33^rd Sunday ORDINARY TIME

Dear parishioners,

When some were talking about he Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now-the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another’.           Luke 21:5

When buildings, especially that have a deep cultural or religious significance for people, are demolished it is very sad. It is not difficult to imagine when we see the terrible images of destruction from the Ukraine, Syria and so many places suffering from war. But how much more tragic is the loss of human lives.

When Jesus says in this week’s gospel reading that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, you can imagine that the people would be horrified. It would be unthinkable for them. What message does this have for us today? Perhaps there is an invitation to think about our priorities. Sometimes we can get very attached to buildings, and things. I remember as a child being very upset when my Dad got rid of the Morris minor car we had had as a family for many years. It held many memories for me, but it did not work anymore! Sometimes it is hard to leave a house where you have lived for a long time. But the important thing to remember is that what matters is the people; people change, grow, have new needs. And people when they have a spirit of hope, and purpose and love can rebuild even after destruction hits.

In John 3 Jesus himself talks about his own body as the Temple that will be destroyed and then renewed in the Resurrection. The Anglican Cathedral in Coventry is a beautiful image of this: the Cathedral was half destroyed by bombs in World War II, but when they came to rebuild it, they decided to leave the ruins of the old Cathedral and build a new Cathedral beside it. When you are inside the new Cathedral there is a huge window with images of the Angels and Saints etched on it, through which you can see the ruins of the old Cathedral. The point is that when we look what is destroyed from our own perspective we feel loss, but looking through the eyes of faith, we can begin to discover a perspective of heaven and hope, and the possibility of something new being born. Of course, destruction and war are terrible things, and we need to work for peace but Jesus is promising us that God’s life and love are deeper and stronger than anything human beings can build or destroy by themselves.

On this Remembrance Sunday we remember all those whose lives have been lost in the tragedy of war, and entrust them to God’s eternal love. And we continue to pray wholeheartedly that peace and wisdom and a reverence for the gift of life will prevail.

Have a good week,

Sr Catherine Cruz, FMVD