theROCK

Radiate Love

Radiate Love: Do You Radiate Christ to Others?
Dr. Edward Sri

Do you realize the people around you are depending on you to pray every day?

I know that my wife and children, for example, need a lot more than my human love for them. They need Christ loving them through me. But that can only happen if I have a consistent, daily prayer life. I do sincerely love my family. But I also know my love is tainted by my own pride, selfishness, weakness, wounds, and sin. My wife and children need more that what I can give them on my own. They need Christ’s love supernaturally working through me. And that comes from daily prayer.

How about you? Consider the people at work, in your parish, and in your community, the people you serve: do you give them more than merely your own personal skills talent, wisdom, leadership abilities, or charming personality?

We should use all of our humanity, of course, to give the best of ourselves to  others in all we do. But the best of ourselves, actually, is more than ourselves. It is Christ radiating through us.

How about your family, your spouse, your closest friends—do the people in your life encounter something in you bigger than you are? Do they encounter Jesus Christ radiating through you?

Mother Teresa emphasized this point with her Missionary of Charity sisters throughout the world….they recite a prayer that contains this beautiful petition to Jesus: “Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in contact with my feel your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us but only  Jesus.

What a remarkable prayer! “Let them look up and see no longer us by only Jesus.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every soul we come in contact with each day—our spouse, our children, our friends, our colleagues at work, the people in the parish, the poor on the street—if every person we meet each day looked up and saw “no longer us but only Jesus!”

If we wish to truly radiate Christ in this world, we must be committed to daily prayer.

The Big Reveal

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions was always going to dinner at my grandma’s house. In the corner of her dining room there was a wooden China cabinet, beautifully carved and holding a collection of colorful, decorative plates. These plates were special—used only for the most important occasions.

Every year, I would arrive at my grandma's house early, excited to help set the table. My first task was always to open the cabinet doors and admire the plates. Each one was unique, with vibrant colors and intricate designs. Some plates were delicate, with soft floral patterns in pinks and purples, while others featured angels with golden halos or paisley swirls in rich blues and greens. There were also plates with nature inspired designs—trees, birds, and leaves that captured the beauty of the outdoors. The plates were also different sizes and each one reflected its own charm. I always looked forward to discovering which plate would be mine. I loved the idea of each plate holding my delicious Thanksgiving meal, but even more, it was about the tradition, the beauty, and the mystery of which plate would grace my spot at the table.

What made the tradition even more special was my grandma’s secret touch. Before dinner, she would sneak into the dining room and place a name card beneath each plate. No one knew whose name would be under their plate until we were all seated. After we said our prayer, it was time for the big reveal. “Now, look beneath your plate,” grandma would say, her voice full of warmth. We’d lift the plates, and there it was—a name, neatly written on a small card. The name on the card was always a surprise, and it was always meaningful. Before we ate, we would go around the table, sharing something we loved or appreciated about the person whose name was beneath our plate. It could be a simple memory or a heartfelt compliment, but it always brought a smile and a sense of connection to everyone at the table.

This year, as Thanksgiving approached, I began thinking about this tradition in a different light. It made me reflect on our relationship with God. Just as my name was lovingly placed under my plate, I realized that God has our names always beneath His “plate”—the plate of His love. God created us, and He loves us deeply. That love never changes, no matter the season or the year. This holiday season, I am choosing to reflect on how much God truly loves me, and I am eager to understand just a little bit more of that unending love.

A Mother's Love

You can never repay a mother’s love.

While it may not occur as often as we would like, there are some homilies we never forget. For me, one of these homilies was given by Fr. Ken Omernick, pastor of St. Charles in Hartland. His opening words were: You can never repay a mother’s love.

It’s true, our mothers do so much for us that it is impossible to repay them. They give us life itself, nurture and raise us, support us, perhaps most importantly, worry for us and give us a glimpse of what unconditional love is.

That is why when I heard from Fr. Ken that I could never repay my mother for her love, a lightbulb went on in my head. Because I had been trying to repay her, I bought gifts, dinners, flowers, chocolate, all trying to repay the debt, to get even, but nothing I did ever seemed to bring me closer to that goal of repaying my mother for her love.

Mothers provide a revelation and experience of God no other person can provide: being loved by someone unconditionally and whose love I did not earn or deserve, but is freely given. A love that cannot be paid back. Mothers in a unique way give us the love of God. In this mother-child relationship they prepare us to receive the unconditional love of God himself, which can also never be repaid. Mothers prepare us for relationship with God.

Which is why it is fitting to celebrate Mother’s Day in the month of May which is dedicated to our heavenly mother Mary. Sadly, some of us may not have had a mother as we would have hoped. A broken world will have broken mothers, if we never experience the unconditional love of a mother, we will never fully receive the unconditional love of God. We will spend our life trying to repay, to get even with God. Our relationship with Him will always be transactional.

So God gives us a mother, his very own, Mary. Who loves us as only a mother can do, unconditionally, without our deserving of it. That is why Mary is so important in our Faith and in our life, she prepares us for God. The more we grow in our relationship with Mary and our love for her, the more she will lead us closer to God. Mary provides us the unconditional love of a mother we may not have had in our own life.

This is the love we celebrate this weekend. Whether we receive this love from our biological mother or our spiritual mother, the love is same. A love that is life giving, nurturing, supportive, sacrificial, unconditional, and maybe even with a touch of worry, in short, we celebrate a mother’s love, a love that can never be repaid.