Always Pray for them

Pray for them.

Today at mass we found out our church had been broken into overnight. And immediately ALL the emotions overcame me.

Fear, sadness, anger, hurt, sorrow...

Have you ever had something awful happen to you, someone you love or something that means so much to you? I'm sure in many ways, we all have. Today as I continue to process all that happened, my mind keeps drifting back to this one thought. Jesus loved always.

Our immediate reactions can strike up fear, anger, frustration, questioning and assumptions which in turn can lead to so many things.

We want answers. We want to know why. We want to know how. And sometimes, we just want justice.

But the more I process and work through what happened in this particular event overnight, in my head I find myself thinking about the individual that did this.

Were they hurting? Were they retaliating against our church or faith itself. Did they perhaps feel betrayed? Was it just some kid being rebellious? Or was someone plain and simply just trying to get anything they could to make a buck off it? So many questions. And all I keep falling back to is regardless of their reasoning, they need our prayers.

We want answers when things go wrong. We want justice, we want peace of mind, we want clarity. What about those individuals? If we get our justice, will that fix everything? Really. Will it?

Today's Gospel says it all:

Jesus said to his disciples:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."

Reading this back, it hit me.

I found myself asking this question. Am I leading others the way the Lord needs me to? Or am I just receiving?

Our light must shine before others, so that they too may find the light of the Lord.

And how can we be the light in the darkness?

Love them anyways.