When people ask Michael St. Jacques, a Franciscan
brother, what he’s wearing, he says, “It’s called a habit.” He wears the
distinctive brown robe for a definite reason. St. Jacques told Hemispheres magazine, “We have the choice to wear
it, and a lot of us make a real effort to because it acts as a magnet. People
tell me things they’ve never told anyone. Complete strangers will confess
something they did 30 years ago and ask if God can forgive them.” You might say
that Michael is clothed in “approachability.”
Throughout the Gospels, we find that all types of
people approached Jesus wherever He went. They came to be taught, helped, healed,
accepted, and forgiven. When some criticized Jesus for associating with tax
collectors and sinners, people they considered undesirable, Jesus said, “Those
who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17).
Do people see us as aloof or accessible? When we
become so focused on our own plans that we have no time for others, we are not
clothed with the spirit of Christ.
When the Savior lives through us, His open arms invite
people to open their hearts and unburden their souls.
Being available for the needs of others
honors God. (RBC)
