How do we treasure the sacramental life in marriage

The fruit of marriage is not just for the good of the couple but for the good of the whole community. Jesus’ teaching this weekend reflects not just on the reality of daily living but that a sacramental life reflects the glory of God present in flesh and blood. It is a sign that God does not abandon his people but allows them to encounter his blessing in our own lifetime. We see that each person is given a commission which enables them to be sacramentally present to the other. This is never more clearly seen in the love of a man and a woman in sacramental marriage. It is not a blessing just reserved for the couple but it allows others to encounter the blessing of God in the way that couple become missionaries of God’s grace to their own children and to the broader community.

Yet we also know in our own community the difficulties that people face when couples divorce. This not only effects them but also their children and the broader community. The ripples of this are felt very deeply by people who have hoped for a relationship which would be lifelong, faithful and exclusive. As a Church community it calls us to walk with people who have experienced divorce who are often feeling not only deeply hurt but also who discover their own frailty. How can we assist people not only to encounter God but also encounter a Church community who is willing to walk them? Also how do we help young people to discover the reality of a sacramental life in a world which is often jaded and whose confidence in a lifelong relationship of love and mutuality is so badly shaken?

God's grace is not a scare resource!

It is easy to cheer for your side when they are winning but it is much more difficult to voice the same support for another side who seem to be competing for the same prize. There can be a sense in which the competition to seek after something good means that we exclude another. We can recognize this even in economics where prices are set by the scarcest resource. There is a temptation to transfer this belief in scarcity to the realm of God. We hold tightly on to hard won victories, we can restrict our prayers to those we know and limit our support to people who seem to be on the same side as ourselves. However, the God’s providence love and mercy does not show the same partiality. It is extended to all people in every generation. It is a spirit of creativity and life which is over abundant.

As Christians we are called to recognize how our lives are called to resound with the same sense of creativity and thankfulness. This is demonstrated not just in how we pray but also in how we live. This is never truer than when we reflect on how we welcome people who flee persecution and war. While we seek peace for them, we also should not turn on backs on those in desperate need. We recognize that it is the corporal acts of mercy that we see the miracle of God’s grace evident in our actions for the good of all.

What makes for a good leader?

What makes for a good leader? The people were following Jesus because they were attracted to what he was doing and the things he was saying. Like the disciples we are often called into embarking on a faith journey by the example of someone else. Whether it is through our parents, a teacher or a close friend each of us can probably name that one person who believed in us and was prepared to walk with us. Like the disciples we can tend to believe that to be a leader you have to be the greatest and most competent person.  However, what makes a good leader is a person who has come to peace with themselves and can create room for others. This means that we need to discover that inner place where all the wars started inside us are brought to silence. If we believe that leadership is discovered solely in what we do rather than in who we are we start from the wrong end of the stick. Cardinal Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan said “I accept my cross and I plant it, with my own two hands, in my heart. If you were to permit me to choose, I would change nothing, because you are with me! I am no longer afraid, I have understood. I am following you in your passion and in your resurrection. (Five Loaves and Two Fish, 48)”

We need to discover that inner strength and resilience which allows us to bring out love instead of hatred, peace instead of war, and compassion rather than partiality. By reflecting on the conflicts that can rage in our own hearts we can discover a healing power which is not centered upon ourselves. By being reconciled within ourselves we can bring hope of salvation to others. This is the leadership that Jesus offers us to be at peace with ourselves so that we can be of service to others.

Creating a contemplative heart that reaches out to the world

Our faith calls us to become reflective people. There is a need to have a contemplative stance which places us at the heart of the world and in the heart of God. We are called to quieten out the static which can surround us so that we can engage in the particular work that has been entrusted to us. In a world where we are called to process more information and images than ever before we seek a way which engages our hearts and minds. This is never clearer when we are called to respond to people in great need: the refugees fleeing persecution; people seeking to rebuild lives after natural disasters; young people seeking to build lives of hope and the list goes on.

As Catholics we are called to be people who are moved into action but this needs to be more than a reactive response. We are called to engage with our experiences of the world. This is the first stage of wisdom. However, we also need to learn more about the situation and what resources we have to respond to those events. By looking at our own experience and our ability to think through the issues we are able to prayerfully consider what is the right response for this moment both for ourselves and our community. Lastly we can consider what it is that we can practically do to help others. It takes our heart, our mind and our soul to be all engaged in any work we undertake. We need to be people who see, judge and act. This never occurs once only but allows us to grow in our understanding of how our faith informs our actions and our actions inform our faith.

How do father's help shape our lives?

Our relationship with our fathers shapes not only our biological makeup but also our social, intellectual and spiritual well being. Their presence in our lives can have profound influences about how we view ourselves and the world we live in. They can leave an imprint on our minds and hearts which help to shape the person we become. Today we celebrate the contribution that fathers make to our own lives.

When we come to pray we are called to a relationship which was central to Jesus’ own identity. He saw this as shaped as a relationship between father and son. In order to live out of that relationship we are called to reflect on who are fathers are for us. How they help us to make sense of our lives and how they draw us to live with authenticity and faithfulness. Jesus saw his whole life as lived in relationship with God the Father. This was a call to be truly who he was called to be and how his life shapes the lives of others. It is by encountering and entering into this relationship that we start to discover the dynamic nature of God’s relationship with us. It is a relationship which calls us to be wholly ourselves. It is a call to be holy.