Thought for the Week – Sunday 27th September 2020

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MONTH OF MISSION

Thursday of this week is the start of October, the month universally known in the Catholic Church as Month of Mission. Thursday (1 October) is also the Feast Day of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Patron Saint of Missions.
Scripture is steeped in examples of Jesus reaching out in love and care for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized and those who had no-one to look out for them. Mission Month, the theme of which is, “Together we can do more”, calls on us to be Christ-like in our care for those much less fortunate than ourselves: we are called in particular to pledge special support, prayerful and financial, to the missions in developing countries.

Missionary work, however, is not confined to developing countries or, indeed, to other people. By virtue of our baptism, all of us are called to be missionaries, that is, to witness to the virtues of the Gospel in our everyday lives – in our homes, in our families, our neighborhood, our places of work, our church and parish.

St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us. St Francis Xavier, pray for us.

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2020

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

In the Parable of the Two Sons that we hear today (Matthew 21:28-32), the saying with which we are all familiar, ‘actions speak louder than words’ is the core message of Jesus. In this parable, neither son does what he says he will do, but the first son then re-thinks his initial decision and goes to the vineyard, as asked by his father.
The ability to change our mind is an essential element of all healthy relationships. A mind that is closed to change – for example, one that refuses to admit to mistakes, one that refuses to apologise and change ways – lacks the virtue of humility. It can destroy relationships. We think today of any relationships in our lives that remain fractious because of our inability to change our mind – perhaps our inability to admit to our own weaknesses and address them or our inability to drop a grudge or forget a wrongdoing. Act today:

‘The first to apologise is the bravest, the first to forgive is the strongest, the first to forget is the happiest’