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Richard Rohr reminds us that “unity is not the same as uniformity”. He says: “unity is the reconciliation of differences and that those differences must be maintained – and yet also overcome at a deeper level.”

This is the unity that Jesus prayed for and that reaches deep into the heart of Scripture; for example, in John 17, Jesus prays that “they may all be one.”

St. Paul made unity versus uniformity very clear in his Letters. In Ephesians 4: 5-7, he taught: “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God who is Father of all, within all and each of us has been given our own share of grace”. So we must journey together in our own uniqueness and in our own absolute unity.

St. Francis de Sales once wrote: “Consider the variety of gifts and graces with which God adorns the garden of His Church. Some are roses, some are lilies, some violets…each contributing to the whole.

I love that image when applied to human life – no comparisons, no jealousies, no longing to be in control.  Each flower contributes to the beauty of the whole, despite differences of role, size, colour, perfume, place in the garden…

Invitation:

Spend time with Claude Monet’s painting The Garden at Giverny.

Or

In a garden near you at this beautiful time of the year.

Or…?

B.O’S

The following reflection is from Fr. Patrick van der Vorst:

“There is something in all of us that longs for “the other side.” We think the grass is greener on the other side. We want to explore new shores…and it can make us restless. Like the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee, we sense that we are not meant to stay where we are; we are drawn forward, called forward, invited to a new shore.  And yet, the moment we set out, the waters are rarely calm. Winds rise. The sea grows restless. Darkness gathers. Every new step, every new calling, every new job, every new house we move into, every change seems to bring with it resistance, uncertainty, even fear, we are excited on the one hand, but on the other hand we are afraid.

It is precisely there, in the midst of the struggle, in the midst of the changes that Christ comes. Not when all is in calm, but when the waves are high. Not in the brightness of certainty, but in the obscurity of night.  He comes forward and speaks those familiar words: It is I. Do not be afraid”.

And somehow, when we recognise His presence and when we recognise He is already in the storm with us, the whole journey changes. The distance shortens. The far shore no longer feels unreachable. Maybe the goal of the storms was never simply to arrive…but to discover that He is with us every step of the way.”

                                                                          B. O’S.

As we celebrate Vocation Sunday on the fourth Sunday of Easter and the Gospel of the Good Shepherd is read for us at Mass it caused me to reflect on what it means to speak of vocation.  The Gospel is centred on hearing and following – hearing the voice of the shepherd and following his call.  It comes before we speak of what we do, what we wear or how we live – it is about pondering the question Am I listening to the voice of the shepherd? It is not about whether the Lord calls us but rather about whether we are listening attentively to his voice amid the noise of the world and the many voices that shout loudly for our attention.

We can think of vocation in the sense of today’s call to prayer – the call to priesthood, religious life or marriage – the life choices we are called to make in response to the call.  But these calls are much bigger than just a once made choice that we follow.  The priest is more than a man who goes off to study theology and then returns to serve in a parish; marriage is more than two people who fall in love and choose to spend their lives together; religious life is more than choosing a particular community and way of serving the people. It is first and foremost a response to the voice of God – it is an individual listening actively to the call and saying “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will”.

In its broader sense vocation is for all people who call themselves Christian – irrespective of their life choice.  It is a Gospel call from the Good Shepherd to each and every person. It is about God calling in the everyday moments – the concrete daily moments when we are called to choose: to show a little more patience, to forgive, to speak the truth, to offer help, to volunteer our time, to serve others, to show love, to reach out to the stranger in need, to trust…

Every call, every day of our lives is a response to the voice of God. Every call invites us to discipline, to sacrifice and to perseverance – every call has a purpose beyond oneself.  When you have a reason to respond positively to a call you can bear the cost, whatever that may be. The path will not always be easy – it is not always easy to be patient, to forgive, to speak the truth, to volunteer help, to serve, to trust, to love… Some days we will be beset by doubt, fatigue, even selfishness but when we trust the Good Shepherd and listen carefully we will remember we are not following an abstract idea but a person who wants to be in relationship with us…always. 

The questions – Who am I listening to?  Where I am called to be?  can be fear-filled questions if we take them seriously in discerning a life choice – but if we listen to the Shepherd and his words “Do not be afraid” we will be able to make the right choice.  The choice that will, as the Lord promised, give us life and have that life abundantly. This may not always be an easy life, it may not always be comfortable, it will call us sometimes to make sacrifices, it will ask us to go to places we may not choose to go, but in the promise of life is a promise of abundant joy.   

Karen OSU

“The whole world is in a terrible state of chassis”, so said Captain Jack Boyle in Sean O ‘Casey’s 1924 play Juno and the Paycock- using a humorous mispronunciation of “chaos”, used to describe dysfunctional situations and political confusion.

Don’t Jack Boyle’s words aptly describe our world today? We are beset by all sorts of problems and worries – we are anxious and fretful and can easily lose hope.

How can we find peace in these stressful times?

Right outside our front door there is a magnificent willow tree. A few short weeks ago it was naked and now in late Spring it is showing off its dress in its full glory. The verdant space around it “laughs with the joys of new life”.  Its beauty sustains and strengthens me in a world that increasingly does not make sense.

Recent medical research has looked at ways of nurturing our spirits in turbulent times. A daily walk is therapeutic, especially now that Spring is bursting out in all its glory.

This time of year always nudges us to give thanks for the seeds of hope and new beginnings and to sit back and wait for God’s surprises to mature.

How about trying to build more time into activities we enjoy – reading, knitting, swimming, gardening………… or whatever absorbs us in body and mind.

Professor Brendan Kelly offers very simple ways of nurturing hope to improve our positivity and mental health: Gentle movement like walking can be just as helpful as vigorous exercises in the gym and often more achievable in most peoples’ lives.

I was very helped by Pope Leo’s consistent demonstration of what it looks like to remain morally centered on the Gospel rather than acting for or against power-orientated interests.  And the fact that he always speaks from principles rather than in response to powerful people.

We are stronger, wiser and more gifted than we think. We are called to draw on those qualities now.

B. O’S

In the midst of the darkness and traumatic moments of our lives and world, the Easter dawn breaks holding the possibility of new life. The stone is moved, Jesus is risen. His crucified body shines with resurrected light, casting a radiant brightness over the shadows of our lives and world. Suffering is transformed into new life, good triumphs over evil and everything that is broken and dead is renewed. Death becomes the gateway to new life. The Cross and glory are forever intertwined. The light of the resurrected body of Jesus changes forever our vision of death. We are destined to live and have eternal life.

The Resurrection of Jesus promised at His birth sets us free forever. Daniel O’ Leary reassures us that we have God’s creative power at our core; he says: “Believing in this incredible power within us nothing is impossible anymore. It enables us to live with courage, knowing that no matter what happens to us or around us, we are under the protection of God and we can do all things in God who strengthens us.”

We are miracles of Easter when we discover the meaning of life in the ordinary “bits and pieces” of our daily life, when we have a positive attitude to life, when we make our journey of life a journey of wonder and thanksgiving, when we remove the limits we put around ourselves and others by daring to believe.

We all need moments of resurrection in our lives, moments when God’s glory and power are revealed to us in our daily routines and through the lover and care of others. These potential moments of new life have the potential to carry us through difficult times.

This Easter, we are called once again to believe in the incredible power of the divine light which enfolds us and floods our being. May we mirror that brightness to all we meet.

And so, in the words of Macrina Wiederkehr we pray:

Open the windows of our soul. Open the walls of our minds. Open the doors of our hearts, awaken us to hope, awaken us to joy. Fill us to the brim with new light.                                                       

                                                                                                            B. O’S.