God-is-with-us

 When we hear this phrase it is possible that we can misinterpret what it truly means. Often when we pray we can have a preset agenda that God needs to follow. We want life to be peaceful, uncomplicated, and stable. Yet in the hurly and burly of life, we can find ourselves pondering what God is seeking to communicate to us. We see this in the question which arises in Joseph's thinking when he finds out that Mary is pregnant. He starts to tell himself a story about what is best for him and for Mary. He works out a plan which both respects Mary while also allowing him to retain his honor. Part of this is driven by his fears of what others will say but also how this impacts the lives of both of them. Yet in his prayer, he is moved to act in a way he had not expected which sees his life as part of a larger adventure.

In a similar way when we hear these words of God-is-with-us we can tend to isolate  it to sound more like God-is-for-us. In this experience, we start to form God into our own image and likeness. We imagine that God will answer our prayers in the way we think best. In this situation, we seek to discover a God who will help us to maintain our control of the situations we find ourselves in and where we can see ourselves portrayed in the best light. The place allows us to believe that we can accord our lives to the prevailing opinion of others which will not rock the boat.

Yet in the reality, the Gospel message seeks for us to discover that we do not have all the answers to our problems. In fact, we often feel our own inner poverty when we do not have an immediate answer to quite challenging events that can unsettle and unnerve us. Like Joseph, we can wonder how to reconcile where our hearts are being led when they appear to be torn apart. When we wrestle with these questions we discover a God who does abide with us not to give a simple fix but a loving presence. 

I believe this is at the heart of how we prepare for Christmas when we wonder whether we have everything in place. In times of uncertainty about the future, we can seek to orientate ourselves toward a God who joins us in that poverty. God seeks us out in the disturbing presence of Jesus born in an obscure town in a far-off land in a place away from power and influence. In this place, he draws us to find our hearts especially when they seem divided in two. We discover a God who seeks to disrupt and heal us with a love that is present to our greatest desire. May the peace of Christ disturb us!

God seeks us out

 There is often a belief that the spiritual life commences with us. This often starts with a question about what brings meaning to our existence. Many self-books seek to set out methods or ways of being present in the age in which we live. While some may guide us to a point of self-reflection they can also isolate us in seeing this journey as our own private adventure. Thus we see it pushed to the margin of our society as a hobby or a way of engaging our time when we have nothing else to do.

Yet the readings for this weekend acknowledge a different reality. God comes searching for us. This recognizes in Isaiah how we can become blinded or deafened by the many competing voices and directions which are presented to us. But essentially God desires a relationship with us, not just a plan that can be followed. It calls us to patiently cultivate this relationship.

As we see in Matthew's gospel even John the Baptist had questions about whether Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus points to the reality of being healed, renewed, and known. This acknowledges that we are called to discover who we are in God's eyes and how we are looked upon with abiding love. This can be an unexpected surprise as often we engage with God believing that we are not good enough to be loved. There is nothing that can be further from the truth. God seeks us out when we least expect it and when we can feel that we do not deserve to be loved so intimately. We can feel so small when God can appear so big. I believe this is why Advent is so important we prepare a place in our hearts for a small child who seeks to befriend and draw us closer. It is this non-threatening approach that allows us to prepare a place where God can be at home with us and where we can prepare to hold him close to our hearts.

So this is how we enter into this week with a sense of joyful anticipation that God seeks to be with us even in the most mundane and everyday tasks. God seeks us out long before we seek God.

Don't rely on past glories

 One of my lecturers once warned me that completing a qualification was an acknowledgment of work done and an aptitude to apply yourself to study. However, as we have learned in our current environment we need to be open to ongoing formation in a world which rapidly calls us to be aware of new knowledge and insights. This is the danger when we start to rely upon on what we have done in the past to justify our work in the present. We are called to be people who learn what is called for today.

In a similar way in our spiritual life, we need to be open to deepening our relationship with the person of Christ. Our prayer calls us to be open to encountering Him in the current day and with a fresh appreciation of how we are called to draw closer. This allows us to take time each day in which we build on the foundations we have made but guides us to a deeper understanding of how we are known by Him. During Advent, we are called to reflect on the places where we become stuck in old habits which paralyze us in the present. This allows us to notice how we are called to produce fruit that is sweet and nourishing not only for ourselves but for all people.

As Paul reflects in his letter to the Romans where he emphasizes persistence and tolerance in reaching out to each other. This calls us into a friendship with Christ which is reflected in how we are called to be friends with each other. Especially at this time when so many things can divide us, we are called to be people who seek to be united in mind and voice. This is the place where peace and justice can flourish. 

This calls for a discerning spirit that seeks a spirit of wisdom and insight, counsel and power, knowledge and awe. This understanding of Isaiah is that we are called to be people who breathe in the spirit and speak it out. Thus being known as we allow us to welcome the reign of God which dwells within us. As we journey to Christmas may this be a time when we are gifted with this discerning spirit that seeks to build bridges, not walls.

Remaining present to the moment!

 This is the longest Advent season that we will experience leading up to Christmas. Already we can sense that even though it is a full four weeks the time can seem to pass by too quickly. I think part of this is an expectation of how we want Christmas to be guided by our experience over the last few years. The last few Christmases have been clouded by lockdowns, travel restrictions, and the fear associated with the spread of COVID. Some of the remnants of these fears remain as people become tentative about how far they can venture from home. We are kept on tenterhooks waiting for the next event to strike us and restrict us. Yet this is not the attentiveness spoken about in the readings for this weekend.

Rather we are called to remain awake to this moment. It calls us to be people who are guided by kairos time not chronos time. The difference is palpable. When we are guided by chronos we become beset by to-do lists and by when lists. We start to notice being pulled in multiple directions all at once. We seek to experience activism that seeks to bounce from function to function, party to party, and shop to shop. We become breathless and splintered trying to please everyone and we become distant from ourselves. There is a dulling of the senses and an experience of exhaustion that creeps up on us. 

Kairos time on the other hand seeks to allow us to be present in this moment and to this person. It seeks to befriend us in a way that does not alienate us from ourselves. We become awake to the possibilities of where God's grace is at work in our lives. Each day provides the opportunity to be awake and aware of how God is present at the heart of all things. It calls us to be focussed on who we are with and what we are doing at this moment. The more we become prayerfully aware of how we are called to match the rhythm of our own breathing the more likely we will notice people more than things. It allows us the opportunity to be guided to be present rather than rushing on. 

Will we be awake to those moments where we accompany each other along the way? As pilgrims who await the coming of Jesus at an unexpected hour and in ways that endear and befriend us with hope. We develop expectant hearts which are open to His presence. 

Whose are we?

 There are many voices that can compete for our attention and guide our lives. This is an ongoing reality of daily life when we wake in the morning to when we go to bed at night. The information age can shape who we become through the many media which seek us to invest in their view of the world and how we fit in. This tsunami of information can hold our attention for a moment and then we move on. There can be bite-sized pieces of news that we seek to discover a deeper pattern from which we can live. Yet ultimately who is the focus of our lives.

This is especially true when we seek to discover a rule of life. This is more than obeying laws or acknowledging a person who has governance over us. Rather it looks at who we submit with an active and listening heart that attends to the voice of the other because we trust their guidance. In this way, our obedience is not just an external act of submission to the authority of another. It is actually a recognition of what is good, beautiful, and true. This is what gives purpose to our lives and allows us to become present to a God who sees us as we truly are.

Thus on the Solemnity of Christ the King we believe that there is a voice that speaks goodness, beauty, and truth to our hearts. This helps us to discover that our lives have meaning and substance. We have been created out of love for the good of God, the good of ourselves, and the good of the whole of creation. In this, we learn to build on solid foundations that acknowledge that we have a deep inner worth. We become detectives of God's graced presence in every moment of our day. It helps to direct our attention and not become distracted by the voices which seek to destroy, distort and diminish life. We seek to find the voice which will enhance, empower and befriend us for the good of the whole.

As we enter these final days before Advent we seek to notice what holds our attention and who guides our life. In the end, we seek to listen to the voice which actually acknowledges whose we are!

The world seems to be on a rush to nowhere!

 As start the countdown for the end of the year there never seem enough hours in the day to complete all that we need to do. Added to this we are present tensions at home through floods, rising interest rates, and homelessness along with the pressing issues on the global stage of the conflicts in Ukraine, Yemen, Congo, Sudan, and Myanmar. We also notice how these issues relate to the security of food and resources among poorer nations along with the calls for freedom in Iran, North Korea, Nicaragua, and Taiwan including the strains placed on our democratic systems. There can be a temptation at these times to believe the world is coming apart at the seams. When we see many things that we have taken for granted being challenged it is tempting to become subsumed by our fears and be led astray by people who predict death and disaster.

Yet this is the very time when we need sober minds and loving hearts. It is all too easy to believe that our lives are on the road to nowhere but this is not what Jesus says. He talks about the importance of endurance and the ability to trust our lives to him. This calls upon us as Paul says to the Thessalonians to go on quietly working and earning the food that we eat. It is this quiet persistence that bears witness to our inner worth we do not see our lives as a burden but as a gift. It is from this gift that we see our lives as bearing that gift to others and sharing in the goodness of creation.

In many ways, it is all too easy to explore the destructive and antagonistic movements of our hearts. It can seem that so many negative images about the meaning or the absence of meaning can seem to besiege us with specters of armageddon. These can lead us into a sense of fatalism or worse superstition that there is nothing we can do to change the world for the better. Yet in the midst of the most serious crises people have sought to restore and renew a spirit of hope in what builds up our care for creation and each other. If we see all things as a gift then we seek to discover how we can share this good news with others. 

Developing a rule of life

 There are many self-help books that can assist us to know ourselves better. They seem to address the myriad issues that can besiege us in daily life. How do we become motivated? What helps us to focus on what is important? Who do we listen to and where do we believe our life is heading? Often there is an emphasis on developing habits and avoiding the ways that we can self-sabotage ourselves by taking on too many goals. There can be a sense in which we want to have it all with the minimum effort. Yet when we become disappointed and our resolutions melt away we can be left wondering what will make a difference. I believe this is where a rule of life can be helpful as it can embed who we are, whose we are and what is our mission in life.

This may take some journaling or just noticing whose voice we listen to the most. This can be easily monitored by looking at our daily activities, our conversations, the media that we most engage with, and what we respond to straight away. This allows us to see what influences us to become present and grabs our attention. Often writing a list as a way of reflection can show us what grabs our focus and what motivates us. This can often be noticed by the voices we retain and those that become tuned out. 

This listening then orientates us towards another who is significant to us and helps to guide our direction in life. This is where we become people of prayer who attend to God and our neighbor. We become aware of how we are known more than what we know. We start to be seen as a person who have been created in the image and likeness of God. Our spirituality starts to be both body and spirit and allows us to encounter another person as they are. Just as we allow God to gaze upon us we start to see the world through God's eyes.

This ultimately starts to direct how we use our time, our talents, and our treasure. We start to see them as gifts to be shared rather than as possessions to be amassed. Our lives seek to give expression to who I am and whose I am. We start to see ourselves as less distracted and dissipated by the events of life. We become more focused and available to others. This becomes a way of being not just a list of things to be done.

How do we live the Good News?

 Each generation has to make a decision that in encountering Christ they are called to share this good news with others. This is not so much a task to be undertaken or a program adopted as a desire to help others to witness the life at the heart of all life. This is about a missionary witness which does not just transform the person but is eager to share this with others.

This initiative may seem to emerge from within us. We notice Zaccheus longing to just catch a glimpse of Jesus as he passes by. Yet in the urgency to catch sight of him Jesus looks at him. This look not only responds to that urgent longing but it expresses itself in Jesus' willingness to be present to Zaccheus by sharing a meal with him. This willingness to come home to Zaccheus also saw a transformation that shifted his orientation. No longer was his focus on the past but on being present to others in generosity and thanksgiving.

As the Book of Wisdom notices God creates all things good and helps people to rediscover that fundamental calling. To become present to the loving spirit that is called to abide within us and learn to trust God in all things. As Paul writes to the Thessalonians this desire for goodness is to help us become beacons of hope to our nation and our world.

Thus our witness is living with the person of Jesus, our companion, and our guide. The call to be present to the person who makes our life a living prayer. This allows others to grow deeper in love with God and to make their own faithful response. Little by little, we discover that God moves close to us so that we can move close to God.

How we orientate ourselves towards God

 There can be a belief that we are called to earn our salvation through our own good works and accomplishments. Almost like frequent flyer points, we can believe merit is its own reward and miss out on the importance of who we are called to be in a relationship with. The Gospel is about how we are saved as a people of faith not just as individuals. This calls us to a profound insight that at the heart of creation God seeks out those who are pushed to the margins and who are deprived of the necessities of life. 

We come before God as people who recognize how easy it is for people to be plunged into poverty by events beyond their control. We are called to not judge people on their external appearances. We can often tell stories to ease our conscience when we seek to separate each other into the saved and the unsaved. Yet the reality is that the Good News is not a private revelation but a lifegiving light that warms the heart and directs the soul.

This orientation toward God does not seek to own the divine but rather opens us up to the possibility that we can be transformed. This is achieved not by our hard work or the adoption of spiritual formula. Rather it seeks to abandon ourselves totally on God's loving presence that directs our attention to our neighbor. It seeks to shape our lives by the encouragement that every life matters. In an age when people become increasingly individualistic and parochial, where nations seek to favor others by their wealth rather than their worth and our politics shape our culture rather than culture shaping our politics we are called to become people who become contemplatives in the marketplace. This contemplative spirit discovers that God speaks to every generation and the words are almost always the same, "The Lord hears the cry of the poor".We are moved to recognize what breaks our hearts for the good of all creation and not just our own comfort both material and spiritual. May the peace of Christ disturb you.

What does life teach us about God?

 When we consider the teachers who have the greatest influence upon us it is not so much what they taught but who they were in their teaching. They were people who not only had a passion to learn but a desire to help others learn what they understood. There was a thirst to communicate what was essential to their subject so that others could appreciate and translate it into their own circumstances.

Thus we see Jesus seeking to help his disciples to pray without ceasing and not lose heart. He uses the image of the unjust judge being pestered by a woman who seeks justice against her enemy. The image we have is of a person being harangued into submission rather than hearing what is just in this particular situation. Thus Jesus teaches us to become people who are not just examining what we want to happen but noticing how God desires justice to be achieved in the here and now.

Paul echoes this in his letter to Timothy. He sees that Holy Scripture is not just a how-to manual but rather a revelation of wisdom that leads us into a deeper relationship with God and with each other. This seeks to seek guidance in which scripture and the Word of God read our hearts. It is a call to obedience that seeks to faithfully listen patiently to God's voice speaking to our hearts.

We do not just rely on our own strength and our capabilities but rather seek God to help us grow in our capacity to love others. This faithfulness is about being present and seeking for God to help us in all things. To guard our hearts against just trusting in our own strength but rather the faithfulness to learn from the teaching of Jesus who guides us.

A life of thanksgiving

In Caroline Jones' book, "An Authentic Life" she explored how to find meaning and spirituality in daily life. One of the themes on which her life was based was becoming a person of thanksgiving. This motivated not only her attitude toward life but also how she sought to interact with people. People may remember her interviews on the radio or the ABC series, Australian Story. It was this journalistic style that sought to explore the reality that everyone had a story to tell. By connecting deeply with a person's story we seek to know them as a person.

We sense a similar reality in the Gospel reading about the ten lepers who were cured but only one returned to give praise to God and thank Jesus. The man was a Samaritan. In the midst of the story that is recounted to us, we notice that the miracle is not that the leprosy is cured but rather that one person's heart is transformed. This is the reality of our faith response we don't want it just to go skin deep but rather draw us deeper into living a life of thanks and praise.

In discovering that God enters into our daily story Jesus invites us to notice how we are called to sing a new song. This song seeks to proclaim an understanding of God's initiative which speaks truth and love to the heart of our nation. In an age where we can encounter a culture of entitlement, we can reflect on what actually brings life and meaning to our own hearts. This allows us to notice what brings meaning and spirituality into our daily life. We no longer hold God at arm's length but rather notice what wells up within us with praise and thanksgiving. Our lives are not empty and meaningless but rather are founded on God's salvific action for our good and the good of all creation.

If today you hear God's voice harden not your hearts!

 The words of the psalm echo through the readings today. Especially as we celebrate the feasts of the Guardian Angels and the feasts of St Jerome, St Therese of Lisieux, St Francis of Assisi, and Sts Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel we reflect on where God speaks to our hearts in daily life. Each saint calls us to look at the office entrusted to us to proclaim the Good News in daily life. This is not just an allocation of a work schedule where we tick off the boxes but rather a way of life in which the Holy Spirit guides us to be faithful to the gifts entrusted to us. Our witness proclaims that we share our lives for the good of God and the good of each other with power, love, and self-control. The Gospel is not just our private possession that we preserve solely for our own use but rather a living truth of the relationship that sustains us in life.

We are called to have faith that can grow into more than we can imagine. This is where it may be useful to do a short precis of the saints I mentioned. St Jerome had a passion for the Word of God which called him to study scripture. His passion for the Word was to reveal to others the revelation which touched him as a way of life that would inspire others to read, reflect, and be transformed by scripture. St Therese of Lisieux was inspired to live a life of simplicity and dedication to God where she saw her life doing good on earth. In many ways, she was an apostle of God's love for others in drawing people into a living relationship with God. St Francis of Assisi heard the words to rebuild my Church and realized that this was not just about bricks and mortar but about encountering the heart of God who was at the heart of creation. In our own times, we are called to be cocreators with God in caring for all that sustains life. St Michael seeks to focus our attention on how it is God at the heart of our lives, St Gabriel who invites us through the Virgin Mary to be part of God's way of salvation, and St. Raphael who seeks to heal and strengthen us both from our physical and spiritual blindness to see God's action in our life. In all these situations our Guardian Angels are not cute addendums who watch over us but people who pray with us and for us in our daily lives. 

In all these Saints' lives, the focus was on how we can cooperate with God's grace not solely for our own good but for the good of all of God's creation. It calls for our hearts to be enlarged by our prayer, reflection, and isolation. As Christians, we are not called to live in splendid isolation but people who witness to the heart of God who speaks to every generation with a voice that burns deep within us.

Afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted

 At the heart of the Gospel is the Word of God that converts restores, and forgives. We live in such a literate age that we find it hard to see beyond the print that is in front of us. We become used to reading things quickly so that we are informed and up to date. In many ways, we are an information age where messages can be communicated quickly. Yet in the midst of all this information, we are called to adapt and consume what we receive and act in a way that provides an appropriate response for the moment. Thus in the very act of consumption, we become flexible to the moment and present to the immediate which is necessary to reach the end of this day.

Yet the Word of God is not just called to become a banner headline but rather a subtext to who we are called to become. It calls us to recognize that we are not just consumers of God's Word but rather participants in a world of grace. God's Word is called to read us and help us to discover that it calls us to a deeper communion with God and which other. What impoverishes one, impoverishes all. Especially on this Sunday, we are called to be people who are not blind to what diminishes the dignity of another and pushes them to the margins of society. This is a daily reality in our own community when we see issues of poverty, homelessness, and slavery afflict people both materially and spiritually. 

The  Word of God invites us to a deeper sense of what transforms us from feeling the pain of others to a conversion of life. This way of life seeks to integrate and transform our society from being self-centered to being holistic of all. This is not just assuaging our guilt when we walk past a beggar in the street but rather discovering what builds a humane society that acknowledges the dignity and worth of each person. Our prayer is not just a private relationship with God but rather an obligation to see everything with the heart of God. This becomes our rule of life which seeks to develop an environment in which each person can thrive and act in a way that seeks to build a just community. This calls us to discover a way of life that is truly incarnate. We are called to act justly, walk humbly and love tenderly with our God.

Who directs our hearts

 Each day in the evening we see our priorities laid out in attending to international, national, and local news followed by a commentary on finance and sport and then the weather. Often this can relate to important events which can have significant impacts on our lives. We need to be aware of the environment in which we live. The question that is often raised in my life is does this just inform me or form me? So often I can be informed about the opinions of others and circumstances which deeply affect the lives of others. Yet this can go more deeply than the style of broadcaster we prefer or the medium of communication that we access. It rather strikes at the heart of what we are called to reflect on and what moves us into action.

We see this, especially in St Paul's letter to Timothy. In this, he notes that we should pray for those in leadership so that we can live religious and reverent lives. Especially in the light of discussions about the future of the monarchy, we can see the discussion focussing on what pleases us rather than what embodies our life of faith. This should be the question that we need to dwell on about who forms our hearts and direction. I believe this was the question that lies at the heart of the plenary council and synodality. It is not about shaping the Church in our own image and likeness but rather how God shapes our hearts and minds so that we can bear faithful witness to the life of Jesus Christ in the Church.

Yet so often it is the pressing issues of finances and resources which engage us first rather than seeing how these are a means rather than an end. We are called to reflect on what God desires for us and how our mission is shaped by that consideration. By prayerful reflection on scripture and the voice of the Church over the ages, we notice how God's voice becomes manifest. We start to notice the environment in which we live and what transforms the lives of people. Then we are called to act in a way that brings compassion to the centre of what we do. We start to see the world, not as a way of making money but as a gift that shares with us the goodness of God's creation.

A life of service

 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was known by Christ long before she became Queen. In her baptism on 29th May 1926 her parents, Queen Elizabeth and King George VI entrusted her to God.She always placed her trust in God, especially at the most difficult times of her life. On the death of her sister, Margaret in 2002 she said in her Christmas address, 

“All great religions have such times of renewal, moments to take stock before moving on to face the challenges which lie ahead. Many of you will know only too well from your own experience, the grief that follows the death of a much loved mother or sister. Mine were very much part of my life and always gave me their support and encouragement. But my own sadness was tempered by the generous tributes that so many of you paid to the service they gave to this country and the wider Commonwealth. At such a difficult time this gave me great comfort and inspiration as I faced up both to my own personal loss and to the busy Jubilee summer ahead. Anniversaries are important events in all our lives. Christmas is the anniversary of the birth of Christ over two thousand years ago, but it is much more than that. It is the celebration of the birth of an idea and an ideal. In a different way I felt that the Golden Jubilee was more than just an anniversary. The celebrations were joyous occasions, but they also seemed to evoke something more lasting and profound - a sense of belonging and pride in country, town, or community; a sense of sharing a common heritage enriched by the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of our twenty-first century society.

I hope it also provided an occasion to acknowledge the progress of the past fifty years and the contributions of those who have done so much to make this country what it is today - their leadership and example, their achievements in science, the arts and many other fields. These celebrations also gave opportunities to recognise the valuable work undertaken by so many people in service of their communities. It was a time to remind ourselves, as the Christmas story does every year, that we must never forget the plight of the disadvantaged and excluded, that we must respond to the needs of those who may be in distress or despair.

Our modern world places such heavy demands on our time and attention that the need to remember our responsibilities to others is greater than ever. It is often difficult to keep this sense of perspective through the ups and downs of everyday life - as this year has constantly reminded me. I know just how much I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.

Like others of you who draw inspiration from your own faith, I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian gospel. (https://www.royal.uk/christmas-broadcast-2002)"

May her life of faithful service be commemorated as both a fellow Christian, a leader of faith, a guide for a nation, and an inspiration to the world. May we pray and dedicate her life to God who in all things guided her love for her family,  nation, and  God.

May she rest in peace.

Who shapes our lives?

 Each day we can be inspired by others to seek out a grand project which will add meaning to our lives. Many of the programs seek to marvel at the cooking abilities of others, their ability to renovate a home, or even to undertake a trip of a lifetime. We long for experiences that give us a greater sense of being worthwhile. Yet when one series end there can be a sense that all that we have gained is a longing for the next things and the next experience.

Yet what we are called to become is a person who dwells in union with God and the work that we have been entrusted to undertake. This may not make the top ratings of a television show but it gives expression to who we are and what we value. There might even be a tangible outcome other than a life well lived. It is here that we need to consider the foundations on which we build our lives and what gives the best expression to who we are. We are formed into a person who is made in the image and likeness of God.

This is the relationship that will sustain us even when things become unpredictable and uncertain. We start to be known by who we are not by the things we own. Our eyes are turned towards what brings life to the full. Our path becomes straightened by God who seeks us to grow in wisdom. 

What is humility?

 What draws our attention in our relationships with others? I feel that our relationships are formed at many different levels of familiarity, acquaintance, friendship, and accompaniment. We know that these bonds that are formed affect how we are present to the other and how much their life impacts our own. This relates to how close we feel to that person and how we share our lives with them. It may be good to explore this more fully because it will impact how we relate to them and how we can truly become ourselves.

In a familiar relationship, we see the other person as the person who may be useful to us and we may be useful to them. Thus we enter into a sense of interaction that shares something which seeks an external good that is important to our life. Thus we may know the name of the person in the supermarket, we are conscious of the person we meet on the way to work and we can share a smile with a person who is our neighbor. This is the first entry door to the relationship but it can often seem transitory.

Then there is the acquaintance who we start to know about their lives and what they do has an impact on our own. We notice how what they do has a deeper impact on how we seek to live. This may be because their story resonates with our own. We see this in dramas on television or which we seek in movies that touch on important issues in life. We join with the person to the depth that they help us to see more clearly what we are called to engage with in life. They help us to see our lives differently.

Yet it is the face-to-face encounters with a person that their story interweaves with our own. We start to notice that they help us to know ourselves more clearly. They are willing to share time with us and they help us to notice what is important for us to become who we are called to become. The experience of friendship helps us to drop the mask and become real. We no longer pretend to be somebody we are not.

This helps us to know the person who accompanies us in our life not because we are perfect but because we share more deeply of ourselves. We do not see our greatness in what we own, do or achieve. The first point is that we are met as we are and this shapes who we are called to become. This allows us to be the touchstone of our lives and it does not put on airs and graces. We unfold into the fulness of our humanity in giving glory to God with our lives.

In the same way that we draw into friendship with each other so we draw into a relationship with God. The dimensions draws us closer to being who we are called to be. This is at the heart of being a person who is open to a graced relationship that integrates all that makes us who we are. We do not need to pretend to know God but discover a God who knows us at the most intimate and profound level. We shed the masks of pretending to discover that we are called to be real not an artificial self. We become a person who is loved into being.

More than familiarity

 I must admit that I have always been disturbed by this weekend's reading. The image of knocking at the door and the voice coming from inside saying I do not know where you are coming from echoes in my mind. This is a reminder that the spiritual journey is not just about our own efforts or accomplishments. We are not called to attend Church just to earn frequent flyer points on our way to heaven. Rather I believe it is to discover who we are and how we are called to live.

Thus in the reading from Isaiah, we discover a God who issues an invitation to enter into a relationship with all people. The voice of God is called to help the person discover that their whole life only finds meaning in this inner voice. So often we believe that meaning is found in what we own, what we do and the knowledge we possess. There is always the temptation to believe that if we are in control, well presented, and up to date, we have substance. Yet it is the deeper discovery that it is the inner voice that speaks of a relationship that sustains us in being. 

Hence our seeking to meet God in our everyday experiences. Our prayer no longer becomes a litany of wants or a soliloquy of sorrows. Rather it is an encounter with a God whose heart invites us to beat in rhythm with the mystery of the Holy Spirit. This allows our life to be formed in the compassionate heart of Jesus who seeks for us to know him and for him to know us. This transforming presence means that we are called just to know about him or even work for him. Rather it allows us to encounter him our whole lives. It is this encounter that shapes us from the inside out. 

A fire burning deep inside

 There is a sculpture on the grounds of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska close to a residence where I was staying which portrays a flame constructed in steel with a burning flame inside. The quote echoes the vision of St Ignatius where he says, te, inflammate omnia—“go, set the world on fire" (https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/go-set-the-world-on-fire/). There is a sense that this is an illuminating fire that captures hearts and passes quickly from one to another. 

We can sense this in the world where ideas and images are quickly transmitted from one end of the world to another. The concerns of one become the concerns of all. Our imagination can be sparked which engages us to make instant choices about how we respond. When people suffer we are called to reflect and respond. With the availability of response, we are moved beyond mere observation to creative action. What affects one affects all.

Yet we are also conscious that what is a priority for us may not be a priority for another. We can sense that we can be pulled in many directions at once. This is never more present than within our own homes. One person sees one thing while somebody sees another. We can find ourselves disagreeing about what is the mission we have in common. The peace we seek is not an absence of these tensions but rather a place where the tensions can be held in common. Where we can be aware of strong voices that arise within us promoting one response or another. The discerning the Holy Spirit allows us to live in this creative tension that seeks the common good.

This calls us to be people who are trained in faith to keep our eyes on the person of Jesus. This is not just a sense of pious inaction that sees our lives as a consequence of the activity of others. Rather it is a life that seeks to tend the inner flame within us. This allows us to notice what is the touchstone of our life which directs our attention to reflect and study our own environment. This mature reflection allows us to be people who burn with faith and zeal for the love of God and the love of others. No longer is our faith just something that is a brand we wear but rather a person we are called to become. We are called to be people who are enflamed and enamored with the person of Jesus. Our lives are transformed from the inside out. We become people who like Jesus live our faith in this world so that heaven may touch the earth!

Standing ready

What moves us into action? On a daily basis, we can be informed about many things and have to make simple decisions that shape the outcome of the day. While they may seem insignificant they follow a pattern of what we consider important in each moment. Yet in the midst of this activity, we are called to see what is fundamentally important in making those decisions.

This can be reflected in a particular word or a phrase from scripture that we live out in each of the actions. It can be a word that centres us when our moorings become loosened away from our main purpose. They help us to not only consider what is important but they seek to become intentional in the person we are seeking to become. The word helps us to be awake and aware of how we are being present.

In this, we do not become caught up with the driftwood which seems to clutter the surface of our lives. This invitation to go deeper allows us to notice what brings meaning to our lives. Time is not stolen from us but rather we become a person who is confident that we use our time well. We start to notice that each of the activities we are engaged in is not an end in themselves but a living expression of who we are.

In this way, the interruptions which we will naturally encounter are not unwelcome distractions. They become invitations to be faithful to that word placed on our hearts. At the end of the day, we start to notice that the word is not just something muttered under our breath but rather it has taken flesh in how we live. We start to notice how God is present in our day and how we are present to God in all that we do.

In what do we take comfort

 When is more, more than enough? There are various traps in living a spiritual life. The first one identified by Ecclesiastes is to look good but not be good. This is that we seek the good opinion of others as more important than God's opinion of us. We start to work hard and be concerned about many things. This preoccupation can cause us to doubt whether God loved us first or whether we seek to endear ourselves to God by what we do.

In a similar way, we can start to live in a way that dissipates our spirit between our prayer and our actions. We start to separate our prayer as our own private time with God but forget that we are called into communion with others. This is where we seek to become people of faith, hope, and charity in daily life. There is nothing better than praying the Our Father as our pattern of prayer and our pattern of life.

The last thing is to see our success in terms of earthly measures rather than an awareness of how we become rich in the sight of God. The good news is that we seek unity between our prayer, our study of the environment, and our actions. We seek God at the heart of every day. To seek how God seeks our hearts first so that we can act in a way guided by a desire welling up within. To enact who God desires us to be and how we become holy by how we act for the good of all.

Why do we pray?

 This Sunday we focus on why we pray. Often in modern culture prayer can be portrayed as trying to twist God's arm to fulfill our own wishes rather than a relationship that will sustain us. This allows us to be people who allow our whole life to become the field of God's desire for us rather than a random thought which pops into our minds. This is why we need to become people who pray always by allowing God to transform our hearts. We are called to become people who seek God's desire in all things.

In the conversation we see Abraham negotiating with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When we reflect on this story we can be tempted to view God, who needs to be talked down from taking punitive action against the residents of these cities. The image that can play out is a God who seems to be looking at reality from a distance whereas Abraham is aware of what is happening on the ground. I believe this is a good starting point for understanding prayer. What do we do when we confront evil in the lives of others and what do we seek for those people. Abraham, I think eloquently speaks for the need for at least one good man to give witness to the people. Often it is this prophetic witness of a person who does not go along with the opinion of the age but trusts in a truth that speaks to the heart of every age. 

As Jesus teaches his disciples to pray he takes up this theme of seeking God's kingdom in our day-to-day reality. The Our Father which is the pattern of all prayer does not see God as removed from our lives but at the heart of life. Jesus shows that we seek God in the midst of what is needed today and seek to learn how to reconcile our conflicted hearts. This allows us to notice that our prayer is essential communal as it does not just seek the good for ourselves but for all people, especially for those that we feel are lost due to their sinful actions against ourselves. He cautions about living a life that allows us to be tempted to believe that the evil one has control over our destiny.

This is why we are called to allow prayer to be at the heart of our daily life. To notice the two voices which can seem to be at war within ourselves. The voice that speaks of desolation and ruin and the voice that speaks of faith, hope, and charity. This is more than just mind games but rather a recognition that where our hearts are our actions quickly follow. Thus our prayer is always at the heart of real life. It calls for a discerning heart that leads us towards God. At times this will take every ounce of our trust that God is at the heart of our prayer that we may seek the goodness of God in all things.

Stop, Look, Listen

When we teach children to cross the road we say stop, look, and listen. This daily task seeks to engrain a habit that is able for us safely navigate a daily task that is familiar to us. The familiarity with the activity also prevents us from assuming that the traffic on the road will be the same every day at the same time. It calls for a growing awareness of our environment. How our actions can have positive consequences for others and ourselves. This plays out in our readings for this weekend.

When Jesus visits the house of Martha and Mary, we see a domestic drama that could be familiar to many households. One person seems to be doing all the work and one person is just sitting around appearing to do nothing. Yet there is more to the story than just activity and contemplation. What we see played out is that Mary is attentive to the person of Jesus. He speaks about the reality of the situation and seeks to give a context for their activity. In this, he does not see our lives as an endless list of activities but rather an awareness of how we are present to God in our relationships.

This plays out when the three visitors meet Abraham and Sarah at the Oak of Mamre. Abraham provides hospitality to these visitors and makes them welcome. His focus is on meeting them with a receptiveness that is able to give fully from what they have available. In this, we meet God in what is available to us and allow us to be open to those graced moments that touch us deeply.

Paul is touched in a similar way when he encounters suffering. His focus is on noticing his own reality but also seeks opportunities to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to people. In this, we discover a mystery that needs to be listened to and lived out. We need to take out to stop, look and listen to discover where God is at play in our daily lives.

The Golden Rule

   This week's Sunday Gospel reading picks up where we left off last week. When asked Jesus asked what we were to focus on to inherit eternal life a particular scholar answered, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with your entire mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” This is not just something we do when we have spare time it is at the heart of the law and the prophets. The essential element is that our relationship with God will overflow into how we care for others and ourselves. This means that all that is human is intimately connected with what it is to be divine. They are not two separate realities but are interwoven with each other. What enables us to fall in love with God should also be our guiding principle in our daily relationships. Our faith is not about just a privatized religion that is confined to making sure that we make it into heaven. It seeks to embrace all people including those of different faiths and none.

We see this played out in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Where the emphasis in our religious life is only on our own efforts to encounter God then we can neglect those who fall by the wayside. Our intention can be wrapped up in becoming holy in our own right while ignoring that God seeks to renew the whole of creation. Jesus seeks to broaden our vision to seek out how we may reach out to those who are in desperate need of being included in God’s kingdom. This is often by allowing our life to be transformed by God who seeks the good not just of ourselves but for the whole of creation.

As I have stressed before this means that we need to be prayerfully present each day to what God opens our hearts and eyes to see. The time in prayer is not to shut out the world but to allow us to listen to how the heartbeat of God resonates with our own. This is a time of profound silence where we allow God to meet us as we are not as we think we should be. Often scripture, poetry, a form of prayer, or a particular icon or image may be our focus during this time but essentially it calls us to a place where we are present with where God wishes to commune with us.

This calls us to be aware of the environment in which we live and the community of which we are a part. It opens our eyes to notice how we are present to that community and in what ways we can use our gifts and talents for the good of others not just our own. This means that we also need to be thoughtful and considered where we will invest our time and talent. This is about enabling the charism that wells up inside us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to be given away freely for the good of another not just ourselves. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our actions, we seek not just our good but also the good of the whole community,

Lastly, we need to act in a way that allows our prayer and reflection to bear fruit. We do not stand on the sidelines as interested spectators but as active participants. This allows us to see what needs to be done and how we can be engaged in that work. It allows us to be moved by the spirit of shaping our community for good.

The Kingdom of God is very near to you.

 Jesus declares this weekend Gospel that the kingdom of God is very close to you. He builds on a text that those who listened would be familiar with, "For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." Deuteronomy 30.11-14. 

This may be very poignant as we start the second assembly of the Plenary Council. At the heart of the council is hearing what God is saying to our own generation building on the foundations which have already been established. When we seek to understand God there is an insight that the streams of living water well up inside us and become understandable in a language that speaks of beauty both ancient and new. God seeks our hearts first so that we can live the Good News in our own age. That we are called to be people who not only proclaim that truth but a witness it with our lives.

As Paul says to the Galatians, "Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, who form the Israel of God. Galatians 6.16" We are people who embody that life within our own. We are to be people who the mystery of life flows through as we hear in Isaiah "Now towards her (Jerusalem) I send flowing peace like a river, and like a stream in spate the glory of the nations." Isaiah 66.12. In the midst of discussions, discernment, and decisions we seek to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to choices that best embody this reality within the life of the Church.

Over the next week, I would encourage you to keep the Plenary Council in your prayers so that there may be wise hearts and thoughtful consideration to seek what God desires for our Christian community in Australia.