Saturday, November 15, 2008
The following is a prayer that I used last weekend
at our Remembrance Sunday Service:
This day we remember all who have died:
mainly those whose death came in a war,
but also those whose death came where there was no war,
as a result of some violence or tragedy,
as a result of illness or accident,
at the beginning of a life, or after many years.
All death brings sadness, especially when it is someone we love.
All death brings questions,
some that we ask of ourselves, some that we ask of God.
Whenever death should come,
even for someone with great faith in God,
most people, if they could choose,
would prefer the one who has died to be with them still.
Knowing this to be impossible brings a christian to prayer.
So today
as we think back on our memories of those we have loved
but who are now with God,
we pray for them
that they may be at peace and at home with God,
and we pray for ourselves
that we may continue to live our lives
inspired by the people who have meant so much to us.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tomorrow, I catch an evening flight from Melbourne,
and hopefully will be back in Eastbourne
sometime on Friday afternoon.
For my last reflection
I thought I would include something from Bishop Timothy Costelloe,
Episcopal Vicar for Youth.
In St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, October 5,
at the World Youth Day 2008 Reunion Mass and Festival
he said this:
"While WYD has been a wonderful blessing for the Church,
I hope that the real fruits of this event
will show at the local level,
with our youth playing a greater role in local parish life.
Young people are seeking ways to live out their faith,
and there are three simple ways to do this:
by praying,
be being a witness of Christ,
and through service to others.
Prayer provides us with a strong foundation
for living a peaceful life.
We can be a witness of Christ
by living a life with Christ at the centre of all that we do.
And similar to this is service,
where we are called to help those around us in our community."
All of those things are, of course,
what each of us is called to do,
and what each of us is called to help each other to do.
I've found the people in Australia
very friendly and helpful,
and these qualities are surely what all people of faith should show in their lives.
As Anna Sewell once said,
no matter what faith people profess to have
if they do not show such qualities
then their faith is a complete sham.
So next time someone asks us
"what difference does your faith make to your life?'
I hope we will all be able to reply:
'It makes me more friendly and helpful.'
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
While here in Australia,
I have come across a little book by Verna Holyhead,
called "A Pillow for my Heart."
On one of the pages it has this quote from Rabindranath Tagore:
"Death is not the extinguishing of the light;
it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."
This is followed by a prayer that although it is primarily for use
in the early days after someone has died,
could also be used, I think, with a slight alteration, at more or less any time:
"God of all consolation,
send into our hearts
a strong faith in Jesus,
the bright Morning Star.
As once,
in the dawn of Easter morning,
light mingled with darkness
when Jesus rose out of death,
grant that he will also rise
out of the dark places of our grief,
to bring into our lives
a new dawn of hope."
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Another item from an Australian Parish magazine:
It is said that when Audrey Hepburn
was asked to share her beauty tips she wrote these words
that years later were read at her funeral:
"For attractive lips,
speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure,
share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair,
let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise,
walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived,
reclaimed, and redeemed;
never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older,
you will discover that you have two hands:
one for helping yourself,
and the other for helping others."
Monday, September 22, 2008
While in Australia for a few days,
I have come across a couple of items of interest.
As from May 11, 2008,
Catholics in Australia
are being asked to make two changes in the way we celebrate Mass.
The first is one that we already do in England,
it is about standing when the priest invites the people to pray
at the end of the Preparation of the Gifts.
The second change
is asking the people to bow just before receiving Holy Communion.
If done while the person in front of them is receiving
it will avoid disrupting the flow of the Communion Procession.
It should also help to make the Communion Procession
reverent, ordered, and never rushed.
Sounds like a good idea.
In the magazine of a nearby Parish
I came across the story of the Two Wolves.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said: "The battle is between the two 'wolves' inside us all.
One is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.
The other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion, and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied:
"The one you feed."
Sunday, September 7, 2008
In July this year, Daniel O'Leary wrote an article in The Tablet.
It included this story, and as The Olympics have now finished
and the Paralympics just started, I thought I would pass it on to you.