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Reading
2 Corinthians 5:18-20a
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
Devotion
Today's artwork is entitled "St. Catherine of Siena." This masterpiece, created by Italian Baroque painter, Baldassare Franceschini (1611-1690), currently resides in the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London, UK. Yesterday, 29 April, was the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). I love the way her face, the crown of her head and her hands are lit. It is difficult to discern where the light is coming from. Perhaps it is coming from within her? She was a mystic after all. She, like St. Francis, received the gift of the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ. You can see these represented on her hand and by the crown of thorns.
Catherine was no closeted mystic however. She worked tirelessly among the poor. Moreover, she wrote relentlessly to people in authority, both in local government and in the church. 382 of her letters have survived. The major theme of her letters was reconciliation. She wrote the Popes (there was a papal schism at the time), the kings of France and Hungary, the Queen of Naples, various leaders of other city states and religious leaders and even an infamous mercenary!
In this day and age where the forces of alienation and isolation are on the march, how do you, dear reader, see yourself as an ambassador of reconciliation? To whom are you in need of a restored relationship? What is one thing this week you can do to overcome estrangement? Maybe it is as simple as writing a note or a text? May the Spirit lead you and may God's light shine in you!
Prayer
Holy Spirit, come into my heart; draw it to You by Your power,
O my God, and grant me charity with filial fear.
Preserve me, O ineffable Love, from every evil thought; warm me, inflame me with Your dear love,
and every pain will seem light to me.
My Father, my sweet Lord, help me in all my actions.
Jesus, love, Jesus, love.
Amen. (St. Catherine of Siena)