TO BECOME SHARER OF GOD'S GRACE

TO BECOME SHARER OF GOD'S GRACE

Our meditation today has the theme: To Become Sharer of God's Grace. There was an elderly priest who died very lately at the age of 100, in the parish rectory where he had been working for the past 45 years. He had been a special priest who was entrusted to minister in that parish for a long time until the end of his life. There are many interesting stories told by parishioners about him. His life is engraved in the heart of every parishioner.

And here is one of the stories shared by a parishioner. In his family, there had been 5 degrees of descendant were blessed in their marriages by the Pastor. Other sacraments such as the Baptism of children, First Communion, Confirmation and Marriage had been also served by the Pastor. This story of only one family in fact opens a wide spread stories of the same from almost all families from that parish. From the hands of that deceased priest, the families from the parish have received an outpouring of graces from God. From his mouth, they have heard and received God's Word that illuminates life. From his heart, the parishioners have experienced being loved and esteemed as the people embraced by the spirit of peace. In short, that late Pastor had been really a sharer of God's grace that fitted him a saint.

The Pastor had died and went to the afterlife leaving his fame, especially his fragrant name and extraordinary services for his people. If the book of Sirach in today's first reading describes the fame and good deed of people of the past who are still remembered or those are not remembered any more, one special example of this certainly that particular Parish Priest we have just mentioned. Their fame and good deeds remembered are to signify their generosity in the sharing of God's grace to other people.

The today's Gospel reading encourages us to share heavenly graces with our neighbors, and what particular spoken to us is the grace of forgiveness of sins. None of us can escape the fact that one, two or more people have already done us something wrong. Mistakes and sins either big or small, have put in us certain negative consequences. However, whatever bad effect in us as the victims or how great harm already done to us, all will never send us out from the grace of God. The Lord God always grants us His graces through the various types of spiritual activity and faith experience in our daily lives.

So it is not difficult for us to share the grace of forgiveness to those who have done us something bad and wrong. Let us do not delay our opportunities to forgive others who have done such sins. The Lord Jesus advises us, that "When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions." Never ever forget to forgive because you tend to delay too often and will take you a long time to do so. Otherwise, sin can freeze and rust inside you.

Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... O Almighty God, we pray that we may become true sharers of Your grace in the way we forgive our neighbors, especially those who always do us wrong. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father ...