Dear friends – Our Church Community.
Over the last week or so I have been thinking about our parish(s), our “faith community” and how God blesses it but also what we can do to co-operate with him to help it grow. Suddenly, everything I hear or read seems to be relevant to that thought.
Pope Francis says this;” God always forgives us. And it is precisely this that makes us grow as Gods people, as the Church: not our cleverness, not our merits- we are a small thing, it’s not that- but the daily experience of how much the Lord wishes us well and takes care of us. It is this that makes us feel that we are truly his, in his hands, and makes us grow in communion with him and one another. To be Church is to feel oneself in the hands of God, who is father and loves us, caresses us, waits for us and makes us feel his tenderness. And this is very beautiful”
In todays second reading St Paul reminds us that although we are sinners, the Spirit of God has made his home in us; in you and me. We become more fully alive and human when we acknowledge that we share Gods Spirit which gives us life and lives in us. I have been thinking that when we recognise God’s Spirit alive and working in each other our community grows in faith and love. I pray that our community continues to grow.
John Dobner