You are warmly invited…..
Lent! and it begins with a blissful invitation 'Come back to me with all your heart'. At the beginning of this period in the ritual text is the quote 'The water that I shall give will turn into a spring of eternal life'. That sounds mysterious......
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RCIA 125: 'In the liturgy and liturgical catechesis of Lent, the reminder of baptism already received or the preparation for its reception, as well as the theme of repentance, renew the entire community along with those being prepared to celebrate the paschal mystery..... for both the elect and the cmmunity Lent is a time for spiritual recollection.'
We are being drawn into an ever-deepening experience of who Christ the Saviour is for us personally and communally. Through the Word, in Sunday Gospels, in scrutinies and presentations, we are invited to come closer and be touched by the one who has given us living water to quench our thirst, light for our path, and the freedom to live life to the full, in love and service of others. Its an opportunity for each of us to be reminded of who we are and who we are becoming, and to renew our resolve to hold fast. We might take time in these next six weeks to look at the initiation rites for ourselves, and through the lens of these promises, our intimate covenantal relationship can take on new meaning and hope. The whole purpose of the Gospel of John, proclaimed in the scrutinies, is our union wth Christ through the Spirit - so no academic pursuit this! No requirement to learn or acquire or achieve or posess - but simply to open, and allow for what is happening amongst the people in the Gospel narratives to happen among us in our communities. These are not rituals instituted and left behind by a departed Jesus, but Jesus risen and present in and around us now.
So with a double-awareness of Jesus in his time and history, and Jesus in similar movement in our lives, we respond to the invitation, the question:
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What is your thirst? What darkness or blind spots are in your life? What causes you to remain bound up in 'deathly' attitudes?
We read the gospel differently when we are hungry, says Gustavo Guttierez. You could by extension say we read the gospel differently when we are thirsty, blind or bound up with troubles? And we discover that Christ meets us right where we are, with living water, light for our path, new life full of hope and meaning.
So yes, I am looking forward to Lent and I pray to be open to both personal and community renewal.
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Lord God, You created the human race and are the author of its renewal. Bless all your adopted children and add these chosen ones to the harvest of your new covenant. As true children of the promise, may they rejoice in eternal life, won, not by the power of nature, but through the mystery of your grace. We ask this ghrough Christ our Lord. Amen (RCIA 122, B, Prayer over the Elect)
Of course I want to…
One aspect of the ministry of welcoming people into the Church is encountering the brokenness people often bring with them – brokenness which can often challenge us. We also meet people who are tentative in their approach: based on what they perceive Church teaching to be – the Gospel according to the media – they question “Can someone like me belong?” Others – and this probably happens rarely – come, like the leper in the Gospel of the Sixth Sunday of Year B, and metaphorically throw themselves on their knees and plead for help in finding healing and meaning for their lives.
I am reminded of the story of a woman who gradually started attending Mass with one of our committed parishioners who, over time revealed a past of heartbreak – isolation – violence – whose sense of unworthiness was almost crippling but gradually eased as she was welcomed by people who guessed part of her story but made no judgement upon her – who shared her delight when the long awaited annulment came through a few days before the Easter at which she was to be baptised and which now freed her to become engaged at the same time – whose wedding was a source of resounding joy for the community – and the baptism of her baby at an Easter Vigil a couple of years later seemed to seal a healing.
When, three years later, she was diagnosed with inoperable and aggressive cancer the extent of that healing was manifest in her faith that God was saying to her that the burden of the past was too great and that it was now time to rest … that her child would be loved and that her love from heaven would be matched by that of the people she had come to know… And an almost awestruck moment as she gave and received what were to be the first – and last - hugs to members of the RCIA team who had accompanied her… “You see – if you’d tried to do that years ago I couldn’t have let you … I’d have thought I disgusted you really – that you were pretending. I know now you meant it – when you said that you wanted me to know God loved me and wanted me whole… And I’m not afraid… I know God wants me whole and if that means dying then I know he knows this is the best way for me – because I know this (a hand held – and another hug) is real… “
How we respond to those who turn up on our doorsteps can make a huge difference. At the back of our minds might be the realities of Church teaching ringing alarm bells… “irregular marriage…” “living in a homosexual partnership…” which can be real obstacles along the journey to reception and full communion with the Church. There may also be past sins that challenge our own understanding of forgiveness – “I drank/ took drugs and killed someone ….” “I downloaded images of child sexual abuse…” followed by an expression of deep remorse that seems genuine and a desire to make amends for the thing they have done. They seem to see in the Church a community that can help to rebuild their lives – They come searching for the person who can “cure me” – or “help me” – “strengthen me” – “protect me” – “show me the way” – “transform me” – “carry on the saving work you started”… the person of Jesus.
We are in a privileged position as people begin to open up – and our task is not to quench that wavering flame of faith in danger of drowning in a lifetime of care and wrong decisions – nor to crush that reed crushed under so much pain and guilt. Like Jesus, we feel sorry for them – our hearts filled with compassion as we strive to help individuals find healing in a deepening relationship with Jesus. There will come times when, like Jesus, we need to send our people to “show themselves to the priest” – perhaps to make the offering prescribed for healing… entering the process of annulment, for example, or making a full confession to a priest. But these requirements will be better understood – even welcomed – as ways of making real the love and forgiveness they have encountered through reading and pondering on the Word and in the Word made flesh in Jesus … and in us.
"A Day in the life ..."
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Last week’s gospel and the gospel for Sunday 8 February are two halves of a whole: a Sabbath day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth which begins in the synagogue, moves to a domestic setting and ends with a restless, sleepless night prompting a search for a place to be alone in prayer. When the disciples find Jesus again they find a man resolute and clear about the mission assigned to him. Verses 29 – 39 of this first chapter of Mark’s Good News can be very easily looked at in three sections or movements and there are many different ‘ways in’ that could be used. Here’s just one of them.
In the first section we meet Jesus immediately after synagogue where he has astonished and amazed people with his power and authority. It is a lovely contrast that he now goes to a family context: an ordinary domestic scene in the house of Simon and Andrew – perhaps hoping for the equivalent of our Sunday brunch or lunch. Whatever, it is certainly a family context and we can imagine the consternation when it’s discovered that the mother-in law is ill! Jesus’ treatment of her is told with a gentle tenderness by Mark and normal service is quickly resumed.
The next section is a natural extension of a family scene, in which, renewed and refreshed, the doors of hospitality are opened wide to the neighbours, the locals, ‘the whole town’.
Healthy, loving family relationships naturally prompt an open-hearted and compassionate generosity that needs to be shared. Once again we see Jesus in demand: his reputation spreading rapidly.
But the night time brings a restless urge to be alone and in touch, through prayer, with the essential mission of preaching the Good News beyond the boundaries of local expectations. It ends with Jesus and his companions moving on to ‘elsewhere’.
Sunday 8 February is at the start of National Marriage Week and perhaps it would be a good opportunity to explore the importance of marriage and family life from the perspective of today’s gospel. The holiness of everyday, loving marital and family relationships is one which our bishops are eager to promote and excellent resources for doing this are available through the Home is a Holy Place web site: homeisaholyplace.org.uk
In a DVD produced to accompany the resource pack which is available to all parishes throughout England & Wales, one of the sections suggests that home is a holy place because God’s presence graces all creation and shows families making it better for each other in countless different ways: from sticking on a plaster when someone falls and grazes a leg to staying up all night because a child or elderly parent has a fever. This is precisely the image we’re given by Mark in the first section of today’s gospel: a home in which the health of every member matters and in which Jesus’ natural action when faced with illness was ‘he took her by the hand and helped her up’. Let’s encourage one another to give thanks for healthy, committed loving relationships that ground us in our sense of identity and belonging and provide the foundations from which we can set out on the road of our own mission in life – whatever that may be. Let’s also remember all who struggle with such commitment, all who have been damaged by broken relationships and all who work with them to promote healing and wholeness. In whatever way we can, lets’ take time to celebrate marriage and family life this week.