Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Parish, Coorparoo
  • Home
  • Our Parish
    • Our Mission
    • Parish History
    • The Carmelites
    • Administration & Staff
    • Parish Advisory Council
    • Safeguarding Committee
    • Finance Council
    • Parish Primary School
  • MASS TIMES
  • SACRAMENTS
  • Parish Life
    • Ministries
    • Register with our Parish
  • BULLETINS
  • Contacts & Links
    • Contact Details
    • Donations & Policies
    • Useful Links
    • Safeguarding
    • Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd
    • STAY CONNECTED
    • Blog

A Changed Landscape…….for Living Community.

12/5/2020

2 Comments

 
A new reality is being lived by all of us, during this Covid19 pandemic. There is little that is, as we have known it to be, and we run the risk of not seeing beyond the threshold of NOW. What we have come to learn by experience, is that we are all, without exception in this maelstrom together!

Who would have imagined that creating physical distance from one another would create in us a greater concern for each other, and a stronger sense of being ‘community’!
We don’t know what lies ahead in this uncertain moment in history, but what we do know is that there will be a future to be lived.


Michael Casey, (Cistercian monk from Tarrawarra community in Melbourne) in his latest book, Grace On the journey to God, poses that:

There is much in life that is uncertain, and it is likely that too much certainty will insulate us from the demands of reality.

What does this mean for us as Church?

We see the companions of Jesus became insulated from the demands of the reality of Gospel living while Jesus was with them, and it was only after His resurrection that they began to truly understand His message.


Could this time in our lives be experienced as an invitation to be open to God’s grace, to transform and to change both our attitudes and what we had hold as values, in our lives and in our faith practice?                Has our previous certainty insulated us from the demands of reality?

What have we experienced in our lives that we hope to retain?

What do we wish to let go of, as we come back together in our church building?

We have been given time to explore opportunities to live life differently, to form community from a changed landscape with a new perspective.

God is Love and Eucharist is a verb. It is what we do, give, and receive. In giving what we can and receiving what we need, the foundation for the building of a strong sense of community, becomes relationship. It is who I am and who we are to each other, a connection at the level of our hearts that matters!


Jesus in his relationships really believed God was present in each person, so he constantly looked for that presence until he found it, in spite of all messages to the contrary. This presence of the divine in a person was who he came to free, to heal, to become the heart energy for Gospel living.

“Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” Jn 13:34

When this is the basis of how community is formed there are no barriers to belonging, all must be included. When we are open to recognising God’s presence within each person, and all of creation, there is no room for exclusion, no one is rejected.

We all have gifts, and in this pandemic time, there have been great expressions of generosity, compassion, courage, sacrifice, acceptance, equality and solidarity.

Two people excited about the same thing are the beginning of almost everything new, creative, and risky in our world. Surely this is what Jesus meant by his first and most basic definition of church as ‘two or three gathered.' (Matthew 18:20)
Richard Rohr.
 
‘I greet the presence of God in you’. Could this be an expression of our grounded connection with God, ourselves, each other and our world without exclusion?

A new landscape upon which community, at a heart level, can begin to form.

“He is with you, he is in you…..” Jn 14:17


Fr. Wayne
2 Comments
Sabina
15/5/2020 02:59:46 pm

I wouldn't usually comment ... but such a beautiful perspective you offer. I too have been so surprsied at how physical distance has brought about a sense of community. For the first time in a long time I am waving to families down the road I never knew were there. What will Church mean to us going forward...? An interesting question! For me, Church is also about remembering that God is present in the ordinary and extraordinary... and when it gets darn right confusing and ambiguous! So when I'm isolated on my own, I'm still part of his community. Thanks for this post! So much to reflect on for our future...

Reply
Christine Clarke
15/5/2020 03:46:03 pm

A wonderful, powerful reflection for our time. I have been looking for something that doesn't repeat cliches, that takes a deeper insight...thanks, Wayne!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Mt Carmel Parish

    Reflections offered from our parish community.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Location

our lady of mt carmel catholic parish


312 Cavendish Road, Coorparoo, QLD, AUSTRALIA, 4151
(Office entry is via Norfolk Street)
Phone:  07 3397 1587
Email:  mtcarmel@bne.catholic.net.au

Carmelite Community
Fr Martinho Da Costa O.Carm, Parish Priest
Fr Matthew Tonini O.Carm, Associate Pastor, Prior
Fr Albino Dos Santos O.Carm, Associate Pastor
ADMIN LOGIN
  • Home
  • Our Parish
    • Our Mission
    • Parish History
    • The Carmelites
    • Administration & Staff
    • Parish Advisory Council
    • Safeguarding Committee
    • Finance Council
    • Parish Primary School
  • MASS TIMES
  • SACRAMENTS
  • Parish Life
    • Ministries
    • Register with our Parish
  • BULLETINS
  • Contacts & Links
    • Contact Details
    • Donations & Policies
    • Useful Links
    • Safeguarding
    • Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd
    • STAY CONNECTED
    • Blog