Called at Baptism

Following one’s vocation is a response from within to the needs outside us. A decision to work for the poor or assist people in need is not necessarily a vocation. A vocation meets the human needs of the world but with a motivation from within. We care for our children and grandchildren not just because they are sick or insecure, but because we love them. This love will move us out to help them in various situations.

We find a call to be ‘people for others’ because our heart teaches us that with Jesus we are all brothers and sisters, and that God wants to save the world, and needs our help to do so.

This is the Sunday we all pray that our particular vocation in life may become clear and may become stronger.

God calls each of us to love God and love our neighbour. This is the first Christian calling at our Baptism; we then find the best way for each of us with our own particular set of gifts, talents and even weaknesses to live out that call to love.

We think especially today of religious life and priesthood. There are needs for priests, sisters and brothers in most parts of the world. As a community in families and parishes we thank those who have given their lives in these vocations and pray they may increase.

Remember with thanks those whose lives

have given you your faith in God.

Lord, thanks for what I can do in your service.

May your kingdom come!

Donal Neary SJ

The Sacred in the Ordinary

    Interesting that it is hard to find a painting of their late-night meal of fish.  Others are crowded on Google images.  The garden, the breakfast on the beach, the road to Emmaus – old and new pictures.  Is the fish meal too ordinary for the resurrection?  We can’t believe that the Lord of all creation, who died for us, will be recognised so simply or can we?

    Jesus is in a bit of a fix. Faith is still weak in his followers – how can he get to them? Though the doors are closed, he comes among them in their fear. He said Peace again. This doesn’t seem to get through.   Finally he tried a meal of ordinary fish with them.  Somehow it is getting through.  They have remembered other meals of fish and the way he ate it.  Faith is growing in them in the simple act of sharing a meal together.

There is always another way for Jesus.  We resist that he is so ordinary.  The resurrection happens now and in the ordinary.  How this week did I find the resurrection? Where I took a jump outside of the self in love, care, work for justice?   In any way we raise each other up to a better human life and faith, then the resurrection is being shared.

The garden, the chat on the road, and now the ordinary meal. Imagine if we said he took fish, said the blessing…! All of life is sacred, and shot through with the love and grace of the risen Lord.

In your breathing in and out, echo the word ‘Peace’

Lord, make me a means of your peace.

Donal Neary SJ

Growing in Faith

    Our church community faces many big questions about the place of women, our views on sexuality, the need for consultation and for dialogue.  We need to know what all of us believe, not just our leaders. We need to know how people find it to live their faith, in these areas of sexuality, justice, migration, ministry and other realities today.  Recent Synods and letters of the Pope have tried to connect theory and lived faith.

    There is a need to be able to grapple with the demands of today and the message of the gospel;  to be able to discern our path in the peace and joy of the Easter message, knowing we don’t all have to agree with each other to say ‘my Lord and my God’.

   We are the people who are happy to believe; to show we are a community of faith and of joy, and we want to spread this faith that lives for justice and compassion.

    We will never get it fully right.  But we can get it better and better if we unite with the Lord and hear each other with respect.  That is our challenge at Easter.  May the Lord bring the best out of our faith in bad days, and help us live with and enjoy the best of our faith in the good times.  We want to make alive what is best in our Christianity.

Thomas doubted at times;

Can I share my doubts of belief with the Lord?

Lord, I believe in you, strengthen my belief.

Donal Neary SJ

Our Celebration

    If we have a look around the Church we notice colour, nature, icons, water and oil. We hear joyful music and uplifting prayer. This is our Easter – our celebration.

    The next bit of Easter is to go and tell. Like he appeared in an ordinary garden and appeared to unexpected women. Who would have thought he would do that? He would still do the same!

   The divine Jesus also looks ordinary. They take a while to recognise it is the same Jesus, the one they knew and loved. We sometimes meet people who got a promotion  (or something big happened to them) and deep down thy are still the same person.  Jesus was new but then they realised that for now and forever he would still be the same, finding us and loving us in the ordinary, on our good days and bad days, in goodness and weakness.

    On our bad days he can bring out the best in us. Like his bad days brought out the best in him. When we can say little he sings Alleluia in us. He is doing us a world of good in us so that we can do the world a world of good.

    His words of resurrection echo today in all that is in this church, its colour, sounds, and above all in the humanity here. We will always have the echo of Jesus,  he is risen today: alleluia, alleluia.

Allow the joy of Jesus to fill your heart

as your breath fills your body.

Risen Jesus, be joyful in me, in all.

Donal Neary SJ