This is our last DioUpdate until the beginning of February. What a great blessing the Communications Team is in assembling this e news each week, with input mostly from the Pastoral Ministries Team. It surprises me that many people in our parishes are still unaware of this communication, which occurs weekly, across our diocese.
I love the Christmas/January break, as the pace of work is lessened, and we take time to imagine what possibilities may present themselves for the year. At the Curia level, staff are gifted with Bishop’s leave for the days between Christmas and New Year. The beauty of all Curia staff having this time off is that almost all emails stop, and everyone has time to be with family, with very few work interruptions. Upon returning to work, everyone is refreshed and recharged for having stopped. This is such a blessing. Many staff also take annual leave at this time, which adds to the sense of renewal across all teams.
I invite you to think about the pregnant Mary, her ‘yes’ to God’s request to carry the Christ-Child and to give birth to our God made flesh. What might our pregnancy of God incarnate ask of us and how are we giving birth to God in human form each day?
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church. Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus provides us with a wonderful image of the song of Jesus Christ, a song we are invited to sing every moment of our lives:
In everything he did and in everything he said, Jesus Christ sang a song. Sometimes, when he cured a sick person, he sang softly and gently, a song full of love. Sometimes, when he told one of his beautiful stories, he sang a haunting melody, the kind of melody that, once heard, is never forgotten, the sort of melody you hum throughout the day without even knowing that you are doing it. Sometimes, when he defended the rights of the poor, his voice grew strong and powerful, until finally, from the cross, he sang so powerfully that his voice filled the universe.
The disciples who heard him thought that this was the most beautiful song they had ever heard, and they began to sing it to others. They didn't sing as well as Jesus had - they forgot some of the words, their voices sometimes went flat - but they sang to the best of their ability, and the people who heard them thought in their turn that this was the most beautiful song they had ever heard.
And so the song of Jesus gradually spread out from Jerusalem to other lands. Parents sang it to their children and it began to be passed down through the generations and through the centuries. Sometimes, in the lives of great saints, the song was sung with exquisite beauty. At other times and by other people it was sung very badly indeed, for the song was so beautiful that there was power in possessing it, and people used the power of the song to oppress and dominate others. Despite this, the song was always greater than the singers and its ancient beauty could never be destroyed. And so the song continued through the centuries, sung in many languages and forms, argued about, fought over, treated as a possession, distorted, but always captivating people by its sheer simplicity and aching beauty.
At last the song came down to us and, like so many people before us, we too were captured by the song, and wanted to sing it with our whole being. The song must not stop with us, and we in our turn must hand on its beauty to those who come after us.
We must always remember that this song has two special characteristics. The first is that we, too, sing it badly, but if we sing it to the best of our ability, people do not hear only our voices. Behind us and through us they hear a stronger and surer voice, the voice of Jesus. The second is that we always sing it better when we learn to sing it together - not one voice here, another there, each singing different words to different melodies, but all singing the one song in harmony, for it is still the most beautiful song the world has ever known. Compared to this song, there is little else that is of great importance. …
The following prayer is courtesy of Sr Patricia Egan:
For the talents and the abundance of gifts that are ours ...
Resp: God who sings through us, we thank you
For the times we have known the song of your presence in a special way
Resp: God who sings through us, we thank you
For the times when your goodness has made music through us .
Resp: God who sings through us, we thank you
When we doubt ourselves in the difficult aspects of our lives ...
Resp: God of love, sing your song through us
As we struggle to know how and when to share our gifts with others .
Resp: God of love, sing your song through us
As we go forth with the desire to be your instruments of love
Resp: God of love, sing your song through us
All: God of the past, present and future, bless us as we continue our journey. Help us to sing your song to the best of our ability and work together to pass on its Good News to future generations.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
While I will be with our family on the Gold Coast for Christmas, I will hold each of you and our diocese in prayer as I sing the Christmas songs, the songs really left to us because God became Emmanuel (God with us). This season is about holding each other in love, and for some, gifts express this love and for many, it is the experience of spending time with those we call family.
I hope you enjoy singing God’s song and having it sung to you over the coming weeks.
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