We give thanks to you O’ Lord, our God for this Sabbath for it unites us as acommunity through which we become your people. We thank you for the holiness of the Sabbath which leads to you.We thank you for healing of the Sabbath as we place our concerns before you. We thank you for the joy of the Sabbath a time or relaxation and fun.We thank you for the enrichment of the Sabbath through which our spirit is renewed.

On this Sabbath we turn to you O’ Lord, you given us joy and hope, forgiveness and peace. You offer us your Holy Spirit to transform our lives that we may be one with you in all things. Renew us O’ Lord and palace your steadfast Spirit within us. Inspire us for the coming week that we may be blessed in all our endeavours and given thanks to you through prayer and good deeds.

I am seldom surprised by people but I do get disappointed. As you know we recently celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation and over the last while other children have been celebrating their Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have tried to make these Sacrament a memorable celebration for our children and a spiritual experience for all. Certificates are given at Mass offering families another opportunity to give thanks to God for all they have. What I find disappointing is that a number of school parents (seven families) have phoned asking the times of Mass in this parish. I find this most disappointing given their children attend Catholic schools, they live within the parish, and yet they do not even know the times of the Masses.

How can we ensure that our children inherit their spiritual birthright if Church means so little? We have 2,000 years in our Christian heritage of wisdom and tradition. 5,000 years if we include our links with our Jewish family. Countless people have given their lives in the service of the gospel so we can benefit from their sacrifices.

The spiritual has the ability to transform lives. It offers hope, inspiration, direction, a moral code, inner peace, and so much more. Most importantly our religion gives us a framework in which to commune with the transcendent.

I can only wonder as people remain nominal Catholics. What do they replace their religious practice with, entertainment, sport, family time, leisure, shopping, etc. How do we nourish the souls of our children and how will we enable them to experience God in their lives? Why is that so many families only come here when it is a Parish Family Mass but at no other time. Must it be a special occasion for people to attend? What is so difficult when we have Mass on three different occasions at each and every weekend. We seem to have forgotten that attending Mass is about nourishing and caring for your soul. It is also important to remember that the invitation to attend Mass is not from me but from God. Why is it that so many say “No” to God—I am too busy.

Guide me Lord towards still moments, quiet spaces within. Help me to cease my questions, my inner debates and quieten my mind so I can listen to my heart and know the beauty of silence. Let me dwell upon your goodness as you nurture my soul in the silent embrace of healing and serenity. Let the mystery of your presence embrace all that I am and all that I hope to be. Remove all that blinds me to your presence and give me the fortitude to move towards the light. Rescue me from myself so that I may return to you and rejoice in you help. You are my God.

Recently some of my friends and I were talking about sin and suffering. We were discussing who is responsible for the sin and suffering in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? While sin may be an abuse of human freedom suffering is part of our very humanity, physical and psychological, and cannot be avoided. So often we blame God asking why he doesn’t intervene on our behalf. The argument goes something like this. “I pray, I go to Mass regularly, I am a good person so why has God allowed this to happen to me? It is as if we have entered into a contract with God seeing a binding relationship between piety and prosperity, health and happiness. Subconsciously we believe that if we go to Mass and say our prayers God owes us. Consequently, when things go wrong we blame God because he, in our opinion, has let us down. God becomes the scapegoat releasing us from our responsibility to use this time wisely.

Our personal theological framework can turn terrible human tragedy and physical distress into disillusionment with God. God becomes the victim of misguided learned theology based on needs rather than values. Our need to blame focuses on God. In answer to human sinfulness we make God the problem which is misguided to say the least. We need to remember that, social injustice and the suffering of the poor and the lonely is a human problem created by humans and soluble, if it is soluble at all, by human endeavours. It is not God’s responsibility. I am reminded of the people in the Concentration Camps of Europe during the second world war asking, “Where is God”? God was definitely there, silently sharing the suffering of his people. What was lacking was OUR HUMANITY which allowed sin and evil to do their worst and fill the void. This is always the case where our humanity is lacking, sin thrives.

God does not cause sickness, our lifestyles and nature does. Nature is amoral and outside our moral imperatives as she does no know right from wrong. Our physical bodies are prone to sickness and decay as this is nature’s way of recycling and rebirth. We need to remember that God owes us nothing. While God may be all powerful he can not interfere with human freedom. The world and its problems are our responsibility not God’s. That is why God made us in his image. Suffering is part of our humanity that can often define us though we may not have the ability to recognise or respond to its potential. Sin is created by our abuse of freedom not by Satan or any evil spirit and it is our responsibility to transform our sinfulness into goodness once more. God will help us in this endeavour, but he will not act on our behalf. In the end we are invited to seek meaning and truth from the difficult aspects of our lives. This is prayer in its truest form and it places us in the path of the divine.

I was reading a book recently about a lapse Jewish family who brought their child to the Rabbi to preform what the law requires according to the Jewish faith. The rabbi challenged their value system which rejected the need to belong to their local synagogue. The usual excuses were given but in the end the rabbi asked just one question which in my opinion was the most important of all.

What right do we have to deny our children the knowledge of God’s Word?

What answer would you give the rabbi?

I like the fact that the rabbi used the word ‘we’ so the discussion was not personal but a philosophical and theological one. Why deny our children knowledge of God? The rabbi wasn’t being difficult he was merely asking the question. When I ask the same question, but in a less direct manner, I am usually met with passive aggression which I believe comes from a place of spiritual culpability. The impression I get is that people believe I have no right to ask such questions. It is never my intension to make anyone feel uncomfortable but like the rabbi as priest it is important that I meet people to develop their faith commitment. This is an essential role of any spiritual or religious leader. I am doing what I was ordained to do.

I was reading over some documents regarding the fact that the Sabbath is in decline in Australia. People of the Catholic faith use every excuse under heaven, but the fact remains we always make time for what is important. Most people view the practice of their faith, or lack thereof, as somewhat personal. “I believe in God so that should be enough. I go to Mass when I feel the need or when my children are participating. I go to Mass at important times especially Christmas and Easter.” I have come to realize what I find most significant when viewing these statements objectively that it is all about Me! I go to Mass when it suits Me! God seems to be excluded from the conversation. The fact is we come to Mass to honour God by giving him one hour of our week. In my opinion that is not too much to ask.

When we come to Mass, we are guaranteed to hear the authentic voice of God. The Church says in its teachings that missing weekend Mass is actually a ‘grave sin’. The Catechism teaches, "Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit grave sin" (#2181). It is a grave sin because it is considered a ‘spiritual sin’ and not a moral sin. We deprive our souls which are nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist. This is vitally important because so often we may think God’s word aligns with our opinions and actions, but this is not always the case. The scriptures, informs, directs, challenges, and offers hope and guidance for our lives. The scriptures challenges and supports us in our daily living. The scripters tells us we are not alone and we need not be overburdened by the challenges life offers. If we listen to the Word of God and apply it to our lives God promises to offer support and guidance, hope and inspiration. God’s Word nourishes and strengthens us for the weeks ahead. All this for just one hour a week. A good return on our investment dont you think?

I imagine that the numbers are significantly lower than one might imagine. Most people say they “believe in God” but what they really mean is that they ‘believe in the Existence of a God’ whatever that might mean. In other words God is just a convenient noun construct based on social norms and unreflective beliefs. Such belief offers no spiritual awareness and little personal development. To believe in someone you must spend time with that person. I am sure that you believe in your children, friends, life partners etc. This is only because you have spent significant time getting to know them. All relationships develop and are maintained over time. To believe in someone you must come to know that person personally, not just know about the person. So too with God. I remember once speaking to a person who said she considered herself to be a good Catholic and didn't need to come to church to prove that this was the case. She didn't come to church but definitely believed in God. She said the church was full of hypocrites so I informed her there was always room for one more. “I don’t have to go to church to be a good person” It was the usual unreflective argument which I have heard a thousand times before. In fact I totally agree with her statement which renders the justification for such a belief null and void.

Significantly, when I asked her about her god she informed that her god is everywhere like a force within the universe. I was reminded of Star-wars ‘may the force be with you.’ Her belief was a mixture of pantheism and panentheism, unreflective and based on a flawed sense of self-importance. This force, she informed me, is in all things within the universe, so I asked her if her god was like electricity to which she seemed pleased with my grasping of her concept. Funny I have never thought of worshipping electricity myself but everyone to their own. Why is there such a lack of reflection within our society when it comes to the spiritual? Why is it that so many see religion as merely a moral construct rather than a personal meaning relationship with God? Modern society has replaced GOD with GOOD using social justice as the framework for religious humanism. Nietzsche words seem more pertinent today that ever before: “God is dead” but what in God’s name have we replaced God with? Do You Believe in God?