This morning at breakfast, my mom read a meditation from a book we received at church. It was about those who live their lives fully for God. We talked about the different “orders” in the Catholic faith. They follow a different focus, different lifestyles, and different ways of acting out their faith. Yet, they all have the same goal and purpose – to bring themselves and others into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. My mom wasn’t feeling too good, so she decided to stay home instead of going to church. We turned on the TV so she could participate from home and on the channel was Pope Francis celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Mass included the ordination of 19 priests to work in the Diocese of Rome. You could see the awe on the expressions of the faces of the men as they went through the ritual. The Pope reminded them to please God and not themselves and to follow the Good Shepherd – Jesus. When I went to Mass, one of the scripture readings was Jesus talking about how He is the Good Shepherd and He lays His life down for His flock so that none of them will be lost. In the homily the priest connected this with the way specific people in our lives give of themselves so that we can benefit. He encouraged us to think of those people and pray for them. I thought of my parents, siblings, close friends, people I worked with, priests and religious who have made such a huge difference in my life. This evening I watched the latest episode of AD The Bible on TV. It highlighted Peter and the beginning of the Christian community. Those people literally gave everything they had to benefit one another. I thought it was interesting that the topic for the whole day was how to give up your life to benefit others – thus bringing you and those around into a closer relationship with God. I need to ponder that and figure out what God may be saying specifically to me.

I Found God today in a reminder that each of us is asked to give of ourselves to other people and that it looks different for each individual.