GOSH, HOW MUCH YOU’VE GROWN!
Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest
My dear encountered couples:
Though mustard seeds are not the smallest of seeds (cypress seeds, I’ve read, are smaller) Jesus is trying to tell us that the greatest things can come from the smallest beginnings.
We all started out as tiny babies, weighing only a few pounds. Mother, look at us now. We grow physically over the years. The growth of children might not be noticeable to those living with them, but for a relative who visits only once every few years the change is obvious. It is only when we get out old photographs that we are amazed at the changes in ourselves. Ever attend a class reunion? The others don’t think they’ve changed while you can hardly recognize them. Our growth in holiness is similar.
You have been praying for years, attending Sunday Mass, saying the rosary, trying to treat everybody with love and respect. Notice any changes to the better in yourself? Do those who live with you notice any improvement in you. “I don’t see what good all your church-going is doing you,” they might say, “you don’t seem any better now than you were years ago.”
You might not be able to see any improvement in yourself. In fact, you might be more aware of faults that you never noticed before. If that is the case, you have proof that you are growing. The closer we get to Christ, the light of the world, the more obvious our imperfections become to us; we discover we are greater sinners than we realized. Many great saints nearing the end of their lives thought of themselves as the greatest of sinners.
Take it on faith. You’ve come a long way, baby. You are growing into that wonderful person God wants you to be.
