Fr John’s Reflection – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 15th November
Each day is a new day when we can give thanks to God for the gift of life. Especially as we move towards Advent and the end of our liturgical year this can become a time of review. Where do we notice we are spending our time and what brings faith, hope and charity to the life of others. A gift or a charism is entrusted to us for the good of the whole community so that they may be drawn into a living relationship with God. We thus become stewards of these gifts rather than becoming people who own them. They are given to us for a good purpose so that others may encounter God.
There are many different charisms, but they all have the same end. They help us to notice and become aware of how God is present to us in the everyday circumstances of life. The three signs of a charism are that it has a feel of being in prayer to which we can give ourselves freely, it is of benefit to the spiritual and material good of another, and it has a felt sense of drawing us deeper into a living relationship with God. This is the reality that we can do ordinary things with amazing grace and presence.
So, the three things I would suggest for us to examine is not just how we use our time but whether we allow it to be a way of being prayerfully present to others. Does it bring us the freedom to be ourselves rather than just becoming a task to be fulfilled? Each moment allows the opportunity to become aware of how God is present in all things and for them to become moments of thanksgiving. As we journey through this next week may we discover the God who walks with us on our journey?
Fr. John Armstrong
