Today is the Feast of St. Matthew, gospel writer and evangelizer, called by Jesus from his post as tax collector, to leave everything and become a disciple. Matthew responded to Jesus in a bold and powerful way by “letting go” of the way he was living life, letting go of established ways of thinking , letting go of possessions and money that slowly took possession of his heart. This was one dramatic moment of conversion. Matthew completely and definitively broke with his life by letting it go, while at that moment of letting go, he embraced a whole new way of living.

The process of “letting go” is one in which we all are called to do if we are going to let our faith have any effect in our lives. But most of us do it slowly, gradually, inch by inch, not in one dramatic moment of dispossession. We let go of things around us as we simply our lives, as we start resisting the pressure to press “click it” for an Amazon purchase. We let go slowly, not only of possessions, but of inner attitudes. The grudges we are holding onto, the bitterness of regrets, the painful memories all need to be let go of if we want to grow and develop new ways of healthy living.

Jesus is pointing at each one of us, gazing into our hearts, piercing them in love…. calling us to follow. The vast majority of us respond with a bit of reluctance. That is just fine with this wonderful God of ours. As long as we respond.

Peace. Fr. Frank