By John Moore, Columnist
On Dec 24th, 2024, Pope Francis opened the door of St Peter and ushered in the year of Jubilee celebration for 2025 for the Catholic faithful. This is to be a celebration of the 2025th anniversary of the incarnation of Jesus who is Lord and savior to a few billion souls the world over. This however is not just restricted to Catholics but for all humanity. It comes at a crucial time in our world history who’s major theme is hope. It is said when the door of St Peter was opened a powerful spiritual wave was released and is circulating and permeating throughout the world.
In this season of lent whether you are a believer or not it is a time to reflect and perhaps assess your life and discard any bad habits or sins you may have. Lent is 40 days long commencing March 5th. This is also the length of time behavioral experts say it takes to form a new habit or get rid of an old one. Lent is also a time for prayer. Our community and region are very fortunate and blessed to have many beautiful churches of all faiths in which to go and worship and pray. Lent is a wonderful opportunity to go and seek out these churches if you aren’t doing so already. It is a real joy to share worship with others. It’s also a very rewarding experience. If you’re looking for hope the chances are you’ll find it in any one of these churches. I can attest to that.
My family are long time members of St Benedict’s which is a Catholic church located in Clayton Park. The masses are always full and many of the parishioners are new Canadians. Their faith is inspirational and amazing to watch.
They are not shy about expressing their love for God and this love is contagious throughout our Church. Recently, one of the new priests, who is jokingly referred to by the Pastor as a baby priest, gave one of the most awe-inspiring homilies I’ve ever been witness to. I ‘m afraid I can’t do it justice, but it was about one of the most important scriptures written in the Bible. It is highly relevant to the times we live in and if humanity followed it the world would be a much better place. Here is an excerpt of the scripture in which this homily was centered around. It is somewhat abbreviated.
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you, and if anyone takes your goods do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” These words are a prescription for all of us in how to be the best version of ourselves. It may seem impossible to follow, given how it seems we wish to seek revenge when harmed. After all hurting people, hurt people. This revelation by the Priest pierced my heart like an arrow. I thought how sad it was but how true this is. Maybe during this season of lent we can praise more than condemn or criticize. Look for ways to find positive things to say and do and disregard all the negative mumbo jumbo we seem to be bombarded with these days. Bring hope to those who need it and let’s forget about our own self interests. Let’s listen more to one another and really appreciate the other person’s point of view. It really matters we do all these things for the greater good. God Bless and Happy St Patrick’s Day.
