On Sunday we will chat about stepping out of our comfort zone .
The [Visitation] Gospel tells us about something the Lord does every time he visits us: he calls us out of our house. These are images which we are asked to contemplate over and over again. God’s presence in our lives never leaves us tranquil: it always pushes to do something. When God comes, he always calls us out of our house. We are visited so that we can visit others; we are encountered so as to encounter others; we receive love in order to give love.On September 22, in Cuba, Pope Francis opened his homily with these words at the National Shrine of the “Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre.” He spoke to the congregation exhorting the faithful to be like Mary our Mother in the Visitation!
He said:
this is our greatest wealth and the best legacy we can give: to learn like Mary to leave home and set out on the path of visitation. And to learn to pray with Mary, for her prayer is one of remembrance and gratitude; it is the canticle of the People of God on their pilgrimage through history. It is the living reminder that God passes through our midst; the perennial memory that God has looked upon the lowliness of his people, he has come to the aid of his servant, even as promised to our forebears and their children for ever.
Mary was far from “thinking it was all about her”, or thinking that everyone had to come and wait upon her; she left her house and went out to serve. First she goes to help her cousin Elizabeth. The joy which blossoms when we know that God is with us, with our people, gets our heart beating, gets our legs moving and “draws us out of ourselves.
We are asked to live the revolution of tenderness as Mary, our Mother of Charity, did. We are invited to “leave home” and to open our eyes and hearts to others.
We’ll be talking about stepping out of our comfort zone this Sunday; here are some questions to prepare you for the discussion.
- This classic image of Our Lady’s selflessness exemplifies the Christian life: we are to freely give that what we have freely received. Faith is not a private affair. How can we step out of the privacy of our faith and share it more freely?
- Have you ever been shy or sheepish about doing the sign of the cross or praying in public? There is this something at times that makes us hesitate. We should not be ashamed. Think of this extreme example. You see a person on the street wearing all black leather, with a blue mo-hawk, and dozens of piercings. They are “proud” of who they are. Shouldn’t we be even more proud of the Cross that saves us? How do you think we can be more brave and courageous about our faith in public?
- Pope Francis tell us to leave our homes just like Mary did. Yet, she went immediately to her cousin Elizabeth’s home. In a sense, she left home to another place that could still be considered home. What might we learn from this? Is God speaking to us about the importance of blood relations or is He telling us something about the importance of faith relations?
- Evangelization is ultimately about a person. A husband and wife have no problem introducing others to their spouse. How can we become closer with Jesus so that evangelization becomes as simple as introducing someone to the person whom we love dearly?
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