Moving house/job is full of bright promise, excitement, refreshment. It’s also a downright pain in the backside! My week has been full of cardboard, bubble wrap and trips to the tip. It was ingloriously crowned with someone alerting me at a busy roundabout in Leeds that “Your back wheel is about to drop off, mate.” Just what I needed in the week that I needed the car the most.
Anyway, “Everything works for the good for them that trust in God” says St Paul. And indeed, it appears to have been the case. Peppered throughout the priest’s normal working life is the celebration of the Divine Office. (Honestly, I thank God Holy Mother Church bound me to the recitation of The Office at my ordination, otherwise I sometimes wonder whether I’d ever have time for God during my busy days!) During one of the midweek Offices, I was reminded that an ancient Jewish practice – one which Our Lord would have been familiar with – was to praise God in EVERY situation; even a tricky or disturbing situation was an opportunity to praise Him for his justice. It’s not easy to do this in challenging times, but reflecting on it does remind one that ‘many things, whilst important, are NOT the centre of the universe’; only God holds that distinction. Prayer is the way of adding this most essential balance to our hectic lives which is why the Church makes it a duty on all of us, priest and people, no matter our age or ability. A prayerful priest is a boon to a parish, sure; but a prayerful parish is cosmic energy to a priest. So, let’s get busy! Please pray for me and be assured of my daily prayers.
God bless you and all whom you love.
Fr Simon