The last two summers our parish has been blessed by the presence of a visiting priest from Chicago, Illinois. His homilies exude deep interior reflection with the gentleness of a grandfather and the humor of an uncle. Whenever he arrives I ask him when he is leaving so I don’t grow too attached to the spiritual wisdom his homilies provide me.

As I placed myself in the crowd of today’s Gospel (Luke 4:38-44), I wonder if I also would have prevented Jesus from leaving. I imagine myself rubbing shoulders with anyone creeping into my personal space as I try to get one last glance of Jesus before He heads to the next town.

I sometimes have a tendency to prefer hearing from certain priests, religious brothers, or sisters because of the way they articulate the Good News. It’s tempting to think that only a handful of people can feed us spiritually, but Jesus is the Living Word. The Word is always on the move, and the Word lives in us. The truth is that Jesus can reach us through anyone and we do not have to follow them around to encounter His Word. He is always with us. The crowd that longed to hear Jesus knew this.

Jesus said, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because of this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43). Perhaps if this priest was a permanent fixture at our parish, I wouldn’t be so eager to absorb his insights and apply them to my life in a practical way. I might take them for granted if they were readily accessible.

Sister, you carry the Word within you. Do you only proclaim it around certain people you deem suitable or do you share it freely? Think about how you appreciate Jesus' eternal presence.

[bctt tweet="He is always with us. // Mytae Carrasco Wallace" username="blessedisshe__"]

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