DAILY HOMILIES #grain

One does not become a saint or a sinner overnight. The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one tiny and often unnoticed step. It is not the size of the first step that matters but the direction in which it points. Jesus tells us today that the Kingdom of God begins like a grain of mustard seed that is planted.

St. Lawrence did not simply give to the poor; his giving was at the risk of his own life. Jesus says unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it remains alone but after it dies, it bears much fruit. Whenever we make sacrifices for God’s sake, it is always painful but we must bear in mind that our pain, like the death of the seed buried under the ground, would eventually yield a great harvest. Let us learn from Lawrence the need to be charitable and the willingness to let go of our life itself so that we can have a better life in heaven.