Come to Him
There are people who leave an impression on you and wherever you go; they are with you. There is such a priest I have long admired but have never met. It’s almost like when you respect and honor a songwriter or musician; you can go to their shows and know every lyric and melody, but they will never know the impact they had on your life. This is this priest for me.
I mean, can you remember the words of a homily from over 10 years ago? I honestly can’t remember the homily spoken at my own wedding or the words shared at the funerals of my family members who have moved on from this life. However, I can remember pieces of homilies from this priest from many years ago and how they have impacted my life and faith.
During this COVID-19, Shelter In Place, I’ve been able to reconnect with this priest via live-stream Mass. I don’t live near the parish where he serves, but the weekly online Mass has allowed me to rediscover how much I value his point of view and passion for the Catholic Church. My husband and I often find ourselves revisiting the words shared during the homily, to discuss our thoughts and views about what was shared. This is unusual practice but I imagine the optimal goal of any servant of the Church, that the faithful will carry the message shared on Sunday into their every day lives.
There were several tidbits of information, some of which I wrote down as to not forget. One such phrase was that “we need to come to Jesus today so we can go to Jesus tomorrow.” Just let these words sink in.
What does it really mean to “come to” anyone? I want you to come to my house, you come to my party, you come to visit; '‘come to’ means you will be with, travel with and to regain consciousness of the person, idea or concept. So this phrase, “Come to Him” is a command for us to follow Jesus so we can be reminded of who he is and what he has done. It’s an invitation to spend time.
Jesus says HE is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE and whoever comes to him shall find eternal life. It’s the ultimate invitation to come and be with Jesus for all times. When you come to know Jesus today, there is 100% guarantee you will continue to live with Jesus during your time both here on earth and in heaven. This is the ultimate goal of a Christian person.
Can you see now why I am so enamored by this priest? Simple words. Simple phrases. Simple messages. These trinkets of wisdom roll off his tongue for us to pick up and allow to penetrate our hearts, minds and souls. This is why Jesus spoke in parables, so the crowds gathered to listen would hear and understand. This is what I value, this priest speaks so we can hear and understand the scripture in a way which makes it easy for us to adapt it into our lives and share it with others!
My prayer is for you to hear the message I am sharing about his simple words…”come to him.” Seek out Jesus in your life, find him and follow him. Jesus has invited you to join him on the path, to journey with him, accept the invitation and you will not be sorry!
