‘A Living God’

My wife and I were travelling recently in the Mountain Province in the north of the country. It’s still a mission territory but even though there is not always a priest around the people gather every evening for the rosary after they come in from the fields.

We joined them and couldn’t help but notice that most were old and most were women. This is a common sight here as in the western world to see mostly elderly women stoically bolstering the church. I wonder why ?

Clearly the problem cannot be our origin. It is the church started by the Lord Himself. It’s Pope and Bishops successors of Peter and the Apostles. We don’t cater to the shifting sands of public opinion but retain authentic and unchangeable teachings.

The thing is though, faith cannot really be taught, it must be caught. And you can only catch it from someone who has it in the first place. The early days of the church set the tone for this :- ‘These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'’(Mk 16:17) The Acts of the apostles lead us into this demonstration of faith, confirmed by heaven through wonderful signs and wonders of His love and mercy.

Would anyone leave that church? Those early Christians showed that Jesus was a living God, the source of everything we need, not just salvation but everything. Faith became the very centre of their lives, a living faith, an active one, a life of miracles. After all it would be inaccurate to preach a God who is merely a historical figure, or a reclusive or remote Being.

After the Rosary we shared some testimonies about miracles we had seen over the years and my wife gave a talk about praying for healing and we prayed over many who were sick. After that the participants couldn’t wait to go and pray for their sick friends and relatives: an immediate domino effect. I think God is waiting as patiently to be introduced as His people are waiting to hear more about and receive Him!

Let the dead, bury their own dead

Sometimes, even in our churches we find those inclined to gossip and make mischief. There are many theories as to what underpins this tendency of course; for some its to feel superior or gain attention, for others it’s for retribution if they feel wronged in some way (hell hath no fury like a woman scorned) or to find a suitable scapegoat perhaps.

The victims of gossip can suffer a great deal as a consequence but there is a tried and tested way of combatting gossips. Silence. I have it on good authority, from one who received a good measure of false witness against him.

 When he complained to the Lord about it privately in his heart he received that he was to remain silent and to ‘let the dead, bury their own dead’. The context of the juicy gossip made this passage particularly apt and rather amusing ; truly those who engage in gossip are digging their own graves, as are those whose ear is turned and receive deceit in their hearts. Best to lend them the shovel of silence and let them get on with it!