Fasting

 Last week I shared a post on Facebook which I seen a religious brother had shared. The original post claimed that Pope Francis said that we should eat whatever we want during Holy Week as the Sacrifice was in the heart not in the stomach. It goes on to say that while people abstain from food they do not make the effort with there families or give to those who are most in need. 

This morning I got notified that this post was false information. I did a little research into this and the Pope did not make the statement that I reposted. 

But this post got me thinking. While it is important to fast, and we Catholics fast especially during Lent, how many people fast from food, social media etc but are not leaving at peace with their own families or putting in the effort to strengthen relationships that have been damaged? It is not about laying blame or carrying guilt. Family is important and we need to look out for each other. I am not dismissing the serious hurts which have led to the breakdown of family relationships, some hurts are impossible to have a relationship after. But let us not sacrifice family relationships over minor disagreements. 

We do not forgive another for their benefit, we forgive for ourselves. We need to forgive in order to move on with our lives. Forgiving does not mean forgetting. Forgiveness is about freeing ourselves from the weight of resentment. Forgiving means that we do not let past negative actions influence our present and our future. We forgive as much as we are hurt by another but forgiving does not mean that we need to continue to have a relationship when we keep getting hurt. No, if the hurt is bad enough or we find the person keeps hurting us we forgive and get on with our lives without them.

So this Lent as well as fasting from material things I encourage you to take the time to look at the relationships with your nearest and dearest. Are there any relationships that you can strengthen or mend this Lenten season? 

Was Jesus wise?

 I was at a retreat recently. On the first evening we were looking at Pope Francis' Encyclical letter Dilexit Nos. This Encyclical looks at love, human and Divine. In the course of our conversation the retreat facilitator asked us if Jesus was wise. I felt this was a trick question, I felt to say yes would have been too straight forward. Yes, as Christians we believe that Jesus, as the Son of God, was great. But was he wise? With greatness does not always come wisdom. As I thought about this question I was swayed towards a no, that Jesus was not wise. He attracted people and never had real time for himself. We need to look after ourselves in order to care for others. If Jesus wasn't surrounded by the locals in the area he was in he always had his disciples with him. But he got small pockets of time I am sure to be alone, to speak with his Father. 

I sat with this question during evening prayer this week and my thinking changed from, 'He was not wise' to , 'yes, Jesus was wise'. Jesus did not start his public ministry until he was 30. So He had 30 years to enjoy life, build relationships, gather the people who were going to be his closest followers and learn more about the will of his Father and what God wanted him to do. Quietly He was preparing for his public ministry. A wise minister takes time to prepare before they deliver. In the Gospel we read how as a child Jesus was found in the temple doing his Father's work, Jesus was spending time with his Father in Heaven. At the time the Jewish custom was that a man was not mature enough to be a Rabbi until he reached the age of 30. So Jesus was restricted by this. Also, we know from Scripture that Jesus was not always a person to keep the rules, it was more important for Jesus to do the will of God. So, if He wanted Jesus could have began His public ministry earlier than was custom. It would not have been received well by the authorities and he would have faced a lot of opposition so the wise thing to do was to wait and to prepare so that He could give His all. 

In answer to the question, 'Was Jesus wise?' My answer after some thought and prayer is Jesus, Jesus was wise for he spent time preparing for His public ministry before starting on that chapter of His journey. 

Into the Deep Lk 5: 1-11

  Nothing in particular struck me about yesterdays Gospel when it was first read at Mass as it is a Gospel that I have heard multiple times. However, when the priest asked what this Gospel was saying to us the answer was clear for me. This Gospel for me is about trusting God.

In this passage Jesus tells Simon to go into deep water and cast his net for a catch. At first we see Simon hesitate as they had been out all night fishing and had caught nothing. But he trusted Jesus and did as he was instructed. And the reward was great, the fishermen filled two boats to sinking point. 

When is the last time that we fully trusted God? In a world filled with so much pain, suffering and injustice it can be hard to trust God. However, as Christians that is what we are called to do. God has a plan for each one of us. We need to trust this. God's plan is not always clear to us but there is always a plan. Trusting God has a plan when our world seems to be in turmoil is hard. But step back from the turmoil for a second and look around. Who or what is on your path to help you in the turmoil? God does not cause the turmoil but He will be sure to support you. If the support is not there for us in the form of another that means that God knows that we have the resources within ourselves to be the support. We cannot always see our abilities but God always sees them. As Blessed Teresa of Calcutta said, "I know God will not give me anything I cannot handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." 

The Gospel for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary time Year C calls us to trust in God. Pray and trust. God answers all prayers, the answer may not be what we want but He does answer them. At times we need to be patient for the answers as God needs other things to happen first. To trust in  God is a huge ask at times but having trust will bring us so much closer to Him. 

Mission

 As Catholics, Christians, we are called to be missionaries in the world, that is our purpose. Our mission is to spread thee Gospel message. The Gospel message is one of love, each and every one of us are loved by God. How many Gospel's are there? 4? Many? No. There is just one Gospel, four approved accounts which we find in the Bible. The Gospel writers are writing about the one Gospel message, that of love. We are all called to share this message but we are called to do so in different ways. We are called to use our talents and skills to spread the Gospel message. It is not always what we say but often through our actions that we can spread this message of God's love. St Francis of Assisi said, 'proclaim the Gospel, if necessary use words'. 

Many people when they hear the word 'mission' or 'missionary' they think of countries in Africa. However, we are also called to be missionaries in our own country. In a time when Church numbers are decreasing it is more important than ever for us to share the love of God with others through our actions. How do I show love to my neighbour? It does not matter what religion a person is or who they are, we are called to proclaim the love of God to ever person that we encounter. It does not matter if they are Churchgoers or not, we are called to be missionaries to all. 

Take time to recognise the love of God acting through other people, other missionaries. It can be hard to see the love of God in the world. However, I promise that it is there if you take the time to stand stand back and look. Each evening I take time to reflect on my day and what I am grateful for. By doing this I am identifying where God was and where I seen his love. Maybe it was that friend who reached out to me or that person who smiled at me in the shop. 

Gospel Reflection Lk 22: 24-30

On Saturday I was struck by the Gospel for the second day in a row. Odd, I don't know if it was because of the place I was in or mearly the fact that in this place I had slowed down and the readings had more of a chance to speak to me. 

On Saturday we celebrated the Feast of St Gregory the Great. The Gospel reading was short but to me very powerful. In it, the disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus put a question to them, He asked, who is the greater, the one at table or the one who serves?' The obvious answer is the one at table and while Jesus himself said this He pointed out that He was with them as one who serves. 

It does not matter if we are servant or King, in God's eyes we are equally important in the world. For me, that was the message of Saturday's Gospel. We are equally important we should treat one another with equal respect. 

Gospel Reflection LK 5: 33-39

At Mass today I was struck my the Gospel. Today’s Gospel asks Jesus the question of why his disciples do not fast while John’s disciples and the Pharisees do. The answer, the guests cannot be expected to fast while the bridegroom is present.

What really struck we about the Gospel today was ‘nobody puts new wine into old wine skins’. How often in life do we try something new in an old format or in a place as it used to be? Or how often do we change our behaviour around people only to be met with the old behaviour they displayed? In essence, unless all is new success is minimal. Perseverance is the key to change. In human relationships it is true that the only person we can change is ourselves. However, if we are constant with the change in us, walking away from arguments, not shouting or whatever the change may be, the person we are in relationship with will see that change in us and in time their behaviour will also change. If we are trying to introduce something new to a place we cannot physically change the place. Yes, physically we can change how a building looks but the essence of that building/ that place, will be as it was. To introduce something new to a place, a new idea, we must first embrace what was there before. Introducing the new into the old will not work. But if we acknowledge the old, give it a place in our minds then we can introduce the new. We put our own mark on the place for new to work. Our own mark is makes the place new so that new ideas in that place will work. Take the business which changes hands for an example, a new manager will want to do things there way, to change things up. But people who use the service liked how things were. The manager can decide to keep running the business as it was but with his stamp things will not be the same. People need time to grieve for how things used to be before they are able to accept that the places now offers something new and it is not the same. No two managers will run a business the same, especially if they are passionate about their work. By running a place the same as always there is no place for new. Yes, if Bob founded a business Bob will not be forgotten but now Michael runs the business and with that comes change, the new.    

Just Play

 I have worked with children in residential care since October 2021. Prior to that, I worked with a young adult who had autism and was non verbal. It was when I was working with this young man that I started to really think about the activity he chose to do especially in the art room. We lay out materials for him. We generally started with art materials. He was often slow to engage and we tried to further encourage him my doing some art ourselves. But maybe he was slow to engage because he did not want to do art. Who were we to dictate that the young lad start with art? After the art, the puzzles and clay came out. I let him choose what he wanted to do. As I sat back and watched to see which activity he picked I wondered why he picked the clay or the particular puzzle he decided to make. What was going on in the head of this lad? 

Children do not play just for the sake of playing. The child who wants to play Uno or a board game is looking for companionship. Little Tommy who plays with cars, yes he loves his cars but it is interesting to observe what he is doing with the cars. This can give great insight of what is going on for him and give an idea of what he is trying to process. He wants you to play care with him because he wants to spend time with you. Children can work through stuff through their play. They don't always need to talk in order to process and understand. Through play, they can make sense of what is going on for them. Children's brains are different than adults' brains so they process differently. It is our job as adults to facilitate safe spaces to play for children so that they can process the difficulties that they are having. Also, we need to be there for children during their playtime so that they can share and talk out stuff that they need help understanding. It is not our job to tell children how they are feeling. However, through play and art, we can help the child to explore their feelings, letting them name the feeling and support them to to work through it.