'Striving to be 'CHRIST in the World'

My dear friends,

From his prison cell, John the Baptist sends his disciples on a mission to confirm what he instinctively felt, that Jesus was the promised one of God. On meeting John’s disciples, Jesus simply points out to them that they have only to look with their eyes to see what’s happen-ing; He is transforming people’s lives. The gospel indicates that there are two essential ingredients to this transformation: faith and the power of God present in Jesus. When those two elements meet in an individual, then change/growth happens. “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me”, says Jesus. Indeed, how true that is.
John the Baptist was a man who had ‘bags’ of faith; so much so, he was tuned into the movement and rhythm of God around him, and thus was able to point to Jesus as the cho-sen one of God. Are you tuned into the rhythm and movement of God around you? I must admit, I find it very difficult to ‘tune in’, as I’m sure many people do. It requires a willingness on our part to give time, space, attention and focus. The great prophet Isaiah knew human nature well when he said that people, “hear and hear again, but do not understand; see and see again, but do not perceive.”
The process of growth in the spiritual life can be slow and difficult, and sometimes we may feel that we are not getting anywhere. But we must try to hang on to the key spiritual principle that if we persevere in our faith then we allow the power of God in, which can then get working within us, even if we don’t feel it. Sometimes, you’ll be surprised how God does get working, and you’ll be even more surprised how, through you, God will touch the lives of others and you won’t even realise it. This 3rd Sunday of Advent, is also known as “Gaudete” Sunday (Gaudete is a Latin word which translates as “Rejoice”). We are rejoicing because we are beginning to contemplate, ever more deeply, the coming of our Lord among us, “they shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God”.
The ‘joyous’ tone to our liturgy is reflected by the colour of the priest’s Chasuble & Stole, going from purple to rose; we also light the rose-coloured candle on our Advent Wreath.
Wishing you well for the week,

Fr Brett

'We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.'

Oscar Romero