering crowd two parables--the parable of the self-growing seed (another sower parable) and that of the mustard seed. He explains how it is in the Kingdom of God; how even little things count... little seeds grow on their own, and which can grow into so huge a tree, in fact, becomes the largest of the plants in the garden and even grows branches so big that the birds of the sky can take shelter in its shade (v. 32). And the sower does not have to do anything to make the seeds grow; nay, he does not even have to understand how that happens. Each little seed plant will grow on its own nourished by a power that takes care of all things created, that loves all things created.
 
Portiuncula, the small portions... The Lord intimates to us that even little things we do matter; that even little things we do count. He does not call us to be great giants in society. He simply calls us to be effective receivers of his love, effective conduits through which the love of God flows to others through us. That's where our greatness as sons and daughters of God lies; where God calls us to be.
 
The Lord reveals to us that even little things... a sincere smile; a gentle pat at the back; a simple flick in the brows that tells one another, "I notice you, brother/sister. And I'm glad that I met you today"... can be like mustard seeds that can grow into huge and fruitful trees of love in others, so huge that other people too can find shelter in their times of need when done as an outward expression of the inner impulse of an overflowing love of God for others. We all are sowers, and all we have to do is sow, and the Lord will take care of the harvest.
 
So, we do not have to worry about the harvest. In fact, we do not have to worry at all. Because in the Kingdom of God, which already exists among us, the grace of God abounds, penetrating the very pores of our being, changing everything that prevents us from encountering God, ensuring that with our consent God's love flows into our hearts and beings like a gentle tsunami of boundless graces.
 
All we have to do is let ourselves be loved by God, and let that love guide us in everything that we do each day for the rest of our lives. His burden is light... as light as a child embraced and carried in the arms of his Father.
 
FATHER, thank you for the overflowing love that you pour upon us each moment each day for the rest of our lives. Let it transform us into channels of your love for others so that they too may grow like the mustard seeds whose trees can become the refuge of the downtrodden, of the neglected, of the desperate souls in this world, in those moments that they have started losing hope in the burdens they carry. May your love consume this world and transform it into the Kingdom of Love you meant it to be.
 
LORD, thank you for the Presence you have bestowed upon us each moment through the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the unlimited resource of wisdom and joy that you made available to us when you left the earth as you ascended back home to the Father. Thank you for leaving us the Church, frail as she is, in order to guide us and keep us grounded to your authentic teachings through your Twelve Apostles. May we live up, through your grace, to the call that you have given to us from the moment of our conception. May we become effective soldiers in your Kingdom of Love. Amen. 
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