My wife, Anna, has many talents and one of which is her attention to detail especially when it comes to fashion. Appearance of the person and the garment are important. Appearance of the person is how we first meet and look at a person we engage or do business.
Appearance is not the only thing we look . 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel: Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart.
God does look into our hearts. Appearance is how we first perceive people but once we get to know them, we have a better idea of whether we want to know them better or not. Actions and works are how we look at people and not just their looks.
The Saints of the day were pages in the court of a king of Uganda. They were all young men and servants in the court. The martyrs included those of the Anglican faith. None of these men were powerful or influential. Some may have been handsome, but none were powerful or held high office. They were meek but inside they had faith and a spirit of conviction. Our readings today come from the beginning of Saint Matthews version of the Sermon on the Mount. These young men hit all the high points of this reading. They were meek, righteous , clean of heart and mostly persecuted on political or immoral grounds.
Most people reading this are not powerful or influential. Nonetheless, God looks into our hearts as well. We cannot hide from Him. Unfortunately some people deceive themselves and try to hide. Our saint for today knew that to be true to his own heart , then he had to be true to God. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
The persecution we suffer today is from war, violence against children in any form and evil in many other forms. Let’s be honest. Evil exists.
Every morning I say my rosary for the war in Ukraine. I have a long list of prayers and scripture. One of the other prayers that I have added to my morning prayers has been a prayer against evil. I started this practice long before I read the text of today’s readings. Just like watching a soccer or baseball game, both sides want to win. There are people in Russia that are praying for their soldiers( their sons and daughters ) to win the war against Ukraine.
Evil ! What can we do to stop it?
Just like Saint Charles Lwanga and his fellow Martyrs we have no control. We only have prayer. God looks into the hearts of the victims of evil. All we the living can do is to make sure we have a clean heart and that when God looks inside He will see us pure and worthy as these Saints. There is no hiding from God.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the victims and families of the children in Uvalde, Texas.
