Let us dream

In his homily during the Mass of the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Pope Francis said: “Like the Magi, let us lift up our eyes, listen to the desire in our hearts, and follow the star God makes shine above us. As restless seekers, let us remain open to God’s surprises. Let us dream, let us seek.” He also asked: “Have we been stuck too long in a conventional, external and formal religiosity that no longer warms our hearts and changes our lives? Do our words and liturgies ignite in people’s hearts a desire to move towards God, or are they a ‘dead language’ that speaks only of and to itself?

“It is sad when a community of believers loses its desire and is content with ‘maintenance’ rather than allowing itself to be startled by Jesus and the explosive and unsettling joy of the Gospel.”

Christian hope

In his message to parishes for Peace Sunday, Pax Christi National president, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, said: “We are conscious of the need to restore and rebuild our communities here and around the world, accepting that we need new ways of working and relating to each other. The Christian message of peace, through reconciliation, justice and non-violence, can offer hope and direction in these times.”

God trusts humanity

In a homily on Christmas Day, which the Orthodox celebrate in January, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said that today, people are increasingly claiming that they do not trust anyone or anything: neither the state, nor the Church, not even each other. And the pandemic has only created growing distrust. But he affirmed that Christmas shows that God trusts humanity to such an extent that he himself becomes a man. He wants to personally experience all the strengths and weaknesses of human life, its joys and sorrows, troubles, fate of a man in a world filled with sin, untruth and malice.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)