St. Josemaria Escriva says that “Grace works in us like a magnifying glass, and even the tiniest speck of dust or an almost invisible grain of sand can appear immensely large.”
Jesus invites the chief priests, the elders, and us all to reflect on how “the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”
Jesus reminds us at the beginning of today’s Gospel passage and at the end, that he came to ransom many. I sit in the first pew on the right at Mass so that I can remove the distractions that threaten to take my mind from the sacrifice at hand.
Through the guidance of the Church; through the Mass and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation; through Sacred Scripture as it forms our prayer, penance, and acts of selfless self-giving: in all these ways the Lord Jesus works His design for holiness within us.
Moses is exhorting his people to observe God's commandments, decrees, and explanations with all their heart, mind, and soul. In the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus, speaking face to face with his disciples and as Cardinal Ratzinger writes "as a man speaks to his friends."
When we "let go and let God" we find that he has the better plan! No one on earth cares for us or loves us more than our creator, but he will not force himself on us – we have to make the choice to follow him.
God will not reject us if we go to him sincerely, repentantly, and humbly. On the one hand, this sounds so simple, we understand this. On the other hand, it is difficult to do because we don't often like to admit that we are wrong or imperfect.
