A small but worthy band of members of Brockenhurst's elite Churches Together organization met last Thursday for their AGM, and they were joined rather unexpectedly by a number of members of the parish of Our Lady of Mercy and St Joseph, who belong of course not to the Brockenhurst group, but to the Lymington one. They had come here unlawfully because Fr Danny was the speaker that evening, but they were pleasantly surprised to find themselves rewarded by being greeted warmly and handed a very welcome glass of wine.
Fr. Danny began his reflection with an exploration of some of the call stories from the Tannach (Old Testament) and the Synoptic Gospels. From these he drew the conclusion that we are called, to be with Christ (Contemplative) for others (mission). Fr Danny, reflecting on his own call to walk the pathways of the Gospel as a priest told us how he held this between the account of Jesus describing himself in Luke's Gospel, "The spirit of the Lord has anointed me and sent me to bring Good News to the Poor, " and the great Gospel of the final surprise in Matt 25,25 ff in which God is clearly seen to be hiding himself or disguising himself in the poor of the earth. Drawing on some concrete examples in prison ministry and work with refugees, these texts came alive and left us with a new understanding of the Wonder and Grace of vocation.
1 comment:
How lovely to see a packed house for Father D; and to see him looking so obviously inspired and inspiring, to people from all walks of life.
I suppose we don't naturally think of "Vocation" as applcable to lay people until maybe we come to some kind of crossroads or enforced redefinition of ourselves. It's a word with a lovely path from it's Latin root, leading through the obvious "calling", and branching into evoke, invoke, provoke; and vouch: being true to the self you were intended to be. What a wonderful assurance that must bring.
Post a Comment