Sparrows

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

We are told in the Gospel of St. Matthew, “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31).

Our Lord uses the birds of the air in order to get His message across, to express the great value of every human being, how He loves everybody in a special way.

The Psalms also mention sparrows. It says, “Even the sparrow has found a home, the swallow a nest to place its young: your altars, Yahweh, my King and my God” (Ps. 84:3).

Throughout Scripture, we read continually of the love that God has for us, of how much more we are worth than many sparrows. Our Lord lets us know this in various ways.

He assures us that even though a mother might forget about the child of her womb, He will never forget us, because He “leads us by the hand,” we are told in Isaiah (Isa. 49:15-16), so as to have us always within sight.

We can contemplate the infinite love that God has for each person. Conversion is the fruit of God's love, because everything is born of Him, who loves us with great generosity.

In the prophet Hosea, it says: “I will bring healing to their crushed spirits; in free mercy I will give them back my love; my vengeance has passed them by. I will be morning dew, to make Israel grow as the lilies grow, strike roots deep as the forest of Lebanon. Those branches shall spread; it shall become fair as a garden of olives, fragrant as cedar of Lebanon.

“None that dwells under the protection of that name but shall come back to me; corn shall be theirs in plenty, and they will prosper in growth like one of their own vineyards, farmed as the vintage of Lebanon” (Hos. 14:5-7).

We can never imagine how much God loves us. In order to save us when we were lost, He sent His only begotten Son so that, in giving up His life, He would redeem us from the state we had fallen into.

We are told in St. John, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that those who believe in Him may ot perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

That love that God has for us moves Him to give Himself to us in a habitual way, dwelling in our soul in grace.

We are told in St. John, "If any man has any love for me, he will be true to my word; and then he will win my Father's love, and we will then both come to him, and make our continual abode in him” (John 14:23).

Our Lord communicates with us in the intimacy of our hearts, both during these periods of prayer, but also throughout the day.

There may be many occasions when Our Lord works things in us and through us, very often without us being aware that it is Him who is doing things.

There is a story that in 1892, at Stanford University, an 18-year-old orphan student was grappling with a significant problem: how to pay his tuition fees.

Faced with this financial dilemma, he devised an ingenious plan along with a friend. He decided to host a musical concert on campus, hoping that the proceeds would cover their educational expenses. Their star performer was the renowned pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

But securing a performance from such a celebrated artist came with its own challenges. Paderewski's manager stipulated a guaranteed fee of $2,000 for the recital.

Undeterred, the two young men struck a deal and began fervently working to ensure the concert's success.

When the day of the concert finally arrived, reality hit hard. Despite their best efforts, sales fell short, accumulating only $1,600.

Disheartened but determined to honor their commitment, the two boys approached Paderewski explaining their situation and handed over the $1,600 along with a check for the remaining $400, promising to settle it as soon as possible.

Paderewski's response was unexpected and profound. “No,” he said, tearing up the check. He returned the $1,600 and told the boys: “Here's the $1,600. Please deduct whatever expenses you've incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees, and just give me whatever is left.”

This act of kindness left the young men astonished and deeply grateful. This small gesture spoke volumes about Paderewski's character. Why would he help two strangers in need?

For many, such moments provoke thoughts of self-preservation. However, truly great individuals ask, ‘If I don't help them, what will happen to them?’

Paderewski's selflessness was not driven by a desire for reciprocation, but by an intrinsic sense of doing what is right.

Years later, Paderewski's path led him to become the Prime Minister of Poland. But his leadership faced severe trials during World War I, when Poland was devastated and over 1.5 million people faced starvation. Desperate for aid, Paderewski turned to the US Food and Relief Administration.

It was headed by a man called Herbert Hoover, who would later become the US President. Hoover responded swiftly, arranging for the shipment of tons of food to Poland, thereby averting a dire humanitarian crisis.

Paderewski, overwhelmed with gratitude, traveled to meet Hoover and to express his thanks in person. During their meeting, as Paderewski began to convey his heartfelt appreciation, Hoover interrupted with a revelation that left the Polish leader stunned.

“You shouldn't be thanking me, Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

This story talks about the enduring power of kindness, the unexpected ways it can come full circle. Paderewski's act of generosity towards two struggling students had unknowingly paved the way for a monumental act of humanitarian aid during Poland's darkest hour.

This can serve as a timeless reminder for us that the ripples of our good deeds can extend far beyond our immediate vision, often returning to us in ways we could never have anticipated.

Our Father God works in us and through us, helps us sow those mustard seeds (Matt. 13:31-32) that can have profound effects on other people's lives.

St. John Chrysostom says, “I am a friend, an associate and head, and a brother and a sister, and a mother. I [am] everything, and all I want is an intimate friendship with you. I have become poor for you, a beggar for you, been crucified for you, buried in a sepulcher for you.

“In heaven I intercede before God the Father for you; and on earth I am his ambassador to you. You are everything to me, brother, co-heir, friend, and associate. What more do you want?” (John Chrysostom, Homilies on St. Matthew).

Our Lord shows us in all sorts of ways how we are of much more value than any sparrows.

What more could we want? When we contemplate Our Lord in each one of the scenes of The Way of the Cross, these words easily come to our lips and the heart: “To know that you love me so much, my God, and yet… I haven't lost my mind!" (J. Escrivá, The Way, Point 425).

A lady in another country once was thinking about this world we live in. When she came to the end of her life, she said she was thinking: “What have we done to Our God? What have we done to Our God?” Words that are worth considering.

God's mercy is shown to us even when we offend Him. The Psalm says, “There is none like you, O Lord. So great you are, so marvelous in your doings; you alone are God” (Ps. 86:8,10).

One of the greatest marvels is the love that God has for us. He loves us with a singular personal love, each one of us separately and in particular. We are of much more value than any sparrows.

He has never stopped loving us, helping us, protecting us, talking to us, working in us and through us, producing kind acts of thoughtfulness, of patience, of hospitality.

And He hasn't stopped doing any of these things even when we have been the most ungrateful or when we have committed the most serious sins.

It is, perhaps, on these occasions that we receive the most attention from God, as in the parables where He wishes to express His mercy in a singular way:

The lost sheep is the only one carried on the shoulders (Luke 15:3-7). It's the image that the Church has used most, perhaps, to convey the humanity of Christ.

The feast that is laid on by the father for the one of his sons who has hurt him most (Luke 15:11-32).

The lost drachma is carefully sought by its owner until she finds it (Luke 15:8-10).

In our prayer we can see that God's attention to and His love for us have been constant throughout our lives—one of the reasons why we owe Him a great debt of gratitude.

“It is right and just always and everywhere to give you thanks” (Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer II).

Our Lord has been aware of all the circumstances and events which we have had to live through. He is beside us in every situation and at every moment, like those two students in need of their school fees.

We are told in St. Matthew, “Behold, I am with you through the days that are coming, until the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28:20), until the final moments of our lives.

How often He has continued an apparently chance meeting! In joy and in sorrow, through what at first sight seemed a misfortune, in a friend, in a colleague at work, in a priest who has looked after us.

In Christ Is Passing By, St. Josemaría says, “Just think about the wonder of God's love. Our Lord comes out to meet us, he waits for us, he's by the roadside where we cannot but see him, and he calls each of us personally, speaking to us about our own concerns—which are also his. He stirs us to sorrow, opens our conscience to be generous; he encourages us to want to be faithful, so that we can be called his disciples” (Josemaría Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 59).

As a sign of His love, Our Lord has left us the sacraments, the channels of divine mercy. It is for love of us that He has given His Mother to be Our Mother.

As a sign of this love, He has also given us an Angel who protects us, He advises us and showers us with a host of favors until we reach the end of our passage on earth, when He awaits us with the promised heaven, a happiness without end and without limit. There we have had a place prepared for us.

We can give thanks for so much love, for such loving care which we do not in any way merit.

The analogy of the sparrows is so relevant: “You are worth much more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31).

One mystic expresses this idea poetically: “Had I a million lives, I would give them to possess you, and a thousand...a thousand more would I give…to love you if I were able to… with this love, pure and strong, with which you, being who you are, love us continuously” (cf. Francisca Javiera del Valle, About the Holy Spirit).

When Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, promoting the devotion to His Sacred Heart, He said, “Behold the Heart which has loved men so much.” The love of the heart of Christ knows no limits.

St. Josemaría in The Forge says, “My Lord Jesus has a Heart more tender than the hearts of all good men put together. If a good man (of average goodness) knew that a certain person loved him, without seeking personal satisfaction or reward of any kind (he loves for love’s sake); and if he also knew that...then it would not be long before he responded to such a disinterested love.

”—If the Loved One is so powerful that he can do all things, I am sure that, as well as surrendering in the end to the faithful love of a created being (in spite of the wretchedness of that poor soul) he will give this lover the supernatural beauty, knowledge, and power he needs so that the eyes of Jesus are not sullied when he gazes upon the poor heart that is adoring him.

”—Love, my child; love and await” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 298).

It is very proper that we obey Him, that we live in submission and obedience to Him. We worship Him, very much aware that He is a loving Father.

In his Encyclical, Dominum et vivificantem–“The Lord and Giver of Life,” Pope St. John Paul II says, quoting the Second Vatican Council: "The invisible God, out of the abundance of his love, speaks to men as friends and lives among them, so that he may invite and take them into fellowship with himself” (Vatican II, Dei verbum, Point 2, November 18, 1965).

He continues, “In his intimate life, ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8,16), the essential love shared by the three divine Persons: personal love is the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Therefore he ‘searches even the depths of God’ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10), as uncreated Love-Gift.

“It can be said that in the Holy Spirit, the intimate life of the Triune God becomes totally gift, an exchange of mutual love between the divine Persons and that through the Holy Spirit God exists in the mode of gift.

“It is the Holy Spirit who is the personal expression of this self-giving, of this being-love (cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Part I, Questions 37-38). He is Person-Love. He is Person-Gift.

“Here we have an inexhaustible treasure of the reality and an inexpressible deepening of the concept of person in God, which only divine Revelation makes known to us.

“At the same time, the Holy Spirit, being consubstantial with the Father and the Son in divinity, is love and uncreated gift from which derives as from its source all giving of gifts vis-a-vis creatures: the gift of existence to all things through creation; the gift of grace to human beings through the whole economy of salvation. As the Apostle Paul writes: ‘God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us’” (Rom. 5:5; John Paul II, Ibid.).

The love of God is not poured into the heart of a sparrow. It is a reminder to us how much above the animals we are; the dignity of the human person.

Our Father God loves us as much in failure as in success. He loves us for ourselves. Each person has great value in His eyes, particularly those handicapped in some way.

He loves each one of us as if we were the only person in the world.

God does not grant half a pardon, but a total pardon. God reads the heart, even the heart of those who may bungle along, trying to do some good but not quite achieving it.

Sanctity is measured by our love for God. The one thing He looks for in our heart is love, to see a reflection of His own heart.

“In reply, Peter and the apostles said, “Obedience to God comes before obedience to men,” in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:29).

God knows our faults, and yet He loves us anyway. “When God measures a person, He puts a tape around the heart, not around the head” (Howard Hendricks).

We can have great confidence in Our Father God, who helps us always to begin again.

If some little sparrow gets a damaged wing, or damaged in some way, cannot fly, maybe a person tries to do what they can to mend that wing or help that sparrow in some way. Then he releases it to find its freedom again, to make a new beginning.

As a human person with little birds, Our Father God is with us, helping us to make those new beginnings.

In the Furrow, we're told. “Once again you had gone back to your old follies! … And afterwards, when you returned, you didn’t feel very cheerful, because you lacked humility.

“It seems as if you obstinately refuse to learn from the second part of the parable of the prodigal son, and you still feel attached to the wretched happiness of the pigswill. With your pride wounded by your weakness, you have not made up your mind to ask for pardon, and you have not realized that, if you humble yourself, the joyful welcome of your Father God awaits you, with a feast to mark your return and your new beginning” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 65).

We should try to recall frequently every day the fact that my Father God loves me.

There was a Dutch missionary priest in Singapore who used to like to tell young people, “You're carried in the palm of a hand of a God who loves you, so out with low self-esteem.”

In the Gospel, we're given many examples where Christ has recourse to His Father God, inviting us to do the same.

We could find human reminders to remind us, as we go through our day, of the love that Our Father God has for us.

We can make use of the ordinary events of each day: joys, contradictions, times when we need to do as the prodigal son and ask forgiveness.

Our Father God is always there for us, inviting us to be childlike.

A Chinese philosopher, a disciple of Confucius, said, “A great person is one who never loses the heart they had as a child” (cf. Mencius)—love of family, love of country, love of truth, love of life.

We are called to act and react like a small child who rediscovers the love of their father and their mother. We can have a great faith, great hope, great optimism, great trust.

Likewise, grow to be more transparent, with greater patience, uncomplicated, with peace and serenity. We can throw out all our worries, our nervousness, our apprehension, our anxiety, which may be all divine invitations to a deeper sense of the love that God has for us.

In our daily struggles, in obedience, in defeats, in humiliations, in our apostolate, in our studies—that reality that God is my Father can drive us on all the time.

Little children love life. They bounce out of bed in the morning. Each day is a gift. It's an opportunity for fun and accomplishment with family and friends. It's an adventure. They value their friends, their fun, their family, their laughter.

We are called to be that type of child.

That awareness of the love of God has for us leads us to see God in the human. “In a mountain, we see His Power. In a sunset, His Beauty. In a snowflake, His Purity. The materialist sees only the mountain, the sunset, or the snowflake” (cf. Fulton J. Sheen, These Are the Sacraments). There's no penetrating vision of eternity.

Practical men of this world write prose, but those of faith write poetry.

We are led to see God in things; see the sacramental nature of things, the hidden, invisible reality, the deeper meaning that is there.

Sometimes the Hand of God can only be seen in retrospect. We look backwards and we see digitus Dei, the finger of God was there.

We're also children of Mary. She also loves us very much. “Look at your child,” she was told on the Cross (cf. John 19:26). If we think about this, it can help us to understand some very important things.

The mystery of Mary helps us to see that in order to approach Our Father God, we must become little: “Unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). A good mother loves to see her children getting on well with their father and playing and having fun.

Mary, may you obtain for us a total abandonment to God, a greater awareness of the love that He has for us, and that the fact that we are all, each one of us, of much greater value than any sparrow.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

JM