Gather the Scattered

“I'm a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.” St. Teresa of Calcutta

A friend of mine gave me a Christmas ornament last December of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I put it on the tree, but did not pay too much attention to it. On January 3rd, this same friend introduced me to Catholic365 and suggested that I should share my writings with others on a larger scale. Once again, I did not pay much attention. However, God had plans for me on both counts. 

First, He kept putting Catholic365 front and center in my mind. Finally, I decided to listen to Him, and I submitted my application on February 15th. I was accepted as a writer two days later. Then, in May, I received an invitation to do a 33-day retreat to consecrate myself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This past Friday, on the feast day of the Sacred Heart, I went to mass in the early morning hours and said the consecration prayer at the end of the mass. During the homily, the priest said some words that resonated within my heart: “Jesus seeks us out, draws us to Himself, and gathers us together in His Sacred Heart. It’s the love of the shepherd who gathers all who have scattered.”

I realized that through my friend, Jesus was seeking me and drawing me to Himself. The Christmas ornament that she gave me of the Sacred Heart was not a coincidence. It was Jesus’ initial call to ask me to be a disciple of His Sacred Heart. I did not pay attention at the time, and I hid the ornament in the tree amongst all the other ornaments, but His Heart was beating for me. It was the shepherd calling out my name and gathering me to Himself. Next Christmas, that ornament will be placed front and center in the tree.

The priest continued: “He then pours His Love into our own hearts through the Holy Spirit and calls us to help Him gather the scattered and bring them to Him. We can do this with the help of the Holy Spirit who enkindles in us the fire of God’s love.” 

The deeper I got into the consecration, the more I realized that being a disciple of the Sacred Heart came with certain responsibilities. One of them is to help Him “gather the scattered and bring them back to Him.” As I sat in church listening to the priest, I asked Him “How am I supposed to do this?” The answer came to me during the communion: “Keep writing” is what I heard. I realized then that God had chosen my friend as His messenger. There was a connection between being a disciple of the Sacred Heart and writing for Catholic365. 

At that point, I closed my eyes, and I had a one-to-one silent conversation with Jesus. I did not hear His voice; it was more like the Holy Spirit putting His replies on my mind. It went something like this:

Me: Jesus, I love to write, but I totally dislike sharing my writings with others.

Jesus: Why don’t you like to share them?

Me: I feel that by sending out my writings to others, I am not being humble.

Jesus: Let me start by pointing out to you that they are not your writings. You are writing for me; therefore, they are my writings.

Me: I know that, but my name is on them. Maybe I should sign them with Your Name, Jesus, because after all, I am just a pencil in Your Hand.

Jesus: I need you to help me gather the scattered, so even though I am the author, do not be afraid to sign your name.

Me: The people that I send Your messages to are not scattered, they are all part of my faith community.

Jesus: Yes, but they in turn share them with others, and that is how my messages get spread. Catholic365 reaches a lot of people, and not all of them love me.

Me: I know. When I wrote about the Pope, I got a lot of backlash.

Jesus: And yet, that was the writing that was read the most. You are my disciple now, so I need you to be courageous. Do not apologize for sharing my messages with others. Do not boast, remain humble, and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

Me: Jesus, You know I have been struggling with this, but here I am, Lord, I will obey You and gather the scattered. 

God gives all of us certain talents, and He wants us to use them to gather the scattered. Some have a musical talent, so they sing for Him, and through their beautiful voices they attract souls to Him. I was definitely not gifted with a musical talent. If I attempt to sing, more than likely people will run away, therefore it would have the opposite effect. Instead of gathering them, I would scatter them. Therefore, He is not asking me to sing. He is asking me to write.

I don’t consider myself a great writer. There are definitely many that are much better than me, but for whatever reason, He wants me to write, and therefore, I must obey Him. Even though many times I don’t feel equipped for the task, God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Therefore, I must trust that He knows what He is doing. He also doesn’t want me to keep the writings to myself. He wants me to share them. It’s like a lamp. We don’t put it under a table. We put it on top of the table so that “it gives light to all in the house” (Matthew 5:15). As much as I dislike posting the links to my writings on social media and sending them out to my different groups because I feel like I’m imposing on them, I must continue to share them. But let’s be very clear. The author is God. I am just the pencil. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta, “I am like a little pencil in God’s hand… He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it.” 

I am now a disciple of His Sacred Heart. Therefore, I must become like a shepherd to gather His flock by sharing His Message of love with all the sheep that He places in my path. In order to do this, I must first pray to the Holy Spirit to inspire what I write, and I must always remain humble to give all the credit to the true author. May I always do His Will and give all the glory to God. Please pray for me, and I will continue to pray for you.

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