“When you can see God in small things, you'll see God in all things.”

“Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening; This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.” - Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

Gospel Text: (Luke 7:18b-23)

At that time,
John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits;
he also granted sight to many who were blind. 
And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, 
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. 
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

I believe if Jesus was asked today by the main stream media if He was “the one we were seeking” He just would smile and point at the old widow quietly praying, her rosary gathered in her arthritic hands. He would nod at the recovering addict helping in the food pantry, ensuring everyone was getting what they needed. He would introduce the press to the former prostitute with the gentle smile, who welcomed the prayer requests of people who were feeling confused and abandoned while assuring them that God would not desert them. He would point to the old man sitting outside his dilapidated shack in the third world joyfully quoting psalms of praise and thanksgiving to the God who had given him so much!

There is something attractive about each of these people. Something that makes humanity want to be more connected to them. Something genuine is projected by their witness!

In the time I have spent working with the poor people like these have told me how deaf they had been until “someone” released the voice of God into their lives by acknowledging their suffering — refusing to judge them, and showed  them true compassion. Some would even go so far to say that they were emotionally dead until God broke through their grief and gave them a reason to live.

There is no logic to our Catholic faith. Only a relationship with the One in whom we believe. When we are touched by the faith of another, and by the compassion that faith engenders, if we accept the gift which that faith offers we too become signs of the loving presence of God Incarnate in the midst of a seemingly godless world.