Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
As the days grow shorter and cooler, I marvel at the bird and butterfly migrations underway. I am amazed that monarch butterflies and arctic terns navigate thousands of miles and across continents. For most species, there is an innate genetic tracking ability - an inner-knowing, as well as adaptive features which have evolved over thousands of years. For some migrating mammals such as caribou and other ungulates, knowledge of migration routes builds on the cultural transmission of the herd's experiences. For many species, there is a combination of both.
The Spirit at work in each of us has similar inner and communal dimensions. By our Baptism and Confirmation, we were given the grace of the Holy Spirit. We have an innate ability to live from the mind of God. Paul’s instructions to the people of Corinth are just as applicable to us today. He reminds us that this Spirit helps us to understand the depths of God and live from these ways. We have been given wisdom, and thus the ability to discern the Spirit and make good decisions. Our social-cultural surroundings also impact us. “The world” sometimes presents us with choices and attitudes that can lead us to be self-seeking, selfish and harsh to others, and not living out the Christian call to love, peace, and generosity (the fruits of the spirit). “The world’ views our spiritual practices as foolish, and doesn’t always understand the call to the common good which involves sacrifice and communal sharing. Our faith communities along with our Catholic Social Teaching heritage, are our guides, our “social-cultural transmitters” that guide us in the practices of how we can live out the Spirit’s gifts in our day. May this spirit help us grow in deep synodal listening, and reflection on recent teachings of Pope Leo in Magnifica Humanitas as we each re-discover what it means to be fully human, guided by the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ.
— Sr. Leanne Jablonski FMI, Marianist Sisters