This quote reminds me of the church I attended when I lived in Pennsylvania. The priest was Joachim Bakey, Father Joe, and he was previously a Franciscan Priest. He left the Catholic religion and married late in life and had three children. My three children, my husband, and I loved him. When we left PA, (17 years ago) he was in his eighties and very much “grandfatherly” to all of us. At the end of The Peace, to get people back into the quiet mode before Eucharist, he would always say, “God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God in them.” I remember the first time I heard him say that. I thought to myself, “Wow, that is an awesome, complex, and powerful saying.” I wrote down the words and contemplated their meaning and how I fit into this phrase.
I came away from that exercise and realized that if we love, and conduct our life in a loving way, we are reflecting God. We are putting God out there into the world. A world in which he no longer has a physical presence because he was crucified.
Celebrating Easter each year is a good reminder to all of us that Jesus lived as one of us and died to save us. If we believe, we may physically die as He did, but will live forever. If you get a chance this Lenten season, remember, reflect, or say Fr. Joe’s prayer, “God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God in them.”
Sandy Briggman
No comments:
Post a Comment