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The Power of Reaching Out

31/1/2023

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, February 5th, 2023:
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah
58:6-10

Thus says the Lord:
Is this not the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.

We have all, unfortunately, had instances with family members or friends who were ungenerous with time or resentful when asked for something. These situations can heighten your perception of what it means to take care of those in need. Harshness can be a chilling experience to be subject to. When someone close to you does not allow for generosity of thinking about a situation, it can leave you feeling hurt or betrayed.

Upon reading this passage I kept thinking how Jesus must feel the same, as He has such love, affection, and desire for closeness with each one of us.

This passage, along with experiences with friends and family, has given me perspective on how I can be a better friend. We all have those people in our lives who we may not have reached out to recently, or who are in a difficult season of life and need more support than usual. I have challenged myself to think about how I could reach out to them to make them feel loved and supported.

In this season, where I am going to be a new mom, I feel especially vulnerable in relying on the support of other people. It’s a space I have not been in a lot in my life, where I feel more dependant than ever before. It can be a temptation in my mind to say that I need less help than I do out of fear of being a burden on friends and family, but recently, I have been on the receiving end of great generosity and selflessness. Many close family members and friends have been so good about checking in on us, and it makes me emotional even typing about it!!

This passage is great encouragement to send that text, make that meal, or pick up the phone and call that person. It is a tremendous way to love one another.

Praying for you all.

Theresa Langley

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Pitch Your Voice

27/1/2023

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A Reflection on the Gospel for January 29th, 2023: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew
5.1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the Prophets who were before you.”

How many heard the Sermon on the Mount? Twelve, or maybe fifty? Perhaps more kept drifting up the mountain to where Jesus sat until even five hundred could catch the odd word. How did He pitch His voice? Like someone talking to a circle or a crowd? Sitting suggests His focus was on those who could see His face, who could hear the intake of His breath as He began another sentence. The crowd’s response of astonishment expressed at the end of the sermon (Matthew 7:28), suggests He included them too, but perhaps they weren’t His intended audience. He sat and waited until His disciples sat with Him, and then He began the core of His message — this covenantal shift — it is the relationship, not the rules, that He has come to renew. The heart He has come to breathe on and bring to life.

This is a treasure, this message needed by all. He poured it into the few, letting the many catch what they could, and so His voice has carried farther than any before. In pitching His voice to the apprentices, rather than the adherents, these words are carrying through to today. To you and me. Those early apprentices lived with Him, had their world view rewritten by walking with Him, were readied to be filled with His Spirit, and wrote down what He had said on that Mount — like Moses returning with tablets written on hearts rather than stone. With hearts changed, they wrote of His life, death, and resurrection, and they lived His words and life out with a new circle of apprentices, a growing band of disciples.

How many heard the Sermon on the Mount? Can you hear His voice carry beyond the twelve, the fifty, the five hundred. During the lifetime of those sitting with Him, add tens of thousands to those who heard these words. By the time of the Apostles’ Creed, add hundreds of thousands to those. By the time of the Nicene Creed, add millions. Generations of millions, and then generations of tens of millions, and then generations of hundreds of millions. Now, generations of billions.

It’s more than hearing a word, it’s feeling a rumble, a shaking, a shifting of world view, a renewing of mind and heart. When I started to follow Jesus at 16, a newlywed young woman spent every Saturday afternoon for a year pouring into me. That’s how the Sermon on the Mount is still heard, and will be heard when you and I are finished here and have moved on to There. It’s heard in how we pitch our voice to the people who can see our face and hear the intake of our breath, and as we pour our lives into someone else.

O beautiful Lord, the echoes still felt
   Blessed are the…
   Blessed are those…
   Blessed are you…
And blessing beyond blessing…
   Your face upon us
   Yourself through us.
   Amen and amen.

Noreen Smith

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God's Strength

26/1/2023

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A Reflection on the Second Reading for January 29th, 2023: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Corinthians
1.26-31

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.

God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

I’m disabled. That word can make some people uncomfortable, but I prefer it to euphemisms like handicapable or person with disability because my disabilities are a core part of who I am. From asthma to a clotting disorder to a hormone disorder to migraines, a big part of my day-to-day life involves dealing with my illnesses. Managing medications, monitoring symptoms, and keeping track of appointments is time-consuming, but the hardest part is learning to simply live with the restrictions my body poses.

The painful reality is that I can’t do everything I want to do, and I can’t be everything I want to be. I want to go to Mass every week and participate in all kinds of in-person events at my local parish, but my susceptibility to illness means I miss these far more often than I want to. I want to be reliable and always do what I say I’ll do when I say I’ll do it, but flare-ups can throw off my carefully made plans. This reflection was sent in a day late because my Friday was written off by a bad bout of nausea, causing a cascade of delays in my to-do list.

This is incredibly frustrating. It can feel sometimes like my disabilities are constantly getting in the way of the life I want to live. But when I bring these frustrations to prayer, what God often reminds me is that while my disabilities get in the way of my personal wants and desires, they don’t get in the way of His will for me.

The second reading for this Sunday is an excellent reminder of this. God can work with those who are weak – indeed, He prefers to! In His eyes, my broken body is not a problem but a blessing. My disabilities make His Gospel stronger, because each time I’m able to reflect God’s love to the people around me, they can be sure it’s God’s work and not my own strength coming through.

This is not just about physical weaknesses. Perhaps you worry that you’re not smart enough to fully understand the scriptures or don’t get all the theological nuance. Perhaps you feel lowly or despised, and it seems that no one truly sees you. God can work with your flaws and struggles. He delights in loving you as you are, messy parts and all.

Being disabled is a reminder I desperately need – that what I accomplish in life is not my own success but God’s work through me. It would be far easier for me to boast in myself if I was healthier. I truly believe God can work miracles and I have seen people healed, but I also believe that my disabilities can be a blessing in the hands of a loving God. Perhaps one day I’ll be holy enough not to need my own body slowing me down, but for now I am grateful for the unexpected ways my disabilities bring me closer to God.

Jenna Young

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Instruments of Peace

25/1/2023

1 Comment

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 29th, 2023:
The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalm 146

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs!
or
R. Alleluia!

It is the Lord who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs!
or
R. Alleluia!

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous and watches over the strangers.

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs!
or
R. Alleluia!

The Lord upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.

R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs!
or
R. Alleluia!

So often in the media we hear representations of faith and religion as agents of oppression. Religion is painted as something that should make us focus on our sins, on the sins of our neighbours, on our disagreements. Recent coverage around the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict spent a lot of time discussing his shortcomings and the things that he taught that run contrary to what the world says is good. We know as Christians that the church and all her members have many failings, but that we are not defined by our sins or weaknesses. The central message of our faith, which shines through in every teaching, every action, is that God is love. The challenge of our faith in these times is to lend credibility to this message by the actions of our lives.

This is why we find Christian brothers and sisters engaged in caring for and loving the weakest among us in every place and time. The Lord is the one who brings justice, who feeds the hungry, who sets prisoners free. The Lord heals the sick and raises up the lowly. The Lord watches over those who are estranged from their homeland. The Lord cares for the orphan and the widow, the marginalized and the oppressed, the homeless and the dying person. He does all of these things through us. When I sit with someone who is suffering, Christ is sitting with them. When I oppose injustice, Christ is opposing that injustice. In this way, we become what St Francis might have called “instruments of peace,” instruments of the Lord’s will.

This participation in God’s work is a gift He gives to us, rather than a gift we give to Him. When I have helped someone, I have been an instrument; God is the one who has brought healing, fed the hungry, upheld the suffering. As Saint Mother Teresa said, we are pencils in the hand of God. This means both that I have the obligation to do my best to carry out God’s work, and that I can let go of any worries about the outcome. God is the one who is faithful forever, and He will see the work done. How blessed we are to participate in this work.

Sr. Gemma

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The Power of Reaching Out

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, February 5th, 2023:The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pitch Your Voice

A Reflection on the Gospel for January 29th, 2023: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

God's Strength

A Reflection on the Second Reading for January 29th, 2023: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Instruments of Peace

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 29th, 2023:The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Archives

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, February 5th, 2023:
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 29th, 2023:
The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time