Over the last few years you might have heard me calling on all of us to become “intentional disciples.” What does it mean to be intentional disciples? Most Catholics are tempted to believe that they have done their duty because they received the sacraments – baptism, reconciliation, communion and confirmation. We can easily conclude that we are following Jesus because we moved from one milestone to another. Becoming Jesus’ disciples does not happen automatically. The famous preacher Johnny Holliday used to say: “You don’t become a Christian by sleeping in the church for ten years any more than you become a car by sleeping in the garage.” We need to make a choice.
Every three years during Lent we hear the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. With his usual flair for story-telling, John weaves his theology into this encounter between Jesus and a woman of ill repute. Jesus takes the initiative and befriends the woman. From a casual exchange of pleasantries, the conversation moves on to more serious matters and finally the woman recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. In fact she runs off into the village and invites her fellow villagers to come and meet Jesus. She becomes an apostle of the Good News.
A few years ago on a busy morning I was driving to Queen of All Saints Basilica during rush hour when I noticed something. We were coming to some construction and the two lanes were merging into one. I am usually a calm person who does not get upset very easily. However, the way some people drive really gets to me. While many of us were in the left lane patiently waiting, some drivers thought they were smarter than all of us. They tried to get ahead of everyone by cutting in. I would have loved to block their progress. Thank God, I didn’t. As I was trying to calm myself down, I wondered why people were in such a hurry.
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Born in India to deeply-committed Catholic parents, Fr Britto is one of seven children. He joined the Salesians of Don Bosco as a young man and was ordained a priest in 1981.
After he completed his priestly formation and his early education in India, he came to the US for his graduate degree in Journalism at...Read more...
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