What would be the KPI's for Catholics?

What would be the KPI’s (Key performance indicators) for Catholics? This can seem to focus on what we are called to do rather than who we can become. As a sacramental people we are called to see the word made incarnate. This means that the celebration of sacraments is essential to the way we live. We are called to be a people who gather together and recognize that we travel with each other in our journey of faith. We listen to God’s word and allow it to speak to our hearts. We offer our lives in the Eucharist and thanksgiving for how Jesus becomes present to us. We are drawn into a communion with his Body and Blood, and then we are commissioned together to be a people to live as his disciples in our world. So it would appear that we are a people of God when we gather, when we listen, when we give thanks, when we are drawn into communion and when we go out on mission. At each Mass we celebrate what is fundamental to us as people on a journey of faith. We are people drawn into the mystery and the life of Jesus Christ.

What attitude defines our life

We become used to the great speeches which define what is central to a person's life. They have an immortal air to them not only because they speak to the people who first heard them but they speak across the ages. They have an ability to capture hearts and minds in a way which transforms the life of communities. This is especially true of the proclamation made by Jesus in the synagogue. He is not simply trying to capture people's attention but he is trying to say something by the person he is. He seeks to bring freedom to people who are captive to their circumstances, he seeks to bring Good News to people stricken by poverty, he seeks to help people see clearly what it that they need to do and he seeks to lift burdens off people who are trampled down in life. This is at the heart of the jubilee year. It is not simply about acts of charity but being a person who is charitable in the attitude to life; who is not a dispenser of mercy but a person who lives mercy, who does not simply inspire hope but is hope to others. This week we will honour many Australians who help us to discover these attitudes to life who bring the Gospel of this weekend to life within our communities.

Finding my way home

The silence after a death of someone you love can often be one of the hardest moments of grief. Their sudden departure no matter how well you have prepared yourself can shake the certainties of conversations you once had. The working through the practical events of preparing for the funeral, receiving phone calls, cards and messages can often help to carry you through days that seem to be lost in activity and preparations. I wanted to particularly thank the many message of support and prayer which I received on the death of my mother last December. I deeply appreciated the kindness and the support I received at this sad time. I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of my own struggles at this time which may resonate with some of your own.

The immediate impact is the loss of home. This is not just saying farewell to a physical place where Mum used to live but the spiritual connections which that place had for me. There is a sense of connection which resonates in the place where she lived and called home. I recognize that this disorientation can cause a sense of aimlessness and emptiness. There are many things that can remind me of Mum but which are not Mum. There is a feeling of being broken open to the wind and laid bare before the world. You look for things that can continue to guide your footsteps. In cleaning up the unit where she lived it is often hard to let go of things in a hurry for fear that you do it all too quickly and move on.

Then there is the sense of whether you are crying for yourself or for the person who has died. The rupture of that connection lays you open to many phantoms and memories of what is important to life. Am I doing this for myself, am I doing this for my mother or am I doing this for some other reason. There is a call not to manufacture grief but to recognize the ripples of sadness that can seem to overcome you and which lie at the heart of my prayer. There is a call to allow my prayer to become more real and not manufactured. The call is to be myself.

However, in the days following Mum’s death there have been consolations which remind me that in the midst of the tears that her spirit rests with God. These have been moments when rainbows appear at crucial moments. They seem ethereal and transitory but they hold the sense of wonder which lay at the heart of my Mother’s search for meaning. I also gain a stronger sense that I can be myself in the face of a world which would seek to redefine me. I think this is at the centre of the spiritual life. We are called to be the person that God calls us to be. We are called to be faithful to that calling which allows us to become more and more transparent to God’s grace. At the time of greatest trial, the words of Julian of Norwich ring true, “All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Do we remember when we were baptised?

How many of us can remember the date of our baptism? This may be difficult because it means hunting through our parents records and looking for an elusive certificate. The certificate can reveal to us something important. That our parents considered it important enough for us to be baptised into the person of Christ. We are called to be immersed in a relationship which not only allows to surrender to the wonder of God but live a life which is grace filled. We are born into being so that our lives may reflect God’s glory working ever creatively within us. It places us at the heart of God’s creative plan.

Baptism is not just an entry card into eternal life, it is a call to live that eternal life and to be transformed by God. We are created in God’s image and likeness. As such we can celebrate the life he has entrusted to us. It calls us to become coheirs with Christ in his creative and loving plan. No longer are we alone among the universe but are invited to participate with that creative life and love. We are called to be people transformed by God’s loving mercy. 

Why my faith is important to me (My mother's reflection)

I have two memories from my youth that have periodically recurred to me. The first was a comment from my history master, that the best test of friendship was the ability to be comfortable with one’s friend in complete silence for an hour. At 16 we all thought this was utter nonsense, but now? I wonder! The second was a comment from Tim, one of my science students, a committed Catholic, who shared that it seemed to him that we only begin to know what life was about when it is time to die. I should have given him a much different answer now than the one I gave then, but I then was only some 8 years older than he, and puzzling myself

As a young scientist I had no difficulty in believing in a transcendent Creator God. The excitement of the discoveries in atomic physics, the incredible systems in the human body, the balances in nature, such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles could not have been arrived at by pure chance. And the exciting expansion of space exploration opened our young minds to the miracles of the universe and it’s Creator. And there were many scientific theories, none of which denied a creator; big bang or steady state?

But something was missing. How did humanity, including myself, fit into God’s plan? In the Christian community to which my family belonged much emphasis was placed on the Fall, and it was implicit that as a consequence we had to work and pray hard to earn again the love of the Creator God. An image of God developed, an anthropomorphic inversion of the original  Genesis story ,we ‘created God in OUR own image’ and God appeared as judgemental, punitive , loving us when we were ‘Good’ and removing that love when we were ‘Bad’ A frightening model!.  I pondered also at the past and present cruelties injustices and divisions among people who professed to be Christian. Humanity in the 40’s was struggling with the horrors of the Holocaust and Hiroshima. It seemed the Church had no answers to my many questions. I drifted from the Church and lived for many years following “the Golden Rule” (“do to others as you would have them do to you”) (Mat.7:12) and the prohibitions of the Decalogue (Ex 20.7-17). While a sense of God, though distant, was behind this moral code, still something was missing for me.

          A busy life, concerned mainly with family and scientific and teaching employment, moved on. Parents died, children grew up and employment opportunities brought us to Australia. Two of the children had already found comfort in the post-conciliar Catholic Church, and my work included teaching in Catholic schools both in England & here. In the gap of silence that followed our ‘desert experience’ as if by an invisible magnet, both Bob & I were drawn to the post Vat II Catholic church. Much reading and discussion followed; particularly we talked of the work of some of the Christian Mystics, such as Julian of Norwich, Therese of Avila and from modern times Evelyn Underhill.  The ideas of spiritual journey from blind faith to searching faith recurred and the need for contemplative silence was new to us. Above all we learned of the unconditional love of God and that in the Pascal mystery of Jesus’ death, Resurrection and Ascension, we learned we’d already been saved; so different from my early experiences and instruction.   The mystery of the transcendence and immanence of God came alive as in Luke 17. 21 “The Kingdom of God is within you”        Many experiences of God’s love began to dawn; one which I’ll share was especially powerful. When our 6 year old granddaughter drowned we were numbed beyond words and even emotions; as we farewelled her I felt invisible hands on my head and a profound peace came over me. We were being comforted by God’s love, and this came through our silent closeness to him at that time. This experience was reinforced as we reflected on Rabbi Kushner’s experiences described in “When Bad Things happen to Good People” as he shared his loss of his eldest son and drew benefit from the compassion of God, and he added the thoughts, shared with his communities, that our tragedies are not punishments from God

 Of the seven life-journey sacraments of the Catholic Church, the most powerful for me is the Eucharist. There is experience of Christ’s spirit being present among the community, the awareness that, though not perfect, we are forgiven and loved by God. Spoken and sung prayers of adoration and petition give a sense of both the transcendence & immanence of God; There is the prayer of listening to Scripture, from both Hebrew & Christian Testaments,  refreshed with fresh insights from scripture studies  in the light of modern scholarship. Many of the modern hymns are based on scripture, such as yesterdays from Isaiah 55 “Come to the Water” The newly revived prayer of silence which follows the touch of Jesus in the receipt of the Host gives a chance to experience deeply an awareness of God’s presence. And this Eucharist thanksgiving is celebrated every day in every country in the world. One of the Eucharistic prayers summarised my longing; “May we live in the joy of life in your presence”

One other reflection developed for me , reflecting on Jesus’ promise “ In my Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14;2) and this linked with my reading of the Vatican II documents, particularly “Nostra Aetate”, which urged unity between Christians, a deeper understanding of our own faith and an acknowledgement of the beauty and truth in other faiths. When Pope John Paul II invited world religious leaders to meet in 1986 & 1999, in Assisi and Rome to pray for peace together, he finished with the exhortation “Individually and together we must show how religious belief inspires peace, encourages solidarity, promotes justice and upholds liberty” 

  So I have learned that Faith is not static, but searching; experiential not merely intellectual, that there seems to be evidence of God’s spirit moving through and between the various world faiths as we begin to dialogue, and this brings Hope, and sometimes Love; but of the three gifts, Faith, Hope & Love  the greatest is that of Love.

So where I started, with Tim’s statement , I’d found that spiritual life is a journey , unending and that friendship with God can be experienced in the silence of Contemplative prayer as well as in more traditional prayer forms.

     I am 85 earth years old, but probably only half that in hope-of -heaven years, and still learning. Intellectual understanding has been part of the quest, but it is the spiritual longing for a deeper relationship with God is my goal.

A translated poem from the 14^th century Turkish mystic, Rumi perhaps summarises better than I can

                   The intellectual quest is exquisite, like pearls and coral

                   But it is not the same as the spiritual quest

                   The spiritual quest is on another level altogether            

                   Spiritual wine has a subtler taste

                   The intellect and the senses investigate cause and effect

                   The spiritual seeker surrenders to wonder.

                             (Rumi Wisdom; trans. Timothy Freke)

Be Merciful as your Father

The call to be merciful is at the centre of this weekend’s readings. Ultimately, it talks about ensuring that we consider not only our own good but the good of the other. There is a call for epieikes or forbearance to all. This means that people in positions of authority exercise it with a consideration for those that may be affected by their decision making. This is central to the call of Pope Francis for people to be missionaries of mercy. There is an expectancy that we develop an attitude of epiekeia to each other. Drawing people to God through the manifestation of our life. We are called to be people who not only preach mercy but pray mercy, live mercy and be merciful as our heavenly Father.

Over the next year there will be opportunities for us to discover the importance of this. In many instances this could be as easy and as difficult as the constant praying of the Jesus prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner!” This prayer has always been close to my own life as I recognize that God calls me to a life of mercy not sacrifice. I am called to enter into a life which entrusts myself totally to the life of God.

Reading the map

Often as we are travelling we have to wait at roadworks. These are important points in which are called to pause and reflect. The roadworks are conducted not only to make our travel safer but also more direct. When corners are taken out and the ways are leveled it is easier to see the way ahead. This is a good parable for Advent. It reminds of not only of the importance of work undertaken on our behalf but also a reminder that for it to last it should not be done quickly. The work of preparing for Christmas should be undertaken with the same care and attention for the detail of our lives. What paths need straightening, how is our vision impaired, what do we listen to but not take in, who is walking this path with me? In taking time each day to pause and reflect we start on that important work of being attentive to God in our daily life. Our journey does not start at the place we are seeking to reach but at our point of departure. In seeking to discover God's divine life we need to discover that it all begins from the point we are now.

Being so busy preparing for Christmas that we miss Christ!

Our preparation for Christmas are important as they call us to centre on an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ and the life he offers to us. This can often be crowded out by Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, Christmas Parking, Christmas Travelling and even Christmas carols. They can give us a feel that something important is about to happen but can swamp us with too many experiences. As we approach Christmas we can often feel tired, lethargic and exhausted. So much of our time goes into the activity of preparation that we may find that we have not prepared ourselves. It is important that we make room for Christ to be in our hearts. This is about being a person of prayer who reaches out to others in need. It is a prayer which allows us to come to a still place where we are present to the people who are important in our lives. It is also important that we find not lose ourselves. I pray that during this season of Advent the focus could be on our preparing ourselves for Christmas Day and not becoming dissipated by too much activity. This is a time of joy, not sadness, of hope not despair, of charity not greed. May people see in us the face of Christ as we seek to discover the face of Christ in others?

A Kingdom not of this world.

The last week has witnessed tensions rise around the world as the results of attacks in Paris, Beirut and on the Sinai Peninsula. The atrocities which have been carried out cause us to question what is the best way to respond to terror. There are many people who are far more qualified than I am to look at the global and national ramifications of the circumstances in which we now found ourselves. However, at a personal and communal level we need to reflect on whether these events should change how we live and what we believe. There can be a tendency to respond with equal or greater force, to seek revenge and to allow our opinions to coloured by mistrust and suspicion. As followers of Christ we are not immune from the events present in the world but we are called to be formed in the image and likeness of God. We are called to be people who create life, facilitate hope and act with charity.  We are called to be people who in our earthly life seek to honour the commandment given to Jesus to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind and all our soul and to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is central to our Christian faith and the way we are called to live. This cannot be taken as an optional extra it is foundational to how we are called to live in relationship with others especially at times when our hearts seem to be torn in two.

Trusting our lives totally to God

We can often have an image of God as the divine accountant who measures out whether we have a credit or debit balance. While we may not articulate this in what we say, it can be displayed in the way we choose to live. We can tend to hedge our bets and believe that as long as we live with a credit balance that we are on the inside track. This weekend’s gospels tell a very different story. It is not about giving God what is left over but an offering of our whole lives. What God wants is not just what we choose to give he wants everything. This can seem too much, too radical and too demanding. If we give God everything what will be left for us? However, this is what lies of Elijah’s discussion with the widow. She believes that she can just provide enough for one last meal for her son. She is barely in a position to share anything. Similarly the widow who puts all that she has to live on into the Temple treasury. Both of these women rely totally on God’s word and discover that in offering everything that nothing is lost. They discover a God who can make more out of their offering than they can do solely by themselves. This is a surrender which places complete trust in God. It is not easy to come to that place, it takes prayer, it requires trust and it requires an acceptance that God can do more with our lives than we could do on our own. 

How can loving our neighbour be a catastophic error?

I am writing on the eve of All Saints Day which presents the Beatitudes as the manifesto of Christian Life. These words turn the world upside down because they seek to discover a God who is the living heart of our world. It is at the heart of our Jewish and Christian heritage that we are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our mind and with our strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. This is more than a noble sentiment which cannot be applied to daily life. However, this the radical challenge which Jesus presents to us. He is not a misguided prophet or an altruistic do-gooder, he is the person who gives substance to our lives and the way we are called to be present to God and each other.

What can we discover about God in the beatitudes?

                That people who seek to find God out of their own poverty of spirit will find the Kingdom of heaven. This is not seeking poverty for its own sake but discovering that are lives are only complete when we surrender them to a God who will walk with them in the difficulties, questions and sinfulness.

That people who confront their own violence in actions, thoughts and deeds discover the gentle spirit of God which brings people together rather than driving them apart.

That people who are able to show compassion for others at time of great turmoil and loss experience a way of being present to others which brings comfort and healing.

That people who are able to feel the deep hunger of humanity rather than stand in judgment over it will find a way of being present to others with integrity and truth.

That people who reach out to others with their time and resources will find that the well is never spent.

That people who seek to have a genuine desire to walk with God will see the face of God in others.

That people who seek to bring reconciliation and healing will be changed into being co-creators with God.

That people who walk with Jesus will seek to work with others because they are people created in the image and likeness of God.

That people are called to be the authentic witness of how Jesus walks with them in spite of the many people who would claim that they do not live in the real world. The Gospel calls us to view the whole of creation not as a problem but as a gift, not as a mystery to be solved but a mystery to be lived, as a way of being present to creation with generosity and grace.

What is happening with our life?

When we come to a place of pray we are called to turn up as we are not as we think we should be. Each Sunday allows us to stop a moment and listen to what is happening in our lives. In lives which can be driven by endless activity it is hard to know what to ask for. However, what is most pressing on our minds or our hearts would be good place to start. It is the place of which we are most conscious of and can occupy much of our time. This becomes the most obvious point in which we need to make a faith response. It calls for a surrender of that concern to the person of Jesus. It is not that it will be magically resolved but it will allows to become aware of how Jesus can walk with us in what can often seem complex and difficult situations. Jesus' life always touches what is at the heart of our own and draws forth what is needed for this moment and this day. Just remember: Jesus stops, Jesus Listens, Jesus Asks, and Jesus is present to our faith

Can we do this on our own?

It is easy to recognize that we live in a world where self-service becomes the norm. We witness this not only when we fill up our cars, shop in our supermarkets or even phone up various companies with the push button options. There is a sense of convenience in being able to do it for ourselves and allows us to choose who is in control. However, there is also a sense that we lose that important sense of relationship with the person who provides the service on our behalf. We can tend treat the person as a convenience or a utility which is provided for us. We can also lose a sense of self in relationship to the other.

When we witness Jesus’ talking about servant leadership we discover someone who is willing to put himself in the shoes of another. He recognizes that we often belief that the leader is the one who calls the shots and makes all the decisions. The challenge he provides for the disciples is to take the place of the person who is suffering and to take that suffering upon themselves. Jesus seeks to ransom us from our sin, our suffering, and our belief that we can do this all on our own. Jesus does not call for self-sufficient Christians who look out solely for their own interests but disciples and who can enter into a relationship with God who loves them into life.

Who would we surrender our life to?

The gospel this weekend talks about the difference to living according to the commandments and the living in accord with the spirit of God. Sometimes it is easier to live by the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law. Jesus challenges the young man in the Gospel to completely trust God in a very radical way, he asks him to sell everything and give the money to the poor. His reaction of the young man is one of sadness. It may be good for us to reflect on what is happening in the life of this young man. We already know he is a man who takes his faith seriously, he obeys the commandments, he seeks to follow the way of God and he seeks out the person of Jesus. Even the disciples are shocked by the words of Jesus when they say, who then can be saved? However, I think the central message is that salvation is not initiated by us it is initiated by God. It calls us to open to God’s grace and surrender our lives to the reign of God. Often we can feel that such a surrender will diminish us. The truth is that when we come to those moments of surrender, God enables us to be more richly blessed. These can be life changing moments that change the direction of our lives. The central question is what moves us to become disciples of Jesus Christ and what holds us back?

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.

Empty hearts and empty wallets!

The change of weather often causes us to have a bit of a spring clean. We open up cupboards that have been closed up for winter to look at what is inside. This can cause us to go on a bit of a binge in throwing things out right, left and centre. We can wonder how we end up with so much so stuff and whether it actually achieves the purpose for which it is intended. After we have gone through this period of frantic activity there can be a tendency to return to patterns that were there before.  We can often buy things too quickly and spend money too easily believing it will bring is satisfaction. After the splurge we can be left with empty hearts and empty wallets.

Could I suggest that just as we undertake a Lectio to listen to God’s word spoken to us through scripture we can adopt the same approach to our purchases? If we feel empty inside there can be a tendency to fill that emptiness with a product which seems to feel our greatest desire. Advertising can seem to speak a language of fulfillment rather than engagement. It is good to sit for a while in prayer for the word or the product which seems to want us to buy something new. However, when we come to a place of stillness we can see what can truly bring us joy and hope. Sometimes we already have the resources close at hand in our own minds and hearts. The truth emerges from the inside out and allows us to seek what is truly needed for this day. God can speak to us in our everyday activities and what will truly bring us life.

Man proposes, God Disposes

In the “Imitation of Christ” written by Thomas A Kempis he says, ‘For the resolutions of the just depend rather on the grace of God than on their own wisdom; and in Him they always put their trust, whatever they take in hand. For man proposes, but God disposes; neither is the way of man in his own hands.’

In our own time we have become very reliant on our own ability to make decisions. There is a sense of personal autonomy when we are responsible for the decisions that we make. However, there is also a sense in which when we make decisions solely for ourselves we can lose a sense of corporate responsibility for each other. If we only make decisions for ourselves how do our lives have an impact on each other? If our moral sense is based solely on what we decide is good, how can we allow room for others? Where does God fit into the picture?

In the encounter with Jesus that we have experienced through the readings of John 6 we are left with the question hanging about who it is will lead our lives. Many of the people who heard Jesus speak were confronted by a reality which we encounter each week in the Eucharist. A person who calls us to enter into relationship with him. This is not about us forming Jesus in our own image and likeness but allowing us to be fashioned into God’s image and likeness.

The greatest gift that we can receive is one that is freely given

The greatest gift that we can receive is one that is freely given. In a world we are often told the price of everything but the value of nothing. Where everything is reduced to an economic price we can miss out on what is central to life. We can start to worship the means of exchange rather than what is exchanged. Our lives become increasingly cluttered up with information and with stuff we have accumulated. What we are offered in Eucharist is so simple and so direct we can be tempted to ignore what is on offer and who it is that is being offered to us. In Eucharist we are called to a direct and personal relationship with Jesus. As St Francis de Sales says, “Prayer is the means by which we ascend to God; the sacraments are the channels by which God descends to us.” We are invited to enter into that personal and direct relationship through going to Mass each week, by receiving communion and by spending time in quiet adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. If we allow Jesus to be at the heart of all our relationships then our life can be transformed by his real presence which brings life to the heart of the world.

Who do I believe?

There are times in life when we are called to believe in something or someone. It can emphasize what will shape our lives and how we will spend our waking hours. The relationships that we develop out of that believe impact on our families, our community and our world. However, so often our relationships are shaped by the opinions of others rather than a carefully considered dedication of ourselves. In busy lives this can be quite easy because we are moved too easily by soundbites and by catchy headlines. However, to develop any relationship means that we have to risk something of ourselves for the good of the other. It is not just about what I want but what assists all people to grow in relationship with each other.

Jesus challenges us to see God as wanting to develop a relationship with each of us and to grow communities which are life giving and wholesome. Communities which are built on a life giving relationship developed in prayer and action. He calls us to walk with him and accompany each other on the journey. Each day we are called to reflect what provides food for the journey. In our Christian lives we are called to hear Jesus speak to us through scripture and through our own experience. To reflect together as a community on the way we live that for the good of others and not just ourselves. Are call to believe in the Creed is a missionary statement which sees God send us out with Good News to our world.

What do you do for a living?

When we first meet a person often one of the first questions we ask is what do you for work? It is a reflection of our culture that in order to know a person we need to know what occupies most of their waking hours. Often it can relate to a person’s paid employment and there can be a reticence to give an answer which may diminish us in the eyes of the other. When we find out what a person does for a living we can also start to make assumptions about the person without really becoming familiar with who they are.

The same dilemma is present when people encounter the person of Jesus. They want to believe in what he does rather than in who he is. They seek to discover the works of Jesus rather than the person of Jesus. They miss the substance of who he is and what he offers. Rather than looking for the quick fix and the instant gratification of people’s hunger he offers a relationship which will satisfy their whole life. At the heart of our lives is an offer of discovering a person who promises eternal life and who sees our lives as having eternal value. We are not just called to know about him but to believe in him and live in relationship with him.

How can I share my life with so many?

There is often a feeling in our lives that we only give of ourselves when we receive positive feedback. There can be a tendency to seek a pay off or reward for all our efforts. We can see our lives as limited to what is immediately in front of us and so we tend to dish up to people from what we believe we have available to hand. This is not only present in how we distribute our own money but also how we distribute our own time. We become used to scheduling and prioritizing. We start to indicate what we consider important by the use of limited time. We live in a world which sees our resources as scarce and limited. When we adopt this stance in lives we can also apply it to our own lives, so many things to do, so little time to do them in.
This stress of modern day living can cause us to not see how each day is precious and open to the grace of God's abundant love  and provision. This is not a scarce resource or a limited commodity but rather a way of life. It does not see our life as dissected into discreet moments in which we share our life with others. It seeks to give the whole person in whatever we do. This allows our lives to have value in whatever situation we find ourselves. It is a way of being present to the world as ourselves. It does not see our life as limited but rather as gift. It flows naturally from a relationship with God and our relationship with others. Each day we are called to be present to a God who gives thanks for our lives.