Daily Reflection, May 9, 2026

Reflection

‘…because my choice of you has drawn you out of the world…’ (Jn 15: 19)

Human life is inherently liturgical. We are created for worship, for veneration, for service, for offering. We find ourselves where we are today because of what/whom we worship, venerate, serve or offer ourselves to. So, what/whom do we worship and serve?

For us Christians, we love and serve God and neighbour. Thomas Merton put it succinctly: it is not our job to ask why or who we should love, but to just love.

Persons are not known by intellect alone, not by principles alone, but only love. It is when we love the other, the enemy, that we obtain from God the key to an understanding of who God is, who we are (Thomas Merton).

Jesus’ words in today’s gospel set up a tensive dichotomy: subscribe to the world’s values or follow him. This tension isn’t new to us: as Christians, we live in this struggle almost daily. We like to be considered as rational and independent beings. This, after all, is the expectation of the world. However, following Christ often seems irrational and makes us question our independence. Nevertheless, our experience has taught us that when we choose to live according to the dictates of the world, our lives become, to use Ronald Rolheiser’s words, ‘muddied by unhealthy self-concern, excessive preoccupation with our own agendas, and with restless distractions’. We quickly realise that a life lived like this isn’t quite complete. If you accept Jesus’ words that ‘…my choice of you has drawn you out of the world…’, then you will be drawn to a radical way of life, not necessarily always extreme, but different. You will be called to a mystical way of living.

Chosen by Jesus means being touched, held and seared by God. Awareness of this places us constantly in the felt presence of God. In every little thing we do or say, we predispose ourselves to being receptive of God’s love and mercy. With this comes a transformation of our awareness, an awareness that is precisely mystical.

The Collect for the Mass of April 30, 2026, gives us a hint of the process of this transformation. I invite you to pray this prayer as a closing for today’s sharing:

‘Father, in restoring human nature you have given us a greater dignity than we had in the beginning. Keep us in your love, and continue to sustain those who have received new life in baptism We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever, Amen’.

Kelvin Rodrigues is a parishioner at St. Paul of the Cross, Glen Osmond, SA.