What The World Needs Now

Deacon Tom Writes,

“What The World Needs Now”

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Around the year 520 BC the Prophet Zechariah prophesied that one day the Lord would, “pour out…a spirit of grace and petition” upon his people. He was referring to a distant time when God’s grace would become visible in the person of Jesus Christ. Hearing these words today encourages us to awaken within us that “spirit of grace and petition” to renew our hope and energize our spirit so we may confront the hopelessness and despair that seems to be on the increase in our world. Yes, what our world needs now is a profusion of that “spirit of grace and petition” that only God can give.

We know that Grace is God’s gift freely given to us, but that does not mean that we should not ask him to send it our way! Grace is a gift from God that enables us to live in harmony with God, with all of humanity, and with all of creation. Grace breaks down the harness of our hearts and opens our souls to share God’s love, mercy, and compassion. Grace moves us gradually to be able to forgive others and ourselves, frees us from the need to retaliate for the wrongs done to us, or to exact revenge from our enemies. Grace draws us toward God via our brothers and sisters in Christ and away from our self-centered obsession. Zechariah was writing about each generation’s need for God’s grace, not just for the people of antiquity.

Life has always been difficult. It has never been easy, just read the bible or open a history book. Through mass media we hear of the suffering of people in all parts of the world because of violence, cruelty beyond imagination, natural calamities, and religious zealotry. For so many people today, there is a deepening sense of hopelessness, an increase in cynicism that has caused many to abandon their faith or to have any faith whatsoever that there is an absolute wisdom governing and sustaining all creation. We seem to have lost our profoundly Christian belief that we are “Children of God” as St. Paul tells us. This is the real tragedy of our day, that so many have turned their backs to God and to each other!

As people of faith we should seize every chance we have to ask God to fill us with a “spirit of grace”. We should not hesitate to ask God to make good on his promise “to pour out his spirit of grace and petition” on us so that we may have the courage and strength to respond to the challenges of our times and to be a people of hope, a people who let the light of Christ shine in us and through us to all those around us. Yes, what the world needs now until the end of time is God’s grace and people who thrive in it.

Enjoy the day! And, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandpas and great-grandpas…

Deacon Tom