St. Xavier’s Parish, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, has 634 families residing in the western side of the city. Built on St. Xavier’s College Campus in 2001, it has an attractive church whose distinctive hallmark is the aesthetic Risen Christ with an Indian resonance to it and a welcoming gesture that attracts people to pray. An interesting facet is also the word “Navrangpura” means a complete spectrum of 9 colours and it coincidentally matches the nine ethnic communities that constitute the parish.
31 December, 2015
QUESTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR
QUESTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Luke 2, 16-21
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who
was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it
were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all
these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and
seen, which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he
was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
Today we
begin a New Year. How will it turn out? What do I hope for this New Year? What
do I really want? What do I need? To what will I devote my time, so precious
and important? What would be something truly new and good in this year which
begins today?
Will I live in just any way, moving from one job to another without knowing
exactly what I want or what I live for, or will I learn to sift what’s
important and essential from what’s of little account? Will I live in a
routine, boring fashion, or will I live more creatively?
Will I continue to distance myself from God a little more, or will I seek him
with more confidence and sincerity? Will I continue to be silent before him for
another year without opening my lips or my heart, or will a small and
humble prayer that is sincere at last spring forth from my weary
soul?
Will I again live this year concerned only for my well-being or will I learn to
sometimes be concerned about making others happy? Whom will I come close to?
Will I spread joy in their lives, or sadness and discouragement? Wherever I go,
will life be more loving and less difficult?
Will it be one more year in which I keep feverishly busy, becoming more
selfish, tense and nervous, or will I set apart time for silence, rest, prayer,
and encounter with God? Will I be restricted to solving my problems or will I
try to bring about a more humane world for people to live in?
Will I carry on being indifferent to the news that will reach me from countries
suffering from hunger; continue to look on unmoved at the scene of destroyed
bodies of the people of Iraq or of those drowned in makeshift open boats ? Will
I still deal heartlessly with those who come to us seeking food and work? When
will I learn to look upon those who suffer with a feeling of responsibility and
solidarity?
The newness of this year will not come to us from the outside. The newness can
only spring from within our hearts. This year will be new if I learn to believe
in a new way with greater trust, if I find new and more loving ways to live
with my own people; if I awaken new compassion in my heart for those who
suffer.
24 December, 2015
21 December, 2015
19 December, 2015
What’s in the Heart That You’re Lifting Up to God? [In Advent]
Posted: 18 Dec 2015 05:00 AM PST
I was reading an Advent
devotional recently and one of the reflection questions asked, “What
will you do this week to bring hope to others?” My immediate reaction
was, “I don’t have time to do anything more than I’m already doing! I’m
spending every free moment helping my son Mike and his wife Sarah get
their new home ready to move into before the holidays.” Then it occurred
to me that I didn’t have to think of something more to do, but rather, I could bring to God what I was already doing.
Too often, we think that works of mercy need to involve an agency or organization that we can assist in their work with the poor, homeless, or hungry. Certainly these are worthy causes for us to support and participate in. However, we don’t have to look far to see how we are bringing hope to people we interact with everyday, beginning with family.
My son and his wife have great hopes for the old home they bought after struggling to save their money, even moving in with Sarah’s parents for over a year. On any given day for the past month, Sarah’s dad and I have been present in their new but old and empty home, putting up dry wall, plastering, sanding, and painting. I have no doubt that our presence, support, and work are bringing them great hope—the hope that young, hard-working young people desperately need as they set out on their own to make their way in the world.
Here I am (left) with my son Mike working on their new home. I’m more comfortable with tools from the catechist’s toolbox!
I didn’t need to do more. I just needed to bring what I was doing to the Lord so that I could see it in a spiritual light. The Catechism
tells us that “prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.”
We don’t have to clear our minds and hearts to pray. We need to bring
what’s in our minds and hearts to God to help us see things in a new
light.
The next time you and I hear the words, “Lift up your hearts!” we need to stop and ask, “What’s in my heart that I am lifting up to God?” and, “How can God help me to see what’s in my heart in a new way?”
In the meantime, I can’t wait to go back to Mike and Sarah’s new home and paint the next room. Nothing says hope like a freshly painted room!
What are you doing currently that is bringing hope to someone else?
The post What’s in the Heart That You’re Lifting Up to God? appeared first on Catechist's Journey.
Too often, we think that works of mercy need to involve an agency or organization that we can assist in their work with the poor, homeless, or hungry. Certainly these are worthy causes for us to support and participate in. However, we don’t have to look far to see how we are bringing hope to people we interact with everyday, beginning with family.
My son and his wife have great hopes for the old home they bought after struggling to save their money, even moving in with Sarah’s parents for over a year. On any given day for the past month, Sarah’s dad and I have been present in their new but old and empty home, putting up dry wall, plastering, sanding, and painting. I have no doubt that our presence, support, and work are bringing them great hope—the hope that young, hard-working young people desperately need as they set out on their own to make their way in the world.
Here I am (left) with my son Mike working on their new home. I’m more comfortable with tools from the catechist’s toolbox!The next time you and I hear the words, “Lift up your hearts!” we need to stop and ask, “What’s in my heart that I am lifting up to God?” and, “How can God help me to see what’s in my heart in a new way?”
In the meantime, I can’t wait to go back to Mike and Sarah’s new home and paint the next room. Nothing says hope like a freshly painted room!
What are you doing currently that is bringing hope to someone else?
The post What’s in the Heart That You’re Lifting Up to God? appeared first on Catechist's Journey.
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