Your Invitation to Abundant Life

      Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, 
      and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
      Philip went and told Andrew; 
      then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
      Jesus answered them, 
      “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
      Amen, amen, I say to you, 
      unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 
      it remains just a grain of wheat; 
      but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
      Whoever loves his life loses it,
      and whoever hates his life in this world
      will preserve it for eternal life.
      Whoever serves me must follow me, 
      and where I am, there also will my servant be.
      The Father will honor whoever serves me.
      “I am troubled now.  Yet what should I say?
      ‘Father, save me from this hour’?
      But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
      Father, glorify your name.”
      Then a voice came from heaven, 
      “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
      The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; 
      but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
      Jesus answered and said, 
      “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
      Now is the time of judgment on this world; 
      now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
      And when I am lifted up from the earth, 
      I will draw everyone to myself.”
      He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

          In the beginning of 2020, I happened upon a reading plan that would allow me to read through the main timeline of the Bible in three months. After reading through the Old and New Testaments, I began to realize how invested I was into the lives of the holy men and women recorded in its pages. What began as a humble mission to learn more about Scripture soon grew into a plan to read the whole Bible from cover to cover in a year (and yes, I laugh at the irony that Fr. Mike Schmitz began the Bible in a Year podcast right as I finished reading the Bible in a year each time someone brings it up to me…).

          By reading the Bible each day, I learned a lot about God, the Catholic Church and myself as a whole, but the greatest thing I learned in the 365 days of devouring its pages is that the Bible is a story of radical transformation and conversion. Time and time again, I was captivated by the lives of Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Our Lady, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and St. Paul and how they were transformed by the Lord working in and through them. One encounter with God changed the way each of them experienced the world around them.

          It was in reading these encounters with God that I also began to realize how much my life had changed since I allowed the Lord a space in my life. Many times, the changes were slight (an urge to read the Bible, pray, attend a small group or listen to a song), but it was in these slight and oftentimes unnoticed moments that the Lord began to transform and renew me from the inside out. 

          As humans, we resist and rebel against change. We like the way things are and would prefer for them to stay the same. Change leads us to vulnerability and a lack of control, which is never a state we prefer to be in . But, it is in this vulnerability that our hearts are truly receptive to Christ’s invitation to follow Him. 

          “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.”

          If the Bible assures us of anything, it is that the path to follow Christ isn’t an easy one. It requires sacrifice, surrender and a willingness to change. To follow Christ is to join Him on the path. To remain with Him is to die with Him. 

          We are given two choices once the Lord invites us to follow Him. If we choose not to follow Him and remain unchanged, we never use our divine potential to bear abundant fruit, similar to the single grain of wheat that doesn’t fall to the ground. If we allow ourselves to be planted, we give the Lord the power to transform and renew our lives in ways that were once unimaginable. 

          During this season of Lent, allow the Lord to transform you. Allow Him permission to plant seeds that will draw you closer to His Sacred Heart. It is here that your invitation to a new and abundant life will be found. 

          What does abundant life in Christ mean to you, and what does it look like? How is the Lord inviting you to this abundant life?
 

About the Author: Nicole Jones is the Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (Red Stick Catholics) at the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Nicole grew up in Baton Rouge and started getting involved with ministry after experiencing a deep conversion of heart at a high school bible study at Our Lady of Mercy parish. During her time as a mass communication student at LSU, Nicole became more involved with Christ the King Catholic Church and Student Center. It was there that she felt the Lord tugging on her heart to dive deeper into ministry and apply for her current position at the Diocese. When Nicole isn’t working, she can be found spending time with her dog, Indy, and baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookies.
What was the 1st CD (or cassette if you’re old school) you remember listening to as a kid: Some of my fondest memories as a child are driving to my grandparent’s house listening to “The Lion King” // “Country Bears” soundtracks and “Shania Twain’s Greatest Hits.” 
What book are you reading right now: I finally caved and am reading “The Story of a Soul” by St. Therese of Lisieux… and let me just say, I have no regrets.

 Learn More About Red Stick Catholics

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected].