Thought for the Day – 18 September – The Memorial of St Juan Macias O.P. (1585-1645)
St Juan Macias reflects the life of the many immigrants who come seeking better living conditions. His life helps us to realise that as immigrants, we have a greater mission – to share the richness of our faith with other people in simple ways. According to his biographers, St Juan Macias constantly meditated on the verse from the Book of Revelation: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev 21:1).
Faith is a journey on this earth in which all of us are immigrants who seek the new heaven and the new earth. The life of St Juan Macias teaches us to walk this journey of faith in simple ways – being generous at all times, especially with the poor, the sick and the elderly; being humble, embracing the reality that we are on this earth only for a while and doing the works of charity, the surest way to salvation.
The life of St Juan Macias teaches, that immigrants go to new worlds to find a better life through giving themselves for the greater mission of sharing the Gospel. Indeed, this is a very effective way in which our life conditions will really become better, by sharing the Gospel, the Word of God, the life and death of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in whatever way we can, where we find ourselves!
AnaStpaul 