| One of the tricks of the teaching profession that I learned in
St. Julian¡¦s
School, Lisbon was to toss a word at the students and invite a sharing of
thoughts that flashed into the mind. The word ¡¥Church¡¦ was always good
value and never failed, to get things going in the classroom. From my
experience the gut reaction to the word ¡¥Church¡¦ was ¡¥a building.¡¦ Next
came, ¡¥an organization run by bishops and priests.¡¦ After that was, ¡¥a place
where people go on Sunday.¡¦ Occasionally, ¡¥a place for hypocrites.¡¦
Obviously, there are various ways of seeing or perceiving the Church.
Another simple clever teaching device was going to the blackboard and
saying, "I¡¦m going to spell the word Church." I would print in large letters:
CH_ _ CH. Then I would back away saying, "Something is missing." A
chorus of voices would pronounce the letters "U" and "R". And I would
enthusiastically translate the "U" "R" as "YOU ARE." The lesson of the day
was: You are at the centre of the Church. There can be no Church unless
you are there. Wherever you are there is the Church. This is, of course, a
much more demanding image and understanding of Church than ¡¥building¡¦
or ¡¥organization.¡¦
The Church has many facets and can be perceived from many different
vantage points. Just as I am a man, priest, Dominican, Irish and can be
perceived as any one of these things, so the Church can be perceived in
many ways too and yet be one. It is, first and foremost, the people of God
whom Jesus has gathered around himself as favoured and loved, sharing
the common goal of bringing his lifestyle, culture, vision, value system, his
way of being in relationship with God and each other to the world.
Jesus saw family as something beyond ties of flesh and blood. His
family
would include everybody irrespective of age, rank and status. It would be
home for everybody especially the poor, aged, rejects, down-and-outs. To
him there are no insignificant people, everybody belongs. Everybody is a
child of God.
From all of this two images emerge: Jesus surrounded by followers,
gathered together in a crowded room in Palestine listening with attention.
Men and women from all walks of life, sharing thoughts and experiences,
learning a new way of seeing life and of living, sharing a common goal of
bringing about God's kingdom of justice and love, where doing his thing
and not theirs is what counts.
The second is that some group of people, more or less, hitting the
road,
the Church on the move, making its presence felt in the towns and villages
of Galilee, telling not just the story of Jesus but being the story as best
they can, on the beaches, in the fields and market places, the taverns,
around the family table, in the places where people work, play and
pray.
The story continues today. It will not end in our lifetime. It will
continue
after we have passed on. It will end only in God¡¦s time when his mission on
earth has been accomplished. We are called in our allotted times and
places not just to tell the gospel story but more importantly, to be the
story, to be the Church, to make our unique contribution in the places
where we live out our lives: the bars, the courtrooms, schoolrooms,
boardrooms, dressing rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, on the job, a date,
hanging out with friends on a night in the town.
If I fail to turn up as a disciple of Jesus the work I was called to do will
remain forever undone. God can, of course, repair the damage but my
distinctive mark, my torch of genius will be missing and, sadly, the world I
frequented will be, as a result, emptier and poorer. There are no apologies
here for putting it up to you. We get one shot at life. We either rise to the
occasion or let the moment pass us by.
No one can live your life, meet the people you meet, in the way you
meet
them. No one has quite got your faith, temperament, smile, humour,
personality, charm, gifts and inner beauty. No one in the Church can ever
come off the substitutes bench and replace your unique telling of God¡¦s
amazing story of salvation.
THOUGHT PROVOKING
To encourage those who excuse themselves from Mass we are
planning a
special "No Excuse Sunday."
Bunks will be available in the sacristy for those who say, "Sunday is my
only day to sleep in."
We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would fall in if
I
ever came to Church."
Blankets will be available for those who think the Church is too cold,
and
fans for those who say it is too hot.
Scorecards will be available for those who wish to make a list of all the
hypocrites present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can¡¦t go to
Church because they have to cook dinner.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick
on
Sunday.
The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and
Easter lillies for those who have never seen the Church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can¡¦t hear the preacher and
cotton wool for those who think he is too loud.
Hope to see you there!
NOTICE BOARD
Weekday Masses: 8.00am and 10.30am only. No 8.00am
Mass on
Saturday.
Stations of the Cross 7.30pm on Fridays during Lent.
Bible Study: Fr. Maurice Fearon, O.P., a scripture scholar, has
accepted
an
invitation to give a three-day workshop, March 5,6,7th on the Bible. Please
make a note of these dates.
Padre Pio Mass The monthly Padre Pio Mass will take place in
the
Dominican Church on Tuesday 6th March 2001. Starting with rosary at
7.15pm.
Pilgrimage to St. Dominic¡¦s Country 16th to 22nd April 2001.
Cost ¢G500.
Cost includes flight, all coach transfers in Spain, full board accommodation
in single en-suite bedrooms and travel insurance. Deadline for applications
15th March. Further information: Sr. Mary Cunningham. 014514627
Dominican Shop Full selection of Confirmation and Communion
items
now in
stock. |