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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham Reg. Charity No. 234216. |
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Writings of the Parish Priest (1) Writings of the Parish priest (2)
Writings of the Parish priest (3) Read, reflect and live inspired (4) Writings of the Parish priest (5) Fr. Jimmy Lutwama AJ |
Gospel Reflection :
You shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect» Today, Christ invites us to love. To love without measure, which is the measure of true Love. God is Love, «who makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and gives rain to both the just and the unjust» (Mt 5:45). And man, God's spark, has to keep on struggling every day to resemble him: «So that you may be children of your Father in Heaven». Where can we find Christ's face? On others, on our nearest fellow men. It is very easy to feel sorry for the starving children in Ethiopia when we watch them on TV, or for all those immigrants that every day arrive to our shores. But, what about those at home? What about our co-workers? And what about that distant relative living alone and whom we could pay a visit to, to keep her some company? How do we treat others? How do we love them? What specific deeds of service have we towards them, every day? |
It is certainly very easy to love those who love you. But our Lord is urging us to go a step further, «If you love those who love you, what is special about that?» (Mt 5:46). To love our enemies! To love those we know —for sure— will never return our affection, or our smiles, or that favour. Simply because they ignore us. A Christian, truly Christian, should not love “in an interested” way; it is not enough to give a piece of bread or our alms to the kid at the traffic lights. We have to give ourselves to the others. When dying on the Cross, Christ forgave those who crucified him. No reproach, no complaint, not even a wry face...
To love without expecting anything in return. When it comes to loving we need no calculators. Perfection is to love with no measure. And we hold perfection in our hands amidst the world, amidst our daily chores. By doing what we should in every instance, not what we should like to. God's Mother, at the wedding of Cana, in Galilee, realizes the guests have no more wine. And she steps in. And she asks the Lord to make a miracle. Let us beg him to day the miracle of finding it out in the needs of our own neighbours. |
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St. Anthony
The Gospel call to leave everything and follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again, God called him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed zeal and self-sacrificing to serve his Lord Jesus more completely. His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians in Lisbon, giving up a future of wealth and power to be a servant of God. Later when the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs went through the Portuguese city where he was stationed, he was again filled with an intense longing to be one of those closest to Jesus himself: those who die for the Good News. So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors. But an illness prevented him from achieving that goal. He went to Italy and was stationed in a small hermitage where he spent most of his time praying, reading the Scriptures and doing menial tasks. The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitantly accepted the task. The years of searching for Jesus in prayer, of reading sacred Scripture and of serving him in poverty, chastity, and obedience had prepared Anthony to allow the Spirit to use his talents. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words. |
Recognized as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars. Soon he was called from that post to preach to the Albigensians in France, using his profound knowledge of Scripture and theology to convert and reassure those who had been misled by their denial of Christ’s divinity and of the sacraments.. On June 13, he became very ill and asked to be taken back to Padua, where he died after receiving the last sacraments. Anthony was canonized less than a year later and named a Doctor of the Church in 1946. Reflection : Anthony should be the patron of those who find their lives completely uprooted and set in a new and unexpected direction. Like all saints, he is a perfect example of turning one’s life completely over to Christ. God did with Anthony as God pleased—and what God pleased was a life of spiritual power and brilliance that still attracts admiration today. He whom popular devotion has nominated as finder of lost objects found himself by losing himself totally to the providence of God. |
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An Elephant and a Fly
A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest. He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?" The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said: "I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more". This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly: "Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?" The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?" The elephant stopped eating and said: "My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around." Upon hearing these words, the disciple's eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at his teacher and said: "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm". "Yes, that's right", answered the teacher," The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind. The Window |
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. He would describe marchers, weddings processions etc. Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths, only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. Once the body was taken away the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you." |