We are the children of God. And with God, all things are possible!
The local parish priest at my local parish church is a migrant of Africa.
He lives in Australia now, but all of his family remain in Nigeria.
One morning, during the early morning mass, this priest announced that he would like to offer the mass to give thanks for his nephew, who had been awarded an academic scholarship to study at university. This priest was overjoyed by this news. He explained – later – that in his home country, a person’s ability to gain an education or to get decent employment was based on who they knew and who they could bribe. In his nephew’s case, the family were very poor. They did not know anyone in a high place and could not afford a bribe, even if they wished to make it. And so, instead of cheating their way to this opportunity, this family and their son had earned it. And what made it even more wonderful was that this boy had earned this scholarship despite higher than normal obstacles, due to his low socioeconomic status.
And I have been reflecting on that today – not only as I give thanks for the joys and luxuries of my own life, but also as I reflect on God. You see, living in a country that offers free education and even tertiary education with delayed fee payment to all of its citizens, we do not often reflect on the benefits of education.
However, whether you enjoyed school and formal education or not, an education provides you with opportunities. To take the words of that parish priest that day, the son of a nobody can become a somebody through an education.
To put things into perspective, great Saints, like Saint Padre Pio, required an education before he could enter the seminary. This meant that his parents made many sacrifices to enable him to have the appropriate education so that he would be eligible to enter the seminary and study for the priesthood. Such sacrifices involved his father having to move away from the family to obtain work. And just imagine what the world would have been without a Saint like Saint Padre Pio.
And as I reflect on that story of that nephew – the son of a nobody who became a somebody – I reflect most importantly on God. Because God is like a first world education in a developing country. He makes all things possible. Just as that boy will have opportunities in this world as a result of that education he receives, so too will a soul who trusts in God. Because with God nobody is a nobody – and because we are all somebodies God can make all things are possible.
So today I give thanks. For I – and you too – are no the sons and daughters of nobodies. We are the children of God. And with God, all things are possible!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.