Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where we read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Friday, May 16th, and the Gospel reading is John 14, 1 through 6, and the Scripture to reflect on is John 14, 6.
Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father but by me.
Have you ever seen a traffic street sign that says one way?
It’s pretty obvious what it means, right?
It means that the traffic is going one direction and no oncoming traffic will be headed towards you.
One time when my mom was driving on this crazy freeway in New Jersey, she had to go on this loopy, swoopy road to go the other direction because we weren’t on a one-way street.
Unfortunately, my mom chose the wrong loopy, swoopy road and was going the wrong way.
She started to get scared and started crying and praying Hail Mary.
No, really, we were praying out loud.
Luckily, the car coming towards us was a super nice man.
He put his flashers on and stopped to the side a little bit to let my mom turn in the right direction.
Phew! Today’s sign of the day, Saint Brendan.
Saint Brendan was born around 484 and died sometime in the year of 577.
He’s a patron saint of sailors, bowmen, and divers.
Saint Brendan was a missionary from the group called Apostles of Ireland.
They were continuing the work of Saint Patrick of spreading the word of Jesus to the whole country.
When Brendan was 86 years old, he built a boat out of woven branches and oxhide and set sail for the Promised Land.
He was at sea for seven years and saw many wonderful and amazing things.
Huge sheep, ginormous oxen, fire-breathing serpents, and birds who sang the psalms with human words.
There was even a whale who gave him a ride to safety on an island who was collapsing underneath him.
How cool is that?
One way sign tells drivers there’s only one way to go.
And if you ignore the sign, you could crash.
Jesus tells us he is the way.
Jesus is the one way.
And if we don’t believe and trust him, we are going the wrong way or headed straight for a dead end.
Did you know that as God’s children, we are given a spiritual road map?
Do you know who or what it is?
It’s only the Holy Spirit.
Saint Brendan is known as Saint Brendan the Navigator.
He traveled to many far-off places and learned from monks how to live justly for Christ.
God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us walk on the right and just road of life too.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, thank you for always protecting us and forgiving Jesus as an example of how to live.
Thank you that we can trust in you to lead the way.
Help us to listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance and to do what is right and just so we can continue to live the path you’ve made for me.
Saint Brendan, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back next week scattering more flowers.
See ya!