16th January, 2011 Second Sunday of the Year - A.
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A Message from Fr Paul:
Thanks to everyone for last week and the way you generously and efficiently responded to the realities caused by the floods…
It is absolutely stunning and hard to comprehend that three quarters of the State has been covered in flood water and devastated by the effects of it.
It is truly inspiring to see the wonderful side of humanity come out in people at times of tragedy and disaster. Many times the message that goes out is that the world is a self-centred and selfish place…. But in times like this, we are reminded that the vast majority of people are compassionate, generous, brave and willing to do anything to help. The sight o complete strangers pitching in to help struggling people give hope to the heart.
The generous response of people throughout this community and the state, and in fact the world, (including donations from the Pope’s peter’s pence charity) has been wonderful. People have been donating in big numbers to both the Premier’s flood appeal and also the St Vincent de Paul flood appeal. If you haven’t had a chance to donate, there may still be Vinnies envelopes … or just drop in a blank envelope marked VInnies flood appeal, or send it in to the parish office.
Let us continue to pray for all those affected by the floods. We keep in mind those who have died .. and those who mourn them. We pray for all the communities who have been just smashed by this flooding and its side-effects…. And we pray to our Lord to give strength to all who face the cleanup and rebuilding and healing. May we stand ready to respond to whatever the Spirit calls us to do, as instruments of God’s love.
The second reading has St Paul writing with affection to the community of believers in the church in Corinth. It is a reminder that we are all united with eachother, and not even distance or time or culture separates us from our brothers and sisters everywhere in the world.. Like St Paul, we are united in prayer and in the Spirit with people everywhere and with the Heavenly community. The grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ stays with us and binds us together in good times and bad.
In the Gospel, St John the Baptist declares… “look! There is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It’s a timely reminder. We need Jesus. We need saving.. Sadly, we humans are not the final authority on everything. We are not the masters of our own domain (and that can be extremely frightening and unsettling, because we would like to have a large measure of control over our lives, it’s a natural instinct for self-preservation). But, the events of these last weeks remind us that although we are not helpless, nor ought we ever just allow ourselves to be tossed helplessly through the events of life, it is also very comforting and peace-giving to acknowledge that we are not all powerful and that we need God and we need to be saved by God. We are utterly helpless without God’s saving guidance and help.
I am reminded of a painting that someone once did… it was entitled “perfect peace” but it was a painting of a storm-tossed mountainside. What is ‘peaceful about this… it looks anything but peaceful’ (people would naturally say!). But a close look shows a small bird nestling in a little cave…. Sheltered from the storms that rage uncontrolled around us. It’s a challenging and beautiful image… peace comes not from stilling the things outside us, that we really have no control over…. But from taking shelter and receiving inner peace of heart no matter what storms rage around us…. Its not easy….. but at times it’s the only thing that gets people through… its not a promise that everything will go right… because sometimes everything doesn’t… it seems to all go wrong…. But our God walks with us, and we are instruments of God’s compassion and care…. And that can make all the difference…
May God be with everyone as they rebuild.. and support eachother and may we cherish the values that last…
God bless and protect us all, with his peace.
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REFERENCES:
· FR. PAUL W. KELLY
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