Kathryn Lopez
Dominican priest Fr. Ambrose Little reflects on the Gospel reading for this Thursday in a way that might resonate with a lot of us who are on Facebook or other social media:
My brother once told me about how he knew his list of friends on Facebook was getting out of control. He noticed a wedding announcement for a “friend,” someone he likely had met in high school. However, the name of the person was such that it could have belonged to either the bride of the bridegroom. When he looked at the wedding pictures and he realized he couldn’t figure out which one was his friend, he knew there was a problem.
I imagine that this is a common experience on Facebook. The fact is that many of the people we call “friends” on Facebook are simply contacts: people we would like to communicate with on occasion and that is all. However, true friendship is something that can be observed, for in true friendship two people share their lives with each other.
When we hear in today’s Gospel that not all those who cry out, “Lord, Lord,” will be saved, but only those who do the will of the Father, we are being asked to examine our relationship with God. God comes to us so that we might be friends with Him. But the question is, do we treat Him like a Facebook friend or do we have a share in his life? For if we share in his life, we do his will.
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