EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)
27th February 2022


Dear Parishioner

Today the Gospel invite us to reflect upon our call as Christian guides of souls, as Clergy, teachers, catechists, choir leaders, and parents. We know that Christ is calling us to help bring others to salvation. So to guide someone to Christ means to strive to be like Jesus, our master and teacher. Otherwise we would be acting like a guide who cannot see clearly the path that must be followed and like a blind person leading another blind person will find ourselves stumbling into any path hole that lies on our way. Therefore, we must be humble, realizing that there is always something more we can learn from Jesus. We can always grow more in our clarity of vision; our life can always be more Christ-like.

We are called to learn to heed, appreciate and be taught by Jesus. Our doubts about ourselves, our feelings of inadequacy will arise but do not forget that God chose us; for no one can come to the Father unless he draws us. God having chosen us, believes that we can be His true disciples and be like him. If I am to form myself to become a true disciple of Christ and help him save souls, I must begin with self-examination. Do I know myself with all of my defects, my temperament, my strengths, and weaknesses? Have I made a serious self-examination?

The fruit of prayer will be to reveal the plank in my own eye; until I have meditated deeply on a gospel passage and experienced conversion, I have nothing to say to anyone else. I would be a hypocrite were I to attempt doing so. The test of the good disciple is in the fruit. People who came into contact with Jesus experienced healing, forgiveness, inner peace. Goodness wells out of the heart of the good disciple, who brings good news. The imagery is very dramatic - the thorns and brambles and rotten fruit. Notice too that what matters is what "fills the heart", not scholarly knowledge and cleverness. Good fruit - action - will grow out of commitment at the heart level, not wilful intellectual determination with clenched teeth.

Fr Jijo George


Notices:

Please remember to pray for:

Daily for the sick clergy of our Diocese

The sick and housebound

Those who have recently died

Years Mind:
Monday: Deacon Sidney Lewis
Wednesday: Deacon Dwight Hayter
Thursday: Canon Aloysius Roche, Fr Gerard Murphy
Saturday: Mgr Canon Jules van Meenen, Fr Clifford Beercroft
Sunday: Fr David Chapman