Today's Gospel is one that is rarely read. It only appears in Luke's Gospel, and only read on the Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time.
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, "If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you - and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!"
I remembered the last line and was reflecting on it during and after mass. Lo and behold, I went for PPC Ex-Co meeting, and as usual they started of with sharing on this Sunday's Gospel, which is on the Last Judgement.
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' "
So the one sentence from today's Gospel really summed up this passage. Jesus was saying the same thing, at the last judgement. To those on the left "all because you did not recognise me in your brothers, you did not recognise the opportunity." This is something that I've been trying to learn on my journey. To recognise God, and the opportunities He gives me to experience Him in my life. In "Reaching For The Invisible God", there is an earlier chapter on Spiritual Amnesia. We all know how easily we forget God, and there it tells of the remedy. Conscious Remembering.
Philip Yancy refers to a Brother Lawrence, a simple Carmelite brother, who wrote the devotional classic "The Practice of the Presence of God". Which I actually have, thanks to Pearl, who gave it to me when I left Gigatt. You can actually download the whole book from this website. It's quite a short book, consisting of a collection of his letters and conversations. Brother Lawrence talks about how amidst outward affairs and daily occupations, it is possible to cultivate a life of contemplation.
While we think that it's probably easier for a Carmelite, who's in a monastery in those ages to do it, but not us. Yancy illustrates that if we can check our sms and emails ever so often, habits that we are not born with. We can also practice checking God's presence in our lives. I shall just end with this quote
The depth of spirituality does not depend on changing things you do but rather in doing for God what you ordinarily do for yourself.
Brother Lawrence
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