Spiritual Reflection

I love this time of the year.

The fall and the colors that the artist God gives us. It’s the changing of seasons and almost a call to begin something new.

Today is the feast day of St. Luke. As I reflect on the gospels I’m made aware of how they reflected the life of the writer. Luke was a physician and so his picture and stories of Jesus show a soft caring side of Him. I imagine each evangelist who wrote a gospel wanted everyone to see something new and different. Each were given the gift of the presence of the Lord and they couldn’t wait to share it.

We have all been called to spread the good news and do people see in us something new and different and beautiful like the fall colors?

Like, if we have a deep love of the church and the Eucharist, will it be seen in the way we spread the love of God. It’s like the real challenge in my preaching ministry of the Vincentian Parish Missions…to practice what I preach. Make it seem new and different.

I’m heading to Albany, New York tomorrow to conduct a retreat for the Daughters of Charity. This is to my benefit as the Daughters preach the good news to me by the way they live and serve. I’m the one getting the gift. I recognize how the evangelists like St. Luke were given the gift of Jesus and they couldn’t wait to share that.

This is my inspiration in what I do. How about You? And, oh, how I look forward this time of year to the colors of upstate New York!