2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2nd Sunday Ordinary Time – Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will!

What a start to our New Year! I think that I can voice the thanks of everyone to our brothers and sisters in the parish of St Anne’s in welcoming us into their church to celebrate our services over the Christmas period while we tried to sort out our numerous leaks and floods here at St John’s.

But now we are back. We have returned home to our own church, renewed, refreshed and re-strengthened and ready to cry out with our words and our actions, “Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will.” Or – we should be.

We are at the start of a new year. A new year in which we can begin by looking at who we are and where we are at with regard to our spiritual lives. We can make a self-assessment on all those things that we are doing and not doing that help us to grow as strong Christian followers of Jesus Christ and God our Father.

How can I live my life as a witness to the truth that, “Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that He is the Chosen One of God.” How do I bear witness to this truth in my everyday life?

This is a personal question. One which is peculiar and specific to each one of us. And one that we each need to address in our own way. It is quite easy to say in our thoughts or even in our words, “Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will.” But what do we mean when we say it? How much of my time, my space, my efforts, my will am I am actually offering to God to do His will? And where, when and how can I do this?

I have asked you in previous years the question, “Who runs our parish? Who is responsible for the everyday dealings, the day-to-day-mundane-stuff that every household or small business needs to take place in order for it to operate effectively, efficiently and even profitably.

Well, yes, we have a parish priest, Father Mario, with his very able assistant, Father Emmanuel, and they have charge of our spiritual lives: of leading us and supporting us in our prayer lives. Theirs is the task of trying to create a parish in which we can be challenged spiritually to cry out, “Here I am Lord. I come to do your will!” Theirs is the task to create opportunities, with our involvement, for spiritual growth and practice.

But our parish needs so much more on top of this and beyond this in order to survive, to get by and then to grow and to thrive. And it is we, the parishioners of St John’s and St Luke’s who are responsible for this. It is up to us to step forward and to call out, “Here I am Lord. I come to do your will!”

Our church and our parish need much, much more than the provision of masses and services. They need more than our priests can give. They need each of us to step up and to step forward and see where and how we can help in the day to day running and care of the church, the building, the grounds. It is a truth that if we each did a little, no one person would have to do a lot!

Our parishes need to become places of life, of love and of laughter. They need to become and to be seen and heard and felt as places of joy, of jubilation, of rejoicing and that has to come from every fibre of their being: through every aspect of the parish lives. And that can only happen when we each step up and see where and how we can help out.

Although our parish house of St John’s is currently empty, this is not our expected view or intent in the longer-term. We have a cleaner who does a most fantastic job in all that she does but we could do with more help.

We have a brilliant team of Dust-Busters who keep our church clean but they could always do with more help. Similarly so with our team of Flower-arrangers, our choir, our readers and our visiting Eucharistic-ministers. All are doing great jobs in their current set-ups, but all would benefit from additional help and support.

“Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will!” – is not just about us praying more or coming to church and to mass or other services more often. It is about us offering to God our time, our efforts, our sweat and our creativity – in any way that we can, knowing that all of our efforts are focused on us doing His will to increase and develop His church on earth.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. – And the willingness to volunteer my time, my effort and my whole being in Your name. Amen

Bidding Prayers

1.      That we may all say and mean with our every fibre, “Here I am Lord. I come to do Your will and seek ways to engage in our parish lives. Lord in your mercy

2.      That we identify those less well off than us and seek to improve their lives with practical and tangible actions. Lord in your mercy

3.      That we welcome into our parishes all those that are new and seeking new spiritual homes and look for ways to include and nurture them. Lord in your mercy

4.      That there is an increase in peace and unity across our world and a decrease in war and conflict. Lord in your mercy

5.      That all those suffering with any form of ill-health are blessed by the Lord and enabled to feel love, peace and inclusion through our prayers and actions. Lord in your mercy

6.      That all those who have died recently find eternal rest with the Lord and are welcomed into His heavenly kingdom. Lord in your mercy

7.      That Mary, our Mother and the Mother of our Saviour, joins her prayers with ours as we nor pray together, Hail Mary, full of grace. . . .