22 January, Thursday — Channels of God’s Graces

22 Jan – Memorial for St. Vincent, deacon and martyr

St. Vincent of Saragossa (d. 304) was a friend of St. Valerius of Saragossa in Spain, and served as his deacon. He was imprisoned and tortured in Valencia, some of it by burning on a gridiron, for his faith. He converted the jailor and was finally offered release if he would give up the sacred texts to the fire, but he refused. He was martyred during the persecutions of Diocletian.

• Patron Saint Index

1 Sam 18:6-9,19:1-7
Mk 3:7-12

So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father.

In today’s first reading, we see how Jonathan was sent by God to ensure David’s safety from his father, Saul. Jonathan had warned David of Saul’s plan against his life and Jonathan appealed to his father on David’s behalf. It’s amazing to see how God protects his people.

I’m sure many of us had this experience when God sent people in our lives to protect us, to enrich us, and to bring us closer to him. This day, I would like to invite each of us to reflect how we can be that person sent by God to another person. Who are the people around us who need a little bit of God’s blessing, protection and/or guidance in their lives? How can we be that friend who brings those things in their lives?

And we don’t really have to do big things all the time. We don’t even have to actually preach with words… actions and presence speak louder. Perhaps today, God is calling us to say ‘hi’ to a friend and catch up. We might feel it is weird to contact someone out of the blue, but I once received that and it made me smile. Or maybe God is asking us to greet the security guard or cleaning ladies a cheery, “good morning”.

Or maybe instead of doing something, we can be a blessing by not doing things. Imagine if someone started gossiping about someone and even if you can’t stop the gossiping, you stop spreading. Or maybe if someone is venting grievances, we refrain from making comments that may add fuel to the fire.

God intended all of us to be channels of his blessings. Sometimes, I imagine those channels being clogged. There are many things that may prevent us from becoming an overflowing channel of grace. Sometimes, we lack courage to do what God is asking us. In this case, we can ask God to help us be courageous. Or I would sometimes ask God to help me do smaller things so I can get used to it. Sometimes, it works. Other times, God really persists in asking me to do what I am afraid of doing.

Sometimes, our clog can be due to lack of knowledge. Nowadays, that’s pretty easy to address. Much of the information is available on the internet. There are many Catholic platforms available such as Formed and Ascension Press. Even the encyclicals and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are online. I heard that ‘The Bible in a Year’ Podcast was pretty popular. So really, clogs due to knowledge may be easier unclog these days.

Lastly, sometimes the clog may be due to our lack of skill. It’s not what we are saying, but how we said it. It’s not about the goodness of our intention, but how we said it. If we read closely how Jesus spoke, we would discover how well he spoke. He’s firm, but gentle and respectful. He doesn’t push things down people’s throats. And he was able to communicate love with what he spoke.

I’m sure there are more things that clog us from becoming channels of God’s graces. But I pray that as we grow deeper in communion with God, we become unclogged channels of his graces.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)

Prayer: Dearest Lord, send me the graces I need so I can be a good channel of your grace.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for the people you’ve placed in my life as channels of your graces.