Newsletter 2023

October 2023

WHAT ABOUT YOU, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?   I have no doubt that all the people who have become faithful followers of Jesus Christ feel attracted to Him because of His sacrifice, His voice, His call to be with Him, a partake of His love and peace. I say this based on my personal experience because I have witnessed this happening many times. In the Gospel of John, the beloved disciple, we read this "the next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following Him and said to them, what are you looking for? They said to Him, Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying? He said to them, come, and you will see. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about four in the afternoon." (John 1:35-39) Notice two major points in this passage. First, the two young disciples of John the Baptist heard who Jesus was, The Lamb of God. Second, they immediately followed Jesus, leaving the preacher, John the Baptist. Jesus turned to see them face to face and asked, what do you want? It is interesting to acknowledge that once we know who Jesus is and feel attracted to Him, the flame of true Love ignites, and we are affectionately asked by Jesus, what do you want? We all seek something that will make us happy, fulfilled, but many times we follow the wrong path. Those who do not know Jesus, will be continuously in His search until they personally meet up with Him to answer that question. It is Jesus who invites us to know where He lives and expresses His desire for us to remain by His side, where He dwells. Sooner or later, each of us will have to answer the Lord's question, what do you want? And look for the true answer in our hearts. This month, the Church will celebrate a great saint Francis of Assisi, embodying one of the finest manifestations of Christian spirituality. Francis was the son of a rich merchant who, as a result of a health crisis became uneasy in the kind of life he led and felt a strong spiritual calling. In the ruins of San Damian, an abandoned church, Francis heard a voice standing before the image of Christ that he found there. In the silence of his contemplative prayer, a voice told him, go, Francis, fix my church; you can see that it is in ruins. Young Francis did not hesitate; he had answered Jesus’s question, what do you want. He ran to his father's house, took a few rolls of expensive fabric and sold it. He gave the proceeds of the sale to the priest of Saint Damian for the restoration of the church. Such was the…