Paul's Reflections ST MARY'S COLLEGE CLOSING MASS 2008. 18/11/2008

ST MARY’S COLLEGE CLOSING MASS 2008. 18/11/2008

What an amazing year this has been.  It has been a superb year for Saint Mary’s College, congratulations to students, staff, and families of Saint Mary’s for making this such a grace-filled year.

 

This year has been extra-special because we have remembered the fact that 150 years ago, generous catholics planned and built a church school in these church grounds, thus ensuring countless generations would be given a strong foundation in life and faith, through Christian education in the catholic tradition….. 

 

Our year twelves who are completing their secondary schooling this week, are not only the class of 2008, but you have the honour of being the class of the 150^th anniversary. And given that our catholic and Anglican archdioceses are only turning 150 years old next year…. that gives some indication of the foresight, vision and passion that has always marked this community…..   and we give thanks to God for these gifts….

 

Tonight’s mass is about giving thanks to God for so many gifts and graces received…..  and asking God’s fullest blessing and guidance on all members of the Saint Mary’s community, as our school year swiftly draws to a close….. 

 

Thank you Lord, for your families and friends… who nurtured, challenged and encouraged you throughout your schooling and who will continue to support and love you as you enter this next exciting phase of your life….

 

Thank you Lord for your teachers and staff……   whose skill, wisdom and commitment showed itself not only in the content of the classes but in the ways they acted… and related to you…..

 

Thank you Lord for the wider parish community, and the civic community… that has always taken great pride and interest in you and always kept you in their prayers and thoughts…. 

 

As our readings tonight tell us,……  each one of you, has been gifted with special and unique gifts and qualities…. each one of these gifts are for the building up of God’s people and for building up the Kingdom of God in the places you live, work and socialise……..    may St paul’s prayer be yours tonight too…..    may you always live a life worthy of your vocation…..     filled with the Christian qualities you have had nurtured in family, in college and in parish……    concern for the needs of others, not just ourselves….. patience, compassion, love, … unity….  peace….   tolerance…

 

And this beautiful gospel tonight….. Jesus told this parable as a challenge and an invitation… and its perfect for our celebration tonight….

 

each of you here tonight…. have most certainly been given some very special seeds… Your education… has planted deep within your heart and mind….  foundations of a good solid, holistic education…..  // and also the seed of the gospel // the seed of faith//……   the seed of the Kingdom of God……..     because of the wonders of modern education….. you can already  see these foundations bearing fruit in your lives already……..   

 

But the other really vital message from tonight’s gospel is this……..    its not just the seed that matters…. it’s the environment …. and the nurturing……    your education has already begun to bear wonderful fruit because of the really wonderful environment that we give thanks for in Saint Mary’s college…. not only the physical facilities… but the gift that the staff, students and familes are … and the palpable school spirit and values of care that we find here……..    it is so important, as you move into your next phase of life… that you ensure that you continue to nuture your faith, your education, and your values in surroundings and environments that actually forster, encourage and are compatible with these values…….  

 

and also……    a seed not watered and cared for is a seed that stays dormant……  we pray that you will continue to nurture and nourish the faith, the education and the gospel values you have received… by ongoing study, by constant prayer…. by remaining connected to the faith community….. there is no such thing as a solo Christian….. so that you may produce rich fruits in your life…..   a hundred fold., sixtyfold… thirtyfold…….  

 

Finally, I would like to say, a special thankyou to our Principal Mrs Joy Massingham.    I have been absolutely delighted and grateful for Joy’s vision, leadership, graciousness and friendship. Thank you Joy for your presence in this school and I know that next year and the coming years will go from strength to strength as you continue to gift us with your leadership and vision…..      I am extremely grateful to Mrs Massingham for her constant support and encouragement…….   

 

Also, I would like to say a heartfelt thank-you and every best wish to Mr Adair for his years of dedication and love for this community….   may God continue to bless you and may your memories of St Mary’s fill you with peace and happiness….

 

 

God bless you all

 

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This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

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Paul's Reflections 16th November, 2008 33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

16th November, 2008      33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

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Its wonderful to have with us members from our World Youth day pilgrimage who are involved in different ministries in this special Young people’s ministry mass tonight….

 

including readings and music….

 

There have been many fruits from World youth day…. and they will continue to grow in the coming years….   World youth day was a celebration of the gift of our Catholic faith…a and gift and power of God’s Holy Spirit living in us all…   inspiring us to live the Good news of the Kingdom in everyday life….

there are exciting ways in which we will continue to foster these fruits…

 

next year….   on the 18^th of February, in the evening… at Gympie… the deanery will come together to meet with the Archbishop John Bathersby… who will be travelling around the archdiocese…  he will lead us in a special liturgy based on the style and format of the cathecesis liturgies and sessions of world youth day…   he will be focusing on our archdiocesan vision and priorities of JESUS/COMMUNION/ and Mission.

I encourage as many as can to be at that…

 

also the archdiocese has (in its deanery funding) given us the equivalent of $40,000. (which could be the equivalent of $4,000 per parish,  to be utilised for youth evangelisation….  it would be wonderful if we can get a team of young people together in the new year to form a group that will reflect on needs and priorities and then use these $4,000 talents to make a practical difference in the community …  these are exciting times….   and we will be looking at this in greater depth early next year….  

 

This weekend’s gospel….  often described as a the parable of the “talents”   could also be entitled….’don’t let what you can’t do, (or fear doing), stop you from doing what you CAN do.’

 

This parable today says quite a few extraordinary things….

- Pharisees and scribes focused on preserving and keeping the law….  “building a fence around the law”  keeping the law pure and unadulterated…. they were thus focusing on simply keeping it and handing it back exactly as they had received it, without change or growth or improvement…..   They had lost the point…..  The Law had become an end in itself….  “keeping the rules”   was the only thing that mattered…..   earning God’s reward by keeping the rules, but not doing much else….  had distorted the Good news of God’s Kingdom……..     What they were doing  is a bit like handing back a seed that you have been given and saying to the farmer… here it is… you gave it to me.. I have preserved the seed…  froze it… and her is the seed back exactly in the same condition as you gave it to me…. but how crazy… the seed is for the sowing.. it is for planting… and for germination… it is to produce a plant which will bear fruit…..  // This would be just an interesting parable if it wasn’t for the fact that this tendency still occurs today….   // the tendency to miss the forest for the trees…. and to focus on restrictive rules as opposed to the purpose and reason and spirit of the law and what it was trying to achieve…..   can be a constant obstacle…. 

 

-         God has distributed talents differently to different people……  we don’t all have the same qualities and talents……..    // (but the talents each of us have….  are given to share for the common good of all…..)  //  but we also know that there are some very talented people who have under-utilised their talent and produced mediocre fruit…// there are countless stories of saints and famous people who overcame great obstacles (including very poor health), and limitations to produce the most amazing (disproportionate) fruits and results in their lives…..  through determination, hard work  (and of course, by the grace of God)….and utilising well the talents and vision they DID possess…..   // it’s the old ‘tortoise and the hare’ syndrome….

 

-         The reward, in God’s kingdom is still more work to be done.. urgent.. important and competent/. Those who produced the fruits were given even more to produce…..    so it is with us… there is no time like the present… and the harvest is plentiful… the labourers are few….

 

-         If you use your gifts you will develop them.., they will increase in significance and effect….  if you don’t lose your gifts you will calcify them… you will lose them……  so the best way to keep our gifts is to use them in the service of God and our fellow human being…

 

 

 

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This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

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Paul's Reflections ALL SAINTS DAY/ ALL SOULS DAY

1^st Nov 2008. All Saints Day.

 

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ALL SAINTS DAY  -

 

In quite a few of St Paul’s writings to different communities, he address his letters to “the saints in …”    the term referred to the living members of the Christian community … all who were reborn into Christ by Baptism and were living lives of discipleship in Christ, following his gospel.   This picks up the sense that, for all who follow Christ, eternal life begins NOW…. it is here already, although as the second reading says today, the fullness of this eternal life will not be fully revealed and experienced until the next life, with God in heaven.

 

But Saint Paul, and St John’s gospel and writings are also strong on this concept that the disciples of jesus are already saints and witnesses and already have the eternal life of Christ abiding in them…..   even if not fully revealed or realised. 

 

Nowadays, when we think of saints, we usually refer to those who have died, and we would not dream of calling ourselves ‘saints’ on this side of heaven because it is a word nowadays associated to those who lived exemplary lives which reflected the gospel… and who are now officially declared by the church to be in heaven with God, enjoying the eternal rest and reward of the Kingdom.  Nevertheless, in the broader sense of the word, we are all called to be saints and to live this reality here and now…

 

Sometimes on this Feast of All Saints, it can be tempting to focus on the famous saints….. Like Saint Peter or St Paul, etc….  and although these are very important saints and certainly premier examples of those who belong to the communion of saints… in one sense, making a big thing of them in this feast today, is like two bites at the same cherry… they have their own special feast days (some more than one) to commemorate their sainthood and heroic virtue….   whilst they are most certainly included in All Saints Day, this feast is most importantly a celebration of all the unsung saints……    who don’t have an official feast day of their own…. they may not even be officially recongnised by the church yet… some may never officially be recocognises by the church, or officially proclaimed a “SAINT”  BUT THEY are nevertheless in heaven enjoying the reward and the communion of the saints….   These are family members, friends, colleagues whom we have known and who have gone to their reward having lives exemplary lives of quiet, unassuming virtue, love and service…..    people we often are quite sure are in heaven, or strongly believe to be already enjoying the full joys of a life of goodness and kindness… this is THEIR day…….    they have found the fulfilment of their faithful living of the good news in their lives….

 

-   Picking up on the theme of sainthood now….   I was reading the commentary from the publication Magazine called “Madonna” and it picks up on the second reading where St John says “We are your children now, Father”.

I wonder why we are always putting this in the future: we will be your children; we will be happy with you; we will be saints.

We act as though the people we call saints were, all through their lives, taking out insurance to make sure that they made it, were earning their reward.

Weren’t they, rather, living all along as your children, in your presence here and now……., content to have nothing but you? They weren’t living the future…. but were living in the here and now……(didn’t someone once say that a saint is a person who can live in the present…. not looking back or forward but fully living in the present moment….?),,,,,,,,   They holy men and women we admire so much……..knew how things really are between you and us (here and now):/ they knew what living the eternal life of the gospel meant for this life and for now…….and  not just how they will be later …. in the next life…

God the Father sent his Son to show us how things are between us, right now…….what depth of relationship is available right now. Help us to grasp this today.

 

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2nd November, 2008      All Souls Day

 

 

In every gathering for Eucharist, we believe that we become deeply united / joined  (irrespective of time or location)…. to the ONE heavenly banquet feast of Heaven…. the supper of the Lamb of God…… whose once and for all sacrifice on the cross (re-presented in every eucharist) washes us clean of our sins… renews us……  and re-unites us as “children of the One God”……   

 

Today, and every day, we remember that we are unimaginably close to our dearly departed,  whenever we celebrate eucharist…..    because we remain IN COMMUNION with all people… all the faithful…. all those living…. and also those gone before us …..  This is an enormously powerful and reassuring reality……   are loved ones are always with us… and never more than when we celebrate our unity, our communion in Christ and with eachother…. a communion not broken with death…….   we are assured of that… always…

 

we believe that the prayers we make  for our loved ones and friends are heard…. and effective….. in this life…… and we also believe that the bond of love between us and God… and us and our loved ones….. endures eternally….and finds its final home on God’s heavenly kingdom.

 

we also believe that we can continue and should continue to pray for those who have completed this earthly life….. we can continue to pray for our departed loved ones, friends and colleagues…. and that these prayers are also heard and effective….. just as they would be if we were praying for a loved one who is still here amongst us….. 

 

Today’s feast day.. is ultimately about the resurrection… and God’s promises to us……    Today is about Hope and trust…..

 

We hope with firm confidence in Christ’s promise of faithfulness to us….   and we trust that Christ’s resurrection most definitively had the “final word” on all things… including our ultimate destiny……

 

We believe that because of Christ’s life, death and resurrection…. he has firmly tipped the scales in favour of our salvation…… the salvation of all……   we are right to trust in this promise……

 

Today, we also stop to think and pray for those people who lived ‘forgotten lives”,,,,  (although no one is ever forgotten by God…   all are loved and remembered in Good’s eyes….)…. but there have been some…   many… whose lives were overshadowed by so many factors…. so many tragedies…  mistakes… or hurts…. that they maye have been considered ‘lost’ to the world or society… or to their friends….    we keep in our prayers people who may have no one to pray for them…..   who lived hard, broken, tragic, loveless, flawed, self-centred, lives…. and whose death’s challenge and test our hope……    we believe that out prayers, our Christian hope,  our faith in Christ, the Good shepherd…who is never satisfied with just the 99 found sheep……    we pray for those people … that through God’s infinite… and unimaginable love and mercy…..   by Christ’s all persuasive love and compassion…..   they may be brought rejoicing and at peace into the love, the light, the peace and the rest of God’s heavenly kingdom….we are right to commend all those who have gone before us…to our God who understands, loves and knows us, better than we can even know ourselves……

 

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord….  may perpetual light shine upon them… may they rest in peace..

 

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

 amen.

 

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please reply emails to

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This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

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Paul's Reflections 30th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

26th  October, 2008      30th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

 

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(Welcome to Fr Gerard Mulholland who is celebrating our 8am Sunday mass this morning. Fr Gerard, known to so many in the parish, is a local, who now words as a Divine Word Missionary Priest in Papua New Guinea).

 

“There are many examples of how, even after the busiest of days, Jesus would go up into the hills, to a lonely place, and spend the night in prayer to His heavenly Father.  So, it is fair to say, Jesus whole life was to worship and praise the Father.  There are also many examples of how Jesus spent himself in complete service of others. His whole life was an act of service and love to his neighbour… all in need around him…..  

 

These two complete realities are not in contradiction, but really two sides of the same coin….

 

in fact the great saint John Chrysostom once said:  “I cannot believe in the salvation of those people who do not work for the salvation of their neighbours.” 

 

Another great monk was once heard to say to his brothers….  (when they focused too much on rules and not the heart of the gospel message….) he says to them in exasperation….   “ My friends, you have torn the gospel of Christ in two….//.  there are two great commandments, not one. Love God, by how you love the neighbour as you would love and care for yourself.

 

Splitting up these two commands seriously distorts the gospel……  there are those who would emphasise worship of God to the point where doing anything practical for those in practical need becomes optional…. this is not the gospel of Jesus Christ……///  the other extreme is not right either…. there are people who are so caught up in social justice and practical action that they lose sight of the fact that this flows out of our relationship to God and that we are all God’s children… and that it is not only our human actions… but God’s will that is important….  so they neglect prayer, worship and a sense of faith in God who is the author and sustainer of us all……..   as essential as practical care for those in need is, it would lose its focus if we were to ever disconnect it to worship and prayer….. (it would become something merely humanistic….  At worst… it would reflect a sense that humans are their own saviours and can do all things themselves without reference to God…..) Jesus shows us that both are possible and that both are necessary…..   Again… I must say, that is why I always feel that the catholic group of lay people known as St Vincent de Paul society…  is a wonderful expression of both these aspects… they focus on practical action….   helping those in need, hungry, seeking shelter, clothing, and also visit those in need….  and also, integral to this, they meet and pray and reflect on Christ’s gospel…  this is absolutely vital – connection to the person of christ makes sense of and empowers their care for their neighbour….    there are many other groups and individuals who model this,..//

 

In Jesus great commandment – which is truly a “masterpiece of summing up thousands of biblical rules and regulations and observances into a few amazing words………the very heart of its meaning……”.   Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength… and love your neighbour as yourself……..It becomes clear that every other person is truly our neighbour and especially when the person is in need.  We must be loving neighbours to all people who come into our lives.  No one can be excluded from being our neighbour.

 

Love of neighbour is at the heart of serving God /and being faithful to what God is asking of us.//  Love of neighbour is not simply an optional part of our Christianity.

 

Saint Paul, in the first reading says it very well…..   We must take Christ as our model……… We must imitate Christ.  In that imitation of Christ, we can find a whole way of living:  gentleness yet strength in our dealings with others, understanding and acceptance of others with a clear vision of what is right and what is wrong.

 

Jesus did not just accept everything as good.  He clearly pointed out what was not good. However, Jesus managed to do this without ever putting down the person who had done wrong. Whilst still loving the other. That is a difficult model to imitate.  This is another example of the cross of Jesus, the suffering that comes from living and speaking what is right and true whilst always striving to treat all others with love, reverence and compassion. “

 

 

(References:

 

·          Abbot’s Homily, The Monastery of Christ in the Desert Homily for October 22 2008.

·          Flor McCarthy. Sundays and Holy Day Liturgies. Year A.

·          Gutierrez, Sharing the Word through the Liturgical Year.

 

 

 

 

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please reply emails to

holyjoe@ozemail.com.au

This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

and also please visit my photo pages by clicking this link:

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or the direct link by pasting the following into your web browser

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Paul's Reflections National Police Remembrance Day

National Police Remembrance Day 2008. Maryborough Catholic Church. 10am.

 

From today’s beautiful readings and prayers for Police Remembrance Day,  it really brings to the fore, the distinction between a job and a vocation…..

 

There may be much quieter jobs, much easier, less hazardous jobs than the police…..  but we know this is much more than a job…..//  the vocation of police officer, (and those who support this fine calling)….   is absolutely vital……   this vocation is essential, //and my prayer today, is that we will always keep close to our hearts our “gratitude and respect” for the police  ………..which is  a vocation… a calling, to service…..// and as a vocation…. it is capable of providing an enormous sense of fulfillment…. and also, (as today reminds us) can be an incredible sacrifice and cross….    // Without the Police, the secure, peaceful,  lifestyles that we enjoy in our communities would be in jeopardy. They protect boundaries that ensure our safety and hold back crime. We acknowledge on a day such as today, the risks that face police each day, //and that the ramifications of decisions they make in the course of their duties is profound, // as is the impact that the loss of an officer has on their families, colleagues and the community. and I know that this reality has touched our community here too over the years. 

 

From the first reading, we recall that a key quality of Our Lord’s ministry, (which the Police , and which we all seek to emulate), is “Service of others”… putting the needs of others… of the community, first…   and today we are very much mindful of the enormous service that the Police do for the community….   

 

And, as we reflect on the values of God’s Kingdom, shown in the today’s  gospel from Matthew (known as the ‘beatitudes’) – it  is very clear that the qualities that we so “need, recognize and admire” in our police, are to be found listed in this important bible passage……..    You (and those whom we commemorate today) DO hunger and thirst for justice …//.. blessed are you….   yours is the Kingdom of heaven…

 

you are peacemakers….  (peace-keepers)………your vocation in ensuring the peace of the community is essential…// (and it is an honour to join our voices today in saying “thank you” for this,  it is enormously appreciated by the community,  …….and we are so grateful for that…. and today are very mindful of the enormous cost this can exact….  / and that is why its so important that we gather her today…./

 

words cannot adequately convey the debt of gratitude that we have for members of the police, whose service, sacrifice and dedication, was (just as St Pauls’ letter (read today) says…..”an obedience even unto death”….   and we trust that, “that faithfulness” will be rewarded, by constant remembrance in this life….., and eternal reward at God’s table in the next life… in heaven….

finally…..

·         The support, encouragement and love of family and friends… is a treasure beyond estimation..,…   and we give thanks for the love and dedication, and sacrifice of families too… (we do keep in our thoughts and prayers, all family members who have suffered enormously at the loss of their loved ones,….   // as the gospel says, Our lord is mindful of those who mourn…..   that they be comforted and supported//emotionally and practically…//   .,…….. and all family, of police officers past and present…….// you too know the cost of thirsting for what is right and good…  and thirsting for  peace and safety……  //   we pray that you will experience deep…. and abiding peace and strength…..   /  and for loved ones of presently serving police, may they experience serenity and peace when their loved ones are on duty. //  May the God of the beatitudes, grant that “peace, justice and service” for which those we remember today, dedicated their lives, and gave their lives to protect….  

 

 

 

 

Paul W. Kelly

269 Adelaide Street

Maryborough Qld 4650

Australia

 

Office:  (07) 4121 3701

Fax: (07) 4121 2829

Phone 041 778 6456

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please reply emails to

holyjoe@ozemail.com.au

This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

and also please visit my photo pages by clicking this link:

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Paul's Reflections 25th Sunday ordinary time A

21st September, 2008      25th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

 

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-        The work of the Kingdom is urgent, and important, and the labourers are few, the harvest plentiful… in fact, it’s more than plentiful…. the harvest God intends is that everyone (absolutely everyone) be included as part of God’s kingdom…. so there is no time like the present, no time for hesitation…..  all hands on deck…..  everyone is needed…….. all are called….

-        God is calling people to ‘be about his work’ that others would not employ…..(never even dream of employing)…….   God can see usefulness… and importance in all people; even people that others reject, ridicule, ignore, and overlook…

-        Envy…..   everyone got what they needed, but not everyone got what they wanted, nor what they expected…..// expectations play an important role…..  in a sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction……

-        I can remember in incident many years ago, when I was working in St Stephens cathedral in Brisbane…..  I was looking after the cathedral… and also the sacristan for masses  at the cathedral…   it was a Friday afternoon mass…    and many people in town would go to the Friday afternoon mass and not go to Sunday mass, so it was like an alternate Sunday mass for people… so the cathedral had a collection in mass even though it was a weekday mass….  anyway….  this one Friday, the administrator of the cathedral said that someone would come by to pick up a key to the church at St Patricks the valley (about ten minutes down the road),…..for a wedding rehearsal… they would come by some time… and I was to hand this person this key….. but they never came…..  anyways… I went on to my next task at the cathedral…. To be sacristan for the mass …….I was at the late afternoon mass, in the assembly, participating in the mass…  as one of the people…. (this happened before I was ordained)….….  and it was around the gifts time when the bread and wine is brought forward…..…  and a collection plate went around….  and after they take up the collection the collectors would lock the collection in the sacristy so no one would steal it…..   this person came up to me and I thought,…  they are looking for the key to the sacristy to lock the collection away… so, in mainly non verbal gestures… and only some words, since it was in the middle of mass.. I gestured. to him…  (with a wave of the key… and thumbs up and pointing to him and him pointing to the key… and me nodding and him nodding back…. And I was saying….  … so I thought……are you looking for the key to the sacristy to lock the collection away…..….  I showed him the key… he nodded… and I said…’for the….” and he nodded and said yes and then took the key and walked straight out the front door…. I was confused….that’s odd…. why did he go that way….why did he just walk out the front door of the church…… why didn’t he go to the sacristy….  what was happening….. and then it dawned on me…. oh no…….   I had just handed the key to the cathedral to the man who had come for the church key for st Patricks in the valley… and he has not walked out the door gotten in a car and driven off to the valley…..   and that is how I managed to lock everyone out of half the cathedral/… that day…….    I couldn’t believe the freak coincidence…. and the similarity of the two purposes had led to an assumption that proved very wrong…..  the rehearsal people now had a key that did not work in the valley church….   no one could get back into the sacristy of the cathedral…. and we couldn’t get back into the room that would allow us to turn any lights out or set any alarms in the cathedral…. or secure the building…….and the priest couldn’t get back in the sacristy… it was a minor disaster…. but very, very funny in hindsight…. 

 

and what it really brought home to me was, even when we think we are on the same wavelength with others….   a whole series of assumptions can still be totally different even if we are going…  ‘you want the… ‘ yeah, that’s right,… the “….   is this the….  “  “yeah, that;s the…..’,,,,,  great then I’ll…. “   …. ‘sure you can…..”       (but… ‘what, where, when, how why … is all just assumed….. and may often be assumed wrongly….)……

 

this happened in the gospel…..    people assumed that since they worked all day, they would be getting more than the ones who worked an hour……     have you ever wondered why the landowner didn’t just pay the day long workers first…and send them home  and then quietly pay the latecomers the same…..   why did he do it in that order…. so that the longer workers would SEE the action….  its because it’s a parable… and a confounding story at that…..   the reason its given in that order is because they needed to see the difference so that the different ways and thoughts of God from ourselves could be revealed…..  

 

how many of some daily hurts, disappointments and turmoils really come from the fact that we have filled our thoughts with wrong assumptions, unreal expectations and unrealistic constructs of thinking…… 

 

Jesus offers us a new and exciting path….   of graciousness, kindness and giving that does not stop to count the cost, but responds from love and true need….  and is humble and meek in the good sense of the word…..   able to know where we really stand with God and with eachother….  and being grateful for God’s generosity and love to all…..  no matter where they seem to come in the pecking order….

 

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please reply emails to

holyjoe@ozemail.com.au

This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

and also please visit my photo pages by clicking this link:

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or the direct link by pasting the following into your web browser

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(some of the recent photos appear at the start of the page of photos, other new ones may be right at the last page)
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Paul's Reflections TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS

14th September, 2008     

 

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The cross of Jesus Christ is not a sign that a ‘bloodthirsty God’  has no other way of forgiving sins than by demanding that humans pay for their sins with physical punishment, by forfeiting their lives…..  by dying……   The Cross, in not really about humans paying for their collective sin by satisfying a hard-to-please God by offering up an innocent representative ….  although that certainly in the human way of thinking…..   /  Jesus certainly was seen and described as the Passover lamb, innocent and spotless….   sacrificed to atone for the sins of others….  but what I mean here is….     I don’t believe GOD demanded this be so, but that humans demand that this be so……. and God knew that was the way we humans think and met us where we were…..   out of love… out of a desire to save us…..   //

 

The Cross, then, is really a sign of God’s fiahtfulness and closeness to us through the most difficult times of life….   through the best and worst of what the world offers…..  //   We are told by the Gospel….   Jesus came into the world and died on the cross not to condemn….  but that we might all be saved…….  

 

God looked deep into the human heart….  and sees in us humans a seemingly constant need that we pay for our mistakes with retribution……  (often violent retribution)……   that one person wins….  by others losing……   

 

God, in Jesus, became the scapegoat for the worst of what humanity can throw at each other……     Jesus became a thing of horror on the cross….  so that everyone and anyone can throw… can project all that is wrong and bad about the world…  or about the complexities of their lives and circumstances….  and project it all at this figure on the cross…..  who will disempower it….   defeat it….. nuetralise it……    thus putting an end to violence as a solution to everything….

 

The triumph of the Cross of Christ is God’s ultimate word to humans -   NOW, will you STOP killing yourselves…..   Now will you stop hurting eachother…..      as the price for wrongs suffered…. //    let me bear this in myself….    let me bear the world’s insane need for everything wrong done…..   so that you won’t keep doing this to yourselves…  to each other…..       so you won’t keep thinking that God is demanding blood for sins committed……  

 

//

 

we should never underestimate the human ability to withhold forgiveness…..  to demand incredible price for wrongdoing……  and even then leave people no hope for moving beyond the hurt… the wrong……    the cross can be a powerful sign that there is an infinitely stronger solution to the wrongs in the world than mere eye-for-an-eye….. which leads to an endless cycle of retribution and counter-retribution…..    

 

This weekend’s feast of the Triumph of the cross…  is also a wonderful statement that unmasks many false concepts of what true POWER is really like….. 

 

the cross says that power is NOT really any of the following things..

 

true power is not about domination…  but about love… about freedom and persuasion…

 

true power is being able to forgive… rather than becoming a slave to the necessity of striking back…..   

 

true power is not about controlling… or standing over others…….  but about walking together as one… 

 

true power, in the cross, is revealed in love willing to suffer to others…  to serve to put others first….

 

so, on a weekend celebrating the triumph of the cross… it is good to also name some of the false concepts of power the abuses of power that do so much harm in life… and which the cross of Christ stands in opposition to….

 

this weekend….   is child safety awareness weekend… and there are information brochures at the entrances of the church that share the some thoughts on making our communities (church and wider communities) the most safe they could be……    of opposing any form of abuse of authority, power or responsibility, so that those most needy and vulnerable might be protected…. 

 

true power is shown in protection of the rights and needs of those most vulnerable…..  it is in ensuring that individuals and groups do not silence the voice of those less vocal or less advantaged than others….     true power is being able to provide for the needs of others…. and to protect and respect those needs and rights of every human being… to live peacefully and free from threat or demand… 

 

Jesus believed so completely in the needs and protection of everyone… even those most on the margins…. and put his whole life on the line to ensure it…..      this power is stronger than all others….   and we celebrate the love and care of God revealed in this most contradictory sign …    of victory and love….    in the cross..

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please reply emails to

holyjoe@ozemail.com.au

This was sent to you by Fr Paul Kelly from St Mary's Catholic Parish, Maryborough, QLD. My apologies if you did not want to recieve this, please contact me and I will delete the email if you do not want to continue receiving news. Back copies of previous logs can be found by visiting the parish website. www.marycatholic.com

and also please visit my photo pages by clicking this link:

www.mysteriousthree.com

or the direct link by pasting the following into your web browser

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/554239563oXJIdn

(some of the recent photos appear at the start of the page of photos, other new ones may be right at the last page)
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