Who Do You Say I Am?

Weekly Reflection: 24th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-09-16T18:32:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: Isaiah 50:5-9
Psalm: Ps 114:1-6.8-9. R v 9
2nd Reading: James 2:14-18
Gospel: Mark 8:27-35

The most fundamental question any person who claims to be a Christian and a person of faith can ask themselves is the question Jesus asks each of us today: “Who do you say I am?”

Do we consider Jesus to be our way, our truth and our life? Do our decisions, our choices and our actions give evidence to this belief?

Perhaps the Christian journey when it is truly lived is the most difficult journey we can possibly undertake. It requires faith that no matter what or how bad things may seem that ultimately somewhere beyond our own knowledge things will be OK. What this journey requires of us to do though is to love. Our human condition and tendencies get in the way of this loving almost daily. But the key is faith – faith in Jesus.

How many of us retaliate when we are hurt or when we are betrayed or when we wrongly judged either as individuals or as a collective? We can lash out with revenge and other responses that have nothing to do with love. But we can have a sense of justification about what we are doing because it shows that I/we won’t be stepped or wronged by anyone. Sound familiar? Often then the boundaries can become so blurred that all sorts of atrocities can result, leaving people asking the question: How could that have happened?

Faith in Jesus calls us to persevere through the hurts and suffering and to keep loving, and to keep doing the truth in love. For those who have been in a situation where deep hurt has occurred they will know the great difficulty in trying to love through these times. But those who have been able to remain loving will know the rewards of doing so. Not a reward that is felt or even really known. But the reward is knowing that you have done your best to remain faithful to love – this may not feel wonderful but it will feel right.

But how will this “remaining faithful to love” make any sense to someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus – who doesn’t believe in a God who is love – who doesn’t believe in something beyond ourselves?

When we can hear Jesus asking us the question who do you say I am and we have the courage to explore an answer and be open to the mystery beyond ourselves we will discover the road less traveled but it will be a road of remarkable discoveries and awakened awareness.

Faith is often confused with religious practice. So often in our faith journey we seek happiness and comfort which is right and good. But we have happiness and comfort confused. We seek it for ourselves – we don’t want to be burdened by anything, we don’t want to be challenged by the world around us, we don’t want to be reminded of the suffering of others – we want to be consoled by our observance to our religious practice and rituals and we want our lives to run as smoothly as possible. All we want is a happy and comfortable life regardless of how it might impact on others. This happiness and comfort comes at a cost to others and to ourselves and it is not right and it is not good.

If we are looking at Jesus and we are beginning to know who Jesus is for us then we will know that this happiness and comfort are related to our faithfulness to loving. Jesus would have hardly felt happy and comfortable on the cross but within his soul he would have experienced comfort and happiness (or in other words peace) and this would have come through his faithfulness to love.

As human beings we constantly fail in our mission to love. The great tragedy though is when we just walk away and abandon our journey to get to know Jesus because it feels just too difficult. This is why faith and perseverance go hand in hand. Any person of faith will also be a person of perseverance over and over and over again. Too often our faith is too shallow because it hasn’t been nurtured with the knowledge of who Jesus is for us.

We see this perseverance present in our psalmist today I love the Lord for he has heard the cry of my appeal………I was helpless so he saved me………He has kept my soul from death my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

The problem for us is that we do not like feeling helpless or dependent – we fight against it – we fight against the very essence of what will give us life. But the person of faith who knows who Jesus is for them will grow in happiness and comfort as they discover more deeply their dependence and helplessness. How strange this can sound for us but our faith calls us to believe its profound truth.

Today’s readings are a great source of hope for us. We all long for this communion with God. But along the way we can feel like failures, we can feel pathetic, we can feel like everything is beyond our reach, we can feel totally helpless and lost. It is at these times when our perseverance is critical. It is at these times when our faith is truly tested. It is at these times when we need to open our hearts to hear Jesus say to us: If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take us his cross and follow me…

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

Weekly Reflection: Twenty First Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-08-28T20:37:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: Deut 4:1-2.6-8
Psalm: Ps 14:2-5 R v 1
2nd Reading: James 1:17-18.21-22.27
Gospel: Mark7:1-8.14-15.21-23

Our readings today present us with a great challenge both as individuals and as church.

Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love God with our whole heart, our whole mind and our whole soul and to love our neighbour as ourselves. These two great commandments of our God are a concise summary of the Ten Commandments.

But how many of us honours God with lip-service by partaking in all the various rituals expected of us and yet at the same time our hearts are far from God? Our God tells us today that this worship being offered is worthless.

We must be very careful in our understanding of this text. Many of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time were hypocritical and Jesus’ mission in this life was to open their eyes and hearts. The leaders had created a system that gave them great power – they dictated who was “in” and who was “out” – their human regulations were oppressive and alienating for so many of their community. They followed with rigid fervor the personal and communal purity laws that they believed kept them ritually clean but at the same time the two greatest commandments of our God had been largely lost.

Our liturgical worship and some of the empowering rituals we embrace are very important for our faith journey. They speak to our hearts and nourish us on the journey. But a problem occurs when we do not see beyond the rituals – when we think the rituals are all that is required of us. Jesus is speaking very loudly to those of us that hold this attitude today.

Our sacramental practices over the past decades have fostered this false attitude in many ways and now we are seeing a church that bewilderingly ponders why young people and young families are visibly absent from our communities. Parents ring parishes up to get their children “done” with regard to baptism and then are never to be seen again in the community until they ring up again requesting to get their children “done” with regard to first Eucharist and Confirmation. Or children have received the sacraments of initiation through the school communities with little and sometimes no connection to the parish community and little or no connection to the family. What is it that we are initiating these children into? Aren’t we just acting out the ritual and removing its heart and soul when we do this? Isn’t this the hypocrisy Jesus is naming today? What message is church leadership giving when it fosters such attitudes?

We make a mockery of our sacraments of initiation when we allow such practices to continue. But these practices are imbedded into our psyche in lots of ways and it will take people who are courageous and faithful to create a change of heart and attitude and this journey will not be without its difficulties. Church Leadership and people who maintain this attitude of getting “done” need to be gently encouraged to see that getting “done” is “worthless” unless we have an understanding that we are being initiated into something extraordinarily wonderful.

How many of us believe that we are initiated into something extraordinarily wonderful? Until we can embrace this belief in our own hearts how can we inspire others? How can priests, teachers, parents, friends etc inspire those around them if they do not believe it themselves and are not passionate about their belief – it is almost impossible? How can a music teacher teach and inspire a child (or anyone) to learn an instrument and be inspired by music if they have no understanding of it and cannot play a note themselves and ultimately just don’t really care? It is the music of faith that is so deeply attractive and the challenge for the church is to bring this passion within us to life and the only real way we can do this is to live and breathe our belief and let it come to life within us so that it can come to life in others.

Why is it that so many in our congregations don’t understand this? We just don’t seem to get it. We follow the rituals while we exclude love of God and love of neighbour. What has happened in our church to create generations that just do not understand who we are and who we are called to be? But church leadership must be gentle with people, we cannot bully people - it simply doesn’t work. Our lived example will be the greatest way people will come to understand and this is the responsibility of every baptized person.

If we are honest we will recognize the “hypocrite” in our own hearts. But just as the person learning a musical instrument keeps coming back to the teacher and the instrument so as to grow and develop in their understanding and passion, so must we keep coming back to our hearts and to Jesus. If we do not do this then we will remain hypocrites and there will be little that is attractive about us.

Our baptism calls us to consciously love God and love our neighbour. As we ponder our own faith journey over the coming days and our responsibility in the journey, we might take some time to ponder the following three questions that I came across recently. They may challenge us to recognize the hypocrite within but they may also challenge us to keep coming back to the source of our very life so that we can continue to grow in faith, love and understanding. Just as an accomplished musician can inspire others through years of practice and teaching, so too our lives may inspire those around us after years of engaging our hearts and constantly coming to Jesus knowing and believing we are loved and part of something extraordinarily wonderful.

1. What have I done for Jesus?
2. What am I doing for Jesus?
3. What am I being called to do for Jesus?

Weekly Reflection: 20th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-08-20T20:17:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm: Ps 33:33:2-3.10-15. R. 9
2nd Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20
Gospel: John 6:51-58

Today’s readings are very beautiful and if we allow ourselves to read deeply enough into them then we will know that they challenge us to be alert.

Our First Reading calls the ignorant and tells us to leave our folly and walk in the ways of perception. For us to do this we need to be alert – we need to respond to the call. Wisdom is always perceptive. Wisdom looks at the overall picture and wisdom always has the wellbeing of everyone at its heart. Wisdom perceives evil with daring acuteness.

Selfishness and greed on the other hand kills perception. Our consumerist mentality looks out for the well being of ones self regardless of how that might impact upon others. So for us to embrace the consumerist mentality we allow our gift of perceptiveness to be deadened. Then our lives do become folly because we are burying the very thing that can give us life and also give others life.

In our Psalm we are invited to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. How do we do this if all we are concerned about is what I want and what I need? In a TV documentary recently it was saying that young people today become bored very quickly. They want everything yesterday. They hunger for the latest technologies. They are enormous consumers. It is built on an attitude of me, myself and I.

What sense does the world make to our young when the very role models put before them have little perception of what is happening themselves? What sense can be made of a country whose residents largely support government polices that are so abusive of human rights – so forgetting of the well being of others who have been brutalized in other countries and we say to them go elsewhere – so obsessed with the economy above the well being of its citizens – so seized by fear that we allow the creation of laws that go against our democratic principles – so consumed with our own selves that we allow racism and suspicion to breed all sorts of contempt in our hearts. When we stand behind any government that behaves in such a way then we have lost our perception and our ability to taste and see the goodness around us. It is life destroying for us to bury our heads and focus on ourselves. Until we can pull our heads out of the sand we will not taste and see the goodness of the Lord. What are we really doing to our young and future generations?

Our Second Reading says: This may be a wicked age, but your lives should redeem it. What an extraordinary reminder this is of our responsibility. We have the power to redeem this age. Can we believe such a statement? But how do we do it?

Our Gospel gives us the answer. It is the Body and Blood of Jesus that will do this within us. But one wonders if there is some sense of “magic” that we can wrongly associate with the Eucharist thinking all we need do is take in the Body and Blood and all will be well. But to receive the Eucharist is to clothe ourselves in the Body of Christ – it is to become the Body of Christ – it is to be the Body of Christ. We need to ask ourselves if we simply TAKE the Eucharist or do we RECEIVE the Eucharist into the depths of our hearts. For the Body and Blood to be real for us we must RECEIVE it and PERCEIVE it in an active and knowing way. We must put on Christ. When we can do this the world will be redeemed.

This extraordinary gift we have in the Eucharist must be perceived for what it is. There is not greater gift in our world. Do we believe this?

I was exposed to a strange phenomenon recently. The statue of Fatima “toured” our Diocese last week. People from all walks of life flocked to this “statue”. People came in wheel chairs, the old and frail, the young. Many wept as the statue left their parish. Hundreds of people flocked to see this “statue”. They cued to venerate the “statue” for long periods of time. The experience was bewildering and I found it difficult to understand how a “statue” could generate such passion. I found myself thinking if only we could become as passionate about the extraordinary gift of the Eucharist. What is it in us that can become so fired up over a “statue”? I don’t understand it. Was it really an expression of faith that was being witnessed?

Until we understand the extraordinary gift of the Eucharist then we will continue to fill our lives with all sorts of diversions and distractions that go counter to what Jesus longs for us to receive.

Let us pray in the coming week that our hearts will be open to Jesus’ great gift to us and that we will come to see that the world in which we live is longing for redemption and all of us together have the power to do it if we have the courage to allow ourselves to become clothed in Christ.

Weekly Reflection: 19th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-08-12T19:12:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: 1Kings 19:4-8
Psalm: Ps 33:2-9 R v. 9
2nd Reading: Ephesians 4:30-5:2
Gospel: John 6:41-51

Who is Jesus? We can come up with all the “correct” answers such as: Jesus is the God of Love, Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus is our Way, Jesus is our Truth and Jesus is our Life etc. This is all very well but Who is Jesus for you and for me - Who is Jesus for our world?

Our first reading tells us to: Get up and eat
Our second reading tells us: Follow Christ by loving as he loved you
The response to our psalm tells us to: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord
Our gospel today has Jesus saying: I am the bread of life

Surely we cannot answer the question of who is Jesus until we know Jesus. We need to get up from our sleep, from our lethargy and get to know Jesus through the Word through prayer and through all that we see happening around us and within us. For any relationship to grow we need to spend time with the person to get to know them. How many times in our lives have we met someone for the first time and we have made a negative judgment about that person only to discover that once we allow ourselves to really get to know them our opinion changes. This is a common experience.

Many people make a judgment about Jesus by their negative experiences of people who claim to know Jesus - the opinions, actions and behaviours of these people can present something very unattractive and very off putting for the onlookers and rightly so. And of course many of these onlookers think if that is what it is to believe in Jesus then, no thanks.

But the challenge for us today is to come and encounter Jesus personally. Come to know Jesus through the Word, through Prayer and through the Eucharist – taste and see the goodness of Jesus through the experience of your own heart. When we can do this then we will be able to begin to answer this profound question of Who is Jesus – we will begin to see Jesus’ presence in those around us and we will begin to recognize what is and isn’t of Jesus. If our eyes and hearts are opened there is much goodness to see and taste.

This personal relationship with Jesus is filled with mystery. We cannot attempt to predict where it may lead us. We will need to let go of our control on our lives and be open to the inspiration of the Spirit in our hearts. This relationship will take us on a journey of discovery that sometimes will be fearful and confronting, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes exhausting and exasperating, but it will always be filled with Love.

There is something profoundly mysterious present when watching people discover this relationship with Jesus. We see it with children preparing for the sacraments, their excitement, their innocence, their openness, their freedom of expression – if only we could harness this for the entire journey of life!

But we are deeply influenced by those around us. A number of parents could relate to their children coming to the awareness that it is not “cool” to be seen holding your mother or fathers hand in public or showing any other sign of affection publicly. Often as parents we laugh it off but in reality it is a tragic moment for us. It is the beginning of allowing others to dictate how we will behave. The children may still want to hold their parents hand but they give into peer pressure so as to avoid being humiliated. And as parents more often than not we also just accept this sad transition with very little resistance – we say: Oh well, that’s life while within our hearts there is a deep sadness.

I suspect our faith has become somewhat similar to the above in that we are influenced by those around us. Our individualistic culture sees little point in religious practice. Besides youth it is young families that are largely absent from the Sunday Eucharist. The excuse given is the busyness of our lives but is this really the reason? Individualism is in total contrast to Christianity. To believe in Jesus is to be in communion with those around you and to be in communion with Jesus/God. Christianity calls us to community – it calls us to love our neighbour – it calls us to love our God.

We have a world whose heart is aching. There is an epidemic of loneliness. There is an epidemic of fear. There is an epidemic of despair. We hunger for what Jesus is offering us today but we do not know what to do. So we just keep going with the flow and now everything seems to be spiraling out of control. We feel powerless to stop it. But we are not powerless to stop it. If we could only discover the power within us, if we could only discover what Jesus if offering us. But we keep turning our backs on what we hunger for most, just as the child stops holding the parents hand but deep down doesn’t want to.

Our belief in Jesus is critically important for our world. If people can see Christianity authentically being lived then there is nothing more contagious or powerful in our world. People will then find the courage to break the cycle that shatters their hearts and they will turn their backs on what disengages their hearts.

Jesus says to us today that he is the bread of life – he is the food we need for this journey. If we take the time to discover who Jesus is then we will have discovered this truth and our belief in Jesus will give us the courage to listen to our hearts and reject all that separates us from our deepest hunger and desire.

Let’s pray in the coming week for the DESIRE to know Jesus and what the Spirit is offering us.

Weekly Reflection: Transfiguration of the Lord, Year B

2006-08-01T19:23:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: Daniel 7:9-10.13-14
Psalm: Ps 96:1-2.5-6.9.R. vv.1.9.
2nd Reading: Peter 1:16-19
Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

Peter, James and John respond to Jesus’ invitation to take off to that place of prayer (the high mountain) so that they could be alone. But something remarkable happened on this mountain – they saw Jesus in a way they had never seen him before, in a way that was mysterious and covered in cloud and shadow. What they saw frightened them and left them not knowing what to say. This experience at this time was something they didn’t understand but they knew it was something beyond human experience.

They saw the person of Jesus intimately connected with the Law and the prophetic tradition through the presence of Elijah and Moses. But then it was only Jesus who was present - Jesus was the fulfillment of all that had gone before them. But they still didn’t understand what they had experienced.

As I write this today it is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius believed totally in daily self reflection in the company of the Trinity. Daily reflection on the life lived and experienced was a non negotiable for Ignatius and his followers. He saw it as critically important in the faith journey.

When we look at our Gospel today we can understand why daily reflection is so important. These three disciples (and the rest of them) didn’t get who Jesus was until well after his death. They didn’t understand what had happened at the transfiguration. They didn’t understand what was happening as they witnessed Jesus’ life. They didn’t understand what was happening at the crucifixion. But they kept pondering their experiences over and over - if they didn’t we simply wouldn’t have the New Testament.

So what do we learn from this?

Every human life is filled with experiences from when we get up until we go to sleep and even in our sleep we experience our dreams. What do we do with these experiences?

Mostly we ignore them and then we forget them. Even the profound moments that come into our lives, we can shut the depth of their meaning out. We might have gone through a depression – do we take the time to ponder the meaning of this depression in my life or do I just think: thank God that is over and then fill our lives with all sorts of other distractions and then wonder why down the track I fall into another bout of depression?

I might have experienced walking with a loved one who has been sick and has died. Do I sit back and reflect upon the experience or is it too difficult to re enter this painful period, so we try and shut it out hoping it will go away.

I might have experienced a deep hurt. Do I ponder the experience considering my own reactions and responses to the hurt or do I totally throw blame on those who hurt me without any self reflection? So I become the victim in life and I go from one lot of blaming to the next without any examination of my own heart.

I might have deeply hurt someone myself. Do I take the time reflect upon my behaviour (even if it is down the track from the experience) so as to be confronted with what I have done. Or do I just keep running away from this self disclosure because it s too painful?

There are numerous life experiences that we all have. Many of these experiences are profoundly mysterious. Sadly many of them become buried and we lose the richness these experiences can offer us. Not only this but we now have multi million dollar industries offering all sorts of therapies etc to help people cope with the results of their non reflective lives.

Someone once said that a non reflective life is a life not worth living. It might be more accurate to say that a non reflective life is a life not lived – it is life rejected.

Jesus invites each of us to this holy mountain today. It might be shrouded in mystery – we may not have much of an idea who Jesus is yet – we may be confused by the experiences of life and feel lost – but Jesus says to us today to come with him. To trust him. To have faith in him. To keep thinking about our experiences but to do this with Jesus at our sides.

When we have the courage to come to the mountain with Jesus then we too may see something beyond our imagining. When we truly see Jesus transfigured (see Jesus as he truly is) then the life that Jesus offers us will begin.

A large part of the problem is that we really don’t see who Jesus is. Jesus can become our own creation – a feel safe, feel good guy that we call upon when it suits us, and we try and mould Jesus to be what we want him to be. If we truly believed in Jesus we too would not know what to say, we would be frightened, but we would hear God saying to us: Listen to him. And even in all our blindness and ignorance all we would truly want would be to Listen to Jesus – we would hunger for Jesus – not the Jesus of our own making, but the Jesus who stands before us as mystery. Can we accept such a mystery?

We, the Body of Christ must also be transformed just as Jesus was transformed – but this cannot happen until we come to this mountain in all humility. Then the horrors our world is currently experiencing may begin to fade and the light will truly shine in the darkness.

In the coming week let us pray for the desire and will to come to the mountain that Jesus invites us too so that we may encounter the true mystery before us and then ponder for a life time its meaning for ourselves and the whole of creation.

Weekly Reflection: Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-07-24T13:00:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

1st Reading: Kings 4:42-44
Psalm: Ps 144:10-11.15-18, R v 16
2nd Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6
Gospel: John 6:1-15

In our readings today we are called to trust our God – to trust unreservedly. How difficult this can be for us. We allow our fears of failure, our fear of making a mistake, our fear of how we might be perceived by others, our fear ridicule, and our fear of looking like an idiot etc to dominate our lives. This fear can retard the possibility of so much good.

In our gospel the disciples must have felt a great awkwardness as Jesus entertained the thought of feeding so many people with what seemed virtually nothing. They must have wanted to say to him: are you blind, can’t you see that what you are planning is simply not possible? But however they may have felt they stayed with Jesus in a situation that logically seemed impossible. How must the disciples felt and what would they have thought as they were picking up the baskets of bread left over?

We can reject so much in our lives because of fear. If we look at our lives and see where perhaps we have embraced the fear we may have felt and then see how much growth and good came from this decision to move beyond the fear then surely we too will be amazed. But we must take that initial step to move beyond our fears.

How many times have we had an idea or thought and rejected it because it seemed like it was impossible. We can think of people like Pope John XXIII who had the courage and vision to implement the Second Vatican Council in the face of great opposition and surprise. He saw the need for reform and he trusted God.

We think of all the people who have stood up against the common opinion in order to be faithful to a truth. There have been many great theologians and political leaders who endured the wrath of church and state leadership when they dared to speak out and put forward a truth that was counter to popular belief.

So many of these people who took the risk and went beyond their fears broke open a deeper truth that enlightened our human hearts. Their courage fed the hearts of the multitudes beyond imagining. All the great reforms in our human history were brought about by people who never gave into their fears and took risks regardless of how this risk would impact on them personally.

Jesus invites all who believe in him to work with him and feed the hearts and souls of those around us. When we are faithful to love and all that love entails then what seems impossible will become possible – what seems like scarcity will become abundance. But we must trust our God. We make a mistake though if we look for this abundance in our life time. Many of the great reformers in human history went through enormous horrors and suffering and even death (look at Jesus and many others) before the abundance was known. The challenge for us is to keep loving – to keep trusting.

There are many who fear for the future of the church at this point in our history. Many are walking away from what they call a sinking ship. These people are not looking at Jesus. They do not believe that out of this scarcity will come abundance. One of the greatest mistakes the church leadership has made over the centuries was to become entirely clerical in its authority – the people of God were merely onlookers – onlookers upon what they were not – holy. It is a shameful system and a system which is in the midst of breaking down – and break down it must if new life is to emerge within the Church.

We stress about the lack of clerical vocations. We stress about the drop off of numbers at Sunday Eucharist. We run the few remaining priests we have into the ground by placing greater demands on them in all sorts of areas. We try and import priests from cultures that are totally different to our own. We amalgamate parishes to keep accommodating the clerical system and it goes on. Our focus is being kept on a clerical system that is dying in its present form – we are not seeing the reality before us. We are a bit like Philip when he asks “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat? Or we are a bit like Andrew when he says: “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?” We are acting out these questions: There isn’t anywhere to buy bread and what we have isn’t enough anyway. We are not looking at Jesus – we are not trusting Jesus. We are locked into our closed world and our own limitations with rigid arrogance.

What we must do is let go of the power, let go of the fear – we must begin to trust the Spirit that is leading us and then perhaps we will learn to be amazed instead of being driven to despair by our own blindness. Can we dare to imagine that something else may be possible and do we dare to trust (as John XXIII did and a multitude of others) the Spirit to lead us into the abundance and surprise that awaits all of us?

Weekly Reflection: Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-07-23T12:37:00.000+09:30

Reading References

1st Reading: Jeremiah 231-6
Psalm: Ps 22 R v 2
2nd Reading: Ephesians 2:13-18
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34

Today’s readings are filled with promise – a promise that will be fulfilled if we keep our eyes on Jesus and our hearts open to Jesus. We are promised that Jesus will always shepherd us. We are promised that through the cross peace will be restored.

Our gospel shows the energy present in the disciples as they had gone out and preached what Jesus was teaching them. But Jesus knew this energy needed to be nurtured – he knew that he was the one to nurture them and makes it very clear that they needed time to reflect upon what had happened to them and those around them on this journey of mission. This journey of mission brought them back to Jesus.

But in the midst of all this we see the attraction that this small group of people had mustered. People “hurried” to follow them. There is a sense of desperation present on the part of the people – they do not want to lose this opportunity and they drop everything to get a glimpse of the mystery before them.

Jesus also senses this and even though he had planned to spend time with his disciples he responds with great compassion to the crowd. He sees their desperation – he sees that they are lost – re recognizes they have no one to lead them to what their hearts are longing for.

How do we read all this today?

The disciples believed in Jesus even though they continually failed and didn’t yet understand what was before them. It was their belief that kept bringing them back to Jesus. Where is this belief present in our world today? Our world needs desperately people who believe in Jesus – every Christian person is called to be a disciple of Christ.

Yet we have world leaders that proclaim a belief in Jesus while at the same time they are the ones who continue to crucify love – they are crucifying Jesus over and over again in the name of seeking democracy and peace. We have a world that has over one billion people proclaiming to be believe in Jesus and yet this collective voice is deafeningly silent in the name of love.

Where are the shepherds today?

Even the church leadership while it has pockets of people in leadership that dare to speak out about the atrocities our world currently faces, there are many who remain silent. This silence is a total abdication of the shepherding role our church and political leaders are called to give. It is nothing short of shameful.

But the shamefulness of it cannot end there. Every person who proclaims a belief in Jesus has a responsibility to name evil for what it is and to do all in their lives to act against it. This call to discipleship will leave us at times with an enormous sense of powerlessness and helplessness but none the less we must keep on loving. It is these people who can truly love in their lives that will shepherd us.

It was this loving that was so deeply attractive to those who truly followed Jesus and it is this loving that brings hope to our world today – but it is the responsibility of every person who proclaims a belief in Jesus.

In a world that has become so subjective and dependent on self reliance this call can seem impossible. And of course it is impossible if we do not keep our focus on Jesus. This is why the world needs people who truly believe in Jesus because they will help us see what is truly possible when we do believe - they are our shepherds along with Jesus.

When we become so consumed with ourselves we will almost certainly lose sight of the vision Jesus lived and showed us. When ever we lose the vision we can be assured we are in deep trouble. This lost vision is present in all parts of our world including the church.

We all must reclaim this vision. The longer we sit on our hands and silence our hearts we will continue to spiral out of control – and we will continue to be bewildered by a world that seems to have gone mad.

Let us pray in the coming week that we will have the courage to “hurry” to see Jesus so that the shepherds will be more visible in our world and our hearts then will open the hearts of the world to see what it is to live out our belief in Jesus.

Weekly Reflection: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-07-16T19:16:00.000+09:30

Reading References

1st Reading: Amos 7:12-15
Psalm: Ps 84:9-14. R. v. 8
2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Who really wants to hear the word of God? How many among us already think we know what God is saying and shut our minds and hearts to God’s word? Are we like Amaziah in our first reading who just wants Amos to go back where he came from and is closed to hearing the word?

God speaks to us in our every day lives through various events but particularly through others. Too often we think if we follow formulas and laws (such as Amaziah) then that is what God is asking of us. When we do this we become static and faith in Jesus is anything but static.

We can follow all the right formulas and laws and at the same time behave appallingly towards each other and we often don’t seem to make the connection.

And yet in spite of our broken behaviour and our blindness our God continues to love us and to have mercy on us – God “chose us in Christ” and continues choosing us every moment of every day. Isn’t this truly extraordinary?

Jesus is our key. It is Jesus who sends us out to each other. It is Jesus who calls us to mission. It is Jesus in whom we must trust. It is Jesus who is our prayer.

In our Gospel today we hear those universally known words: “shake the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.” I suspect that this statement is somewhat misunderstood in our modern world. Love that is real and true will never force itself upon another, but at the same time it will never stop loving. But in today’s world we can twist it to mean things such as the following: if a relationship breaks down such as a marriage or a friendship or a working relationship etc then we often hear the words said: I wiped the dust off my feet. But at the same time our behaviour and attitudes are filled with bitterness and often revenge and a whole cycle of hurt and resentment is kept alive.

Sometimes there are circumstances in relationships where it is important to walk away for many reasons. But so often when we do walk away we walk away with bitterness in our hearts and we act out that bitterness. We set out to hurt the other person/s by whatever means possible. We want to hurt them because they have hurt us. We can engage in the most dreadful behaviour because we are consumed with revenge and retaliation.

But this is not what this phrase is saying to us today. It is saying to walk away when it is necessary but to keep loving. To not let our hearts be poisoned by what has happened. Now anyone who has been very hurt or rejected will know just how difficult this can be, but this is what is being asked of us today. It is saying do not let any of the contamination of the breakdown of the relationship stay with you – leave it all behind. But the pain can be so intense and it is here where we must turn to Jesus because we simply cannot do it on our own.

The world in which we live gives great evidence to this. A world that is consumed with the self and its own self importance and self reliance. We so openly accept the attitude of revenge “get even” and it breeds further contempt and now we see it all around us. This surely alerts us to a world that has lost its way. It has stopped listening to the prophets in its midst and it certainly isn’t listening to Jesus.

Who of us has the courage to break this destructive cycle? We must begin with our own hearts and we must turn to Jesus. With many of us there will be a great struggle but if we truly listen to our hearts we will be carried through it. We may think all sorts of negative thoughts but if we let Jesus walk with us we will not act upon these negative thoughts and feelings. It is not the thoughts that do the damage it is the acting upon them that creates havoc.

It is these people who have learned to listen to their hearts that are the prophets in our midst. Do we want to hear them? Do we really want to listen to Jesus?

This is the healing Jesus invites us to be part of today. Jesus makes it very clear that we will have to trust him and that we will have to let go of all that we have relied on or held onto in the past. We are entering into mysterious territory that goes way beyond our own knowledge or understanding – this is the place where all we can do is trust in Jesus. But to trust him we must let our hearts know him and listen to him – do we want such a journey?

In the coming week let us pray for the grace to truly believe in Jesus and all that is being offered to us today.

Weekly Reflection: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-07-05T09:57:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

First Reading: Ezekiel 2:2-5
Psalm: Ps 122. R. v. 2
Second Reading: 2Cor.12:7-10
Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

In last weeks gospel we saw the faith of two people (the synagogue official and the woman with the hemorrhage) and how this faith brought them to life in one form or another.

This week we see God sending Ezekiel to tell the rebelling Israelites, the chosen people whom God has a Covenant relationship with, that there is a prophet amongst them.

The Psalmist (and the community) cries out for mercy as they keep their gaze fixed on God.

Paul finds the strength of God within his own “weakness” after hearing God’s words: “My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness” and then Paul’s prayer became “For it is when I am weak that I am strong.”

Then Jesus in his home town is rejected. Those in the synagogue were astonished by his teaching and the wisdom granted him and the miracles that were worked through him, but they would not accept him because he was too familiar to them. Then we hear that Jesus “was amazed at their lack of faith.”

What does all this say to us today?

Paul will help us answer this question. Who amongst us wants to feel weak, afraid, insulted, confused, persecuted etc? The right assumption would be: very, very few of us. So we spend a lot of our lives trying to ensure that this doesn’t happen. We don’t rock the boat with our thoughts because we don’t want to be rejected... We go against what we hear our heart saying so as to protect ourselves from ridicule. We tow the party line so as to feel safe. We spend much of our lives and we put a lot of time and energy into playing it safe. We do this to keep our own egos intact and well inflated.

Perhaps it is not until our egos take a bit of a hammering that we might understand what Paul is saying to us. Paul was persecuting the Christians with a passion. He wanted them destroyed. But he kept being confronted with the beauty and courage of these Christian people until he could no longer resist what his heart was saying to him. He then had the courage to LOOK AT JESUS and he had a powerful conversion experience.

This turned everything he believed upside down. His ego would have been shattered. He was then treated with suspicion by the Christian community that he had been so openly persecuting. He would have been rejected by the Pharisees of which he was one prior to this profound experience. The only person that could sustain him through this suffering was Jesus. It was here that he learned to trust Jesus and let go of his own ego.

So often when we hit a crisis in our lives, when we are struck by our own weaknesses or our own powerlessness we can be taken to new depths of faith if we have the courage to allow ourselves to be taken into this mysterious journey.

But for those in our Gospel today who rejected Jesus, they could not dare this journey. They couldn’t dare face the implications of what it meant to have “God” in their midst. This would have demanded all sorts of changes that they refused to face.

We must ask ourselves if we see and recognize Jesus in our midst. When we do recognize Jesus, our lives will change – they must change. If they do not change then we can be assured that we have not recognized Jesus in our midst – we have probably recognized something that has done little more than boost our own egos even further. We are not talking about feeling good about ourselves – this purely individualistic relationship between me and God. Many who think they have experienced Jesus speak of the “feeling” of being loved by Jesus and “feeling” so happy, and “feeling” so alive in a “me and God” sense... But unless these “feelings” have brought us to a deeper faith and a deeper communion with Jesus and with humanity and a diminishing of our own egos, then we have in all likelihood miss read the experience.

Many of the Pentecostal churches today preach what a good thing it is to acquire personal wealth - Jesus wants us to be comfortable – Jesus wants us to achieve – Jesus wants us to be happy – Jesus wants us to ambitious etc. How do we preach this Jesus to the multitudes who are dying of starvation in our world? How do we preach this Jesus to the millions who are held in refugee camps and have been there for years? How do we preach this Jesus to those living with poverty and who are oppressed by the wealthy and comfortable? How do we preach this Jesus to our indigenous communities world wide that battle with oppression and racism and all its ugly offshoots? If we believe in a theology that puts one persons well being above that of another then we too have rejected Jesus.

In the coming week we need to examine our lives to see where “we play it safe” – where we put our energies into protecting our egos – where we perhaps reject Jesus. Let us pray that when we do meet Jesus and our own blindness is revealed to us, that we will have the courage of Paul and be able to pray along with him “For it is when I am weak that I am strong.”

Weekly Reflection: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-06-28T10:14:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

First Reading: Wis. 1:13-15,2:23-24
Psalm: Ps 29:2.4-6.11-13. R.v. 2
Second Reading: 2 Cor. 8:7,9,13-15;
Gospel: Mark 5:21-43

Up to this point in Mark’s Gospel we have seen a series of parables, miracle stories and various teachings of Jesus and back in Chapter 3 we see the Pharisees and Herodians already conspiring to destroy him. He has turned their self righteousness on it head and exposed its meaninglessness.

But today we see the “synagogue official” asking Jesus to “lay your hands on her” because she was very sick – his daughter was at the point of dying and Jairus was going to pull out all stops to try and save her – he would try anything.

The woman with the hemorrhage however wouldn’t dare touch him because the nature of her illness made her ritually unclean, but she believed “If I can touch even his clothes” that she would be well again. This woman’s life had been almost destroyed – she was alienated from her community, she had endured incredible suffering and had spent all she had in an attempt to be “well again.” It was clear that all she wanted was life – nothing else mattered.

As an aside for a moment it is a source of great curiosity as to why in the Sunday Missal the story of the woman with a hemorrhage can be excluded to accommodate a shorter version of the reading. It is surely the intention of the author that these stories go together?

What this story indicates to us is our ultimate desire for life. Jairus would have known the contempt many in the synagogue had for Jesus but his desire for life for his child overrode all that. Likewise with the woman, all she wanted was life itself. But for both of them it was FAITH that was going to be the key.

Jairus would have been considered a leader and a leader of importance in his community. The woman with the hemorrhage was an outcast in that same community.

Both of these people came to Jesus wanting LIFE. But as we see with Jairus’ daughter, the life that Jesus offers goes beyond death.

This raises two questions for reflection:

· Do we believe that Jesus is the source of our life and if so how does our life reflect this belief?
· Who are we to exclude anyone from our communities?

Both people in our gospel today are at desperation point – their lives are in crisis – that fine line between life and death. Jesus tells Jairus “Do not be afraid; only have faith.” But the woman who had been shunned by her community already had faith.

Jesus is not interested in the games of who is “in” and who is “out” that we seem to put a lot of energy into playing. In itself it is a most sinful practice, but we all seem to do it in some form. We judge certain things to be sin that are not and we judge the sin of others to be somehow worse than our own. We are often so blind to our own sinfulness – so therefore how can we possibly judge the sins of others. None of us are worthy to come to Jesus (“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you”) and yet Jesus welcomes EVERY HUMAN BEING regardless of who they are – we must pray for the courage to do the same.

Do we really understand the LIFE that Jesus is offering each of us in today’s Gospel? It is a life that will be given us in faith. It is not a life that we will KNOW in this life we currently live but we will experience minute glimpses of it. Do we put all our faith and energies into this promised life or do we seek out something more certain in this life. Do we seek out our own comforts, our own ambitions, our own standing in the community, our own crucifying judgments, our own self righteousness, our own black and white laws that help us feel more certain in this life? -and the list goes on and on. If we have allowed the scriptures to truly touch our hearts then we will know the absolute futility of this way of being.

Both Jairus and the woman with the hemorrhage CAME TO JESUS – so must we. They experienced fear – so will we. We must be courageous enough to break through all our barriers and come to him. Hiding behind laws that alienate and hiding behind our own self importance have nothing to do with COMING TO JESUS. We come to Jesus through humble prayer. Yet this prayer of communion can be such a struggle for all of us - but it is really the only way we can come to know Jesus.

Let us pray for the courage in the coming week to break through our own barriers so that we can come to Jesus and hear him say to us “My daughter, your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint” OR “Do not be afraid; only have faith.”

No Weekly Reflection for Twelfth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B

2006-06-20T12:16:00.000+09:30

Reflections will resume next week for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Blessings,

Annemarie

Weekly Reflection: Trinity Sunday, Year B

2006-06-07T09:04:00.000+09:30

Reading References

First Reading: Deut. 4:32-34.39-40
Psalm: Ps 32:4-6.9.18-20.22. R. v. 12
Second Reading: Romans 8:14-17
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

The instruction from Jesus in today’s gospel is very clear: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations;……”

This very beautiful feast of the Trinity in the Church is most simply put as the communion of Love. This great mystery holds EVERYTHING in its embrace and draws everything to itself. As Paul says: we are the children of God therefore we are also the heirs of God. We are part of the Trinity.

When we look back over the history of the Church (and it is very important to do so in order to move forward) we can see that many aspects of this great mystery of the Trinity have been rejected or lost and it seems very evident that now we are dealing with the fall out of a hierarchical institution that over the centuries has become highly dysfunctional in many areas.

Some of the errors were confronted in Vatican 11 but we have a long way to go in a rapidly changing world. Perhaps the greatest gift of Vatican 11 was that the whole “people of God” were openly recognized in a way they had not been in the past. It was finally recognized that the “faithful” were not just bystanders we were active participants – we were part of this Trinitarian mystery.

Some have caught on to this liberating insight but others sadly haven’t. So we have a Church that is torn. We see increasing divisions, increasing frustration, increasing despair, increasing aggravation, increasing resistance etc right across the board from clergy to the faithful.

Difference will always be a part of the Church and necessarily so. But when that difference becomes divisive and when it generates ongoing hostility and contempt for each other or when people just walk away in disgust or bewilderment then we must all step back and take a good look at what is happening.

The days are gone when the “faithful” will be dictated to on mass as they could be in the past. Theological education is no longer the sole privilege of the clerical system and this has been liberating for many people and brought with it a whole new level of wisdom. The “faithful” are questioning the institution of the Church in a way they have never been able to do in the past – well not as openly as is possible in our time and still remaining part of the Church.

We live in exciting but uncertain times. Times of change. Times of questioning. Times of “hesitation”. Times of turmoil. Times of fear. Times of enormous creativity. Times of new frontiers. Times of new beginnings. But with all of this we must not forget that we also live in the time of the Spirit. Today’s feast reminds us that all of creation is being drawn into this communion of Love. However bad we might judge things to be, this is our ultimate belief and our ultimate reality. When we can truly believe this we will be able to endure the suffering knowing that the Spirit is at the heart of everything.

However hurtful we might find being part of the Church at the moment and for whatever reason, we must pray to never take our eyes off the Spirit knowing this Spirit is drawing us into the communion of Love. This is the key for all of us.

The hierarchical structure of the church which can be a source of enormous frustration and suffering for many and for many reasons, is only one very small part of the Church. The “people of God” are where we should begin when we associate ourselves with Church. This communion of Love drives us to care and support each other in our every day lives. Jesus says to ALL OF US today “make disciples of all the nations.” Surely we must begin at our own back door – our own family and friends, our neighbours, our work places and our wider world. If we cut ourselves off from Church because of one small part of it, then perhaps we need to re examine our understanding of Church.

Perhaps some reading this may think: Well that’s all very well to say but this “small part of the church” has total power and authority. When we think like this we underestimate the power of our own Loving. If the whole “people of God” embraced what is in our readings today, I ask you to consider: Where would the power and the authority be then?

To make disciples of all the nations we must live what we believe. We must be attractive – in other words we must LIVE LOVE. The greatest teacher is our lived example not bombarding people with empty words filled with self righteousness and condemnation. The example of our lives is what will “make disciples”. The whole Church (and this includes the hierarchy) must know this – we must live this.

Let’s pray in the coming week that this Trinitarian Communion of Love will turn our despair into hope, our frustrations into missionary energy and our fears into Loving so that the mystery of the Trinity will be revealed to the whole people of God.

Weekly Reflection: Pentecost Sunday, Year B

2006-05-31T09:23:00.000+09:30

Reading References

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11
Psalm: Ps 103:1.24.29-31.34. r. V. 30
Second Reading: Corinthians 12:3-7.12-13
Gospel: John 20:19-23

The response to our Psalm today proclaims: “Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

If we ponder the crucifix and watch Jesus so cruelly hanging on the cross and we recall the story that brought him to that hideous execution, what do we think?

Perhaps we wonder how the people around him were so stupid not to recognize who he was.
Perhaps we wonder how people could have let this happen.
Perhaps we judge harshly the actions of the executors and those who called for the execution.
Perhaps we look at the crucifixion and just don’t understand it and walk away.
Perhaps you wonder what you would have done had you been there.
Perhaps we wonder why Jesus allowed the situation to come to this.
Perhaps we blame Jesus for putting himself in this situation.
Perhaps we wonder what it might have been like to be there watching Jesus die etc etc.

If we wonder what it might have been like to be there watching Jesus die then we only have to look at parts of our world and our own country today and watch the crucifixions that are happening all around us and ask ourselves what do we think as we see love being crucified all around us.

What do you think as one country invades another killing thousands of its civilian population all in the name of a lie that was then diverted to bringing democracy to that country?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as our countries immigration policy now wants to process all boat arriving asylum seekers and refugees off shore even if they land in Australia causing further potential physical and mental suffering and even possible death through suicide for those seeking refuge?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think of our country Australia as we watch many of our Indigenous peoples so totally broken and cast out that in some areas we are seeing shocking examples of abuse of women and children, of substance abuse, of unemployment, of suicide, of high rates of incarceration, of sheer hopelessness and aimlessness?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as you read of the two recent mountain climbers climbing Mt. Everest – one thought to be dead and wasn’t and the other left to die as several others past him so that they could claim they had conquered the mountain – not one of them stayed with him or attempted to help him? Their own ambition took priority over the well being of another human being. [To read this story of the mountain climbers go here].

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as so many countries spend billions of dollars on defense while millions of people die of poverty related causes?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think of governments and corporations that put the economic well being of the country and their own pockets as a priority regardless of the impact it has upon its citizens and what do you think of those that just allow this to happen?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as you watch the earth being raped by us of its natural resources for economic gain – leaving a legacy of destruction for coming generations?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as you watch the apathy of the people around you and confront your own apathy?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as you give most of your time and energy to work so that you can give yourself and your family the material needs you think they want and need while spending less and less time with them?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

What do you think as you watch suicide rates increase, as you watch substance abuse increase, as you watch crime rates increase?

“Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”

Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the Church. We the Church then are “sent” to “renew the face of the earth” and in the words of the Gospel Acclamation “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful; and kindle in them the fire of your love.” Anything less than this is a distortion of what it is to be Church.

We cannot renew the face of the earth by locking ourselves in church buildings once a week and shutting ourselves off from the world chasing our own selfish needs and wants and what makes us FEEL good about ourselves. To be Church demands of us to ask the hard questions – not run away from them. It demands that we stop, we look at Jesus and we love with Jesus’ heart present in us, and from there we go out and we attempt to make a difference.

The mountain climbers in the article above in many ways reflect what our world is becoming – they justify what they did through economic rationalism and self centred ambition however implicit that rationalism may have been or how it impacted on the life or lives of those around them. The shocking focus on themselves above all else has many lessons to teach us. If we are truthful with our own hearts we will see part of them in ourselves – the circumstances may be different but the parallels are very evident. We must not let ourselves be fooled otherwise.

So how do we celebrate Pentecost? We celebrate Pentecost because we know God is merciful and all forgiving. But to truly celebrate Pentecost we must ask Jesus the God of Love in our prayer to kindle in our hearts the fire of love being offered to each of us today and everyday. When we can truly pray this prayer with real and truthful desire then we can be assured that the Spirit is resting gently upon us and guiding us to renew the face of the earth. It is here where our Pentecost journey begins.

Weekly Reflection: The Ascension of the Lord, Year B

2006-05-24T10:06:00.000+09:30

Reading References

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
Psalm: Ps 46:2-3.6-9. R. v. 6
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23
Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

In Ephesians, Paul prays that God will “give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge him….. and may he enlighten the eyes of your mind…...”

Too often we are tempted to explain this most profound mystery (and many other mysteries) called the Ascension. A belief in Jesus is born out of faith and sometimes we are tempted to give factual language to this faith and it simply cannot be done. The language may give us some revealed insight but it cannot give us a complete picture otherwise it would not be faith. Language is always extremely limited when it comes to faith.

This example may help you understand the dangers when we attempt to explain areas of faith. A couple of years ago a priest gave a homily on the Ascension. He said Jesus physically ascended upwards into the sky (implying the apostles could see it with their physical eye) just like a rocket ship goes to outer space from the earth. This attempt to explain the Ascension was an absolute insult to an intelligent mind and to our faith.

When we try to explain such an EVENT we get ourselves into all sorts of strife. What we need to do is to look for the revealed truth that lies underneath the so called EVENT. The revealed truth is that we know through faith that Jesus overcame death and his divinity was revealed – we know through faith that the life of Jesus lives within us today – we know through faith that Jesus reveals to us the God of Love, the God whom death has no power over.

The one thing in this life we can all be sure of is the certainty of our physical death. But our faith assures us that our life with Jesus will ultimately conquer death. So what we are being asked to believe – to see through the eyes of faith today, is that nothing in this life not even crucifixion can stop us from having life to its fullest with Jesus the God of Love if that is what we truly desire. It is this desire for life eternal that will drive us into the world “proclaiming the Good News to all creation.” It is this driving desire to be in communion with Love which will overcome our physical death.

Our gospel today says there are “signs that will be associated with believers”. What are these signs? The first one named in our Gospel is that in Jesus’ name “they will cast out devils.” This means that they will reject evil in their own lives and they will confront evil around them. These believers will hunger for the heart of Jesus to live within them and within others.

This does not mean that these “believers” are not capable of evil – every human being is. But it means that they are continually making the choice to Love. Just as Jesus confronted the evil around him so will those who truly believe in Jesus.

Another “sign” of a “believer” is that they will have the “gift of tongues.” At Pentecost which will be celebrated next week, we will hear that people of every nation were gathered and they heard and understood the apostles in their own language. I am not going to bye into the charismatic speaking in tongues phenomena other that to say that if what is being spoken is not understood by everyone then we must surely see its disconnection to the above experience of the apostles and the nations at Pentecost. What was at the heart of this mysterious Pentecost experience was that everyone understood.

This language that is universally understood is the language of Love and Truth. When we see Love lived it touches into the depths of our hearts and we stand before it in awe knowing it resonates deep within us – knowing there is a great mystery before us. This language of Love is the “gift of tongues.”

Another sign of a “believer” is that “they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison.” A “believer” – one who is consumed with Love and Truth, will confront their fears, and knowing Jesus is with them will be able to overcome their fears. It is not that fear and suffering will not be part of their lives, but the longing to be eternally with Jesus will drive them beyond their fears. Jesus experienced fear and sorrow and grief and anger but it never stopped him from Loving – it never stopped him wanting to be with his Father – it never stopped him living the truth in love. A “believer” will go beyond the fear even if it may mean death because in faith they know God will not desert them even if it feels as though God has.

The final sign of a “believer” in our Gospel today is “they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.” The greatest human sickness is our total reliance on our own ego – we can let it rule our lives. We become self absorbed and self obsessed. We become the centre of the universe and what I want is just about all that matters. We might have a few pangs of guilt here and there but our ego finds ways to justify our actions.

Just as Jesus’ life of truth and love touched deeply into the hearts of so many people so will the life of the one who believes in Jesus. People will be moved by their authenticity and their humility. There is nothing more powerful than to see the vision of Jesus lived and it can mirror for us what is in our hearts but often never knew it existed until we saw it lived in someone else. These “believers” will draw our attraction to Jesus and Jesus will then lead us beyond our ego centered lives.

Let us pray for the courage, the wisdom and perception to ask God to wound our hearts with the fire of Jesus’ Love so that our longing for Love will be revealed by the way in which we choose to live our lives so that others may come to know and see the Good News.

Weekly Reflection: Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B

2006-05-15T13:41:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

First Reading: Acts 10:25-26.34-35.44-48
Psalm: Ps 97:1-4. R. v. 2
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-10
Gospel: John 15: 9-17

Today’s readings powerfully affirm what is at the heart of Catholicism:

“God does not have favourites”
“Jewish believers ……were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too….”
“All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”
“Love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God”
“You did not choose me, no, I chose you and I commissioned you to go out….”
“What I command you is to love one another.”

I recently heard a wise catholic priest say to a number of people that his second favourite people were atheists. You could sense the somewhat confusing silence as people waited for an explanation. He went on to say that atheists have rejected, and rightfully rejected the image of God that has been presented to them. A false image that made no sense to them and so naturally they rejected it.

Let’s take a look at a few of the false images of God that we see operating around us and within us and some images that we may have grown up with, and while we listen to these images keep the phrases from our readings today that are listed above in your minds.

Growing up we were taught in our catholic schools that Catholics possessed the whole truth – if you weren’t Catholic you wouldn’t go to heaven. This was also common teaching in our parishes. “God does not have favourites”

Many of us grew up believing that priests and religious were “special” in God’s eyes – they were set apart – they were God’s “favourites”. They were called to be holy and the faithful were merely the onlookers. “God does not have favourites”

We go to war and proclaim God is on our side. We fight wars in God’s name. We kill in God’s name. We torture in God’s name. “What I command you is to love one another.”

We can treat other religions and faiths with suspicion and often consider that we have nothing to learn from their wisdom. We close our hearts and minds to the wisdom present all around us and we often do this in God’s name. “Love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God”

We can limit God to the ritual of liturgical practice and think that if we abide by these laws and practices that we are somehow right with God. We choose for our children to have the sacraments of initiation “done” and in the majority of cases we have no or little sense of our responsibility for the ongoing faith journey of our children and those around us. “You did not choose me, no, I chose you and I commissioned you to go out….”

We can exclude particular people from our faith communities in God’s name – we talk about welcoming, being inclusive, all being sinners, and yet we say to the homosexual person you cannot be a full member of this community. “Love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God”

We say to the married Anglican Priest who wishes to become a Catholic Priest – welcome. But we say to a Catholic Priest who wishes to marry you can no longer practice your ordained priesthood. “You did not choose me, no, I chose you and I commissioned you to go out….”

We say to the woman who feels deeply called to the priesthood – No. In God’s name the woman is told her call is not part of God’s will. But a man with the same deep call is received with open arms. “You did not choose me, no, I chose you and I commissioned you to go out….”

We go to Mass on Sunday to hear God’s word but we can resent it when the homily challenges us in some area of social justice that might conflict with the ideologies of my particular political party etc – for example the Australian governments shameful treatment and continued shameful treatment of refugees and asylum seekers coming into our country. Or we can just switch off thinking this has nothing to do with me. “What I command you is to love one another.”

The list could go on and on. But all of the above say something about our image of God. So what does that say about our own personal image of God? So often we tragically distort the image of God and of course it is not attractive and of course people turn away.

But Catholicism when it is lived is profoundly beautiful and awe inspiring – it is centered on Jesus and on Love. Some people think that those who are working for any number of these great humanitarian causes or are passionate and active in the social justice area that they are living their Catholicism even if they don’t go to Mass or have any connection with the Eucharistic community. Other people think that if they go to Mass each week and are faithful to all the rituals and practices required of them and believing that their faith is a private matter between them and God and having little to do with the wider community that they are living their Catholicism.

There is partial truth in both these attitudes but both are incomplete and somewhat distorted on their own. It’s a bit like living in a marriage where you never see or hear from your partner from one year to the next. It’s an absurd image and it will never be an example to anyone of what a good marriage might look like – it makes no sense and is not the least bit attractive.

Well like wise when we distort Catholicism and our image of God - if we only know or live half the truth and we have no interest in the other half it will be an image that makes little or no sense and it certainly won’t reveal the attractiveness of Catholicism.

Catholicism when it is lived hungers for the Eucharist and hungers for Love and hungers for the whole of creation to share this experience. For Catholicism to be attractive its fullness must be lived (however imperfectly), not just half of it.

In the coming week let’s ask Jesus for the grace to be open to the fullness of Catholicism and all its extraordinary beauty so that the belief we proclaim will become attractive and real for those around us. May we take deeply into our hearts those words of Jesus that Catholicism is built on “What I command you is to love one another.”

Weekly Reflection: Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

2006-05-09T18:59:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

First Reading: Acts 9:26-31
Psalm: Ps 21:26-28.30-32. R. v. 26
Second Reading: John 3:18-24
Gospel: John 15: 1-8

Yet another wonderfully challenging Gospel we are confronted with today. How we need to listen to this Gospel.

In our second reading John makes it very clear that love and truth go hand in hand. He also helps us understand that the love we are called to live is “real and active”. And he continues to tell us:

“His commandments are these: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he told us to.”

In our Gospel John makes it clear that only through Jesus (through Love) can we bear much fruit. Jesus tells us that he has already made his home in us and invites us to make our home in him. When we live this invitation then we will bear much fruit (Love will blossom in our world). But failing to live this invitation we will wither and die.

So how does this speak to us today?

One of the greatest problems facing our Church today is the absence of youth and young families. Why are we not attracting them? The answer to this question is complex.

I hear so many people ask the question “Why aren’t young people and families coming to Mass now when it is the heart of our faith?” Perhaps this is the wrong question to be asking. Perhaps we should be asking “Why are we no longer attractive to the next generations?”

The celebration of the Eucharist that means so much to the older generation simply does not have the same meaning for most of the younger generation. Why is this so? What have we lost?

Let’s explore a couple of possibilities. The early church grew and spread. It found ways to keep the story of Jesus alive and it found ways to live out Jesus’ vision (certainly not perfectly but it kept trying). This conscious attempt to live out the vision was so deeply attractive that people wanted to be part of it. The truth of it touched their hearts deeply and they wanted to belong. The fruit of the vine was plentiful.

But through this, the hierarchical structure developed. In many ways the faithful were left behind. The Church became the hierarchy. Rules and laws developed which somehow became the central focus of Catholicism for the majority of the faithful. Vatican 11 attempted to shatter this and named the Church as the whole people of God. But many of the faithful struggled with this and were left with the scars that are still with us in many ways.

The sacramental life of the Church has suffered greatly. In lots of ways we have privatized our religion. We celebrate baptism in private little family and friends groups – they should be celebrated with the whole community into which this child is being initiated. We largely celebrate Confirmation and First Eucharist through our school systems. We have separate celebrations away from the whole community to celebrate these sacraments of initiation because if we celebrate them during the Sunday Eucharist many in the parish communities won’t like it and there will be too many people. By far the majority of parents see these sacraments of initiation as something that needs to be “done” with little or no concept of what they are being initiated into. Many parishioners also fall into this category. The parish community is often absent from these initiation ceremonies. We must ask ourselves what sort of sense this makes – no sense at all.

Many in the parish communities foster this highly corrupted attitude. We don’t have baptisms during Sunday Eucharist because the community don’t like being kept for another five or ten minutes. We want a forty five minute Mass and anything above this is begrudged. Then if a parish is courageous enough to hold these sacraments of initiation within Sunday Eucharist many “regular parishioners” choose to go to another mass. What does this say about our understanding of who we are?

When we begrudge celebrating with the newly initiated there is something radically wrong.

If the fully initiated are not understanding who they are and what they are being invited into then how can we expect the newly initiated to understand? Is it any wonder people walk away? Is it any wonder we are not attractive? Is it any wonder people walk in and then walk out saying the Church is not relevant to me.

We have lost so much of our story – the story of Jesus – our story, and we need to reclaim it with vision, enthusiasm and Love. The beautiful proverb that says: “A people without a vision will surely perish” is something that we must listen to today. The most powerful attraction to Christianity is to see it lived and this is the responsibility of all of us. When we live it we will bear much fruit.

Our parish leadership needs to be courageous and re engage our story so that we become visible signs of God’s love in our world – so that we can become “the heart of God on earth”. We need to allow our attitudes to be challenged and we need to challenge each other so that we can “do the truth in love”. We must cease practices that make a mockery of the truth such as our practices and attitudes to our sacraments of initiation. We must learn to constantly question our practices through the eyes of truth and love.

I am reminded here of a recent experience. I was in our National Gallery and saw this abstract painting which I couldn’t make sense of and I was ready to walk away when one of the employees of the Gallery came to me and asked if I would like to know about the painting. He was obviously passionate about the painting and its story. I listened and his passion was contagious. I was simply astounded by the clarity of the painting once I knew the story of the artist and the meaning behind his painting. It was a profound experience. It not only gave me insight into something that seemed irrelevant initially, it also spoke very loudly to my own life experience and it spoke loudly to me of the world in which we live. It spoke to me even more loudly about the Church to which we belong. I shall never forget the experience.

If we don’t know the story of why we gather for Eucharist and we don’t understand what it really is inviting us into, then of course it will be irrelevant for those around us. It is like looking at the painting and walking away saying it makes no sense to me. We need people in our lives that will give life and meaning to the story of Jesus to the story of our faith – we cannot do it on our own. The Eucharist is a ritual that sends us out to love God and to love one another – Jesus is the food for our journey.

Let us pray in the coming week that we will allow our hearts to be nourished by Jesus and that we will become visible signs of Love for those around us so that the Eucharist will become a profound and life giving experience for us and the vine will bear much fruit. Let us pray for the courage to reclaim our story.

Weekly Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

2006-05-09T18:01:00.000+09:30

Reading References:

First Reading: Acts 4:8-12
Psalm: Ps117:1.8-9.21-23.26.28-29. R. v. 22
Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel: John 10:11-18

Our gospel today is profoundly beautiful and challenging for us.

Jesus tells us he is the “good shepherd” – the one who will “lay down his life” for us. Some may think the image of “shepherd” is some what outdated these days, and yet it captures so clearly and powerfully the great love, compassion and concern Jesus has for us.

Jesus talks about having to lead others who are not of this flock and that “they too will listen to my voice and there will only be one flock and one shepherd.” What an extraordinary Catholic statement this is. Too often we as Catholics are exclusive in our attitudes and thinking. We forget the universality of our Catholicism. We can narrow it down to the point that our universality becomes lost – we then become lost also.

Jesus’ vision was for the whole of humanity – we must not forget this. We can be fearful and often suspicious of other faiths. And yet we have so much to learn from each other that will enrich our understanding of who God is for all of us. Why would we be afraid of this?

Each of us is called to let the heart of Jesus live within us. Just as Jesus is shepherd for us and through our communion with him we are called to be shepherd for each other. Every time we celebrate Eucharist we are “sent out”. This sending out is at the heart of the Eucharist. It is the nourishment of the Eucharist that clothes us in Love that then drives us more deeply into our world.

Perhaps we need to explore this image of “shepherd” a little more closely. Many parents of teenage children will know the experience of rebellion and the pain and often sleepless nights this can bring. As parents we try to “shepherd” our children during these years of turmoil. But for some, how ever hard we try and what ever strategies we might put in place we seem to have no effect. We can experience a feeling of helplessness and deep sorrow as we watch our teenage children behave in ways that leave our hearts breaking.

By far the majority of parents who have found themselves in this situation will develop very beautiful relationships with their children as they become adults. But the parents have had to endure large storms in their lives to get there. The majority of these parents would tell us that they kept loving their children through these most difficult years – they didn’t like their children through this period, but they loved them. They didn’t hold back from speaking the truth in love but the key was that they kept loving.

We have a lot to learn from this. When people are bullied or rejected, more often than not they will walk away from a relationship and it will be very difficult to restore it. How many times have we heard stories where a parent has kicked their child out of home and refuses to speak to them because the child has done something that the parent/s did not approve of? What a tragedy it is when parents or their children go through their whole lives having nothing to do with each other. The fact is that this reactionary behaviour is often done in retaliation – you hurt me so I am going to hurt you. No doubt there are some occasions where this separation is necessary for any number of reasons. But too often we can just go around in circles and keep this retaliation alive – it takes courage and forgiveness to break the cycle.

But for those who can love through the pain then something very beautiful has a chance of developing. All of us have heard stories where parents agonized over their teenage children and were treated so badly. But now their children have grown up and often have children of their own and all the relationships have been restored.

This should give us great hope. How often do we break the heart of Jesus by our actions or non actions? We all do it. Often we do it blindly, but none the less we do it. It is our actions that cut us off from this relationship with our God – we can behave like rebellious young teenagers and cause all sorts of pain and suffering around us. But the extraordinary thing is that our God keeps loving us through our blindness. God keeps gracing us and seeking us out. God never stops pursuing us, just as the Shepherd will keep looking for that one lost sheep.

As we reflect upon how Jesus is shepherd for us we also need to reflect upon where we are shepherd for others. As we examine our relationships with family and friends we need to look at where we are loving and where we have failed in love, and ask God to grace us with the courage and desire to seek out forgiveness and to accept forgiveness. When we can begin to do this then we can be assured that the heart of Jesus is living within us.

Weekly Reflection: Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

2006-04-30T18:03:00.000+09:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Acts 3:13-15.17-19
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 4:2.4.7.9. R. v. 7
Second Reading: John 2:1-5
Gospel: Luke 24:35-48

The resurrection stories and experiences we have been hearing over the past couple of weeks are just as critical for our understanding of Jesus as they were for those first disciples. If we do not have the courage to keep our focus on Jesus then we will not understand.

The thread running through our readings today is our need to repent. But the only way we will truly be able to repent or understand our need for repentance is to keep looking at Jesus.

In our first reading Peter challenges the Israelites to recognise Jesus through their tradition and then tells them that “neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing” when they disowned Jesus and sent “the prince of life” to his death. He urges them to repent knowing God’s forgiveness is assured.

In the second reading John urges the people to stop sinning and warns the people of the difference between saying “I know him……while refusing to admit the truth” and acting in a way that honours the commandment of Love.

In our Gospel the disciple’s minds were opened as they experience the resurrection of Jesus. They remember the person of Jesus; they recognise him as the Christ and the fulfilment of scripture. It is through the witness of this perfect love of Jesus that they come to know repentance as the heart of the spiritual journey. When they looked at Jesus they saw the perfection of Love and in that they saw their own imperfection. They remembered their denials and desertion of Jesus – they could now see how blind they had been. They knew their need for repentance. But at the same time they knew themselves to be forgiven and loved which filled them with peace and joy.

How does all of this speak to us today?

So often today people are branded as religious nuts if they start talking about repentance, sin and forgiveness etc. Sometimes this is true. But if a person is deeply grounded in their faith and endeavours to live a life of Love there is nothing more attractive. Perhaps part of the problem is that it has been preached AT people by people who have the theory but do not have the real conversion of heart that we see present in the disciples today. It was the disciple’s real belief in what they were preaching that was magnetic for others. Their lives revealed a truth that was deeply attractive and that enabled those to whom they were preaching to see Jesus with open eyes and open hearts. It is critically important for all of us to be exposed to those who truly believe and live that belief.

Talk of repentance and sin is often seen as old hat and religious fanaticism. This is evident in many people who belong to parish communities. We do not like to hear of ourselves as sinners. It makes us feel uncomfortable when we believe that we are living lives that have no real obvious sin in them. We think that we are doing all the right things so what do I have to repent for – that’s for someone else not for me?

But if we truly kept our focus on Jesus we would know how distorted and wrong this attitude is. Jesus cried out on the cross: “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do”. That cry is for each one of us. We are often blind to our own sinfulness and our need to repent. But the more deeply we come to know Jesus our sinfulness will be revealed to us. We truly must accept our blindness knowing that through grace it will be revealed to us when we are ready to receive this truth about ourselves.

Our God does not was us to feel downtrodden or devastated about our sinfulness. Our God embraces us with forgiveness and we delight in this. But how can we experience the joy and peace of this forgiveness and love God has for us if we do not recognise our own need for repentance?

These conversions that take place in our hearts (if we are open to them) help us grow in love. They bring us to a deeper knowledge of ourselves and our need for repentance – they bring us to a greater awareness of our neighbour and our responsibility for our neighbour – they bring us to a greater awareness of Jesus and God’s great Love for us.

Today’s readings call us to go beyond being people who just SAY a lot - claiming to know God while our lives reveal the opposite, to become people whose lives reveal Love in action.

This will happen when we are prepared to walk with Jesus, to look at him, to learn from him, to be in awe of his loving and the affects this has on those around him, to stay awake and pray with him, to weep with him, to experience his forgiveness when we deny him, to die with him.

When we allow Jesus to become our centre we will not run away from repentance, we will embrace it.

So let us pray in the coming week that we will have the courage, the insight and the desire to turn around and face Jesus while saying to him “Lord, let your face shine on us (me)”.

Weekly Reflection: Second Sunday of Easter, Year B

2006-04-22T12:32:00.000+09:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 117:2-4.15-18.22-24 R.v.1
Second Reading: John 5:1-6
Gospel: John 20:19-31

Today’s gospel is at the heart of the ongoing experience of the resurrection of Jesus throughout the generations. We do not understand the resurrection if we think that Jesus only came to the disciples and other followers in the days just after Jesus’ crucifixion. The resurrection is filled with mystery. The resurrection is ongoing. Just as those early disciples of Jesus and his followers experienced the resurrection of Jesus, so do we if our hearts are open to it.

If we look at our text we see that the disciples were afraid and had closed themselves in a room. But something happens to their hearts and this fear is replaced by the experience of joy and peace. They hear Jesus saying to them “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” He tells them to receive the Holy Spirit and to Forgive.

But Thomas is not with this little community when they have this experience. Why isn’t he with them? Has he walked away feeling all was lost because all their hopes were in Jesus and he had now been crucified? But this small group of disciples tell Thomas of their experience in that closed room and he refuses to believe. But the following week Thomas joins the community and it is here where he experiences the risen Lord. It is within the community that he experiences Jesus and comes to believe.

What does all this teach us today?

The culture of individualism is growing in our world. One of the main causes of this individualism is fear. We close ourselves off from the world and create what we think is our own little safe haven. We bury our heads. We don’t know our neighbours. We don’t trust our neighbours. We close our hearts to the well being of others around us. And then we wonder why our world is in such a mess. The silence of individualism is a grave sin of our time and it is a betrayal of our neighbour and of our own hearts.

While the disciples of Jesus were tempted to stay closed in their room they knew Jesus and they kept reflecting together upon who he was. It was this communal reflection that enabled them to experience the resurrection of Jesus. We experience this communal reflection every time we celebrate Eucharist if our hearts are open to it. So it is a living community that will help take us out of our fear. It is in this community where we will experience Jesus. Thomas didn’t believe until he was re connected with the community. We very sadly close ourselves off from the resurrection while we continue to embrace individualism.

So what happens to us when we have this experience of resurrection?

Our hearts will burn for Love and this is what will drive us – this is what will send us out. We will know that Love does not close itself off, but it goes out into the world with wide open arms that are prepared to die on a cross. This Love will long for our world to be in communion and will do what is within its power to help make this a reality. This is the experience of the resurrection.

When we are baptised we are baptised into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We are anointed priest, prophet and king. We are baptised into the body of Christ. Increasingly people are seeing “the church” as irrelevant in their lives - they have lost the meaning of their baptism – they have become deaf to the story. They have become like Thomas and walked away. But if we go back to our text it was the disciples who had experienced the resurrection who came and told Thomas what had happened to them. Thomas must have seen the new life of Joy and Peace evident in the disciples and it was this that brought him back into the community where he would also come to believe. It was in this community where Thomas could see and feel the wounds inflicted upon Love and this drove him along with the other disciples into a ministry of forgiveness.

This teaches us very important lessons. It is the tendency of some parish communities today to sit back and just let themselves die. Their communities are dwindling and in some cases are almost lifeless. They go through the motions of a weekly Eucharist but they do not experience the resurrection that drives them out into the community. They stay closed in their church building afraid of going out and afraid of receiving the Holy Spirit. They have forgotten the story – they have forgotten who Jesus is for them.

Today’s gospel calls us to go out to the Thomas’ of our world. It calls us to live lives that reflect the peace and joy of the resurrection. It calls us to an authenticity that by its very nature will attract others into the community. It calls us to forgive ourselves and others and to help others to forgive each other. We don’t do this by bullying people, or telling them arrogantly that they should be doing this or that – or telling them that I am right and you are wrong – or telling them God will punish them. We do it by the example of our lives. There is nothing more attractive and contagious than someone who has experienced the truth of the resurrection and then has the courage to live it. This is how the early church grew. It is how the church today will grow.

Let us pray in the coming week for the grace to grow in Love and understanding so that we may become beacons that will attract people into this great communion of Love.

Weekly Reflection: Easter Sunday (Mass of the day), Year B

2006-04-10T16:12:00.000+09:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Acts 10:24,37-43
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 117:1-2.16-17.22-23. R. v. 24
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1-9

The dark journey is now filled with light – everything has become clear – “Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

Easter invites us to share in the hope the resurrection of Jesus offers us. It is this hope that will draw us out of the darkness – that will empower us – that will lead us out of despair – that will drive us into mission – that will know in faith that love conquers all no matter how bad things might look. It is this hope that the world longs for.

How is this hope passed onto others? How do we ourselves receive this gift of hope?

Those in our human history whom have been inspired by God to write scripture are deeply reflective people. They have reflected on their experience - they have told the story and re told the story – they are people of faith – they REMEMBER. In our Gospel today we hear John say “Till this moment they failed to understand…….” It was their ability to reflect upon their experience that opened their eyes. We see this beautifully presented in the Emmaus Story when the two people are walking along the road remembering their experience and telling their story to Jesus and then suddenly in the breaking of the bread their eyes are opened. They REMEMBER their past experiences in light of their current experience and their hearts burned within them.

This theme of REMEMBERING is critical in our faith journey, just as it was critical in the early church and Old Testament times.

We have lost the art of telling our stories, of remembering. Instead we now sit in front of the TV and allow our senses to be deadened by what is often rubbish. Or we might absorb ourselves fanatically with sport etc. We fill our lives with all sorts of distractions. Sometimes distractions are necessary but when they take over our lives they become like a disease that eats away at our soul.

It is a very dangerous thing when a culture stops telling its story. We lose purpose, direction and vision.

Perhaps this is what is happening in our church at this time. Why is it so that the Eucharist seems to have lost its significance for so many people? Even if we don’t like what some of the hierarchy of the church are doing, why do we turn our back on the Eucharist? If people in the pews were asked why they came to the Eucharist on a Sunday, what might some of their answers be?

Why do I – why do you come to the Eucharist?

If people who have chosen not to join the Eucharistic community on a Sunday were asked what the meaning of the Eucharist is for them, what might they say? A survey along these lines might show some interesting results.

I would suspect that many do not understand the Eucharist. We have lost the story of its significance. We have become so busy with useless distractions that have filled our minds and hearts to the point that there is no room left to remember or reflect upon ones life and experiences.

When we choose not to REMEMBER the story (for example the story told in the Eucharist), it will no longer have meaning for us. The disciples that ran to the tomb to look for Jesus were enlightened because they remembered scripture, they remembered Jesus, they remembered and listened to their experience and they brought it all together and at that moment they understood. For a person who had not experienced Jesus, who had not know something of scripture and who was not reflective about their experience, this empty tomb would have meant absolutely nothing.
What I am trying to highlight here is the importance of our story – our faith story – our human story and experience. Everybody has a story.

It would seem that as a church we have some how stopped telling the story and have become bogged down with dogmas and rules and laws. We have lost the story of our rich rituals and powerful symbols that help give the story life and meaning.

Again, if we asked Catholics in the pews what the meaning of the rituals and symbols we use in Baptism and other sacraments were, what would be their response? So many times now we hear the words “when can we get our child done” when talking about baptism and other sacraments of initiation. We seem to have lost the sense of being initiated into the body of Christ. Instead we have adopted a strange magical sense of “getting done” which will make us somehow right with God. What a profoundly sad misunderstanding of our story.

If we lose sight of the meaning of the rituals and symbols that we use, haven’t we lost the story?
And stressing again, if the story is lost, so is the understanding. And then we might understand it when we hear people say that ‘the church’ has no relevance in today’s society.

What a tragedy this is, when the church can be a real beacon of hope for our world.

But what we must do is retrieve and own our story. We must encourage each other to Remember. When we can do this we will see enormous change.

We must begin with our children. If children do not hear the story from home and learn to reflect and remember their faith story in light of their own experience then they will come to the tomb and see it empty and walk away not understanding or making sense of anything. Isn’t this happening with many of our sacraments programs being offered now? We embark upon a few months of ‘teaching’ the sacraments in schools or parishes and then we scratch our heads wondering why the children and their families do not seem to maintain the faith. We blame parents, we blame the church, and we blame the schools.

To throw ‘blame’ at one particular group is to somehow miss the point. Every one of us during this Easter season is being asked to remember our faith story – the story of Jesus – the story of our Tradition – our story. Every one of us has a responsibility to keep this story alive.

So as parents, as families, as schools and as parishes we must reclaim our faith story – the story of Jesus. We must say NO to practices that water down this story to the point that it is no longer understood and is seen as some sort of strange magical attitude that thinks ‘getting done’ will make us right with God. When these strange practices are maintained and supported, is it any wonder that we seem to lose our soul and that things no longer make any sense to us and we walk away?

Let us pray during this Easter season that we will have the courage to keep our focus on Jesus and become more open to keeping this extraordinary story of Love and Hope alive in our hearts and in our world.

Weekly Reflection: Passion Sunday, Year B

2006-04-03T16:20:00.000+09:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 21:8-9.17-20.23-34 R. v. 2
Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47

In the alternative opening prayer and in the gospel acclamation for Passion Sunday we see the word “obedient” before us. While this particular word is not explicit in our readings for today it is implicit all the way through them. Therefore “obedience” will be the subject of our reflection for this week.

“Obedience” seems to be a grossly misunderstood word, particularly within the church. In the alternative opening prayer we are told “….so that through the obedience of one man, estrangement might be dissolved for all…”

To whom was Jesus obedient? Was it the Jewish leaders and authorities of his day? No. He confronted the leaders and challenged them and became angry with their arrogance and their blindness, but he never turned his back on them. These Jewish leaders demanded obedience from the people. They interpreted the Law in a way that alienated and oppressed people, and they demanded obedience to their interpretation – this is a false obedience. Jesus would not be contained by such corruption and he named it for what it was. Jesus was obedient to his God – he was obedient to Love. His pure heart demanded this of him.

During Lent we are encouraged to look at our lives and explore our hearts with Jesus beside us, so that we too can become pure – so that we too might become obedient to Love.

A heart that is pure will have eyes only for this and like Jesus, will endure whatever suffering comes its way in order to remain obedient to Love. And there will be suffering for the one who longs to be obedient to Love as we see in our readings today.

Do we long to be obedient to Love? Or is it easier to just abide by the rules and go with the flow, not rocking the boat and not letting ourselves be disturbed by too much, not letting ourselves think too much and not letting ourselves question what is happening around us? These are serious questions we must ask ourselves.

The foundation of the “obedience” we see in Jesus is faith. Without this faith we will not know or understand the obedience that is being asked of us. It is this faith that will sustain us in our suffering. It is this faith that will help us endure and remain present to those around us even when we are suffering. Faith will not walk away – it will search for ways to remain obedient and faithful.

Some church authorities and lay people even today make shocking demands upon the people to follow a false obedience. People have been very hurt and alienated because of this. And very sadly many people have walked away.

There is a difference between obedience to Love, and just wanting my own will and sometimes disguising that as God’s will and claiming this as obedience.

There is a temptation to bully people with fear tactics trying to coerce them into our own way of thinking and this has nothing to do with obedience to Love. For example: Much of the pre Vatican 11 church used fear to extract a false obedience from the people. If you miss mass it is a mortal sin and if you die in mortal sin you will go to hell. If a child dies without baptism then the child will not go to heaven. Sin and its consequences were the focus.

As a church we are still dealing with the fall out of these ways of thinking which has created all sorts of distortions. The image of God so many held was a God who would punish us and a God to be fearful of in a very unhealthy way. How can we have real faith in a god who would behave this way? It makes no sense. So this way of thinking did not nurture faith it did quite the opposite – it retarded faith through an unhealthy fear.

This has little or nothing to do with a God who longs to draw the whole of creation to God’s self in communion. It has nothing to do with the God of Love we know that counts every hair on our head. It has nothing to do with the God of Love we know that stretches his arms out on the cross so that our eyes may be opened to the power of Love.

Vatican 11 endeavoured to turn this erroneous way of thinking around with substantial success. However there is still a long way to go. But as we journey towards this obedience to Love we must remember those beautiful words of Paul when he says:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1Cor. 13:4-7

If we can truly listen to the great wisdom in these words of Paul we will know that when we try to force our own way on others, whoever we are, or we try to bully people into our way of thinking, or we hold up a god who will punish and judge ruthlessly etc that our self perceived obedience to Love is greatly corrupted.

Let us pray in the coming week as we watch Jesus show us what obedience means even to the point where he cries out to his God, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me? that we will have the courage to pray for a renewed depth of faith so that we too may become obedient to Love, even in our darkest hour.

Weekly Reflection: Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

2006-03-27T11:56:00.000+10:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 50:3-4.12-15. R. v. 12
Second Reading: Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel: John 12:20-33

“Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” is the request made by some Greeks to Philip. The Greeks along with many others were very curious about Jesus – they had heard things about Jesus and some had seen the wondrous things Jesus had done.

But was it enough just to see Jesus? Obviously not.

We need to take particular note of this very beautiful Gospel. To see Jesus is one thing, but to follow (or believe in) Jesus is quite another. Ruth Burrows says this in the opening paragraph of her wonderful book To Believe In Jesus:

Faith in Jesus, the Son of Man, is very, very rare. If what I say is true it is a depressing assertion. It would be even more depressing if there were nothing we could do about it. As it is, we are set over a gold mine, a shovel is put in our hands, we are given the strength to dig and the absolute assurance that if we do so we shall find. No special gifts are required, no superhuman effort, only resolution and the taking of trouble. Everyone is given a chance, no one is excluded. What happens? Some of us at any rate set to work and dig but what we find is not at all what we expected. We expected a glistening nugget and instead all we have in our weary hands is an ugly, shapeless lump of metal. ‘It is gold, pure gold,’ we are told. But it doesn’t look like gold, it doesn’t feel like gold. You say you believe in Jesus. He told you that if you dug you would find the treasure. Where is your faith?

What is our reaction to these wise words?

So often when we come to see Jesus we come with our own agendas and our own hardness of heart. We want Jesus to fit into what we want. But when something is asked of us we often reject it – when we are asked to lose the life we know, we say NO – we will not take the risk – we lack faith. We then become like Pharaoh when he was asked to let God’s people go – he wouldn’t.

When we are asked to let our lives go so that God can “create a clean heart in me” we often say NO. When we do this we are effectively saying that we want to remain a grain of wheat and we are too frightened to let it fall on the ground and be transformed into something beautiful that will yield a rich harvest.

What a tragedy this is.

But there is potentially a greater tragedy. Church leadership must do all within its power to nurture the faith of the people – the Church – this is its priority and its mission. Unfortunately, too often the leadership has often encouraged the people to see Jesus but it has neglected to empower and nurture the people to believe in Jesus.

It is a very risky business to nurture and encourage people’s belief in Jesus because this faith/belief in Jesus creates a freedom that will not be contained. We of course saw this most beautifully and powerfully in Jesus.

So the Church leadership must also constantly strive to be faithful to our Gospel today. It must learn to let go of its life and allow the grain of wheat to fall on the ground and yield a rich harvest.

When the Church leadership can really do this then we will see a Church teaming with life and filled with renewed hope in a broken world and in a broken Church.

There are faint glimmerings of this happening but only faint ones. Until the Church leadership can learn to let go of its controls through a highly dysfunctional male clerical leadership system, its increasing centralisation, its unmoveable laws that can alienate and exclude and oppress people, its alienating rigidity regarding the role of women and lay people in the leadership of the church, its denial of the Eucharist to communities without an ordained priest, its insistence on continuing to build the Church around the clerical model etc etc, then it will continue to flounder and become more irrelevant in a world that longs not only to see Jesus but to also believe in Jesus. It is the central most important role of Church leadership to bring this longing to fruition – it is its mission in our world.

Constructive criticism is always important and must be named. But we must also learn to see our own brokenness and come to the knowledge of being able to name that. When we can do this we will become more tolerant and understanding of everything that is before us. It is all too easy to throw stones while excluding our own role or responsibility in this mission regardless of how insignificant we may feel.

WE as Church have such exciting potential before us, but we must work together, we must support each other, we must challenge each other, we must learn to weep with each other,we must listen to each other, we must be patient with each other, but most importantly we must believe in Jesus.

There are many Catholics and many clerics that cry out the words of Jesus: Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour?

But the journey of us all has brought us to this place in this time – our prayer, our response to God’s call, our longings and desires, our faith etc however broken all this may be, have brought us here to this very moment in time. Can we then say along with Jesus: But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!

Do we truly recognize the journey that has brought us to this place and time?

Do we have the courage to respond to what is being asked of us now?

Let us pray in the coming week of our Lenten journey that we will have the determination and the desire to be steadfast on the journey ahead and that all we say and do will truly reflect our belief in Jesus.

Again I leave you with some further wise words from Ruth Burrows to ponder in your prayer:

The most valuable form of asceticism, because it is the actual exercise of love, is the patient acceptance of the hardships and sufferings of life.

Weekly Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B

2006-03-23T08:20:00.000+10:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Chronicles 36:14-16.1923
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 136 R. v. 6
Second Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel: John 3:14-21

Our readings have many lessons for us to learn from today. The Chronicles are scathing of the “heads of the Priesthood, and the people too” and accuse them of great infidelity to the point that it is said “there was no further remedy.”

The Psalmist who is experiencing what is perceived as the absence of God begs God to “let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!”

Paul in Ephesians tells us we are “God’s work of art” but reminds us that we have been saved through faith and through nothing we have done. All is gift from God.

Our Gospel reveals part of a conversation between Nicodemus who is a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews and Jesus. In this conversation it is made very clear that belief in God’s son will determine our salvation. This belief in Jesus will be determined by the way in which we choose to live our lives.

Jesus’ life and death shows us how to live – he said to us: I am the way, the truth and the life, and his resurrection is our hope.

Why is it so hard for us to live this truth?

Fundamentalism has always been present within various religious traditions and to varying degrees and perhaps there is an element of it within us all at times. In recent times we have seen a rise in fundamentalism in a number of religions and it is something like a cancer that destroys the goodness that is possible. It possesses a self righteousness that is exclusive and alienating and grossly distorts the truth. It has a mentality of: I am in and you are out. Within Christianity it lives a literal interpretation of scripture, when it suits it. Fundamentalism has little or no understanding of who Jesus is for us. Fundamentalism is a most shameful practice.

Why are so many attracted to this religious practice that is creating havoc in our world?
To trust God and God’s ways requires faith. To proclaim a belief in Jesus will mean that we see every human being as “God’s work of art” and we will have some idea that God embraces every human being in a loving embrace. We can only trust God through faith.

In the time of Jesus so many of these works of art were excluded from the community because they were not considered clean or worthy for any number of reasons by the religious authorities of the day. The mentality being that: I am clean but you are not. And yet the very ones who were proclaiming to be “clean” or worthy, were themselves so defiled but they were totally blind to their sinfulness. Has anything changed?

Fundamentalism is a cop out – it buries its head and runs away from what Jesus is really asking of us – to love one another. It claims credit and puffs itself up to be saved while proclaiming that others are not.

Jesus spent his time with the social outcasts of his day and he loved them. He attracted those who were not Jewish and he loved them. He attracted the woman in adultery and he loved her. He attracted the business people who were ripping people off and he loved them. He attracted those who were consumed by their wealth and he loved them. He attracted the religious authorities and he loved them. He attracted those who were sick and dying and he loved them. He attracted those who hated him and he loved them. He attracted those who were consumed with evil and he loved them. He attracted the little children and he loved them. Jesus’ whole life was lived loving the people. He was the greatest “lover” we have known.

Are fundamentalists open with their loving?

Do their words and actions proclaim a faithful belief in Jesus and his teachings and create an environment of faith, hope and love for all?

Every one of us are sinners and to think otherwise is delusional. But equally we are ALL “God’s work of art” therefore we are capable of great love – and when we love, goodness is generated. But when we do not love by upholding those that are in the inner circle and excluding others for whatever reason, then it is often hatred and ill will that is generated.

Over the coming week take some time to ponder this list below and pray for the grace to recognize what is not loving within us and ask Jesus to help us grow in faith and love.

Fundamentalism will proclaim God to be on their side.
Lovers will proclaim every human being to be God’s work of art.
Fundamentalism will proclaim they alone are saved.
Lovers will leave the flock to find the one lost sheep.
Fundamentalism will judge the sins of others with contempt.
Lovers will know themselves to be sinners but loved.
Fundamentalism will take credit for what they have done.
Lovers will know that everything is a gift from God.
Fundamentalism will want to have full control.
Lovers will trust in God’s providence.
Fundamentalism will exclude those not like themselves.
Lovers will embrace difference with love, tolerance and understanding.
Fundamentalism will be closed to ongoing revelation.
Lovers will see God’s revelation evident all around them.
Fundamentalism will ridicule and despise the prophetic voices in their midst.
Lovers will hunger for the prophetic voice.
Fundamentalism will claim God’s will is evident in everything they do.
Lovers will strive to do God’s will with discernment and uncertainty.
Fundamentalism will judge the world as evil excluding themselves.
Lovers will weep for a broken world but knowing it is made in God’s image.
Fundamentalism will often live in fear of a judgmental God who will punish and condemn them.
Lovers are in awe of a God who is full of mercy and forgiveness.
Fundamentalism leaves nothing to chance and will do all in its power to get what it wants because it believes it is doing God’s will.
Lovers will only love and leave the rest in God’s hands.
Fundamentalism will exclude people in the name of God.
Lovers will embrace all people in the name of God.

Fundamentalism in all its forms is an evil of our time and it has permeated many areas of our lives both communally and individually. It is at its most dangerous of course when it goes unrecognized because it keeps us in exile and we starve our souls of the nourishment we long for.

Religious and church leaders along with all of God’s people need to pray for the courage to keep naming fundamentalism for the evil it is and to keep praying for the grace to recognize it in our midst.

Walter Brueggermann leaves us with these wise words to ponder as we reflect upon our readings this week:

“The world does not depend upon us, and the world is not available to us. The world is out beyond us in God’s wisdom. It mocks our pitiful efforts at control, mastery and domination.

Weekly Reflection: Third Sunday of Lent, Year B

2006-03-14T18:51:00.000+10:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 18:8-11. R. Jn 6:69
Second Reading: Corinthians 1:22-25
Gospel: John 2:13-25

Any relationship that is built on love will do its utmost not to hurt each other. It will only want the best for each other. We see this clearly in our First Reading. The Law given through Moses is a Law of Love. It is not a list of rules that are set to keep us on our toes or that are meant to threaten us if we stray. It is the Law of Love built on God’s covenant with us. When we truly Love God then this is the natural way we will want to live.

Our Psalm tells us that this law of the Lord is perfect. We are all familiar with those beautiful words: be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

In the Second Reading Paul upholds the crucifixion as the revelation of God’s Love and highlights for us that our own wisdom and strength are little more than foolishness when compared to God’s strength and wisdom.

Our Gospel places Jesus in the Temple and we witness the anger of Jesus as he confronts the corruption of the religious system. Then we see the Jews totally misinterpret what Jesus means when he says: Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up. They are blind as to who it is before them and they are blind to their own corruption and sinfulness.

What do we learn from all of this?

When we are baptised, we are baptised priest, prophet and king.

Priest in that we see God in all things and are committed to a life of prayer and awareness of God within us, within creation and beyond all of this.

Prophet in that we are graced to speak out and act in truth and love. The prophet will name all that is not love in our world and will know themselves to be graced by God to confront all that goes against love. Prophets have been and are the great lovers in our midst.

King in that we will not run away from the fear of leadership. Our love will be focused on others and we will only want the best for them and we will behave accordingly.

But when we look at our First Reading and then look at our world what do we see – do we see this grace given to live a life of priest, prophet and king being lived out?

What do we see?

We see a world that has gone mad with consumerism and materialism that have become gods for us in many ways.

We see declining church attendance and an increasing sense that church is somehow irrelevant in our busy and distracted world. We do not have time to fit God into our lives – we have lost sight of the importance of community – the Body of Christ. But at the same time we posses a deep hunger within us but we have lost our way in our attempts to nourish this hunger.

We see a world where divorce is on the increase along with the break down of relationships.

We live in times where adultery has almost become normal.

We see drug addiction and other addictions on the increase which feeds an increasing crime rate and further social dysfunction.

We see youth suicide on the increase.

We see depression and other mental illnesses on the increase.

We see a world where the rich oppress the poor in order to feather their own nests.

The question we must ask now then is where are the priests, prophets and kings?

If Jesus physically walked into our churches this Sunday would he be any the less angry than he was in our Gospel?

Anger can be a fearful thing and it can be very destructive and is often grounded in evil. But the anger we see in Jesus today is a holy anger, and anger grounded so deeply in Love. An anger that will not tolerate the abuse of Love, that will not tolerate social injustice, that will not tolerate hypocrisy.

When we look around and see our world so broken, and if our faith and belief in Jesus is real, then we too will experience this holy anger and we will not be silenced. This is our priestly role. It is our prophetic call. It is our kingly duty.

As we continue to move through Lent let us ask for the grace and the courage to explore our hearts through the eyes of what it means to be Baptised, and with Jesus at our side to show us what God’s desire is for us and what that might be asking of me.

These wise words from Archbishop Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador until his assassination in 1980, have much to teach us if we are prepared to listen. He longed for the freedom and liberation of his people under an oppressive regime and he truly lived a life of priest, prophet and king.

There can be no true liberation
until people are freed from sin.
All the liberationist groups that spring up in our land
should bear this in mind.
The first liberation to be proposed by a political group
that truly wants the people’s liberation
must be to free oneself from sin.
While one is a slave of sin –
of selfishness, violence, cruelty, and hatred –
one is not fitted for the people’s liberation.
March 2, 1980

Weekly Reflection: Second Sunday of Lent, Year B

2006-03-08T14:52:00.000+10:30

Reading references:

First Reading: Genesis 22:1-2.9-13.15-18
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 115:10.15-19. R. Ps 114:9
Second Reading: Romans 8:31-34
Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

In today’s Gospel we hear those very familiar but profound words: This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.

It is also very clear in this text that the Peter, James and John were shrouded in mystery with what was before them. They were afraid, they didn’t know what to say and they didn’t understand what was happening. When the disciples see Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) and the mystery of Jesus transfigured before them, Peter wants to hold the three together (let us make three tents). But the disciples will only be able to understand this event in the light of the resurrection. They will come to understand that Jesus the Christ is the fulfilment of everything that has gone before them – he is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets.

What is important for us in this text is that the disciples do not understand what is happening but as they journey with Jesus and continue to listen to him and learn from him even though everything is shrouded in mystery, they come to understand who Jesus is for all of us.

Lent asks us to journey with Jesus – to listen to him. Can we do this – are we ready to do this? Are we ready to experience the “transfiguration”?

The first sentence in our Psalm today may help us to answer this question: I trusted, even when I said: ‘I am sorely afflicted.’ The disciples must have felt this affliction. They must have felt frustration at their inability to understand - with the fear they experienced in the face of the mystery before them. But the lesson is that amongst all this they stayed with Jesus – they trusted Jesus. Even when they ran away in fear at the crucifixion, they came back otherwise we wouldn’t have Mark’s Gospel before us today. As they listened to the world around them and the world within them it helped them make sense of who Jesus was.

The key for us is to stay with Jesus. Our culture today often rejects mystery. What it cannot see or understand is too often brushed aside and often scorned. But if we have faith that is real then we know ourselves to be surrounded by mystery. The disciples had faith. Even though they kept messing things up it was their faith and trust in Jesus that helped them persevere and grow in their understanding.

How many of us when we are “sorely afflicted” walk away?

We can get frustrated in our prayer because it is dry and uneventful and the emptiness is too much for us and we can be tempted to walk away thinking what a waste of time and effort this is.

We can be tempted to walk away if we think our prayer hasn’t been answered. A loved one may have died and we prayed that they would live. We can think our prayer has been rejected because we didn’t get what we wanted.

We may have been deeply hurt by someone or something in the Church. We react by walking away angry, hurt and disillusioned with the whole church and we cut ourselves off.

We can be tempted to walk away when we don’t understand something. We don’t like not being in control of our situation.

There are many ways in which we can be “sorely afflicted” and each of us will have our own stories to tell. But what an enormous tragedy it is when we cut ourselves off from Jesus because we don’t get what we want or we don’t get what we think we need or we refuse to let ourselves be shrouded in mystery. The tragedy for us is that we do not trust. And when we do not trust how can we possibly listen?

It is our trust (faith) in Jesus that keeps calling us back. We may falter at times. We, like the disciples may even run away for a while, but if we can engage our hearts to trust this great mystery then we will learn to listen regardless of the personal hardships or frustrations.

In the coming week let us pray to be open to experience the “transfiguration” and to pray for the grace for a heart that longs to listen to Jesus, so that we too may come to see more fully the mystery that surrounds us and that is immersed in our world.

Teilhard de Chardin, who had an extraordinary sense of Communion, wrote these beautiful words in a letter to a friend. May these words help open our hearts to discover the profound truth that the “world is full of God” and through Jesus we will discover this truth.

Let us not doubt it,
and let us awaken to that light:
the world is full of God.
For if it were empty,
the world long ago would have died of disgust.