The following prayer has kept coming to me of late. Aside from telling me something, maybe it’ll speak to you too. Heaven knows we need peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly; (Luke 1:52)

This verse continues Mary’s statement of faith in God. Like its Old Testament counterpart, Hannah’s canticle in 1 Sam 2, Mary’s faith is remarkable. The Magnificat also looks forward to the great overturning that happens through Jesus outlined in this Gospel. What is the context? The Jewish people are diminished, conquered by Rome. Where is hope? There is faith in a salvation in this life. The rich and powerful will get their comeuppance and, again like the Old Testament, the poor, the widow and the stranger will be cared for.

This passage resonates with young people’s sense of justice. They see what needs to be changed – but isn’t. Consequently, they can lose hope. It is our task to help them to grasp Mary’s faith that God will work in the hearts of people to ensure that, however slowly, those in need are taken care of. And, that it starts with me

Have a great week!
Patrick

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour (Luke 1:46)

Mary was deliriously happy about being pregnant, sharing that time with her cousin Elizabeth and was glorifying God for all he had done for her. As humans of the 21st century, we must be careful not to read into the text (eisegesis) i.e. not put our stuff on the text. e.g. social stigma about being young and pregnant or questions about parentage.

The young people in our care may find faith difficult – for a variety of reasons. Mary’s example of faith in God is for today and all time. Mary expresses her joy and gratitude for all of God’s gifts. Those times of elation are precious and to be savoured. One way that young people might emulate Mary is by being open-hearted – open to life and all its experiences. How might I foster such an attitude in myself and the young people in my care?

Have a great week!
Patrick

New morning

Fresh

Washed clean

Air filled

With the sound of

Seagulls and

Civilisation

Beetling away

Bright sunshine

Crowns the scene

I can see

Clouds brooding over

The heads of

Botany Bay

Gateway to the

Tasman Sea

And more

The timelessness of

Sand

Sea and

Sky

Yet another time

One that connects to me

Reels me in.

A monument to the First Fleet

Is on the foreshore

Showing

William Douglas and

Mary Groves

My ancestors

The gift of this scene?

The many facets of

Connection

Which is another way

Of describing

God

Jesus said, ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.’ (John 17:20-21)

We who believe in Jesus Christ are joined in faith – but the human obstacles that have been created through history! Only a fool would waive schisms but a course in trinitarian theology with other Christian denominations 20 years ago convinced me that what unites (implicit in this passage) is much greater than what divides us.

There are so many forces at work in the world that focus solely on the tangible. Yet faith like love is intangible – but no less real. It is vital that young people see the care and connection, since God is love, between people of faith, as well as the embracing of difference as another facet of the body of Christ. Our community of faith is enriched by the contribution of each member.

Have a great week!
Patrick

There are moments

In life

That you want

To bottle

Precious moments

Where feelings are

Heightened.

It could be

A wedding

A birth

Magnificent scenery

Or something

As quotidian

As seeing

Your love

Or having dinner

With your family

The trick is

To savour

This grace.

Whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40)

It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing the world – and especially the people in it – as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Our society can abound with such ‘binary’ thinking. When we reflect upon matters, we may realise that those ‘against us’ are quite small in number, however powerful they may seem at any given moment. Thus the vast majority are ‘for us’ – or at least not putting obstacles in our way.

What might this mean for the young people in our care? We can all feel overwhelmed by a difficult situation or ‘difficult people’. One meaning that young people can take from this passage is to realise that ‘difficult people’ are in the minority, take heart and not be weighed down by their difficult situations.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. (Ps 68:19)

We believe that God is always with us. When life is a struggle we can cry to God about our difficulties. Are we sufficiently open-hearted to be aware of the seemingly-hidden graces that are present each day, each moment of our lives? As Shakespeare said, there’s the rub. Whether in joy or difficulty, God is with us. One perspective upon ‘God is our salvation’ is since God is present in everyone and everything we need each person, each relationship to enrich us and save us.

Our young people appreciate an ‘attitude of gratitude’. Such an attitude speaks of appreciating each moment, each person in their lives and is akin to mindfulness. Such gratitude also values the very real way in which our lives are filled by angels – people who do God’s work – by lifting us up when life weighs us down.

Have a great week!
Patrick

PS A reminder that you can order copies of my new book of reflections Guided into the truth here. All royalties go to St Maria Mazzarello School in Venilale, Timor-Leste

I’m delighted to report that a new book of reflections, Guided into the truth, is now available through Morning Star Publishing.

For orders

On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul. (Psalm 138:3)

This cry of the heart aptly describes the human condition – being in need. The strength we ask for is not physical but strength to ‘deal’ with what life throws at us – strength of soul. If you ask and keep asking and are never answered, you’re likely to give up. The fact that you’re reading this means that you have felt ‘answered’ or have not lost hope. My prayer is that you continue to feel strengthened by our God.

As we renew our ministry with young people, there are any number of reasons why they would want to feel strengthened: dealing with family or friends, the demands of study or their own ’stuff’. The need is there. We can share our experience of being strengthened and/or supply them with opportunities to ask for strength. An answer is a prayer away.

Have a great week…and term!
Patrick