In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God. – John 1:1
- The Word of God – Saint John, the beloved apostle and evangelist, uses an intimate approach to delve deeply into the nature of the divinity of Jesus that goes beyond His birth as the Son of God. Through John, we are told that Jesus exists intimately, one with God from the beginning and, through Jesus all things came to be and are sustained. This is a willful thought of God brought to expression in this world by the Word of God, Jesus.
- The Name of Francis – When Francis was born, his mother, Pica, first named him Giovanni, but his father, Pietro, who had been away, renamed him Francesco when he returned home from a merchant trip to France. It may have been prophetic of Pica to name him after John the Baptist as a new herald to the world of the King of Kings. And it may be fitting that Pietro, wishing his son to follow his will as a successful merchant, would give him a name to benefit his cloth business with connections in France.
- A Thought of God – Pope Benedict XVI described the unimaginable mystery for us as an expression of God, “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of the thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.” It should be comforting to know that each of us is the result of a loving plan and wisdom of God. There is a purpose for each of us that goes beyond the desires or plans of man. I but need to be attentive and receptive to what God calls me to be. Am I listening?