"But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, 'Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand?'" - Ex 32:11
Some time ago I used to pray the rosary while driving to school and work. That was pretty much my prayer life. On one occasion while I was praying and driving, another vehicle cut in front of me without warning and we almost collided. That made me very angry and I started to honk my horn and when I was next to him, I raised my hand to make a signal (yeah, the signal you all are thinking). When I was raising my hand, I saw that the rosary with which I had been praying was still hanging on it. I felt ashamed. I lowered my hand and continued on my way.
At that moment I did not meditate much on what happened, but over time I have thought about that moment and I have realized how important it is to have a true encounter with God and not just say a few prayers and hang a rosary on the rear-view mirror.
The action of Moses in today's passage tells us of a true encounter with God. This kind of encounter does not happen from one day to the next; it requires many hours of dialogue. Moses spent days with God, he knew His true feelings, and that is why he knew how to intercede for his people who were doing wrong.
Many times we think that praying a little and going to Mass on Sundays is enough. Perhaps for some it is so, but for the vast majority it is not. The level of personal encounter with God is measured in our attitude towards our brothers. How do we react to the actions of our neighbor? The encounter with our brothers and sisters must reflect our encounter with God. Perhaps most of us will never need to intercede for a sinful city that is going to be destroyed, but every day, we will meet someone who needs our intercession. It could be a friend who is going through an illness and asks us to pray for him; or it could be someone who needs to get to work on time or is so focused on his worries that he cuts in front of your car without warning.
Are your relationships with your brothers and sisters reflective of your relationship with God?
Let us ask God to make our encounters with others reflect our encounter with Him.
Reflection by:
Gustavo Facio Orozco
Did You Know...
Gustavo Facio Orozco is a member of the Pastoral Juvenil Hispana. He is a parishioner at Corpus Christi in Temple Terrace where he is a lector for the Spanish Mass. Gustavo is currently studying psychology at the University of South Florida. He loves reading, traveling and grilling.
