Fr. José Juan Pérez Jácome / ACN.- The joy that the encounter with the Lord provokes every time we go to his divine presence, reaches moments of splendor on this occasion, in celebrating the moms who continue to be for us the closest reflection of God’s love and tenderness.
These days, in our Christian communities, prayers, displays of affection and small gestures toward our moms are not lacking. It comes from the heart to recognize them, thank them and reaffirm our affection and admiration for all their sleepless nights, for the good work they have done in us and for what they have represented in our lives.
In a providential way, as always happens, the word of God has not wanted to stay on the sidelines of what we experience and points out some reflections that illuminate, project and sustain the mission of our moms.
In fact, we could say that this ground had been prepared by the word of God since last Sunday, by pointing to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Our mothers, following the example of Jesus, know us well, have guided us, have risked themselves for us and are capable, as Jesus asks today in the Gospel, of remaining despite everything.
That is why I would like to highlight two things that the word of God points out this Sunday, to say especially to the moms and to all the brothers and sisters, that whenever it comes to doing good, whenever one tries to carry out the work of Jesus Christ, based on peace, justice and love, a series of factors can arise that discourage us and try to make this mission diminish.
In a special way, when there is no reciprocity, when this work is not recognized and when all the good we do for others is not appreciated. Many times in the family context, sacrifices, sleepless nights, and the dedication that is given are neither recognized nor appreciated. The same can happen in the work or social context, when we do not see the immediate fruit of so many good actions.
Doing things well and being on the side of good, one can become discouraged when things stay the same or get complicated, or even when the good, the true and the beautiful is systematically attacked by ideologies.
Faced with this complex reality that moms and many people go through in this life, the word of God reminds us, first of all, that the work we do is not ours, but God’s and that each one of us is sent. We do not carry out this work because we are good or because we have taken the initiative. Rather, we are sent on behalf of the Lord.
We must fight against all discouragement and come to convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter if they don’t recognize us, if they don’t thank us and if they don’t reciprocate, because what matters is that one is sent and we work in the work of God.
God continues to drive this work of salvation and will bring it to a good end. Therefore, how important it is, to not become demoralized, to activate this awareness that we are sent every time we do good to others, even if deep down we come to think that they don’t deserve it.
We work not to generate applause and recognition, but convinced of the strength of love and the power of the seed that we sow in others. We share life and blessing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not our own ideas, not what one might personally invent.
Secondly, the word highlights a lesson that we must never forget in order to never give up or lose enthusiasm in the mission. The Lord sends us ahead, he sends us in advance: this ministry that we carry out in the family and in society by doing good must be done with the awareness that the Lord will pass by.
We can recognize it in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. We know of the historical problem between Jews and Samaritans who could not reconcile or overcome the barrier of hatred. Jesus at his time overcame this distance by approaching the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar and making it possible for her to change her life and, along with her, other people from that village.
Now the book of the Acts of the Apostles narrates a second approach, in this case by the disciples who arrive again like Jesus Christ to Samaritan territory and achieve the conversion of this people. Wherever we speak of God, wherever we sow values, wherever we do good, let us not forget that God will pass by.
Even if the expected results are not achieved and things do not turn out as we await, our mission is not wasted, for even if the results are not seen at the moment, remember that the Lord sends us to the places where he will pass by. The Lord will pass by to complete this work of salvation in which we must persist.
We say it now of the moms, but we can also say it of teachers, dads, spiritual guides and all those who do good in the name of God. Let us not forget this illumination that the word gives us: we are sent, it is not only our task, but the work of God, and we are sent to the places where God will pass by.
The Lord will pass by and will make his dwelling among us, as the Most Holy Mary also reminds us. The Virgin in her apparitions has announced God’s love, has made us experience his closeness, has invited us to reconciliation and has asked us for a sincere change, as she did in Tepeyac, Lourdes and Fátima.
Let us remember in a special way the words of the Virgin of Fátima. She invites us, in a maternal tone of tenderness that moves us: “Men must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins… Let them no longer offend Our Lord, who is already so much offended.” At least we in our families and in the Church, let us no longer offend God by seeing how he is offended, trampled and how man mocks him.
These maternal words of the Most Holy Virgin Mary I relate to the words that on one occasion Our Lord Jesus Christ said to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, before the offenses and contempt for the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
“Behold this Heart, which has loved men so much, that it has spared nothing, exhausting and consuming itself to show them its love, and in return I receive from most only ingratitude, either by their irreverences and sacrileges, or by their coldness and contempt with which they treat me in this Sacrament of Love.” And at the end he concludes with great tenderness saying: “At least you love me.”
Faced with tiredness and discouragements, we must not forget the heartfelt request from the Lord: “At least you love me.” At least you do not stop doing good, do not stop serving others, do not stop announcing God, do not abandon your mission, do not stop loving others, even if they do not recognize you or there is no reciprocity.
We must not lose faith and hope. This is what the Virgin of Fátima showed the shepherd children. That in the face of the assaults of evil that attacks us in many ways, we do not stop turning to Mary. God’s triumph has already taken place and that is why Mary expresses in the message of Fátima that: “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph”.
These are the words of a mother addressed to her children, who pass through this valley of tears, which we cannot forget so that they generate courage and character in this struggle against evil and in fidelity to our mission. Cardinal Piacenza said: “Fulfilling God’s will, discerning the signs of the times, means for us today, here in Fátima, to resist! To resist with the strength of faith and charity”.
May the Most Holy Mary, who is fervently celebrated this month of May by the Christian people, help us to welcome her message and may it especially reach the hearts of moms and all those who do good. Do not faint: you are sent to the places where the Lord will pass by. May this message give us hope and that, as the children of Fátima announced, all in the Church await the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.