Today, we celebrate Blessed
Contardo Ferrini, a member of the community of saints who possibly is not very
familiar to us. Blessed Contardo was
born in 1859 and lived in the last half of the 19th century, but he
died at the young age of 42. Originally
from Milan, Italy, he became a professor at the University of Paris, becoming
an expert on Roman law. He spent a great
deal of time reconciling his faith with science. This brings up an issue that
is important to us today in our modern
world, of how we can see our faith as relevant & alive in the midst of our
secular world and in the midst of all the science, technology, and knowledge
that we use each day. Alongside his
scholarly research, he attended mass daily & was a member of the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul & a third order Franciscan.
I think that most of us look for grand & profound ways
in which we can proclaim God’s kingdom, but I think that this quote by Blessed
Contardo Ferrini puts it all into perspective – “If on any particular day we do
nothing more than give a little joy to a neighbor, that day will not be wasted.
For we have succeeded in giving comfort to an immortal soul."
Paul knew that the Holy Spirit of God comes to us in the
reality we face in our lives, as he tells us in his letter to the Romans that
the Spirit comes our aide in the midst of our weaknesses, for the Spirit knows
that we are not quite sure how to pray and to communicate with God. Paul tells us that if we search our hearts,
we will know the intention of the Spirit, for the Spirit intercedes for us
according to the will of God. May the
Spirit help us to follow our faith and the will of God in the midst of our journey
in the modern world. No matter how
difficult it may seem, may we always follow the Lord in the midst of our joys,
our sorrows, and our struggles.
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