Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Today's Mass Readings

“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (LK 9:62). I’ve thought over these words many times in my life. I heard this Gospel for the first time when I was in Catholic elementary school. It stuck out to me because I grew up on a farm and saw my father plow fields every year. How can you not look back at what the plow has left behind when you live on the same farm and see the same fields plowed year after year?

We as human beings naturally look back to “what was left behind.” We will always remember the past. The key is not to live in the past. We have to look ahead to where we’re “plowing” or we’ll plow through a fence, in one sense or another. We mustn’t be a slave to old regrets or heartaches. We can even be trapped in nostalgia for what “once was.” Jesus told a would-be follower to “let the dead bury the dead.” We are called to follow Jesus unreservedly.

Job is getting a lecture from his friends in today’s reading. He answers that no one can stand justified before God. He questions if God would answer him if he would call out to him. “I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.” Job feels a sense of deep separation from God. Job says he could not stand before God even if he was “right.”

“If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words” (Job 9:16).

While Job struggles through personal doubt, he still holds onto his faith. We can gain inspiration from Job when we struggle through life’s trials. Jesus promised it would not be easy to be His disciple “for the son of man has now where to lay His head.” Yet He still said to those on the way, “follow me.” Let us heed this call. Let us follow Jesus and persevere through the trials it brings. Amen.

Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB