This was my reflection on yesterday's Gospel for the Feast of St. Martha. (I am stealing a few minutes to catch up on all the blogging I wanted to do during the week!)
Actually, yesterday's first reading (from 1 John) got a lot of my attention. Perhaps it primed me to read the Gospel in a bit of a new light. Because after (imagine!) over 30 years of daily Mass, as I read the Gospel (John 11) it struck me. I never quite took note before that when Martha said to Jesus "If you had been here, my brother would not have died," she was not saying that in his friendship for the family Jesus would have healed Lazarus. The fact is that none of the Gospels EVER have Jesus present when someone dies. (A pious tradition, dating probably to the 1600's, imagines Jesus present at his foster-father's deathbed, but the Scriptures definitely do not give us that picture.) In the Gospels, no one dies around Jesus. "In him was the life, and the life was the light of men." Julian of Norwich, explaining the all-sufficiency of Jesus, commented that were we to be at the bottom of the sea, and yet with Jesus, we would have all we need to live. Jesus is LIFE. "If you had been here, my brother would not--could not--have died."
Makes the death of Jesus himself all the more mysterious and obviously salvific, if you think about it. He who is all sufficient in himself, the all-powerful Word by whom God sustains all creation in being, dies himself, whereas no one ever died in his presence. Life was all around him, life was in him, but "for us and for our salvation he gave himself to death and was nailed to the cross."
1 comment:
Hey, Steven. It is lovely to hear that the thirst for God, and for "more" of God is awakening in your heart an interest in the Catholic Church.
I don't know what the pastoral practice in the UK is, but here in the States, Christians who seek full communion with the Catholic Church usually meet with other persons who are learning more about Catholic life, sacraments, etc. and may even participate in a kind of adapted "Rite of Christian Initiation" process, for a year or two, depending on the person's understanding and acceptance of Catholic faith and life.
Have you been attending Mass or other functions in the Catholic parish near your home or work? That would be a good start. You could introduce yourself to the people who you see are most involved in the life of the parish, and tell them that you interested in the Catholic Church. That would be a first step, just something simple on the level of relationships. The more involved the people are in the life of the church, the better informed they are likely to be, too (although ... there can certainly be exceptions!). Introduce yourself to the clergy and let them know why you are attending Mass but not receiving the Eucharist. They will let you know the next good step.
If you are near London, our sisters run a very complete bookstore on Kensington High Street. You'd be able to find a lot of information right there. Or just visit our UK site, www.pauline-uk.org for our other UK locations.
God's blessings on you!
and keep visiting!
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