Daily Reflection Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

We are near the end of Romans and Paul tells them that he does not wish to proclaim the gospel where someone else has already brought the Good News, “So I do not build on another’s foundation,” but rather, by quoting Isaiah 52:15 (which was about the Suffering Servant of Isaiah), to preach to, “Those who have never heard of him.”

We too could feel that since Christ has already been made known to all nations, what more could we say about him to those who have already heard but have not responded? Be assured, there is still plenty to be said. Every generation needs to somehow hear the Gospel proclaimed again as something new, something not understood before (that “new song” of today’s responsorial psalm). There are so many ways we can share in spreading the Gospel, the message of Jesus. None of them need preaching or arguing or explaining. The greatest way for us to spread the Gospel is to simply live the Gospel. We do that in many ways that begin with daily prayer and meditation, praying for the grace and guidance to do God’s will. We seek to forgive everyone. We practice living meek and humble lives, accepting and supporting one another with patience and tolerance, without judgement or criticism. We practice mercy and kindness, always ready to help and give what we can. We seek to let go of resentments and confront our fears, seeking to replace them with trust in God. We find joy and gratitude for what God has done for us, seeking to find God present in every experience, no matter whether they seem good or bad. We strive to believe that everyone we meet and everything that happens is somehow a gift from God and a way for us to share in God’s love.

If we could live like that, people would take notice. In the words of the song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” It’s one thing to talk about the Gospel of Christ, it’s quite another to live it. But that is the one thing that gets everyone’s attention. Many who experience people who truly live the Gospel often end up saying to themselves, “I want what they have.” But you can’t give what you don’t have. So we pray that we too can become ministers of the Gospel of Christ by letting God bring us into the fulness of faith, hope and love and then giving it away to all we meet. It would transform us and help transform the world.