Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

To understand the love of the Father is to give ourselves completely to Him, to surrender and trust that He has a plan for our lives. That is exactly what Jeremiah did. He was so overwhelmed by the love of God that he could not help but speak about it. And yet, proclaiming that love came at a cost. He suffered, was mocked, and endured violence from those around him. Still, he continued to speak of the love he had experienced. The same love that transformed Jeremiah is the love that God desires each of us to experience.

But in order to receive that love, we have to give our lives to Him. And it is in that surrender that we ultimately find our fulfillment. Jesus tells us, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” If Jesus is not who we are seeking, we will never find the fulfillment our hearts are longing for.

But the Lord is a gentleman. He will never force Himself into our lives; He waits for us to invite Him in. He is not simply asking us to give in to His will. Does He desire for us to say “yes” to His plan? Of course. But He wants that “yes” to flow from knowing and receiving His love first. When we allow ourselves to be loved by Him, that love transforms us, and we are then able to give that same love back to Him through our lives.