We cannot please everyone, we cannot make everyone happy, and not everyone is going to like or affirm us. Nor is this to be the point of our life, although many of us have learned to operate from this model. We aren’t to be self-centered and not care about others either.

Jesus is revealing this to us in the Gospel today when he shared how the people complained about John the Baptist for his extreme aesthetical practices of fasting and the same people accused Jesus of being a “glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Lk 7:34). When in fact John and Jesus were both following the will of God and doing what he sent them to do.

Ultimately, the point and goal in life is to be the same. We are to receive and share God’s love. Each thing we do is to come from the will of God. We are called to strive to become as St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta taught, “a pencil in the hand of God.”

We aren’t there yet, and that is ok. God loves us in this moment right now as I am typing away and you are reading. That God loves us is our starting point and then a good practice is to daily assess where we are not following the will of God in our lives and where are we. The hope is each day we can do a little better than the day before.

Slowly those attachments we have to the things not of God will fall away, our shortcomings and faults will start to be more recognizable so that we can choose to improve, and we can continue to grow in humility to admit when have done something sinful or harmful, to repent, and begin again. No shame or putting ourselves down necessary.

It is important to recognize our wounds and weaknesses so through Jesus we can heal and mature, and it is just as important to get in touch with our strengths and build upon them!

Daily assessing where we need help and need to change, as well as where we are doing well and thanking God for his help and guidance will help us to mature to a point in our lives where we so intimately know Jesus that we better understand his will, recognize his voice over and above all the others demanding our attention, and continue to grow in our trust of him so that we will act without hesitation upon his direction. We will act not to impress others or seek their affirmation but instead to express and share the love of God as he moves us: whether it be a smile needed to brighten another’s day, an ear available to listen, a helping hand to lift up, a word to affirm and encourage, a text to remind someone they are not alone, and that we care.

Our goal each day is to spend more time breathing, resting, receiving, and abiding in God’s love, so that we may think, act, and speak from that place of wholeness. When we do, it will not matter what others think, say, or do because we are being and acting as God is calling us to be in each moment.

Photo: Rosary walk after supper, where I slow down each evening so I can tune in to God’s voice. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September 20, 2023