Become One With the Writer

I don’t know about you, but I often make the mistake of thinking that in my relationship with God, I have to put in an extreme amount of effort to reach Him. But the truth is that God is the one who always goes the extra mile to reach us. 

It was God who decided to leave everything behind to become one of us and so come to our rescue. It was God who chose us, already knowing our limitations. It was God who loved us first. “See, a king shall come to you; a just savior is he” and He “lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” 

I read somewhere that when it comes to our salvation, God does 99 percent of the work, while all we have to do is one percent. But sometimes it sure is hard to give that one percent. Sometimes we can be like pens that have minds of their own, pens that think that they have to do all the writing. But no, it’s the writer who writes; all the pen has to do is let the writer write.  That's how we can give that one percent. 

Fr. Felix de Jésus Rougier explained it as the “loving attention to God,” saying that we should be like the sunflower, always looking for the sunlight, but when we find it, we must let the light touch us and warm us. To be effective followers of Christ is simple: Let God love you. I mean really let Him love you, and then pass on that love to each person you encounter. Let God write His love letters through you. Why is His yoke easy and His burden light?  Because when you learn how to love as He does, it’s like the pen that has become one with the writer: your life is poured out seamlessly.

–Br. Oscar Rodriguez

Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends.