Let all the Earth cry out to God with joy!

When I was on hospital call out a couple of weeks ago, I was called to attend the neonatal unit. The first time was to baptise a premature baby, and on the second occasion to pray with two couples who had lost their children in childbirth. In the mixture of the celebration of a new life and the loss of an innocent child, what do you say to the families who experience this mixture of emotions? What stays with me is how the nurses talked to the newborn in the humidicrib and how they gave a couple the chance to remember and treasure the memories of a child they could name. In the mixture of joy and sadness, we trust that God will lead us to a deeper appreciation of how we go with others as people of prayer.

As we celebrate the Motherhood of Mary, we listen to some of the titles that are given her in the Litany of Loreto: Mother of Christ; Mother of the Church; Mother of Mercy; Mother of Divine Grace; Mother of Hope; Mother most pure; Mother most chaste; Mother inviolate; Mother undefiled; Mother most amiable; Mother most admirable; Mother of good counsel; Mother of our Creator; Mother of our Saviour. In Australia, we also add the title Our Lady, Help of Christians. As we honour our mothers, both living and born to eternal glory, we acknowledge that Motherhood is not just a physical bond but a spiritual and psychological bond that connects us with our mothers throughout our lives. As we pray with Mary this month, may we see in our community the importance of the women who walk with us on our journey of faith.

The disciples also see this when they send St Peter and St John to Samaria to meet new disciples who have just been baptised. This brings memories of the woman at the well and wonder whether it was that community at Jacob’s well that welcomed them. They had already met the person of Jesus, but now they were called to enter a deeper communion with him through the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands. This is where we see the first signs of the sacrament of confirmation that acknowledges that we are called into a living relationship with God as a community of faith. This living relationship recognises how, as a baptised people, we are called to enter a deeper relationship with God and with each other.

St Peter reflects on this in his first letter, where he says, “reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts and always have your answer ready for people who ask the reason for the hope that you all have.” This is not just about having the ability to think about Jesus, but about allowing it to enter more deeply into our being. We are called to be people in prayer who think, feel, and digest the Good News into our own bodies. This is the most profound part of Easter, as we are called to become people who open our hearts to God, not by concentrating on our sins but by discovering how we are called into a living relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He died once for sins, died for the guilty to lead us to God. In the body, he was put to death; in the spirit, he was raised to life.

This is where Jesus leaves us with the two commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself. We do not achieve this relationship through our own efforts but through an active engagement with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is with you; he is in you. We echo the proclamation of the Kingdom where Jesus says that you are in me as I am in you. As we enter prayer, we begin to recognise what feeds and guides our thinking and feelings, and what provides true nourishment for our souls. We see that our faith is a living encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, who guides us, walks with us, and enters a deeper communion with us. In this, we sing with the psalmist, “Let all the Earth cry out to God with joy!