Ordinary 11C:  Great Things Happen When We Know We Are Loved

 The Year for Priests ended this past Friday.  It certainly is a heartwarming and inspiring experience to receive affirmation from so many.  Thank you for your prayers, expressions of support and care that you have passed along to priests in the past year.  There's no doubt that when we have a sense of being affirmed in our vocation, we then find that our vocation blossoms.  There's some of that going on in the gospel today as Jesus affirms the Father's love for several women who have known difficulties.  They find a new life in the love of Christ.

 In the gospel today we hear about some women who have been cured of evil spirits and infirmities because of their encounter with Christ.  They are an unnamed woman, Mary of Magdala, Joana and Susanna.  They are now providing for Jesus and his disciples out of their resources.  Now that they have come back to life, they want to help others do the same.

 At the center of the story is the unidentified woman who is anointing Jesus' feet. The line that sticks with me in the gospel is she stood behind him at his feet weeping.  I wonder why she is crying?  My guess is that she was crying tears of gratitude, tears of relief, as if a great burden has been lifted from her by Jesus.  We don't really know much about her, if in fact she was a sinner (we just get the opinion of the Pharisee).  We don't know what was going on in her inner world.  But in the person of Jesus, all has been set right.  At least that is how I interpret her tears and her devotion for Jesus.  Her gratefulness pours out in tears and in the anointing of his feet with ointment from an alabaster jar. 

Jesus' plan is that each one of us would feel this assurance of his profound love for us, to know that we are loved, forgiven, accepted, despite what we've done, despite our imperfections, despite our inadequacies. Jesus wants us all to have that experience. 

 I think that is why Jesus forms parishes, so that we can feel the love of a community that is there for us, that accepts us.  Catholic parishes at their best are places where we "feel the love" in the generosity, the thoughtfulness of others, the food that comes to the house when someone has died.

 Jesus calls us to the sacraments so that we can encounter the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit for our everyday lives.  Jesus calls men and women to the sacrament of marriage so that they will feel the stability that allows them to accept one another completely, in good season and challenging season.  Accept and be accepted.

 Jesus calls us to quiet reflection so that we can sort out the whirlwind of life.  It may not feel peaceful at the moment, during the twenty minutes we spend in front of the Blessed Sacrament or looking out the window at home.  But the peace will come and we will feel the love.

 Jesus wants to take from us whatever burden we are carrying.  He wants us to experience the hope of living in him.  So let the tears come if that's what we need.  Let there be laughter.  Mostly, may we feel the love the Lord is pouring out to us through those around us.  Jesus makes us whole so that we can love a whole lot more.