Praying Together 25th December 2023

Jesus uses the metaphor of the sheep and the shepherd to describe the relationship between leaders and the people they lead.

He comes to us in so many ways in order that we may see Him.. In creation. In forgiveness. In salvation. In love. In new life. All these free gifts of grace – but it is up to us to choose to see them, with every one of our senses.

However it may happen, when we see Him, we proclaim Him in the same words as Thomas – ‘My Lord and my God’ and award Him our trust. Forever.

The only way that we know that the victory over death is permanently won is if we accept that the tomb is empty.

And just as the donkey is a figure at the beginning of the Gospel story, so a donkey is present at its end.

We have to ask ourselves if, like Thomas, we are prepared to follow Jesus at whatever cost

Perhaps, then instead of just giving chocolate and flowers on Mothering Sunday, we might resolve to offer love in return throughout every day of the year

The story of the woman at the well has been described as one of the most significant to our understanding of the Gospel message.

This day is all that is good and fair.
It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations to waste a moment on yesterdays.

If suffering did not exist, we could never know joy. If there was no ‘evil’, we wouldn’t be able to recognise ‘good’.

Faith means little when God’s plan is the same as our plan. Faith is everything when it isn’t. When we don’t understand, when the things of the world tempt – and often overcome – us. When disaster happens.

Goddess or Saint? The stories are interwoven, in many cases feeding off each other. But whatever the reality, Brigid’s care for the poor is the common theme – living a life of love and service, for all creation.