By Fr Michael Morgan P.E
One of the greatest Missionaries who travelled from Ireland to mainland Europe was Saint Columban, who died in Bobbio, Northern Italy in 614AD. He had a special mantra that was expressed in his preaching of the Gospel message: “Christi simus sed non ipse”. This Latin expression freely translated means; “We belong to Christ and not just to ourselves”. As we have been progressing as a people over recent weeks through the effects and decrees imposed upon us by the current global Pandemic, these words spoken across the centuries of time are a wake-up call to us mortals who never have total God-like control of our lives.
We were never created just for ourselves. We come from God, are ultimately responsible to God, and are people privileged to be redeemed by the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This pandemic which has been bringing virtually every country on planet earth to its knees has become a wake-up call to abandon a culture of death and to embrace the culture of life. Already we see how Covid 19 is bringing out the worst and the best in people. The real question is; what is it bringing out in you and me? To belong to Christ means to belong to one another in Christ. Together in the Body of Christ, the Church, we can learn to be better in caring genuinely and sincerely for one another, as Jesus commands us so to live.
The Scripture Readings listed for this Sunday are indeed timely in the light of our current world situation. The hope of Resurrection is the over-riding theme. The prophet Ezekiel in the First Reading has a vision of God bringing new life to dead bones. Originally it was presented to God’s people exiled in captivity, that God had not abandoned them in their suffering, but was offering new hope and fresh life. How we earnestly pray in faith for that right now in our global need!
St Paul in the Second Reading encourages in his Letter to the Romans, all Christians to pray to and allow the Holy Spirit to renew us deep within ourselves to be people of Resurrection. Baptism has begun that process for us.
And then the Gospel story of Jesus raising his dear friend Lazarus from death in his tomb to new Life becomes the sign of his own Resurrection from the dead, following his Crucifixion, honoured on Good Friday. And so Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus becomes both the greatest of all Christian Feasts, and the hope for all of us, no matter how tough the going in Life can be.
While you good People of God have felt the deprivation of no public celebration of Mass or the Sacraments in recent times due to the Pandemic, your Priests and I, have had the continuing privilege of celebrating daily Mass, although behind locked doors without a congregation. I have deeply felt both that personal privilege and that of your spiritual connection in my daily Mass as I have prayed for you and your needs. This is a time for all of us, not only of physical isolation but also of spiritual conversion in this current Season of Lent. Let’s value this special time!
I commend to you the Holy Family Parish website with great resources prepared for all by Fr. Nicholas Pearce and the Parish Team. Together they refresh and strengthen that need for hope and trust in God and in one another. Do make good use of them. When I wrote this message this past Thursday the prayer of that day’s Mass read: “Compassionate God you chasten us by penance and school us in good works, Grant us now a single-hearted perseverance in keeping your Commandments, and bring us untouched by sin to the joys of Easter”. And to that prayer let’s all say a whole-hearted “Amen”. God Bless Us All!
And finally a postscript: Heeding the advice of my medical advisors, and by arrangement with Father Pearce, I shall conclude my time at Holy Family Parish this Sunday evening. I am most grateful to your Parish Priest, Parish team, the Parishioners and Holy Family School community for the warm welcome and acceptance extended to me since my arrival late last year. God has richly blessed me in my priestly ministry with you. When I was ordained priest some 56 years ago we used to say “Oremus Pro Invicem” which translates from Latin “Let us pray for one another”!