Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Parish Priest: Fr
Assistant Priest: Fr Alexander Obiorah Mob: 0447 478 297; alexchuksobi@yahoo.co.uk
Postal Address: Parish Office:
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Secretary: Annie Davies / Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Parish Mass Times: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Parish Magazine: mlcathparishnewsletter.blogspot.com.au
Year of Mercy Blogspot: mlcpyom.blogspot.com.au
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Parents are asked to contact the Parish Office to make arrangements for attending a Baptismal Preparation Session and booking a Baptism date.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am)
Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
Penguin - Saturday (5:15pm - 5:45pm)
Care and Concern: If you are aware of anyone who is in need of assistance and has given permission to be contacted by Care and Concern, please phone the Parish Office.
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Weekday Masses 26th - 29th July, 2016
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
Thursday: 12noon Devonport
Friday: 9:30am
Ulverstone
Mass Times Next Weekend 30th & 31st July,
2016
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin (L.W.C)
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell (L.W.C)
9:00am
Ulverstone
10:30am
Devonport (L.W.C)
11:00am
Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe 
Devonport:
Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Devonport: Benediction with Adoration - first Friday of each month.
Legion of Mary: Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone, Wednesdays, 11am
Christian Meditation:
Devonport, Emmaus House - Wednesdays 7pm.
Prayer Group:
Charismatic Renewal
Devonport, Emmaus House - Thursdays 7.00pm
Meetings, with Adoration and Benediction are held each Second Thursday of the Month in OLOL Church, commencing at 7.00 pm
Ministry Rosters 30th & 31st July, 2016
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: A McIntyre, M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye
10:30am E Petts, K Douglas
Ministers of Communion: Vigil B O’Connor,
R Beaton,
K Brown, Beau Windebank, J Heatley, T Bird
10.30am: K Hull, L Hollister, F Sly, E Petts,
S Riley, S
Arrowsmith
Cleaners 29th July: G & R O’Rourke, M & R Youd
5th August: M.W.C
Piety Shop 30th July: H Thompson 31st July: O McGinley
Flowers: M Knight, B Naiker
Ulverstone:
Reader: F Pisano
Ministers of
Communion:
M Murray, J
Pisarskis, C Harvey, P Grech
Cleaners: V
Ferguson, E Cox Flowers: C Stingel Hospitality: K Foster
Penguin:
Greeters: G Hills-Eade, B Eade Commentator: Y Downes Readers: J Garnsey
Procession: M & D Hiscutt Ministers of Communion: J Barker, T Clayton
Liturgy: Sulphur Creek C Setting Up: M Murray Care of Church: M Murray, E Nickols
Latrobe:
Reader: S Ritchie Ministers of Communion: IZ Smith, B Ritchie Procession: M Clarke
Port Sorell:
Readers: G Bellchambers, D Leaman
Ministers of
Communion: B Lee Clean/Flow/Prepare: A Hynes
Readings this Week: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Genesis 18:20-32
Second Reading: Colossians 2:12-14
Gospel: Luke 11:1-3
Second Reading: Colossians 2:12-14
Gospel: Luke 11:1-3
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:
Following Jesus’
example I go to my place of prayer. I allow myself to become still in the way
that works best for me. I read this Gospel passage slowly and, using my
imagination, I enter into the scene. What do I see and hear unfolding before
me? I place myself in the scene as a disciple asking Jesus to teach me how to
pray. Jesus spent much of his ministry in prayer, so I listen to the wisdom
that he wants to share with me about prayer. When I feel ready, I slowly say
the words of the Our Father that Jesus teaches here, pausing and savouring each
phrase and pondering its meaning for me It might help me to say the prayer
using my own form of words. What do I want, what do I seek in prayer? I ask
Jesus for the grace to ask that my deepest desire will be to be drawn deeper
into a loving relationship with God. I finish my prayer with my own words of
gratitude.
Readings Next Week: 18th Sunday in
Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Reg Hinkley, Taya Ketelaar-Jones, Haydee
Diaz, Bebing Veracruz, Maureen
Clarke, Connie Fulton &..........
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Mato Roles, Evelyn O’Rourke, Gwen McCormack, David
Marquis, Melody Hicks, Elaine Winkel, Geraldine Roden, Veronica Lesek and Basil
Triffett.
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 20th
– 26th July
Ronald Buxton, Brian Innes, William
Dooley, Joseph Peterson, Edward Mahony,
Jean Braid, Robbie McIver, Marie Foster, Fay Capell, Marie
Kingshott, Peter Kelly,
Joyce Cornick, Michael Campbell and Lola Rutherford.
Also Abundia & Santos
Makiputin, Rengel Gelacio and Cenon & Petronilo Fat.
May they Rest in Peace
WEEKLY
RAMBLINGS:
This
weekend is bracketed by celebrations of Ordination Anniversaries. I mentioned
last weekend that Fr Jim McMahon and Fr Peter O’Loughlin were celebrating major
(60 & 50th) Anniversaries – I didn’t mention that Fr Graeme Howard, Fr John
Williams and Fr Denis Allen also celebrate anniversaries this week and then the
Corpus Christi College Annual Mass for Jubilarians will be celebrated in
Melbourne on Monday. Big weekend for a whole lot of the Clergy throughout
Victoria and Tasmania.
Fr
Alex heads off on Holidays on Tuesday so we wish him well for his time away – I
hope that he comes back refreshed and bursting with energy – at least more
energy that I came home with but then again he is much younger so look out
world. Enjoy your break and catching up with your family and friends.
Whilst
Fr Alex is away it will be necessary to have Lay Led Liturgies weekly (Fr
Emmanuel will also be on holidays) – and these will be announced in the
newsletter on the weekend before. Thanks to the Lay Liturgical Leaders for their
support and their efforts to assist in providing for our Parish Celebrations in
the absence of a Priest.
On
Friday week (5th August) we will be having our Open House at Ulverstone – same program
as usual - I’ll provide the food and wine and if anyone wants any different
‘poison’ then please BYO. I will give a little bit of a spiel on my holidays
but there won’t be any slides or videos so you don’t have to worry about being ‘bored’
about the trip although I will also speak a little about my ‘dream’ for the
future especially as it’s been effected by my visits to Parishes overseas.
Please take care on
the roads,
Mersey Leven Parish Community welcome
and congratulate ….
Peter Carse & Rose Intveld
who are both being baptised this weekend.
who are both being baptised this weekend.
MACKILLOP HILL:
SPIRITUALITY IN THE
COFFEE SHOPPE.
THIS
Monday 25th July 2016, 10.30am – 12 noon. Enjoy morning tea and be part of a stimulating discussion around
issues important to you! 123 William
Street, FORTH. Phone: 6428 3095
No bookings necessary!
MACKILLOP HILL
LIBRARY:
If
you haven’t yet checked out our extensive CD/DVD collection you can either
visit the library between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday or http://mackillophill.librarysolutions.com.au
AUSTRALIAN CHURCH WOMEN ULVERSTONE & DEVONPORT:
Fellowship Day Services 2016 will be held on Friday
29th July at 1:30pm at the Presbyterian Church Ulverstone
and the Salvation Army Devonport (Please
bring a plate).
KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS:
The Annual General Meeting of the Knights of the Southern
Cross will be held Sunday 31st July at Emmaus House, Devonport commencing
with the shared tea at 6pm. Any men interested in the Knights are invited to
come along.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES 125 YEAR CELEBRATION:
This year Our Lady of Lourdes School is celebrating our 125
Year Anniversary. During the week beginning Monday 8 August we will be hosting
a number of events at our school. These include a Whole School Mass, celebrated
by Archbishop Julian Porteous, on August 9 at 9:30 am; tours through the school
and a Cocktail Evening on Friday August 12, in the McCarthy Centre. Tickets for
the Cocktail Evening may be purchased from the school office for $20. For
further enquiries, or if you have any memorabilia to share, please call Mary
Sherriff on 0400 871 998.
John Kirkpatrick would like to
thank all parishioners for their prayers and support during his recent illness
and recovery.
ST VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY:
Members of St Vincent de Paul Society wish to thank
parishioners of Mersey Leven Parish for their continual support and donations.
The Society has three conferences in the Devonport Region which covers all
areas between Elizabeth Town and Sulphur Creek plus five shops which are
situated at Devonport, East Devonport, Latrobe, and Ulverstone & Penguin.
Unfortunately the Penguin shop has been temporary closed
owing to the lack of volunteers and staff, it is hoped the shop will reopen in
the near future.
This past financial year the Society through conference
member shave assisted 244 Adults and 876 children through their home visitation
program assisting with over $129.698.00 worth of food and goods. The monthly
collections taken up at Masses assist with this work and remain in the
Devonport Region; all money raised locally must stay locally and be used for
helping people in the local areas.
The Society was invited to launch The Vinnies Flood Appeal
by the Department of Premier & Cabinet, the funds raised through this
Appeal are isolated for Flood affected people and not for the day to day
assistance that St Vincent de Paul carries out.
The Society is well aware of the many calls on parishioners
for donations and are extremely grateful for the support received and the care
that is obvious for people struggling in so many ways in the community.
Appreciation is expressed to our priests Fr Mike and Fr Alex for their ongoing
support.
Mrs Veronica Riley at a recent Regional Council Meeting was
elected Regional President. The Society is appreciative of the leadership and
work carried out by the outgoing president Mrs Margaret Gerrand. For any
enquiries Veronica may be contacted on 6427:7100.
Toni Muir – State
President St Vincent de Paul Society Tasmania.
FOOTY POINTS MARGIN TICKETS: Round
17 – Geelong won by 17 points - Winners: C Singline, G Bugeja, B Jarvis.
BINGO….
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 28th
July – Tony Ryan & Alan Luxton
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for
news, information and details of other Parishes.
Our
Tassie WYD16 pilgrims have been on a whirlwind adventure following in the
footsteps of Saints Peter and Paul (among many others) in Rome; Saints Francis
and Clare in the serene and exquisite Italian town of Assisi; and onto Milan
and then Czestochowa, the spiritual capital of Poland and home to the Black Madonna,
Our Lady of Czestochowa; and a powerful and moving experience at Auschwitz
Concentration Camp – what a journey it has been thus far! Pilgrims have now
arrived in Krakow with millions of other young people from around the world to
begin the World Youth Day week tomorrow. Check out photos, videos and our
pilgrims thoughts at: www.facebook.com/taswyd16 (remember
to ‘like’ the page to show your support and to continue to receive updates)
WATCH WYD EVENTS LIVE:
All
the main World Youth Day events taking place in Krakow this week are being
streamed to you live in the comfort of your own home! You can watch the
Australian Gathering (look out for the Tasmanians in their lime green tops!),
as well as the Opening Mass, Papal Arrival, Evening Vigil, and the Final WYD
Mass. Go to: www.xt3.com/live. Dates and
times of live stream can be found on this website now – join the fun!
Participation
Week 1
Taken from the daily email from Fr Richard Rohr. You can subscribe to the emails here
A Larger Knowing
We must know spiritual things spiritually.
(See 1 Corinthians 2:12-13)
Francis and
Clare of Assisi are two prime examples of people who chose to live on the
"edge of the inside" rather than front and center and who understood
life as participation. As we've explored in the last few weeks, knowing things
from the outside-in and from the bottom-up offers a more authentic view of
reality. But that's not the only reason why Francis and Clare were able to see
things differently than most of us do. Was it because they were more moral,
more "chosen, " more detached, more loving, more sincere? These are
all likely true, yet I believe the very foundation of what we mean by holiness
or mysticism is knowing and loving from our Source. Francis and Clare knew by
participation in a Larger Knowing that many of us call God. Or, as Paul says,
"They knew as fully as they were known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
This kind of
shared knowing or full consciousness (conscire: con means "together";
scire means "knowing") is what many teachers mean by contemplation.
True contemplatives surrender some of their own ego boundaries and identity so
that God can see through them, with them, and in them--with a larger pair of
eyes. It is quite simply a higher level of seeing; it is deep consciousness.
Perhaps you
have wondered why some people understand spiritual things in a much more
compelling way than the rest of us do. They believe the same doctrines that we
do, but their faith is alive and changes both their minds and hearts in obvious
ways. Many of us think we get the "what" of a doctrine, but it does
not radically change us or inspire others. As Jesus says, "they are merely
human rules" (Matthew 15:9). Big Truth is intended to deeply change the
seer himself or herself, or it is not Big Truth. Some form of contemplative
practice is the key to this larger seeing and this larger knowing.
When we see
things in a unitive way, in conscious union with the eyes of God, what we see
is qualitatively different. Basically, it is no longer self-referential but
very expansive seeing because we are participating in the larger reality of
God, which is Love. This changes everything. This is what the true
contemplative is seeking, and thus seeing, day after day.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
(Franciscan Media: 2014), 61-62.
Remain in Me
Remain in
me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it
remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine,
you are the branches.
--John
15:4-5
The
motivation, meaning, and inherent energy of any action come from its ultimate
source, which is a person's foundational and core vantage point. What is his or
her real and honest motivation? "Who" is doing the seeing? Is it the
"cut-off branch," the egoic self, trying to do the seeing? Is it a
person needing to be right, or is it a person who wants to love? There is a
very different kind of seeing from a branch that has remained lovingly and
consciously connected to its Source (God, Jesus, our Higher Power). When Jesus
spoke of a "cut-off branch," he meant a person who can only see from
its small position of "me" and what meets "my" needs. It
seems our society is largely populated by such cut-off branches, while a
commitment to the common and real good has become a rarity.
Seeing from
a pair of glasses beyond our own is what I call "participative
seeing." This is the new self that can say with Paul, "I live no
longer, not 'I' but it is Christ now living in me" (Galatians 2:20). In
the truest sense, I am that which I am seeking. This primal communion
immediately communicates a spaciousness, a joy, and a quiet contentment. It is
not anxious, because the essential gap between me and the world has already
been overcome. I am at home and do not need to prove myself to anybody, nor do
I need to be "right," nor do you have to agree with me.
In the words
of Thomas Merton:
True
Christianity is growth in the life of the Spirit, a deepening of the new life,
a continuous rebirth, in which the exterior and superficial life of the
ego-self is discarded like an old snake skin and the mysterious, invisible self
of the Spirit becomes more present and more active. The true Christian rebirth
is a renewed transformation, a "Passover" in which [a person] is
progressively liberated from selfishness and not only grows in love but in some
sense "becomes love." The perfection of the new birth is reached
where there is no more selfishness, there is only love. In the language of the
mystics, there is no more ego-self, there is only Christ; self no longer acts,
only the Spirit acts in pure love. The perfect illumination is, then, the
illumination of Love shining by itself. To become completely transparent and
allow Love to shine by itself is the maturity of the "New Man." [1]
When you
live in this state of love, at that level of communion where you let the Life
get in and let the Life flow out of you to others, you are experiencing pure
transformation. This is what it would mean to be totally in Christ.
References:
[1] Thomas
Merton, ed. Naomi Burton Stone and Brother Patrick Hart, "Rebirth and the
New Man in Christianity," Love and Living (Harcourt Books: 1979), 199.
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
(Franciscan Media: 2014), 65-66;
and Great
Themes of Paul: Life as Participation (Franciscan Media: 2002), disc 7 (CD).
Consciously Connected
A mature
believer, of course, knows that it is impossible not to be connected to the
Source, or to be "on the Vine," as Jesus says (see John 15:1-10). But
most people are not consciously there yet. They are not "saved" from
themselves, which is the only thing we really need to be saved from. They do
not live out of their objective, totally given, and unearned identity,
"hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). This is what saints
like Francis and Clare allowed, enjoyed, and "fell into." It is
always a falling! For most of us, our own deepest identity is still well hidden
from us. Religion's primary and irreplaceable job is to bring this foundational
truth of our shared identity in God to full and grateful consciousness. This is
the only true meaning of holiness.
The vast
majority of humanity and a large percentage of Christians and clergy have not
grasped this wondrous truth, and there are even fewer who dare to enjoy it even
after they have heard it might be true. It "goes right over their
heads" and beyond their hearts. The irony is that this holiness is
actually our "first nature," yet we made it so impossible that it did
not even become a "second nature" that we could easily wear with
dignity. This core Christ-identity was made into a worthiness or morality
contest at which almost no one wins and so most do not even try. Francis and
Clare undid the whole contest by rejoicing in their ordinariness and seeming
unworthiness--which I believe is the core freedom of the Gospel itself.
One of
Paul's central teachings, which some have rightly called his "sermon on
wisdom" can be found in 1 Corinthians (1:17-3:3). Here, Paul recognizes
that many of his new converts were doing spiritual things, but still in very
immature and unspiritual ways (for example, to feel or look holy, to cultivate
a positive self-image, to "get" God's love, or to "earn"
entry into heaven). Paul calls them "infants in Christ" who are not
yet ready for "solid food" (1 Corinthians 3:2). Many today have
settled for religion as attendance or belonging, which would surely be baby
food, instead of religion as inherently participating in Love.
Consciously,
trustfully, and lovingly remaining on "the Vine," which is to be
connected to our source, is precisely our access point to deeper spiritual
wisdom. We know by participation with and in God, which creates our very real
co-identity with Christ: We are also both human and divine, as he came to
reveal and model. The foundational meaning of transformation is to surrender to
this new identity and to consciously draw upon it.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
(Franciscan Media: 2014), 66-68.
Dying to Self
In truth, we
must change our very self-image rather than just be told some new things to see
or do. To be a Christian is to objectively know that we share the same identity
that Jesus enjoyed as both human and divine, which is what it means to
"follow" him. In fact, I believe that this is the whole point of the
Gospel and the Incarnation! (Read John 14 and 15 in their entirety, lest you
think I am overstating my position; or study the early Fathers and Mothers of
the Eastern Church, who understood this much more clearly than the Western
Church.)
This
realization that Someone is living in us and through us is exactly how we plug
into a much larger mind and heart beyond our own. Afterward, we know in a
different way, although we have to keep relearning this truth over and over
again (the point of daily prayer). But it demands a major dying of our own
small self, our ego. Maybe that's why so few go there. As Jesus clearly puts
it, one "self" must die for another "Self" to be born. That
message is quite explicit in all four Gospels (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke
9:24; John 12:24). In the practical order, this mostly feels like taking my
"self," my ego--both its hurts and its importance, which are largely
manufactured by my mind--less seriously day by day. Growth in salvation is
growth in liberation from the separate self and falling into our first nature,
which is our "foundational holiness" or original, ontological union
with God.
God has
always--and only--been in union with an obviously imperfect humanity. That is
the essential character of divine mercy. Salvation is always pure and total
gift from God's side. Living and thinking autonomously, separately, or cut off
from such a Vine or Source is what Paul means by being foolish and unspiritual.
Living in union is wisdom.
One must
fully recognize that mystics like Francis and Clare were speaking from this
place of conscious, chosen, and loving union with God, and such union was
realized by surrendering to it and not by any achieving of it. Surrender to
Another, participation in Another, and divine union are finally the same thing.
Once we are aware that we participate in this union, we look out at reality
from a much fuller Reality that now has eyes beyond and larger than our own.
This is what it means to "live in Christ" (en Christo), to pray
"through Christ," or to do anything "in the name of God,"
phrases with which Christians are quite familiar.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
(Franciscan Media: 2014), 68-71.
Dying to Self
In truth, we
must change our very self-image rather than just be told some new things to see
or do. To be a Christian is to objectively know that we share the same identity
that Jesus enjoyed as both human and divine, which is what it means to
"follow" him. In fact, I believe that this is the whole point of the
Gospel and the Incarnation! (Read John 14 and 15 in their entirety, lest you
think I am overstating my position; or study the early Fathers and Mothers of
the Eastern Church, who understood this much more clearly than the Western
Church.)
This
realization that Someone is living in us and through us is exactly how we plug
into a much larger mind and heart beyond our own. Afterward, we know in a
different way, although we have to keep relearning this truth over and over
again (the point of daily prayer). But it demands a major dying of our own small
self, our ego. Maybe that's why so few go there. As Jesus clearly puts it, one
"self" must die for another "Self" to be born. That message
is quite explicit in all four Gospels (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24;
John 12:24). In the practical order, this mostly feels like taking my
"self," my ego--both its hurts and its importance, which are largely
manufactured by my mind--less seriously day by day. Growth in salvation is
growth in liberation from the separate self and falling into our first nature,
which is our "foundational holiness" or original, ontological union
with God.
God has
always--and only--been in union with an obviously imperfect humanity. That is
the essential character of divine mercy. Salvation is always pure and total
gift from God's side. Living and thinking autonomously, separately, or cut off
from such a Vine or Source is what Paul means by being foolish and unspiritual.
Living in union is wisdom.
One must
fully recognize that mystics like Francis and Clare were speaking from this place
of conscious, chosen, and loving union with God, and such union was realized by
surrendering to it and not by any achieving of it. Surrender to Another,
participation in Another, and divine union are finally the same thing. Once we
are aware that we participate in this union, we look out at reality from a much
fuller Reality that now has eyes beyond and larger than our own. This is what
it means to "live in Christ" (en Christo), to pray "through
Christ," or to do anything "in the name of God," phrases with
which Christians are quite familiar.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi
(Franciscan Media: 2014), 68-71.
Dying and Living in Christ
Paul uses
the phrase en Christo, in Christ, around seventy times. He's trying to describe
this larger life in which we are participating. He speaks of belonging to
Christ, of being possessed by Christ, captured by Christ, apprehended by
Christ. He says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
(Philippians 4:13). Paul speaks of being clothed by Christ. He tells us to put
on Christ. He says he suffers with Christ, he's crucified with Christ, he dies
with Christ, he's buried with Christ. He's raised up with Christ, he lives with
Christ, and Paul says he's making up in his body the afflictions which still
must be undergone by Christ.
Paul writes,
"All belongs to you, you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God"
(see 1 Corinthians 3:21-23). He's grasping at mystical language for describing
how we participate in this reality that is larger than our individual lives.
Being "in Christ" will eventually lead us to join in the universal
pattern of death and resurrection that Christ went through. This is the
universal initiation experience, the transformative experience that all human
beings go through whereby we come to know what's real. We must go into the
death of the small self in order to discover the Big Self, the True Self. At
the mystical level, all the world religions say this.
In
contemplation we're consciously choosing to let go of our identification with
our mind and our identification with our life situation or our false self so
that we can fall into the One True Life, which is bigger than each of us, which
is moving into a different body, a different state, a different consciousness
that Christians call Christ consciousness. For Paul it is his participation in
Christ which gives him the courage to walk through each state: passion, death,
and resurrection--all of which are brought to focus in the life of Jesus. Most
people were told to love Jesus without being invited to love Christ. "The
Christ" is the Big Picture of God's enfleshment in all of creation since
the beginning of time (Colossians 1:15-20); Jesus is the distilled, personal
enfleshment that brings this primal "anointing" of the material world
to one concrete loving and loveable moment.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Great Themes of Paul: Life as Participation (Franciscan Media:
2002), disc 7 (CD).
Whole and Holy Together
The Spirit itself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be
glorified with him. --Romans 8:16-17
If you're
like me, it's pretty hard to trust this is true within my small self. I don't
know how to believe that I am a child or heir of God on my own; but together
with the whole body of Christ it is somehow easier to believe that in our
wholeness we are beautiful. We each have our own little part of the beauty, our
own gifts of the Spirit, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul says that
the particular way "the Spirit is given to each person is for the common
good" (1 Corinthians 12:7, Jerusalem Bible). Paul's word for this is a
"charism"--a gift that is given to you not just for your own self,
but to build up the community, to build up the society. As an individual, you
don't have the full responsibility of putting it all together, as the false
theology of perfectionism claims. All you have to do is discover your one gift
and use it for the good of all.
Paul uses
the ingenious metaphor of the body to show how unity is created out of
diversity: "As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts
of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. . . . Now you are
Christ's body, and individually parts of it" (see 1 Corinthians 12:12,
27).
So we, in
our corporate wholeness, are the glory of God, the goodness of God, the
presence of God. As an individual, I participate in that wholeness, and that is
holiness. That's the only holiness we'll ever know. It's not my private
holiness; it's our connectedness together. In Peter's words, echoing the Hebrew
Scriptures, "you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated
nation, a people set apart, who have been called out of darkness into this
wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all; now you are the very people
of God" (1 Peter 2:9-10). Jesus' corporate image is the Reign of God or
the Kingdom of God. Paul's is the Body of Christ. John's is the journey into
mystical union where "I and the Father are one" (see John 14:20). All
of them are looking for a corporate, communal, participatory image of what's
really happening, because the individual cannot carry such glory and greatness
alone.
Many call
this state of consciousness the True Self. We have to fall through the little
events of our life into this True Self. We have to fall through our life
situation into The One Great Life. We have to fall through our identification
with our small mind into the Great Mind of Christ, as Paul calls it (see 1
Corinthians 2:16). We have to fall through our individual body experience into
the One Spirit (see Ephesians 4:4-5), through what is manifest into the
Unmanifest. There are many names and descriptions for this consciousness, for
example, Being itself, "the bosom of Abraham" (Luke 16:22), the
Father, or if you were raised Catholic or Orthodox, the arms of Mary. We are
always and only grabbing for images and metaphors, but the important thing is
the experience of union itself.
Reference:
Adapted from
Richard Rohr, Great Themes of Paul: Life as Participation (Franciscan Media:
2002), disc 7 (CD).
AN HONEST ANGER
Taken from the Blog Archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser. The original article can be found here
Today, for the main part, most of us live in chronic depression. This is not clinical depression so it’s not as if we need professional help or therapy, it’s just that there is within our lives precious little in terms of delight.
We live and breathe within a culture and a church that are growing daily in sophistication, adultness and criticalness. This is not always a bad thing, but it is helping to spawn a polarization, anger and despondency that is making it almost unfashionable to be happy.
Much of this despondency has constellated around two centres, women’s anger and men’s grief.
As women touch gender issues, normally anger follows, much like smoke follows from fire. There is already within the popular mind the stereotype of the angry feminist. It’s more than a stereotype. Many women who get in touch with gender issues do, in fact, get angry.
Interestingly, when men today touch their own gender issues, as they are doing today in men’s circles, they have their own stereotypical reaction. They become sad and begin to grieve; so much so that today there is a new stereotype emerging within the popular mind that parallels the image of the anger feminist, namely, the grieving male.
Recently I addressed a national conference of Catholic journalists and tried to make the point that, as a Catholic press, we must address this despondency.
After my talk, I was challenged by a woman, a former teaching colleague and a longtime friend, who said to me: “Yes, I am angry, and so are many other women. But you make you anger sound like something hard and calloused—while you make men’s grief sound like something soft and sensitive. Is that really fair? Are they really that different? Isn’t anger, in the end, just another form of grief?”
I was thankful for her challenge because, for the main part, she is right—anger and grief are not that different. On the surface, they appear antithetical, oil and vinegar, but examined more closely, most of the time they are expressions of the same thing, love that’s been wounded and yearns for reconciliation.
Rollo May once suggested that the opposite of love is not hate or anger. The opposite of love is indifference. You can only really hate or be properly and thoroughly angry with somebody that you love.
The deeper the love, the deeper will be the anger and hatred if the love is wounded or betrayed. Anger and hatred, initially at least, are almost always a sure sign of love. They are love’s grief. Most anger, in the end, is a form of grief . . . just as most grief, when boiled down to its essentials, is a form of anger.
But not all anger is good and neither are all forms of grief. There are different kinds of anger and these have parallel kinds of grief. There is honest anger and there is dishonest anger, there is honest grief and there is dishonest grief.
Let me try to explain this, using anger. Grief has identical parallels.
Honest anger obeys three rules:
First, it does not distort. Good anger does not let hurt blind one to what was good in the past so as to allow a revisionist distortion of the truth. Honest anger is real anger, it feels and points out what is wrong, but it doesn’t, on that account, lie about what is and what was good. It lets the good remain good.
Second, it is not rage. There is a big difference between honest anger and rage. Despite its rather coarse surface and its painful disturbing of the peace, honest anger, in the end, seeks to build up, to bring to a new wholeness, to reconcile something that is felt as fractured or broken. It is a disruptive means towards a good end.
Rage, by contrast, wants only to bring down, to break apart, to utterly destroy. Its wound is so deep that there is no more desire for unity and reconciliation. The clearest expression of this is murder/suicide, the case where the wounded lover kills his lost love and then kills himself.
Finally, honest anger, has a time limit, it is not forever. It howls and wails for “40 days,” the length of time needed, and then it moves on, to the promised land. Honest anger never sees itself as an end, a substitute for the lost love.
It does not make an ideology of itself (“I am unhappy . . . and I have every right to be!”). Like the Israelites in the desert, like a pining lover, its every energy seeks for the road beyond, the way out, reconciliation, an embrace which heals the fracture.
Honest grief follows the same rules—and these are important rules for all of us, women and men, who desire to move beyond the present divisions to a new embrace.
FOCUS ON FLOW:
3 WAYS TO MOVE YOUR MASS CELEBRATION
FROM GOOD TO GREAT
From the weekly blog by Fr Michael White, Pastor at the Church of the Nativity, Baltimore. You can find the original article here
Often the difference between a great experience at Mass, and just a good or not-so-great one, isn’t an innovative tech system or a small army of ministers (though both might be handy), but something more simple and intuitive, like flow. And probably the only thing it will cost you and your team is a little extra time and forethought.
The concept of flow is an incredibly powerful and profoundly liturgical idea that shapes what, why, when, and how we celebrate the different elements of Mass the way we do. Flow is about purposeful, guided movement. Things that flow have a source and a destination. In the case of church services or the Mass, it’s about moving people’s hearts and minds. But too often the flow becomes a secondary consideration, if considered at all, and what should be bringing people closer to God ends up making the task more difficult. Maybe that’s your church, or maybe things are pretty good at your church, but you’re struggling to push the experience to the next level. Here are three things to consider about the flow of your church service.
The Music Needs to Flow
We like to say that music is the water on which the experience sails, and that can be smooth sailing or a stormy, unpredictable ride. What is the mood the music and Mass parts convey at your church? How do people feel as they experience your music?
Along with music, silence can be as effective as the best song. Some silence is poignant and powerful- too much is just awkward and feels like “dead time.” Be deliberate about it.
Proclaim More, Announce Less
We’ve seen announcements given before the readings, during offertory, after communion- basically any time. And that disrupts the flow and diminishes the significance of what’s actually happening. A public reading of a list of announcements is not prescribed in the Roman Missal, not to mention gives the mixed message that insider church business deserves the same pride of place at the pulpit as the Word of God.
Why not try a more creative and less bothersome method for communicating what’s going on in the life of the parish? We use short video announcements before Mass starts- they catch people’s attention and don’t burden the service.
Pay Attention to Transitions
The Mass is full of transitions – from music to prayer to scripture to preaching to prayer again, and . . . you get the point. Good flow is what happens in between each element of the Mass. The transitions in the liturgy are an opportunity to keep people engaged and move them through the experience. Focusing on their flow is crucial. How smoothly do your transitions occur? Are they jarring? The different parts can function together like a well-oiled machine or a clunky mess.
No matter how experienced and reverent you are in celebrating or ministering at the liturgy, there is always room for improving the flow.
This article, copied from the ThinkingFaith.org website is a reflection on the Book by Pope Francis of the same name. The article can be found here
An anecdote about taking a cross from a dead priest is perhaps not one you would expect to hear from a pontiff, but The name of God is Mercy is full of such of disarming tales from Pope Francis. Most are encouraging stories, about people who have practised or understood mercy, but there is also the occasional warning about religious rigidity or arrogance. No story is wasted and, typically of Francis, each is used to make a deeper theological truth accessible. In the story of the ‘stolen’ cross, for instance, Francis explains that the priest had a reputation for being an exceptional confessor and that, as he took the cross, Francis prayed to have ‘half of [his] mercy’. To this day, the pope carries the cross in his top pocket and touches it whenever he has a bad thought about anyone. This striking story gives a taste of the refreshing tone of the book: sometimes challenging, always passionate and unavoidably direct, as Francis’ vision of God and our relationship to Him is related in pragmatic and relevant ways.
The book has been published (by 17 publishers in 84 countries simultaneously) to mark the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The blurb promotes it as the first book by Pope Francis, which may come as a surprise given the plethora of books about him and even more so when we take into account the relentless pace of this papacy: it can be difficult to keep up with Francis due to the sheer amount of speeches, homilies and interviews that he gives. This text is the product of a series of interviews Francis gave to the prolific and respected Italian writer and journalist, Andrea Tornielli. In an age of wall-to-wall media, where the distinction between reporting the news and commenting on the news is not always clear, where opinion and fact often seem interchangeable, it is refreshing to hear Francis’ voice so clearly through this book. These are his actual words – not what we want to hear, not what our prejudices and projections emphasise or take out of context.
Tornielli compiled the text after a series of meetings with Francis, who had just returned from his visit to Latin America in 2015. It is composed in the style of a dialogue – at times theological – with the pope answering a series of questions from Tornielli, and reading it is like eavesdropping on a free-flowing conversation. It feels spontaneous, not at all as if the questions were submitted weeks beforehand, which previous papal protocol would have demanded. However, the spontaneity doesn’t affect the depth of the answers, through which we are able to harvest the fruits of Francis’ many years of priestly ministry. The questions range from, ‘Why do we need to confess?’ to, ‘Can we have too much mercy?’ Many questions focus on what happens in the confessional; however, the book is not limited to this practice but also develops a public understanding of mercy, as Francis has done throughout his papacy. I hope that it will be used fruitfully by the generation now in seminaries but also be pondered by policy-makers and that self-titled group of ‘opinion-formers’.
It is notable that one of the first points that Francis makes in this book is that the idea of a Year of Mercy is thoroughly consistent with the ideas of his four most recent predecessors. There is nothing new here – he seems aware that his critics wish to pursue the divisive myth of ‘rupture’ with previous ways of thinking, whereas he is keen to emphasise continuity. That continuity is a testament against the cult of personality on which many world leaders are capitalising. Charismatic personalities seem to be making a dramatic impact across the globe at the moment, but this is one worth listening to. Unlike the populist demagogues from the US to the Philippines, whose messages are of fear and division, this book offers a witness to the need for reconciliation, for working together, for healing. The foundational grace of the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius is an interior knowledge of being a loved sinner. This is an experience that has transformed this Jesuit pope’s life, and he wishes it to transform the Church and the world.
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